News-Press DCCR 10.24.13
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 31
October 24, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Proposed budget would tap reserves Funds targeted for major infrastructure; no tax hike planned By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com A proposed 2014 Castle Rock budget, with $225 million in expenditures, focuses on additional funding for road construction, additional water-supply needs, economic development funds and additional staff, including three more police officers, according to information from town staff. The budget includes $166.53 million in revenues and $225.16 million in expenditures, with the difference taken care by using some of town’s accumulated cash reserves. The proposed budget calls for no tax increases, which means the owner of a $300,000 house still would pay only $40 for town services. The use of cash reserves is mostly for major infrastructure projects, such as the North Meadows Extension, a new road that will connect State Highway 85 to Interstate 25 in the area of Castlegate Drive to provide a second access from The Meadows subdivision and alleviate traffic congestion on Meadows Parkway. Other major projects in the budget include $2 million for a new water tank in northeast Castle Rock and $4.98 million for implementation of a WISE (Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency) waterimportation agreement. WISE, which the town joined earlier this year, is a partner-
ship of 10 water providers from Douglas and Arapahoe counties that are members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority. The WISE partnership has negotiated a long-term purchase agreement to buy renewable water from the cities of Denver and Aurora. Also in the proposed budget is funding for three additional police officer positions, for which applicants have already been picked, hired and brought in this month. Town council recently approved hiring them now, instead of waiting for 2014, as applicant-testing expenses and other costs already had been incurred and there was concern about losing the top applicants to other departments if they weren’t hired soon. The budget also includes an administrative support position in the police department, a fire safety inspector, and begins saving for a future fire station. The proposed budget also includes a $4.7 million economic development fund for projects intended to create jobs and sustain sales tax growth, according to the news release. “The town’s overall financial condition is good,” according to a budget-message statement from Mark Stevens, town manager. The proposed budget was to be presented to town council on Oct. 22. There will be a formal first reading on Nov. 5 and a second and final reading on Dec. 3. Public input will be heard at all three presentations. Council meetings begin at 6 p.m. at town hall, 100 N. Wilcox St. For more details, including a four-page budget-in-brief document, go to CRgov. com/2014budget.
Murray won’t seek re-election in 2014 Retiring lawmaker seen as practical, hard-working
Teen trots from team to tunes Castle View football player is band member at halftime
By Virginia Grantier
By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com Colorado Speaker of the House Mark Ferrandino says he “disagrees on most things” with state Rep. Carole Murray, RCastle Rock, who recently announced she won’t run for a fourth term. But he might even disagree with her retirement decision. Ferrandino said despite their differences, “I’ve worked on a lot of issues with her. “She can talk to both sides of the aisle,” he said. “We’re seeing less and less of that.” Murray said recently she has watched her husband, a former high school principal, get into a “retirement frame of mind,” and is following his lead. “I’ve been a working woman for 50 years … I don’t want to live by the alarm anymore.” Ferrandino said while Murray is very
Mason Alldredge, 16, a linebacker for the Castle View High School football team, doesn’t get much of a break at halftime. Alldredge, a junior, is also a marching band member this year. Courtesy photo
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com
State Rep. Carole Murray, a Republican who represents the Castle Rock area, recently announced she won’t run for a fourth two-year term. Courtesy photo
conservative, she knows how to craft a deal and work across the aisle. “She has a lot of respect for the process,” said Ferrandino, who is concerned that her successor might be more of an ideologue Murray continues on Page 12
It’s almost halftime and Mason Alldredge, 16, a Castle View High School football player, is preparing to make some quick moves. Such as making sure he accomplishes the hand-off — of his helmet — to his buddy Bevan Haycock, 16, a defensive back, who will grab it and take it into the locker room because Alldredge doesn’t have time to. He won’t be with the team for a while. While the team heads into the locker room for some bench rest and coaching, Alldredge waits for another hand-off — from band buddy Brad Kahler, who is the one who has assembled Alldredge’s trumpet and gets it to Alldredge in time for him to perform. And then Alldredge in his football uni-
form joins his other team on the football field — Castle View’s marching band. The musical performance is eight minutes long. And then Alldredge runs to the locker room for the rest of the 15-minute halftime and the remains of the coach talk. “I think it’s really cool,” said Haycock, keeper of Alldredge’s helmet, about Alldredge’s dual roles. Haycock said Alldredge kind of bridges the gap between “two completely different groups of people. It’s good for the school, too … more power to him.” It wasn’t Alldredge’s idea to do this. School officials decided to change marching band practice time from a 6 p.m. start time to first period to make it easier for someone like Alldredge — who has daily 3:15 to 6 p.m. football practices — to participate, said his mom, Deana Alldredge. They then tried to draft trumpet-player Alldredge. He eventually decided to try it since he could still do football. “Football doesn’t last forever. I’ll always Teen continues on Page 12