August 14, 2014 VOLU M E 1 0 | I S SUE 1 1
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A WET AND WILD PARTY
Olde Town open for comment Parking structure sees minor changes By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com
Around 30 members of the Arvada Police Department and Mayor Marc Williams took part in the ice bucket challenge, where they were doused with more than 300 gallons of ice water in an effort to raise around $500 for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. Photo by Crystal Anderson
Recycling law to hike paint prices Republicans raise hue about consumer cost By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Paint prices will eventually go up because of a new law aimed at promoting recycling. The law, parts of which took effect last week, tacks on a fee for household paint purchases. The fee will go toward the creation of a paint recycling drop-off program. State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, who backed the legislation that led to the law, said she hopes the program will have a positive environmental impact. “It is the highest volume product that is not recycled,” Newell said of used paint
cans. “It either ends up in landfills with paint inside cans or it ends up sitting in people’s basements, or it ends up in the water stream.” The dropReport off centers will be located at home improvement and hardware stores, where cans can be recycled at no cost. “Retailers themselves don’t have to do this,” Newell said, “but the majority will want to be a retail recycling site because it drives traffic to their stores.” The process of creating the program began last week. After the new year, retailers will get together to discuss the full implementation of the program, Newell
Capitol
said. The per-can fee amount is not detailed in the legislation’s fiscal analysis, but it is estimated that at least $93,000 in fees will be needed to be collected in the first year in order for the state to cover administrative costs. The cost doesn’t sit well with Republicans, the overwhelming majority of whom voted against the bill earlier this year. “Once again Governor (John) Hickenlooper and the Democrats have created yet another burdensome program that heaps more unnecessary fees onto consumers in Colorado,” House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, said through an emailed statement. “Now that this law has gone into effect, Coloradans can thank the Democrats for the increased cost of paint.”
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) and the City of Arvada hosted a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7, to discuss the changes surrounding an environmental reevaluation of the Olde Town Parking Facility. More than 50 residents and business owners filled the Vineyard Church, 5445 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., to hear about the draft environmental reevaluation and see conceptual designs of the site with the proposed changes. “How can we build a parking structure in Olde Town that adds to the poetic character of Olde Town, that increases public spaces, and increases better circulating pedestrian transit system,” asked Liz Telford, Environmental Project Manager for RTD. Changes to the site include the moving of the garage west of Vance Street, adding an additional plaza, and three elevators. The garage will incorporate 600 spaces, an eight-stall bus facility, a kiss-and-ride site, and three connecting, pedestrian platforms. In the depictions of the site, RNL Architect, Tony Thornton, proposes to use warm tones, bricks, add a clock tower, and planters around the site to give it character and blend in with Olde Town. “We want an elegant, nice garage, it’s going to be a looker — in terms of a parking garage,” he said. During the presentation Thornton described the views of the station from key points along Grandview Avenue. Currently, views of the garage along the avenue would reach 39 feet at the highest point, with the proposed clock tower extending 70 feet, looking up from the base level of the structure. Comment continues on Page 3
School tip line now under state control New laws include change for violence reporting system
to a lack of funding before the Legislature unanimously passed a bill earlier this year that transfers its control to the state. The hotline was set up after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings as a way By Vic Vela vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com for students to provide anonymous reports of potential campus threats. The state The reorganization of a school violence claims that since its implementation, the hotline was among a handful of new safety hotline has prevented some school attacks laws that took effect last week. and suicides and has led to intervention in The Safe2Tell Act moves an existing more than 2,000 bullying instances. anonymous tip line from the nonprofit “Students are often the first to hear sector to a state-run program that is oper- threats against a school, or to see bullying ated through the Department of Law. or drug use, so they play a critical role in DRW_Community 1 7/21/14 11:26 AM Page 1 The programNewspapers_6x1.75_Layout was set to shut down due preventing these problems,” state Senate
President Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, a bill sponsor, said through an emailed statement. “Safe2Tell empowers students to break the silence in an anonymous, proactive way so that kids can focus on learning while at school.” Also taking effect last week was a separate public safety effort that imposes new penalties on businesses that sell designer drugs. The law subjects vendors who sell synthetic marijuana, often called “spice,” to civil liability. Synthetic drugs have been known to be more dangerous than marijuana and have resulted in some deaths.
“Despite their growing popularity, synthetic drugs are incredibly dangerous and this new law is a crucial step in taking action against these harmful substances,” state Rep. Lois Landgraf, R-Fountain, a bill sponsor, said through an emailed statement. “I’m comforted knowing this law is now in place to help keep synthetic drugs out of Colorado children’s hands.” Also taking effect last week is a new public safety law that makes operating a vehicle chop shop a Class 4 felony. The law is meant to curb cases of automobile thefts in the state.
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