Soup for you:
December 24, 2015 VO LUM E 1 1 | IS S UE 30
Delicious recipes on PAGE 10
ArvadaPress.com A publication of
J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Unpredictable snowstorm slams Arvada Mounds of snow remained along roadways and on the corners of parking lots throughout the city last week after a major snowstorm dumped nearly a foot on the area. Here, a shopping cart is jumbled up in a mass of snow and ice that has been scraped to the corner of the Kmart lot. Photo by Glenn Wallace
Twice as much snow as expected closed schools, challenged road crews By Glenn Wallace gwallace@colorado communitymedia.com The forecast called for 1 to 5 inches of snow during Monday night’s storm last week. Instead, the Arvada streets division says the citywide average was 8 to 10 inches.
“It’s always up to Mother Nature, she calls the shots,” said Dan Pumphrey, Arvada’s street supervisor. In this case, Mother Nature decided to dump a lot of snow, very quickly — with 2 inches of accumulation an hour through the predawn hours of Tuesday. The icy storm shut down all Jefferson County schools, and led to reduced hours or full closures for many businesses. Still Arvada’s Streets Manager Mark Bowman said it could have been worse, had the city not have been so well prepared.
“It went real well based on how quickly it came in, and the amount of snow we got in such a short period of time,” he said. As soon as snow started to fall, Bowman said all 15 of the city’s trucks were deployed, plowing 15 different zones of the city, along predetermined primary road snow routes. He said that the city deploys all 15, even for an inch or two of snow precipitation, in order to clear all the city’s roads as fast as possible. Last week however, Snow continues on Page 15
Groups support SCFD changes Funding changes proposed in reauthorization to 2030 By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Alex Budnick performs a backside 360 at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre. Liberty University in Virginia is currently the only Snowflex system in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Liberty University
Year-round snow complex coming? Facility could be located at park in Castle Rock By Shanna Fortier sfortier@colorado communitymedia.com A year-round snow sports facility slid one step closer to becoming a reality in Castle Rock, when Castle Rock Town Council recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with P3 Advisors LLC — the company interested in developing the syntheticsnow park tentatively named SnowSports365 at Philip S. Miller Park. No contractual rights or obligations have been established yet, but now that council has voted unanimously to continue with the project, both parties can move toward a potential development agreement. The entire cost of the project is estimated at $28 million, all of which will
be funded by the developer. However, P3 requested a $2.7 million loan with 2.5 percent interest from the Town of Castle Rock to help pay for improvements that will help benefit the entire park, including additional parking lots, utility extensions and additional lighting. The loan was approved as part of the Dec. 1 agreement. SnowSports 365 would be built on 9.5 acres at the Philip S. Miller Park. The artificial ski surface is made of premium, engineered polymer surface called Snowflex. When misted with water, the surface provides a similar skiing experience to snow, but offers softer falls. Various jumps, moguls, rails, a lift or moving carpet system could also be included. An area for tubing and a lodge or concession building are also in the preliminary plans. The lease for SnowSports 365 would establish a commitment of 20 to 25 years with two subsequent 10year option terms.
Five-time Winter X Games medalist Louie Vito showed up to the meeting to support the project, saying it would make the sport
More than 100 organizations and governments in the metro area — from the Adams County commissioners, Jefferson County Cultural Council, Lakewood City Council and South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce — have come out in support of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District funding reauthorization. “This support is very important to us, because we have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Dan Hopkins, SCFD board chairman. “It’s going to take a good grassroots, community-based effort to get this reauthorization passed.” The proposed reauthorization would continue the current 1 cent on $10 sales tax through 2030 to provide funding for scientific and cultural facilities in seven counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder,
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PROPOSED SCFD FUNDING CHANGES The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District committee proposal for distribution of the first $38 million in tax revenue by 2030 breaks down this way:
more affordable.
Tier I: 65.5 percent drops to 64 percent.
The attraction is expected to draw more than 170,000 people annually. While there are several of these systems around the world, there is only
Tier lll: 13.5 percent rises to 14 percent
Plan continues on Page 15
Tier II: 21 percent goes up to 22 percent For tax revenue over $38 million, the proposal takes this approach: Tier I: 64 percent drops to 57 percent Tier II: 22 percent rises to 26 percent. Tier III: 14 percent rises to 17 percent.