News-Press DCCR 9-12-2013
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 25
Lucky dog
September 12, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Town’s housing, revenues on the rise Report shows general fund expenditures under budget By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com
This pooch and many others were having a ball getting balls and making a splash at the annual Pooch Plunge at Butterfield Crossing Park’s pool. The event was held Sept. 7 in The Meadows neighborhood in Castle Rock. Photo by Virginia Grantier
Combat vet thankful after resuscitation Man notes ‘miraculous’ return from heart attack By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com He made it through two tours in Iraq — albeit with some traumatic brain injury after IED explosions, and two broken legs from a rappelling accident — but he almost didn’t make it off his front lawn Aug. 6 in The Meadows neighborhood in Castle Rock. Greg Archer, 32, was on the grass, facedown, not breathing, with no pulse, after a sudden heart attack, and no one was around. Then the miracles, as he views it, began to happen. And recently, the very much alive Archer walked into Castle Rock Adventist Hospital to shake the hand of one of the miraclemakers, Aaron Goudy, a Castle Rock paramedic and firefighter. Goudy remembers details: It was a clear day when he and the rest of the emergency responders arrived to help. It was also clear that a lot needed to happen right away. Archer’s home security system would later show a video of what happened: His sudden collapse — and how he lay alone, face-down, for about five minutes until someone saw him. Archer, a staff sergeant and combat medic in Iraq, has a photography business, Spectrum Archer Photography in Castle
Greg Archer, 32, left, of Castle Rock, meets — and thanks for the first time — Aaron Goudy, a Castle Rock paramedic and firefighter who played a part in resuscitating Archer after he was found without a pulse on his front yard. Photo by Virginia Grantier Rock, and is a homeowner and father. He also sometimes has severe migraines, but he felt good, “normal,” on Aug. 6 when he left his sleeping son for a couple minutes to walk out onto the front yard to water a couple of patches. He said he lucked out collapsing where he did. “It was the only five minutes of the
day I was in public view.” He was also lucky that a new next-door neighbor happened to take a different and longer way home from work that day to avoid an Interstate 25 traffic jam and ended Vet continues on Page 10
Castle Rock issued a total of 534 singlefamily housing permits in 2012. But in just the first six months of 2013, that has been surpassed, by a lot: 630 permits have been issued. Nicole Carner, Castle Rock’s budget finance supervisor, who was presenting a mid-year financial report about 2013’s first six months to town council Sept. 3, said “issuance of single-family permits is up by about 92 percent over the same period in 2012.” The positive numbers kept coming as Carner also reported that overall town revenues are up 8 percent in the first six months of 2013. Sales tax revenue alone is up about 9.2 percent, compared with the same period in 2012. Total sales tax revenue for the first six months of 2012 was $13.9 million. For the first six months of 2013, the total was $15.2 million. “On an overall basis, all funds are performing positively,” Carner said. On the expenditure side, town departments continue to be fiscally responsible, she said. The general fund, which is budgeted for $38.1 million and funds much of the town’s operations, is approximately 10 percent under the year-to-date budget, she said. “It’s always nice to be able to present good news all the way around …,” Mayor Paul Donahue said after her presentation. Frank Gray, president and CEO of Castle Rock Economic Development Council, said in a Sept. 4 email that he is excited about the pace of growth the community is experiencing and all the business and development opportunities that are associated with a thriving community. “We have seen tremendous interest in the Castle Rock commercial, industrial and retail markets, and our biggest challenge is that we don’t have the commercial inventory to keep up with amount of demand,” he said. “It is a good problem to have, but a difficult issue to solve, given the challenging access to capital.” Gray explained that banks want to see buildings 80 percent pre-leased before they will fund projects. “That’s fairly close to impossible,” he said. Castle Rock Town Manager Mark Stevens said in a past interview that the council’s conservative approach to budgeting, not dipping into reserves even during the so-called “Great Recession,” — and continuing to build reserves, putting away the equivalent of 25 percent of annual operating expenses — has resulted in the town “being in stronger condition than when (the recession) began.”