STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 118
Issue 27
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021
Up, up and away in a beautiful balloon Reporter Belen Ward rides the friendly skies over Frederick
Effort to limit Brighton city manager’s decision-making power on water fails
BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Frederick’s annual In Flight Hot Air Balloon Festival was canceled in 2020, but it was back in full force on June 25-June 27 at the town’s Centennial Park. This year, the colorful hot air balloons were back and filling the skies of Frederick as spectators across town took photos. Normally, I’d be right there among them, craning my neck -- and my camera -- up to get a nice, colorful shot. Not today. Today, I’d be joining the crew up in the air, taking photos looking down. It was the first time in my whole life taking a ride on a hot air balloon and I was nervous. No, I was scared. I arrived at 5 a.m. to get check-in and met the pilot with “Air Hawk,” husband and wife team Steve and Carol Libel. The Libel’s are from originally Kansas, retired and living in Naples, Florida. The Libel’s have been married for over 50-years and fell in love with hot air ballooning after their first ride and decided to buy a hot air balloon and having been floating the skies every since. “I enjoy it, it’s very peaceful,” said Steve Libel. “After 50 years of marriage, I still chase him. That’s the only reason he has me around,” said Carol Libelhumorously. Steve Libel is a registered pilot to fly a hot air balloon instead of a fixed-wing. “We have to do a biannual certification every two years. In other words, take a ride with another commercial pilot and get signed off for certification every two years. You have to be current and fly within 90 days to take passengers up with you. You are required to go out and do three touches and goes in 90 days and then you’re good to go,” said Libel. Steve gave me a briefing on what
BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
OBITUARIES LOCAL CALENDAR SPORTS LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS
up here to Denver and joined the balloon crew started again. I enjoy being out in the morning and seeing the beautiful balloons. The crews and pilots are so much fun and camaraderie that they have with the crew members. It’s very enjoyable,” said Law, After the hot air balloon was assembled -- which took more than
After a year’s break, Brighton City Council once again debated city staff’s jurisdiction over water issues when Mayor Pro Tem Matt Johnston led a charge to limit the city manager’s authority over city utilities. After Brighton City Manager Jane Bais DiSessa informed council members last week that she was considering issuing mandatory water restrictions, Johnston called for a special June 18 meeting to temporarily block Bais DiSessa’s ability to do that. Then, on June 22, council held another special meeting in which they reversed that resolution and returned power back to the city manager. Last week, the city’s water treatment plant demand exceeded previous years’ peaks and this year’s projected peak, when it had to deliver 12.75 million gallons of water in a day. Due to the treatment plant’s age and condition, its difficult to meet that demand or higher, staff said. The plant can only operate so many treatment “trains” at a single point, explained city utilities staff at the June 22 council meeting. “My biggest concerns are that if we are reaching about 12 million a day, we could be in extreme danger in a 12-to-16-hour period in a shutdown,” said Sam Mingo, Brighton’s water treatment plant supervisor. “If I lose a single well, if I lose a single filter. If I break any piece of equipment, we lose production.” Mingo and Utilities Director Brett Sherman explained that the city’s total water supply or the region’s current drought conditions aren’t causing the current crisis; the treat-
SEE BALLOON, P6
SEE WATER, P3
Balloons in flight at the Frederick in Flight Hot Air Balloon Festival.
to expect in flight and how to position myself for landing -- basically, hanging on and bending my knees while expecting some drag. Carol job is to act as the central command and helping with assembling and inflating the hot air balloon. While Steve Libel is in flight, the two communicate by walkietalkie and she follows the direction of the balloon while in flight. Once the flight is done, she drives to the location where the balloon landed. They deflate the balloon, pack it up and then load it onto the van. Hot air Lynn Law a volunteer crew for “Air Hawk,” helps Steve and Carol Libel with assembling the hot air balloon and blowing it up for the flight. It’s an involved task and well organized. The balloon has a fan and it’s blown up with cold first then with hot air. “I started as a volunteer down in Colorado Springs festival then joined a balloon crew. Then I moved
LOCAL
2 • Metro North Cities 3 ended tough year in 7 good financial shape 13 16 • Page 3 18
PHOTO BY BELEN WARD
Reporter Belen Ward with pilot Steve Libel taking off for her first hot air balloon COURTESY PHOTO flight.
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Water revives debate about city authority in Brighton
SPORTS • Shot put athlete steps out of comfort zone to claim title
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