Castle Rock
News-Press
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 33
November 8, 2012
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Town tackles budget Large projects part of three-year plan By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Robert Seydel, co-founder of Project ReCycle, fixes up a donated bike Oct. 27 in warehouse space in unincorporated Douglas County near Parker. The Bikes for Tykes holiday bike distribution provides bikes for children in need. More information and how to volunteer with Bikes for Tykes and Project ReCycle can be found at bikesfortykescolorado.org or 3tministry.org. Project ReCycle, a program of 3t Ministry, is working in conjunction with Bikes for Tykes. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen | ckuhlen@ourcoloradonews.com
Program wheels out holiday campaign Bicycle project helps abused, neglected kids By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com When Jeff Fleck started the Bikes for Tykes program, his hope was to deliver a simple gift to children in a place of darkness. The program reaches children who are victims of abuse or neglect in Douglas County and the south metro area. The gift of a donated and refurbished bicycle is delivered through nonprofit agencies that serve children at risk. In its first year, the program served about 70 children in Douglas County. This year, Castle Rock resident Fleck expanded his program to a warehouse near C-470. By mid-October, he had 1,000 bicycles collected for the 2012 holiday distribution season. He can hardly wait to see the look on the faces of those first children who open
A.J. Stapleton, Jeff Fleck and Robert Seydel are working together to bring free bikes to children in need. the warehouse doors the day they arrive to select their bike. “It’s awesome, it’s like riding a bike all over again for me,” Fleck said. “We all know the feeling of our first bicycle. We all know the feeling of freedom, almost the feeling of flight.” Fleck started Bikes for Tykes when he watched his brother-in-law, Craig Secher, run Realities for Children, an outreach program in Larimer County. Secher helped Fleck launch Bikes for Tykes in 2009 and the program reaches families served by agencies that include the Douglas County Department of Human Services, the Women’s Crisis and Family Outreach Center and the Douglas/Elbert Task Force. The Bikes for Tykes program provides a great experience for the families it reaches, said Heather Orr, executive director, Women’s Crisis and Family Outreach Center. The center serves victims of domestic violence in Douglas and Elbert
Robert Seydel of Project ReCycle works on a donated bicycle. The Bikes for Tykes annual holiday bike distribution provides bikes for children in need.
WHERE TO DONATE Bikes for Tykes has partnered in 2012 with businesses in Castle Rock and Highlands Ranch to accept used bicycles for donations. • In Castle Rock: Castle Rock Bike and Ski, 725 Wilcox St., 303-688-1722 Country Pedaler Bikes and Skis, 203 Fifth St., 303-6886775 • In Highlands Ranch; BikeSource, 2690 E. County Line Road, 303-221-4840 Tax-deductible cash donations can be mailed to: Recycle Your Bicycle Fund, 2460 Switch Grass Way, Castle Rock, CO 80109. counties and in 2011 reached 623 kids. Each year Orr provides Fleck with a list of about 20 kids who hope for a bike for Christmas and, each year, Fleck delivers. “What I really like is they understand the need for our confidentiality for our clients and they’re really respectful of that.” Orr said. “Getting a bike is a pretty big deal especially for the younger kids. It gives them a chance to think about something else instead of what they’re going through. It’s a pretty generous donation.” For more information about the Bikes for Tykes program visit www.bikesfortykescolorado.org.
Castle Rock introduced its 2013 budget with a plan that includes $86 million in capital improvement projects, no proposed tax increases, and property taxes maintained at about $40 for the average homeowner. Anticipated expenditures for 2013 are $196.3 million and anticipated funding is $158.2 million, according to the town’s preliminary budget-in-brief, a summary of the budget provided by town staff. The planned use of reserves will offset the $38 million difference between revenues and expenditures, the document notes. The budget was presented for community review and posted online in advance of the town’s first reading. The budget is based on a three-year financial plan established from councildriven priorities, said Town Manager Mark Stevens. Stevens presented the 2013 budget at the Oct. 30 council meeting with a review of the council’s major provisions. Among the significant items in Castle Rock’s 2013 budget are plans to maintain property taxes for an average $300,000 home at $40 per year; a proposal to introduce no tax increase of any kind; a proposed 0.9 percent increase in utility rates; continued trail funding at $500,000 per year; and a 3 percent increase for employee compensation. The town provides comprehensive budget information on its website for public review in advance of the budget process, Stevens said. “The town is very transparent when it comes to financial information,” he said. Major priorities in the 2013 budget included setting aside money for long-term renewable water, completing the North Meadows Extension project, planning for public safety investments, reserving money to begin construction on the Philip S. Miller regional park, and investing in economic development fund projects, according to the budget report. Some of those projects have budget amounts that are predictable and can be planned in advance, while others will be based on council decisions yet to be made, Stevens said. “We have a very comprehensive agenda of projects identified in the budget,” Stevens said. “We will be making moves on renewable water projects based upon formal direction of council.” The complete budget is posted online at www.crgov.com/2013budget and the four-page budget-in-brief is posted for residents to view in advance of the Nov. 13 and Dec. 4 formal readings.