Clear Creek Courant 020223

BY ROBERT TANN COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

When Chris Laney moved into his new three-bedroom home last summer, he felt like he’d won the lottery. After more than a decade of chasing the cheapest rent across the metro area, the Littleton bartender nally has a house to call his own.

“I almost feel guilty that I have it,” said Laney, 49.

Laney is one of a handful of residents who have secured housing through a subsidized program aimed at helping lower- and middle-income people live where they work. But as cities and towns contend with historically high home costs and a lack of supply,

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Some recommendations from a 2021 consultant’s report obtained by the Clear Creek Sheri ’s O ce have not yet been completed, and many will not be at all, according to Undersheri John Stein.

e report by KRW Associates, the agency retained by the county to perform the assessment, highlighted 51 key issues and 17 recommendations.

At the Clear Creek Board of County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 24, Stein addressed the recommendations the agency presented and explained how the Sheri ’s O ce has responded to them in the past year and a half.

e rst recommendation given by the consulting rm was for the Sheri ’s o ce to form a Mission, Vision and Core values statement. In the year and a half since the report, the department has failed to come up with a statement, but said the recommendation is “under evaluation.”

Stein said in his presentation that the mission of the sheri ’s department has remained “obvious” to the public, and the department isn’t

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CLEAR CREEK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BRIEFS

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 24, commissioners heard a brief update on the county’s recreation plan, saw a grant application for the county’s shooting park and heard a progress report from CCSO following a consultant’s report.

Recreation and Outdoor Management Plan

e county announced in late 2022 it would be creating a Recreation and Outdoor Management Plan. e team working on the project presented updates to the commissioners and explained there has already been community advisory team meetings, surveys, partner meetings and draft work done.

Shooting Range

e Sportsmen Club’s Shooting Range closed at the start of 2023 because the club’s lease on the land owned by Clear Creek County expired on December 31, 2022. A new public shooting range is in the works, with lead remediation, site work and more funding to go.

A CPW grant application was proposed to the board with an ask

of $365,000 to complete the nal phase of the shooting range project.

e project hopes to get a grant in the amount of $225,000 from the CPW Shooting Range Development Grant, and needs the county to match $125,000 in cash and $15,000 in-kind donation of sta time.

e tentative plan is for the shooting park to be open to the public in 2024. e nal phase of the project is currently unfunded.

Clear Creek County Sheri ’s O ce

e Clear Creek Sheri ’s Department received a consultant’s report in 2021 that identi ed 51 key issues and 17 recommendations for the department. KRW Associates was the agency retained by the county to perform the assessment.

At the commissioner’s meeting Undersheri John Stein addressed the recommendations the agency presented and explained how the Sheri ’s O ce has responded to them in the subsequent year and a half.

With budgetary concerns halting hiring, many of the recommendations couldn’t be completed as recommended. Some improvements have been made, including restructuring of sta ng, better communication and an evacuation plan for the jail.

Weather Observations for Georgetown, Colorado

Week of 23 January, 2023

Weather Observations for Georgetown, Colorado

Week of 23 January 2023

A local National Weather Service volunteer observer makes temperature and precipitation observations each day at about 8 a.m. at the Georgetown Weather Station. Wind observations are made at Georgetown Lake. “Max” and “Min” temperatures are from digital displays of a “MMTS” (“Maximum/Minimum Temperature System”); “Mean daily” temperature is the calculated average of the max and min. “Total Precipitation” is inches of rainfall plus melted snow. “Snowfall” is inches of snow that accumulated during the preceding 24 hours. T = Trace of precipitation. NR = Not Reported. “Peak wind gust at Georgetown Lake” is the velocity in miles per hour and the time of the maximum wind gust that occurred during the 24 hours preceding the observation time. Historic data are based on the period of record for which statistical data have been compiled (about 54 years within the period 1893-2022). Any weather records noted are based on a comparison of the observed value with the historical data set.

A local National Weather Service volunteer observer makes temperature and precipitation observations each day at about 8 a.m. at the Georgetown Weather Station. Wind observations are made at Georgetown Lake. “Max” and “Min” temperatures are from digital displays of a “MMTS” (“Maximum/Minimum Temperature System”); “Mean daily” temperature is the calculated average of the max and min. “Total Precipitation” is inches of rainfall plus melted snow. “Snowfall” is inches of snow that accumulated during the preceding 24 hours. T = Trace of precipitation. NR = Not Reported. “Peak wind gust at Georgetown Lake” is the velocity in miles per hour and the time of the maximum wind gust that occurred during the 24 hours preceding the observation time. Historic data are based on the period of record for which statistical data have been compiled (about 54 years within the period 1893-2022). Any weather records noted are based on a comparison of the observed value with the historical data set.

Day and date of observation (2023)

From Evergreen to the 7th Fleet

U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Ty Berger, who is from Evergreen, climbs up a ladder aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is in 7th Fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

cannot a ord another full-time employee and is unable to allocate other employees to help with records.

sure if a quoted statement is necessary for the department.

“I think this is important, and I wish you guys would take this one seriously,” Commissioner Sean Wood said.

e consultant’s report had this to say about the value of creating a mission statement:

“ is process in the Clear Creek County Sheri ’s O ce of moving the entire organization over time into a Vision driven, Mission focused strategy will develop unity and purpose.”

Another recommendation made by the rm was for the improvements of current retirement plans.

During the survey, all CCSO employees interviewed by the rm stated “the current retirement program is inadequate and provides no hope for them to retire,” according to the report.

Stein explained that expanding the retirement program is not viable at this time due to scal constraints, but his PowerPoint presentation did acknowledge the lack of bene ts.

“ e current perception is that Clear Creek County o ers one of the lowest retirement plan options in the state,” the PowerPoint stated.

e records department was another area where the consulting rm made multiple recommendations.

e rm outlined the need for another full-time employee to be hired in the records department. e report explained there is currently only one employee in this position, with no one able to ll in as back up. ere is currently no succession plan should the current Records Manager leave.

“ ere is concern anytime a single person holds all the institutional knowledge for an important function in the organization,” the report stated.

e current manager told consultants there is a need for another person to work in records to provide help with internal and external services. e manager has seen an increase in records requests in recent years and is concerned about how the department will keep up with requests, given the body-worn camera laws requiring the prompt release of footage.

Stein explained the department

“At this point, everyone is very busy with their current assigned duties,” he said.

e report also recommended the digitization of historical documents and records.

“Many” records have already been digitized, according to Stein, but due to budget constraints, no more will be digitized at this time.

It costs the county $1,200 a month to keep the records with the digitizing contractor, so CCSO is evaluating the possibility of in-house e orts to digitize and store the records, explained Stein at the commissioner’s meeting.

It is unclear exactly how many records are left to be digitized.

e consultant’s report also noted an “urgent need” for more sta ng at the jail. e report estimated the need to be four more deputies.

e recommendation suggested hiring “Detention Deputies” that are sworn o cers without POST certication, as a matter of cost savings. is is currently not scally viable for the Sheri ’s Department, according to Stein.

e department has been able to complete multiple recommendations provided by the consulting rm, however.

e rm recommended that the department improve internal communications. e report found “very poor communication throughout the organization” after talking to sta members at all levels.

CCSO has improved both internal and external messaging, with a push for social media posts on the external side. As for within the department, CCSO has increased internal sta emails sharing news, set up anonymous suggestion boxes and plans to install a dry-erase board for discussion of division goals and research projects, according to Stein’s presentation.

e department has completed various sta ng rearrangements within the department as recommended by the rm, and has completed a jail evacuation plan.

To view the entire consultant’s report and CCSO’s Powerpoint responding to recommendations, check out Jan. 24th’s Board of County Commissioners agenda found on the Clear Creek County website.

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When learning about how Native Americans lived, it’s better when that learning is hands-on.

at’s why the kindergartners at Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen spent time in the school’s STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art and math — lab to create tepees out of construction paper and sticks.

Hands-on learning fun

e youngsters focused on creating the tepees, working in pairs to gure out the logistics of their creations. STEAM lab teacher Megan Arnold and kindergarten teacher

Mikela Schwinn walked around the room, answering questions and helping as needed.

e kindergartners said they had fun creating the projects, experimenting with what would work best.

Leighton Peters and Audrey Searle, for example, added a person resting outside the tepee and a stick at the top of the tepee to let the smoke out and for a ag.

Each tepee was on a cardboard base so it could be moved easily.

e kindergartners learned about tribes on the plains and on the West

Coast of the United States. Schwinn reviewed what the class learned before the tepee exercise.

e plains Native Americans wore moccasins and followed the bu alo, which provided food and clothing. Tribes used bu alo hooves to make glue, horns to make spoons and dung to make re. Tepees are like tents because they are easily movable, the kindergartners said.

Native Americans in the Paci c Northwest ate a lot of salmon, lived in plank houses and made totem poles, they added.

e STEAM lab is new at RMAE this year, a space speci cally for students to create as part of the school’s CORE curriculum, according to Schwinn.

Some classes visit the STEAM lab weekly while other classes visit at the end of learning units to create hands-on projects. Arnold is collecting project ideas that can be used with a variety of education units, hoping to help teachers use many hands-on activities.

“We’re taking projects to the next level,” Arnold said. “Students can do a worksheet and talk about it, or they can come to the lab where it takes learning to the next level. For me, it’s been really fun to collaborate with other teachers.”

For Schwinn, bringing kindergartners to the STEAM lab to create projects is both fun and educational.

“It’s amazing that we now have this space,” she said. “I love this room.”

Elaine Gosnell

Kindergartners Delaney Hough and Mila Franklin concentrate on making tepees in the Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen STEAM lab. PHOTOS BY DEB HURLEY BROBST Kindergartners James Sidesinger and Everett Wall put tape on their tepee.

RMAE kindergartners make tepees in school’s STEAM lab

No injuries after semi-truck flips on I-70

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A semi-truck rolled over on I-70 eastbound near exit 240 on the evening of Jan. 26, causing the highway to be temporarily closed.

e Idaho Springs Police Department responded to the accident along with Colorado State Patrol and other rst responders. O cers found a semi-truck on its side, appearing to have hit the guard rail and

then ipped.

Both occupants of the vehicle refused medical attention, with the driver being cited for careless driving. In a press release from the department, ISPD reminds drivers to exercise caution while driving in the mountains.

“We were just relieved that this was a single-vehicle accident and that no one was seriously injured,” said ISPD Sergeant Frost in the press release.

I-70 was temporarily closed as the truck was removed from the roadway.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ISPD PRESS RELEASE

The most vulnerable of the housing crisis The Long Way Home

BY MICHAEL DE YOANNA MICHAEL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Our monthlong series exploring the affordability and accessibility of housing in the Denver area takes a turn to one of the most perplexing issues facing our communities: the lives of those who have no homes. Point-in-time counts in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties find 2,000 people living unsheltered and 3,000 in emergency shelters. Most of those people were found in Denver but many live in our communities and neighborhoods.

While panhandlers and tent cities are visible across the metro area, many of the unhoused are unseen and may not even be included in the numbers because they are sleeping on a friend’s

couch or a family that’s living in a relative’s extra room. The federal government includes this status in its definition of homelessness, along with those who are at imminent risk of losing a roof over their heads.

Homelessness has long been a problem in the metro area and the soaring housing costs that we’ve tracked in our series certainly don’t help. Typically, a family shouldn’t spend more than 30% of their wages on rent and utilities. Elsewhere in our series, we’ve found that many people across the metro area are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to afford a place to live. Minimum wage earners might spend upward of 60% of their paychecks on rent.

Across the Front Range, rising housing costs are worsening the problem. In Littleton, south

of Denver, the price of singlefamily homes has jumped roughly $300,000 since 2017. Lone Tree saw increases in excess of $473,000. In Brighton, $225,000.

Apartment rents have followed in recent years, part of a trend spanning the last two decades where median prices rose faster than median household incomes “in every Colorado county and city with 50,000+ residents,” according to Denver-based Root Policy Research, which analyzes housing affordability issues.

Some of the most needy in our communities find homes through federal funding, like vouchers. But the system, reporter Nina Joss finds, is based on lotteries, where people in need of housing may wait for years before winning. Others wind up roughing it on the streets, as reporters Andrew Fraieli and Olivia Love discovered in an interview of a man who lost his legs sleeping under a highway bridge during a horrific snowstorm.

There are consequences to it all, like how the mentally ill are especially vulnerable to homelessness and highly likely to find themselves in the criminal-justice system — meaning a record of police contacts for crimes connected to their situation, such as trespassing, becomes a barrier that prevents them from turning their lives around. There are costs associated with this to taxpayers, like those associated with providing more policing and beds in jails. Trends like those will be on Colorado Community Media’s newsroom in the months ahead.

Contributors to the project include:

residents like Laney have struggled to live in their communities.

“I’ve always felt like I was just passing through instead of living somewhere, putting down roots,” said Laney. He has worked at Jake’s Brew Bar in Littleton since 2012.

“ is is where I want to be,” Laney said. “My friends and family are Jake’s.”

In numerous counties, residents — spanning a range of employment from the service industry to teaching — have faced the brunt of what many o cials are calling a housing crisis.

e median price of a single-family home in the metro area has roughly tripled since 2010, according to an August 2022 report by the Colorado Association of Realtors. Back in 2010, the median price was about $200,000.

And wages have not kept up with home costs. Between 2000 and 2019, median rents rose at a faster rate than household incomes “in every Colorado county and city with 50,000+ residents,” according to a November 2021 report from Denver-based consulting rm Root Policy Research. e report also said that, as of June 2021, Colorado’s overall housing inventory was 13% of what is needed for a functioning sales market.

“Quite honestly, we just don’t have enough housing, whether it’s a ordable or otherwise,” said Kelly Milliman, city council member for Littleton’s District 4 and a member of the city’s housing task force. “It’s really vitally important to the overall health of our community going forward.”

e sentiment is similar for leaders in the neighboring cities of Englewood and Sheridan. ere, o cials said a ordable home options used to be more common.

“For the people that can a ord it, they have lots of choices in the metro area,” said Brad Power, Englewood’s director of community development. “But we’re starting to see more gaps with people who are on the other side of the income spectrum.”

Devin Granberry, city manager for Sheridan, said higher home costs have driven workers out of what he described as a historically blue-collar area.

“It leads to a very transient pipeline of citizenry and workforce,” he said. “ ere’s no sense of belonging, there’s no sense of ownership, and all of those are negative impacts on a community, the well-being of a community.”

Searching for a home

After leaving the house he owned near Houston, Texas, more than a decade ago, Laney knew buying a home in Denver would be a near-impossible feat.

He was making good money at a medical diagnostics company and had been able to purchase a brand-new home in a Houston suburb for less than $150,000. But his mental health was suffering and he knew he needed a change. With friends living in Colorado at the time, Laney

decided to move more than 1,000 miles north to Denver.

With his fresh start came the opportunity to dive into a longtime passion: wine. He took classes to become a sommelier — a trained wine professional. He sold wine to businesses across the metro area, worked part-time at a cozy wine bar and restaurant in the heart of Littleton’s historic downtown, and eventually landed a full-time job at Jake’s.

Laney settled on wherever he could nd the most a ordable apartment — something hovering around $1,000 per month, in places around Denver. e ones he found in Littleton were too run-down. As rents around the region rose, Laney moved ve times in six years.

“During this whole process I knew I wanted a house,” Laney said. “I wanted something that was my own, and it’s hard to build a home in an apartment, especially when you keep moving.”

Laney’s experiences came as Littleton residents expressed less con dence that their city was affordable. From 2012 to 2022, residents who cited a ordable cost of living as a reason for living in Littleton declined from 30% to 14%, according to biennial city-issued surveys of hundreds of residents. Over those same years, residents who said a ordable housing and rental rates were a reason for living in the city went from 20% to 9%.

Laney said he worked, saved and kept his spending habits to a minimum during those years, staying laser-focused on his ultimate prize. Credit-card debt from college “really destroyed a lot of opportunities,” he said, but he kept “working, working, working.”

Even though Laney estimates he was making about $48,000 yearly, he says he was far short of what he needed for a down payment on even the least expensive of homes in Littleton.

He wasn’t alone. A 2020 analysis from Denverbased contractor Root Policy showed that individuals who earned $29,000 to $95,000 yearly in the metro area could not a ord the average price of a home, which was nearly $420,000 that year.

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“It’s a pretty serious situation,” said Corey Reitz, executive director of Littleton’s housing authority, South Metro Housing Options. “ e list of folks who can’t continue to live here continues to grow.” at list, according to Root’s analysis, includes workers in health care, education, construction, food service and more.

Essential workers risk being priced out Sta ers at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood say the housing problem also a ects them. ey blame the shortage of essential hospital workers they’re contending with, in part, on the cost of housing.

“Absolutely the rising cost of housing here in Colorado is a topic,” said Dena Schmaedecke, the hospital’s vice president of human resources. “Colleagues are often bringing up those stresses.”  at housing-cost factor has caused hospital leaders to o er a $10,000 housing stipend to incentivize new employees, Schmaedecke said.

In Brighton, northeast of Denver, Michael Clow, chief human resources o cer for 27J Schools, said the cost of housing has impacted the district’s ability to maintain and support sta .

“We hear from candidates and from our new hires that the cost of housing and their ability to nd housing is a real problem,” Clow said. “ We recently had two math teachers (husband and wife) join us. ey were excited to live their dream and move to Colorado. After just one year and realizing they could not a ord to raise a family here, they moved back to their home state.”

Clow said the crisis has restricted the district’s pool of applicants graduating with teaching degrees, creating intense competition for sta and teachers.

“ e cost of housing is becoming a serious obstacle for us to maintain service levels and serve our mission,” he said.

Farther north, in Fort Lupton, the Weld R-8

Orchard Crossing Apartments in Westminster is an a ordable housing community that also includes housing for people with vouchers. PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

SEE PRICES, P11

Imbolc: the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox

Ilove February, primarily because it is my birthday month, though I chafe about how it got short-changed in days. But given that it is often the coldest, most bone-chilling stretch of the year in the northern hemisphere, I do not mind cutting it short and rolling into March.

roughout the ancient world, the month of February was rich with tradition. Its name is derived from Februalia, which was the period set aside in ancient Rome for puri cation rituals. From that tradition, we have the celebration of the Puri cation of Mary, which came forty days after the Nativity in accordance with Mosaic Law, and the blessing of re — Candlemas — on Feb. 2.   ose sacred celebrations happily coincide with Imbolc, which marks the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. For many in the pagan tradition, Imbolc marks the rst day of spring.

It is striking how two disparate ancient cultures, Greek and Celtic, both correlated the sun and poetry (a decidedly right-brain process) with the creative process. At Imbolc, the crone gives way to the maiden in anticipation of giving birth, and

JERRY FABYANIC

young Apollo, god of the lyre, poetry, and intellect, rides his chariot in increasingly higher arcs across the rmament.

In the Celtic tradition, the goddess Brighid, who morphed into Ireland’s Saint Brigid, is prominent at Imbolc, which is known as Saint Brigid’s Day. As with Apollo, she is the deity of poetry. She is also the goddess of smithcraft and healing, making her a goddess of creativity and energy restoration. And like Apollo, she is a solar deity.

Columnist

On Mother Earth, little or nothing appears to be happening in terms of new life. But beneath her skin, roots are awakening, getting ready to grow and spread hair-like tentacles. Crocuses and tulips are awakening from hibernation. For those into gardening, this is the time for planting seeds in hothouses or solaria to incubate and then sprout as seedlings and mature su ciently in anticipation for their opportunity to bloom in the natural world.

Seeing that aspect of the natural cycle as a metaphor, February is the perfect time to re ect or meditate on what is happening underground in these northern climes and relate it to your ideas. Imbolc is an ideal time for imagining, a time to shake free of winter doldrums. Idea seeds lying dormant in your subconscious await to be brought into consciousness, into the visible, vibrant world.  ose idea seeds might be oating as inclinations, urges and gut feelings or may be moving past what you have said or thought you always wanted to do but for one reason or another delayed or postponed acting on. Perhaps you might want to use this time to begin planning a trip, painting a canvas, or writing. Or planting a garden, literally or metaphorically. Imbolc is a perfect time to allow those nascent ideas to germinate so they can then grow and manifest themselves.

When one ventures past planning a trip to actually making the journey, occasional forays on side trips of some sort are requisite. ey provide an opportunity for individuals to take a time-out, separate themselves from their tribe and setting, and be alone with themselves.

I recall two friends who trekked in two di erent ways. One set out with a plan that did not unfold as intended. Instead, it became a grand adventure into self-learning. Consequently, he returned with a deeper understanding and insight into himself and a clearer perspective about what to write about next. e other friend was quite sure about her reason for leaving. She simply felt the need to go. It took her out of her comfort zone, which is always a grand place to be, for that is where true learning and adventure takes place. e beauty is that both listened to and honored their inner selves. at is the spirit of Imbolc.

So do not dawdle until you see literal blossoms and green grass appearing. As the stock line goes, “Life is what happens when you’re planning.” Your task at Imbolc is to start on the underground, preparatory back work of future creations to ensure that when your project becomes truly visible to the world around you, it will appear with radiant and luscious beauty.

Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.

The Clear Creek Courant wants to publish your love story

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Calling all writers, poets and lovers: During the month of February the Clear Creek Courant is accepting submissions for the “I love you 100” column, which will feature readersubmitted stories of love in 100 words or less.

• Write a story about your love; could be a romantic partner, a friend, a passion etc. in 100 words or less.

• Be creative: feel free to include original poetry, lyrics or artwork in your submission.

• Send your story to olove@coloradocommunitymedia.com with the subject line “I love you 100”

• Include your name and city of residence. You may also include a photo or piece of art to accompany your story.

e goal of this project is to feature the authentic voices of Clear Creek County in a way that spreads love throughout the month of February.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Mailing

To

Columnists

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Courant.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please Include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

PHOTO

Time and permeability: meeting others on common ground

In my last column, I talked about complexity, the second in my ve-part series on our relationship with time, and how we respond to it.

is month let’s look at what happens when you move from complexity into permeability. When you become permeable, you’re heavily in uenced by the ideas of others, the world around you, and demands being made on you. You’re so saturated with what’s going on outside yourself you lose your sense of inner balance, become detached from your core, and your sense of wellbeing. You can feel isolated and likely have trouble discerning what’s working and not working in your life, which can lend to your feeling of a lack of con dence.

When it comes to decision-making, con dence isn’t something you acquire or make yourself do. It’s the result of knowing your self, having grace with limiting factors and setting strong boundaries.

Having too many projects, attending to everyone else’s needs, reading every social media meme about how to be the best, can contribute to your feelings confusion and defeat.

Here are a few ways I work with my clients so they are able to redirect their feelings of overwhelm:

Re-name confusion and call it “my options.” Confusion keeps you stuck and helpless, while having options just means there is more than one way to see your situation.

Relax and let yourself see the circumstances are unclear, not YOU.

Notice where and when your

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UNLEARN IT

sense of self returns as you reframe confusion and turn it into understanding your options.

Christine Kahane

Next, bring on your decision-making power by asking yourself some questions to help you discern what is most important to you now:

Which options serve your needs now and what can be moved to the mid-and long term?

What results are you seeking?

What will you achieve if you can bundle your options?

Which options are you ready to release for good?

What boundaries will you set in order to implement them?

Answering even some of these questions will begin to set you free from the information tsunami coming toward you.

Something marvelous will start to happen — you will feel more grounded and able to tackle what’s in front of you. Your sense of self will return — you’ll feel more sure of your direction. Now, you’re inhabiting your con dence.

Coach, and owner of KAHANE COACHING (www.kahanecoaching. com), located at 30792 Southview Drive/Suite 206 in Evergreen, CO. For more information about coaching, or to write-in a question for UNlearn it! send your inquiries to christine@ kahanecoaching.com.

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

• Submit your letter by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not be submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

School District has faced similar pressures. Superintendent Alan Kaylor said the annual salary for a rst-year teacher in the district is about $41,000.

Kaylor bought his home in 1995 for $72,000. He said a home across the street from his was recently listed at $685,000. e price of that house across the street rose more than four times faster than the pace of in ation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ in ation calculator.

“How can any family a ord that?” he asked. “Something has to give. After a while, you have to wonder how long people will tolerate living on teachers’ wages.”

Even for some residents making a larger income, housing remains elusive.

West of Denver, in Evergreen, husband and wife Bill and Charm Connelly bring in a combined sixgure salary.

Bill Connelly is an insurance agent and blackjack dealer for a Black Hawk casino. Charm is the front-house general manager for Cactus Jack’s, a bar and restaurant in Evergreen. e two rent a three-bedroom home and are struggling to save for a house. Even downsizing to something smaller, they said, would likely increase their spending by roughly $400 a month. e two currently pay $2,200 per month on rent.

“I feel like a failure. I nally get a good full-time job making great money, and eight years ago, 10 years ago, we could easily have gotten something,” Bill Connelly said.

“Between the two of us, I see what we make,” Charm said. “We are making decent money, but I want to be able to save money and not blow it all on rent.”

For Adam Galbraith, a Cactus Jack’s bartender, the only way to keep his rent a ordable is to live with others.

“ e only reason I’m able to save money is because it’s a 1,100-square-foot place and we crammed four people in it,” Galbraith said, adding monthly rent is about $1,500. “If you’ve got roommates, that’s the only way you’re going to save money.”

A housing ‘limbo’

Near the end of 2019, Laney, the Littleton bartender, was beginning to feel more con dent about reaching his goal for a down payment. He’d paid o his car and credit-card debt and said he “worked hard to keep it that way.”

His savings account was beginning to bulk up. en came COVID-19.

Years of careful saving and unyielding restraint on spending evaporated in months. Laney was forced to drain his savings account during the beginning of the pandemic amid lockdowns. He received nothing from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, though he would gain $3,200 from stimulus checks in the months to come. Still, he was hanging on.

It was “the community around Jake’s, our regulars, who kept us alive,” Laney said.

“I was there every single day, for damn near a year,” he said, with the bar able to do curbside orders even as its indoors remained shuttered.

Before the pandemic, Laney estimates he brought in about $4,000 each month before taxes. By the end of the month, after paying for rent, utilities, groceries and gas, he would be left with just $200 to $300, which usually went into his savings.

Living that way was “terrifying,” said Laney, who always felt he could be on the edge of losing his housing should he have a bad month. e pandemic only exacerbated the uncertainty.

As his savings depleted, Laney’s dream of owning a home never seemed further away.

But his resolve didn’t waver and he used what federal relief he had to rebuild his savings because, as he put it, “I had a goal: I wanted a house. When I came out of the tunnel I knew what I wanted.”

By 2021, he started looking again. A townhome might come up on the market — far from perfect, but within Laney’s means — and he would ready himself to put down an o er. It never was enough.

“Someone comes in and puts 20k cash on the

o er, or 30k or 40k,” Laney said. “I went through about a year and a half of that and I knew in my head I was not going to be able to get a house.”

A real-estate agent who came into his bar told Laney to apply for a $300,000 bank loan. He had good credit, the agent told him, and would be a shoo-in for the money.

“ ree hundred thousand dollars does not get you a townhome,” Laney thought to himself.

He was frustrated. More than frustrated. He felt depressed.

“I’d done everything right, everything I was supposed to do and it still didn’t matter,” he said. “I’m just stuck, like the hundreds of thousands of other people, in limbo.”

Laney’s luck began to turn near the end of 2021 when he heard there were about to be dozens of single-family homes for sale in Littleton for less than $300,000. He thought it was too good to be true.

‘We can’t all win the lottery’ at year, South Metro Housing Options, which manages a ordable properties throughout Littleton, sold 59 of its single-family homes to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, which pledged to renovate the units and sell them at a belowmarket price.

Laney’s hourly wage had slightly increased since the pandemic from $8 to $10, though 90% of his income still came from tips, he said. Still, Laney believed he met the nancial requirements for a Habitat home, which would only sell to people who earn no more than 80% of the area’s median income.

But when Laney applied to be on a waitlist at the beginning of 2022, he was quickly denied. He was told his income, roughly $56,000 when he applied, exceeded the cap by less than $1,000.

Laney said he was actually making less than that, about $54,000, but because Habitat counted his “unrealized interest gains,” such as money held in stocks, Laney was over the threshold.

Habitat was also only looking at the income of recent months, Laney said, rather than his income over the past year. is made it look like he made more than he did because his monthto-month income would uctuate dramatically based on tips.

He applied again and was denied again, this time for making just $300 more than the cut-o . But, a slow month at work turned out to be a good thing. His income dipped just enough that by the third time he applied he made it on the waitlist.

at did not come with the guarantee of a home. Laney was in a line of people just like him and demand far outweighed supply. Number 10 was his position. Who knew how many more were behind him, he thought. en it happened. Laney was made an o er, a 1,275-square-foot detached home near Ketring Park in central Littleton valued at $285,000, roughly a third of what similar properties sold for.

“I can’t even express how happy I was,” Laney said. “I’ve been living and serving this community for 10 years and I want to live here.”

Still, the program has some drawbacks compared to traditional homeownership. Laney cannot build as much equity as many of his neighbors because he does not own the property the home sits on. Instead, it is owned by something called a land trust — a collection of entities.

“ e beauty of the land trust is it removes the cost of the land from the equation from the cost of the home,” said Kate Hilberg, director of real estate development for Habitat for Humanity. “It allows the homeowners to pay on that mortgage for that home and improvements to that home but not the land.”

Land trusts are crucial tools organizations like Habitat use to lock in the a ordability of homes even as property values rise elsewhere. e owners of these units will see some equity from their homes, Hilberg said, about 2% each year. But it won’t be enough to match the likes of homeowners who have used their growing property values to build decades of generational wealth.

“A lot of families use this as a starter home option and they do gain enough equity and stability to turn that into a down payment on a home in the open market,” Hilberg said of homes under land trusts.

But fathoming a concept like equity is a luxury for those who still can’t buy a house on the market, Laney said.

While he’s thankful for what Habitat did for him, he fears the few dozen homes it manages in Littleton can only go so far to meet the demand of hundreds, if not thousands, of residents who have struggled as he has.

“ ere isn’t enough income-based housing for people … the people who live and work in this community can’t a ord a house,” Laney said. “We can’t all win the lottery.”

Colorado Community Reporters Andrew Fraieli, Steve Smith, Tayler Shaw and Ellis Arnold contributed reporting to this story.

The view of Lone Tree homes from Blu s Regional Park and Trail on Oct. 21, 2022.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

The di culties of using housing choice vouchers

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

About a year and a half ago, David Hernandez received a call from a number he did not recognize. When he called the number back, he heard news that would drastically change his housing situation.

“I was confused,” he said. “At rst I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ She’s like, ‘You got chose (from the) lottery, so we’d like to go forward with it.’”

At the time, Hernandez was living with his grandmother in Westminster. But then, after spending years unmoored, moving between states and staying with family members, Hernandez got approved for a voucher for government-subsidized housing.

“When I got it, it was a big relief,” he said. “It was so much stress that was taken o my conscience … It was kind of lifesaving, to be honest.” e news was a complete surprise to him. What Hernandez didn’t know is that it took ve years for that call to come. His aunt had signed him up for a housing choice voucher lottery at Maiker Housing Partners, the public housing authority in Adams County, without telling him. anks to her action, his unknowing patience, and, some would say, his luck, Hernandez became one of 2.3 million families and individuals in the United States to bene t from a housing choice voucher program, federally funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

Formerly, housing choice voucher programs were known as Section 8, but experts have widely replaced this language in an e ort to be more accurate about the type of rental assistance and to avoid the stigma the term carries with it.

Housing choice voucher programs, which are implemented by local authorities like Maiker, subsidize rent to help “very low-income families, the elderly and the disabled a ord decent, safe and sanitary housing,” according to HUD.

On one hand, vouchers make it possible for those without other options to have a roof over their heads. But, according to housing experts, the program is not a fast-track to housing for many people in need, as it faces a range of issues from lack of funding to scarcity of units.

Eligibility

Within housing choice voucher programs, vouchers may be earmarked by local authorities for different types of rental assistance.

For example, some public housing authorities o er vouchers speci cally for veterans or for families whose lack of adequate housing is the primary cause of the separation of a child from their family.

Another type is what HUD calls “project-based” vouchers. ese o er rental assistance that can only be used for speci c properties approved by the public housing authority. is is the type of voucher Hernandez received.

Hernandez said the voucher

helped him nancially, emotionally, physically and mentally, but being tied to one apartment complex has its downfalls. If he could choose, he said, he would rather live in a place with di erent management. In his complex, he feels like he and his neighbors are treated poorly, partially because they have low incomes.

But the most common type of housing choice voucher allows a recipient to choose where they want to live among properties in the private market. A HUD senior o cial told Colorado Community Media in a call that after 12 months, participants in the project-based voucher program can typically request to have this type of voucher, which is more open-ended.

Properties for a typical housing choice voucher must meet standards of health and safety before a tenant can move forward with a lease. In addition, public housing authorities review rents to ensure they are reasonable for the speci c housing market, according to HUD.

Families with vouchers generally pay 30%-40% of their monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, according to HUD. e public housing authority covers the rest.

In Colorado, landlords are required to accept housing choice vouchers and are not allowed to discriminate against rental applicants based on source of income, per a 2021 law.

e voucher approval process begins with an application, said Brenda Mascarenas, director of housing services and programs at Maiker.

“ e couple of things we look at under formal eligibility (are) background, income, and citizenship,” she said.

Generally, a household’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area. But most vouchers go to applicants with incomes much lower than that. By law, a public housing authority must provide three quarters of its vouchers to applicants

whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the area median income, according to HUD.

In Adams and Arapahoe counties, a single person who earned no more than $41,050 was eligible for a housing choice voucher in 2022, according to Maiker and South Metro Housing Options, a public housing authority in Littleton.

Wait times and lotteries

Unfortunately, the likelihood of getting a voucher is not solely dependent on whether a person is eligible.

Because of lack of funding for the program, HUD acknowledges “long waiting periods are common.” e o cial with HUD, speaking generally about the department, told Colorado Community Media that for households that receive a voucher, the average wait time is 28 months.

e o cial noted that this number only includes people who actually receive a voucher, so the true average wait time is likely signi cantly longer.

Some public housing authorities use a lottery system to select voucher recipients. At Maiker, Mascarenas said the team aims to open their lottery pool every other year, meaning applicants could wait up to two years if they are selected from the lottery their rst time. If not, they might wait through several cycles.

At South Metro Housing Options, the voucher waitlist was last open in 2012, Executive Director Corey Reitz said. ey anticipate it opening again this year, more than 11 years later.

ese long wait times are not unique. Only two housing agencies among the 50 largest in the U.S. have average wait times of under one year for families that make it o of wait lists for vouchers, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute based in Washington, D.C.

To Hernandez’s bene t, he wasn’t aware he was waiting for his voucher. He said it would have been chal-

lenging to be in “limbo” for so long.

“If I would have known I’d have to wait ve years for that, I probably personally wouldn’t have done it,” he said.

Peter LiFari, executive director at Maiker,  attributes long waitlists at public housing authorities to lack of federal funding and a massive demand for housing vouchers.

“It’s a program designed to exist in scarcity, which is really disappointing,” he said. “I get emails every day, basically from folks (saying) ‘How do I sign up?’ and ‘I’m homeless and I’ve never asked for help before and I’m ready now,’ and it’s like, unfortunately we don’t we don’t have the vouchers to be able to meet the need.”

Because of limited funding for HUD, designated by Congress each year, only 1 in 4 households eligible for a housing voucher receive any federal rental assistance, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

e HUD o cial interviewed by CCM agreed that a main shortcoming of the program is that there are not enough vouchers. e o cial said rental assistance programs are an outlier compared to other federal safety net programs in that many people qualify but do not receive the support.

e o cial attributed the lack of funding to the fact that the voucher program was created in the 1970s, after other programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were already underway.

Congress increased funding into the voucher program throughout the pandemic, but the funding generally went to special populations as opposed to the entire program, LiFari said. e American Rescue Plan Act, for example, provided 70,000 emergency vouchers to assist individuals in violent, dangerous or homeless situations. Mascarenas said Maiker received 46 vouchers from the funding.

Last year, the Biden administration awarded more than 19,000 housing choice vouchers to more than 2,000 public housing authorities. Twentynine of the authorities are in Colorado, including agencies in Adams County, Je erson County, Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Englewood and Arvada.

But even with the extra funding, housing authority employees say it is challenging to keep up with the demand.

“One of the challenges with any … new sources of funding to support housing, it’s still administering the money and the funds and the vouchers,” said Reitz from South Metro. “So we still need sta to do so. And we’re no di erent than most other agencies or industries right now in terms of sta ng, so that’s a challenge.”

e demand for vouchers in Adams County is higher than Mascarenas has ever seen.

“I’ve been with Maiker for 30 years

Next to his kitchen, David Hernandez has a DJ setup where he likes to mix music for fun.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

VOUCHERS

and I’ve never seen the market in such a bad condition,” she said. “I’ve never seen the need grow so great.”

Maiker has about 1,625 housing choice vouchers to distribute in Adams County. In July 2022, the last time their lottery was open for applications, over 3,500 people applied.

“Even two-parent households are still nding it very di cult to make ends meet with two incomes coming into the home,” Mascarenas said.

She attributed part of the higher demand to the pandemic, which impacted many workers and families.

Another theory comes from Reitz, who said higher demand could be because salaries and wages have not kept up with rising housing costs.

Unit scarcity

In addition to the lack of funding, LiFari said the lack of physical hous-

ing supply is a detriment to the function of housing voucher program.

“We just don’t have enough units,” he said. “We don’t even have enough housing to support folks that are above the poverty line … because we just abandoned building for one another.”

e lack of units creates scarcity in the housing market, LiFari said. With high demand, competition and rents increase across the region.

As a result, “lower-income Coloradans are left on the outside looking in,” he said.

“ e program can’t run unless there’s houses and units where people live, right?” he said. “So, without that, we’re just creating this ‘Hunger Games’ construct.”

After being chosen for a voucher, the competition begins. People have about two months to nd a home to rent and sign the lease. But that’s not enough time for many folks to nd homes and Maracenas elds many requests for extensions for as many

as four more months.

Even with these extensions, LiFari said the highly competitive market presents a challenging dynamic for people to nd vacant units within the time frame. Part of this is because renters must be approved for leases by landlords and there are many barriers that can work against voucher holders – from the potential for discrimination to criminal records

Is it a solution?

In LiFari’s eyes, the housing choice voucher program “only exists as medicine for a misdiagnosed illness.”

Although it certainly makes a di erence in combating homelessness, he said American society and government need to focus more on the root of the problem.

“ e program is a function of how we value people and how we value where they live,” he said. “We refuse to address the root cause of the illness because then we have to view

how we view poverty.”

For Hernandez, viewing poverty realistically is important.

“Believe me — a lot of people don’t want to be depending on the government,” Hernandez said. “But at the same time, they need (vouchers) because it’s crazy out there.”

Although the housing choice voucher program is not perfect, LiFari said it still makes an impact.

“We have no other way that reaches the scale and has the complexity to be able to address individual housing markets, to drive housing stability and stave o extreme poverty and homelessness than this program,” he said.

And on top of that, Hernandez said it makes an important di erence in people’s spirits.

“It’s good for people to get (themselves) on the right track,” he said.

“It’s a good thing to get your sense of, you know, you’re involved in society, you’re part of something.”

David Hernandez pays government-subsidized rent for his one-bedroom apartment, where he lives with his dog, Dojah.

PHOTOS BY ANDREW FRAIELI

David Hernandez’s “project-based voucher” is tied to this apartment complex in Westminster.

Homelessness is a series of trapdoors and obstacles

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AND OLIVIA LOVE COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Jonathan Townshend Garner spent nine sleepless nights in 2017 covered in snow staring up at the bottom of a frozen overpass in Aurora. Just a few short months before, the 35-year-old was planning to purchase a condo with his girlfriend.

He never expected that a breakup would send him down a series of increasingly di cult trapdoors — without housing or insurance, each door became harder to climb through. Because of those cold nights in 2017, Garner even lost his legs.

What led Garner to homelessness is not unique. As homeless rates continue to climb in this country for people in many di erent situations, the causes can range from one lost paycheck to addiction or mental health issues with no money to support treatment.

In Garner’s case, he was in a stable housing situation that was reliant on two incomes. e loss of a girlfriend meant the loss of a second, necessary paycheck.

“I’m all of a sudden in a situation where I’ve lost half my income in regards to what’s going towards payments,” Garner said.

Homelessness a ects many types of people. It also comes in all forms from living on the streets to couch sur ng or sleeping in a car. Common among all situations that have forced someone into homelessness is the world around them not being designed to help.

According to HUD fair market rent data, rent for a studio apartment in the metro area has increased by more than $300 per month since 2019, but minimum wages have only increased by about $2.50 an hour — increasing the percent of wages needed to be put towards housing from 54 to almost 60%.

e National Low Income Housing Coalition — a nonpro t that aims to end the a ordable housing crisis through policy and data research — deems housing costing more than 30% of wages spent on rent and utilities as una ordable, placing workers at risk for homelessness.

is lack of a ordable housing acts doubly as a factor for becoming homeless and a barrier from escaping it.

Unable to deal with the breakup and loss of income, Garner said it triggered a dormant alcohol addiction.

“As soon as she left, I started drinking again too, which was probably one of the worst decisions that I made,” he said. “And I’m a hell of a drinker. It took me no time before I was drinking before work every day.”

His addiction became another trapdoor. He was evicted from his home as his costly addiction grew, losing his job within a few months, and he continued falling until he landed on the streets.

In 2017, he found himself buried by snowdrifts, numbed to the elements by frostbite and an empty bottle.

Over the next three and a half months, he was in an ICU burn unit, where his legs were amputated for frostbite. What happened to land him there remains a blur, with Garner saying he was just lost in a blizzard of snow and substance abuse.

Garner had not looked for a shelter because he felt he deserved what he was experiencing on the street, his addiction giving him too much bluster to ask for help.

“And so when things have gotten so bad for me, I was like, ‘I guess that’s where you go when you’re at this place,’” Garner said.

But from Aurora to Lakewood, many who look for shelter have a hard time nding it — especially in winter.

The stick and carrot of winter shelter

“Police show up to tell you to leave, but don’t have an answer as to where we can go,” said Marshall Moody, who experienced homelessness in Lakewood over the summer.

He wasn’t hunting for winter shelter, but acknowledging how there were no shelter options in Lakewood, and describing how he felt harassed by police telling him to move along.

In Aurora, one of the only overnight shelter spaces is the Comitis Crisis Center.

“Comitis has, what, 30 beds?

I’m sure there’s easily 200 homeless people in Aurora. Easily,” said Jason, 40, who declined to give his last name, pointing out the lack of shelter options.

Jason has been homeless since 2019, falling on hard times after breaking his back and not having the ability to a ord medical care.

Anna Miller, director of business development and public relations at Mile High Behavioral Healthcare

— which Comitis Crisis Center falls under — has said before that the center has an outreach team that goes out every day working with the

city and police department to inform people on the streets about available resources. e organization was supportive of Aurora’s camping ban passed last summer.

But like the ban, these opinions are from the summer.

During the winter, many more people experiencing homelessness look for indoor shelter due to low temperatures, snow, rain and windchills causing regular, local shelters to ll up fast.  is is where short-term emergency weather shelters come in.

For much of the metro area, the “extreme weather” needed to open these emergency shelters — which vary from the Severe Weather Shelter Network across Je erson County that uses a network of churches, to opening some day-only centers for overnight stays — requires the temperature to be freezing or below with moisture, and 20 degrees or below without moisture.

In Denver, the required cuto is 10 degrees or six inches of snow — though, according to Sabrina Allie, the communications and engagement director for the Department of Housing Stability — or HOST — in Denver, the city council has asked the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, which created the cuto , to revisit these regulations.

e issue is that cold-weather injuries like frostbite and hypothermia can set in as high as 45 degrees depending on wind and moisture. is is according to doctors from Denver Health and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which sent a joint letter to HOST and DDPHE asking the city to raise their cuto .

“Hypothermia and frostbite may develop in minutes and often occur in the setting of risk factors for heat loss or decreased heat production including pre-existing medical conditions, exhaustion, dehydration, substance use and malnutrition,

all of which are common among people experiencing homelessness,” doctors said in the letter.

Some see winter shelter as a carrot-and-stick situation though, requiring the cuto to not be too comfortable for those experiencing homelessness.

“We do not want to enable, we want to empower,” said Lynn Ann Huizingh, executive director of development at Je erson County’s Severe Weather Shelter Network. “We do the best we can to provide some good relational development, but we also want to encourage people to pursue answers that would lead them o the street, and if they get too comfortable, they just don’t have any reason to try and pursue anything else.”

However, at all times, the goal is to keep people from freezing to death, Huizingh added.

Aurora’s policy, according to Emma Knight, manager of homelessness for the city’s Division of Housing and Community Services, is to open emergency cold-weather shelters at 32 degrees during wet weather, and 20 degrees otherwise.

In Garner’s case, freezing to death almost became a reality. Instead, he left the hospital as a double amputee — disabled, homeless, and penniless.

“And I wish I could have said that that was my rock bottom as well. But it wasn’t,” Garner said.

Police interactions and laws against homelessness

Over the next nine months, Garner continued drinking and using drugs while trying to condition himself to his surroundings.

“ ere isn’t a rock bottom, there isn’t some stable ground that you hit. It is a series of trapdoors that gets progressively lower on to in nity,” Garner said.

Some of these trapdoors take the shape of police interactions and the possibility of jail time due to criminalization of homelessness. In the summer of 2022, Aurora passed a camping ban, following in the footsteps of Denver, which passed a similar measure a decade ago.

“Can’t camp, but you have only one shelter in the city of Aurora,” Jason said, referring to the Comitis Crisis Center. “ e camping ban doesn’t mean we can’t be outside — that’s really the main point — the camping ban means we can’t be safe outside.”

Terese Howard, homeless advocate and founder of Housekeys Action Network Denver, said these bans just push people around, possibly into more dangerous and secluded areas if they don’t just move a block away from where they were before.

Police harassment often comes out of these laws as well, Howard said. O cers will tell people experiencing homelessness to “move along” without o ering alternatives, according to Howard.

Denver’s camping ban speci es “shelter” to include “blankets, or any

Jonathan Townshend Garner, 35, lost his legs to frostbite after spending days covered in snow while homeless..

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

HOMELESSESS

form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.”

“ ere’s this illusion that you need this stick to connect people to services,” Howard said. “ at’s a lie, it doesn’t work. You can just look back at the last 10 years of Denver to see the reality of that lie. It’s meant, rst and foremost, to push people out of sight, out of mind.”

According to one national study from 2013, criminalization can create a cycle of incarceration that perpetuates itself.

Noting a loop of jail time and homelessness, the report says: “Incarceration has been noted to increase the risk of homelessness” as it can weaken community ties, limit employment opportunities and make it more di cult to get public housing.

“ is bidirectional association between homelessness and incarceration may result in a certain amount of cycling between public psychiatric hospitals, jails and prisons, and homeless shelters or the street,” the report concludes.

A homeless count across the metro area

Nationwide, at the start of every year, a count is taken to try and estimate the unsheltered homeless population.

At the same time, a count is made of people who have stayed in a participating shelter at some point across the country. ese counts are run by HUD through volunteering shelters and local governments.

In the 2022 point-in-time count across Je erson, Broom eld, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Denver counties, there were nearly 2,000

people living unsheltered, and just over 3,000 in emergency shelters.

According to the data, most of the homeless population is in Denver.

HUD’s de nition of homelessness includes those who are in imminent risk of losing their housing. However, the annual report does not include that data or consider people who are couch sur ng, or temporarily living at a friend or family member’s home.

Jason had been working, but with a broken back, he could no longer work or a ord needed medical care.

Like Garner, Jason requires a wheelchair to get around, which creates another level of di culties for those experiencing homelessness.

The cost of a disability

One day in the spring of 2018, Garner’s wheelchair got caught in some weeds in a eld. He spent hours there, yelling for help, until a couple happened upon him.

e couple befriended Garner, brought him some basic necessities, and got him into a detox facility. After a few stints, Garner has now been sober for more than four years.

“But the patience that these strangers showed me was something that was unbelievable to me,” Garner said. “I will never forget before they took me in the third time telling them: ‘Well, what if I just do this again? You know, what if I, what if you take me to this detox, you come pick me up, and I just start drinking again?’”

Garner said the couple told him they would keep trying. Services like detox are di cult to use for people with addictions and mental health issues, as they often have no support system to encourage them to go, as well as there often being little state

P16

Jonathan Townshend Garner hosts an open mic night at Cactus Jack’s Saloon in Evergreen where he also performs.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

support.

In 2019, a study showed that about 20% of all Americans were a ected by mental illness in the past year. According to e National Coalition for Homelessness the general e ects of various mental illnesses “disrupt people’s ability to carry out essential aspects of daily life,” as well as make social bonds.

“ is often results in pushing away caregivers, family, and friends who may be the force keeping that person from becoming homeless,” the report elaborated.

But the couple that helped Garner in that eld became his support, hosting him until they fell on hard times and divorced.

Eventually, Garner’s friend helped him get a studio apartment in Evergreen, helping to pay rent for the rst three months.

“So I stayed those rst three months and realized I didn’t want to leave,” Garner said.

Garner said without his friend helping with rst and last month’s rent and more in those rst three months, he wouldn’t have been able to a ord it. After the rst three months, Garner continued to stay in the apartment, getting help from friends. He got what he needed, he said, but it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t how he wanted to live.

“I come from the salt of the earth, blue collar, working folk, you know, and really, at the bottom line, I’m just trying to work in any way I can,” he said. “All I’m trying to do is pro-

The housing and wage gap

Part of this di culty, especially in Evergreen, is the gap between wages and housing costs.  is lack of a ordable housing acts doubly as a factor for becoming homeless and a barrier from escaping it.

Adam Galbraith works as a bartender at Cactus Jack’s in Evergreen. He said the only reason he can save money at all is because his 1,100-square-foot apartment has four people in it.

“If you’ve got roommates, that’s the only way you’re going to save money,” he said. It’s also the only reason he can live in Evergreen,

lower than it could be at $1,500, “so locals would rent it.” Others he knows have seen their landlord sell the property and give them two months to get out — he’s had it happen to himself twice.

Evergreen isn’t really the place to perform hip hop on the corner, but Garner had a background in performance and music — participating in rap battles and the underground scene in his younger years under his stage name, LaKryth. After practicing, studying and preparing, he took to the streets with his guitar, not in his wheelchair, but instead standing on prosthetic legs.

“I’m a pretty damn good musician, you know, and I can sing pretty

damn good too, but I’m not going to pretend like I’m oblivious to the fact that my disability and my prosthetics aren’t a contributing factor to the response that I’ve made in the community,” Garner said.

After getting attention on social media, he began to book more gigs, participate in rap battles, and through participating in Colorado Community Media’s housing series panel discussion, met the owner of Cactus Jack’s Saloon, where he is now host of the weekly open-mic night.

He said he can’t work a job “on paper,” and he still faces struggles with his health and well-being. Garner has a roof over his head and food to eat. He says that’s all he can ask for.

Jonathan Townshend Garner describes the housing crisis as a series of trapdoors.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

Weather and gas prices causing higher utility bills

BY JOSHUA PERRY AND MARK JAFFE THE COLORADO SUN

e spiking energy bills a ecting many Coloradans are caused by colder weather and higher gas prices — factors over which neither regulators nor utilities have control, the Colorado Public Utility Commission reported Wednesday.

Xcel Energy utility bills were on average 52%, or $87, higher in December than they were a year earlier, although some consumers saw their bills double, PUC Chief Economist Erin O’Neill told commissioners in a brie ng.

Commissioner John Gavan said he was struck by the magnitude of the costs and the nancial pressure they are exerting on Coloradans.

“I can’t remember seeing this level of pain in the consumer community since the 1970s and the gas crisis, which I’m old enough to remember,” he said. “So I take this very seriously.”

e rising utility bills follow the approval by the commission of six electricity and gas rate hikes, several allowing for increases due to rising natural gas prices, that have spurred a near-record number of low-in-

come consumers to seek nancial aid to pay their bills.

e state-run Low-income Energy Assistance Plan has received nearly 90,000 requests for bill relief, as of Tuesday, compared with 80,000 for the same period last winter, and has issued $25 million in payments. Energy Outreach Colorado, a nonpro t that helps people with their bills, received 44,000 calls to its HEAT helpline in January.

“ is is an unprecedented number,” said Denise Stepto, a spokeswoman for the nonpro t. “Is it sustainable from month to month? ere is a lot of pressure to do something.”

e average temperature in December was about 10 degrees colder than it was in December 2021, O’Neill said, and that means more energy was being consumed to keep homes warm. Additionally, commodity prices for natural gas have increased substantially — 40% higher than last year — which is a cost that utility companies pass directly to consumers. Smart meters, recent investments in solar and wind energy, and time-of-use rates for

SEE UTILITIES, P23

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ

©

TRIVIA

2. MOVIES: What is the material used in Captain America’s shield?

3. MUSIC: Who wrote the lyrics to the 1961 “West Side Story” movie?

4. SCIENCE: Which color has the longest wavelength?

5. HISTORY: When did the United States outlaw child labor?

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Solution

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of butter ies called?

Answers

1. Japan.

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3. Stephen Sondheim.

4. Red.

5. 1938.

6. Calista Flockhart.

7. Arby’s.

8. Chicago.

9. e rabbit.

10. A kaleidoscope.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

NOW HERE’S A TIP

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* “To stretch your food dollar -- especially now that the weather is colder, and soups and stews are daily fare -- substitute peas, beans and lentils for meats whenever possible. Not only will this semi-vegetarian diet keep your food dollars down, it will make you healthier and it’s a more eco-friendly diet.” -- K.F. in Connecticut

* If you add dried fruit or raisins to your batter for cakes or mu ns, roll them or shake them in our rst. is will prevent them from sinking down to the bottom of the pan.

* Bathroom fan reminder: When you leave your

bathroom fan running excessively, you are pumping heat out of your house. Set a timer for 10 minutes maximum, and then turn it o .

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* If your bathtub has a grainy or rough texture, try soaking the bath in vinegar, either by adding a large bottle to some water and plugging it up, or by laying down a towel and soaking it in vinegar. Scrub and remove.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Public

Legals

TO WHICH THE SALE IS CONTINUED;

●A NOTICE OF INTENT TO REDEEM FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 38-38-302 SHALL BE FILED WITH THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE NO LATER THAN EIGHT (8) BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE SALE;

● IF THE SALE DATE IS CONTINUED TO A LATER DATE, THE DEADLINE TO FILE A NOTICE OF INTENT TO CURE BY THOSE PARTIES ENTITLED TO CURE MAY ALSO BE EXTENDED;

● IF THE BORROWER BELIEVES THAT A LENDER OR SERVICER HAS VIOLATED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT IN SECTION 38-38-103.1 OR THE PROHIBITION ON DUAL TRACKING IN SECTION 38-38-103.2, THE BORROWER MAY FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE FEDERAL CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB), OR BOTH. THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT WILL NOT STOP THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS.

Colorado Attorney General 1300 Broadway, 10th Floor Denver, Colorado 80203 (800) 222-4444 www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov

DATE: 11/08/2022

Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau P.O. Box 4503 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 (855) 411-2372 www.consumerfinance.gov

Carol Lee, Public Trustee in and for the County of Clear Creek, State of Colorado

Carol Lee

By: Carol Lee, Public Trustee

NORTH 89 DEGREES 59 MINUTES 21 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 1119.40 FEET TO LINE 1-2 OF THE INDEPENDENCE LODE, M.S. NO. 19301; THENCE NORTH 58 DEGREES 45 MINUTES 49 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF134.24 FEET TO CORNER NO. 1 OF SAID INDEPENDENCE LODE; THENCE NORTH 31 DEGREES 23 MINUTES 24 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF150.74 FEET TO CORNER NO. 4 OF SAID INDEPENDENCE LODE; THENCE SOUTH 58 DEGREES 44 MINUTES 50 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF224.81 FEET TO THE INTERSECTION OF LINE1-2 OF THE DUCK LODE, M.S. NO. 17060; THENCE NORTH 43 DEGREES 58 MINUTES 22 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF556.21 FEET TO CORNER NO. 8 OF SAID HAPPY THOUGHT PLACER; THENCE NORTH 54 DEGREES 00 MINUTES 45 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF912.38 FEET TO CORNER NO. 9 OF SAID HAPPY THOUGHT PLACER; THENCE SOUTH 72 DEGREES 37 MINUTES 18 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF518.71 FEET TO CORNER NO. 10 OF SAID HAPPY THOUGHT PLACER; THENCE NORTH 00 DEGREES 1 MINUTES 23 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF456.96 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING.

PARCEL B:

THOSE EASEMENT RIGHTS CREATED BY INSTRUMENT RECORDED MAY17, 1996 IN BOOK 537 AT PAGE138.

Also known by street and number as: 394 PICTURE MOUNTAIN WAY, DUMONT, CO 80436.

THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN IS ALL OF THE PROPERTY CURRENTLY ENCUMBERED BY THE LIEN OF THE DEED OF TRUST.

NOTICE OF SALE

payments provided for in the evidence of debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

THE NORTH 34 FEET OF LOTS 1 AND 2, THE NORTH 40 FEET OF LOT 3, BLOCK 38, CITY OF IDAHO SPRINGS, COUNTY OF CLEAR CREEK, STATE OF COLORADO.

**The legal description was corrected by an Affidavit of Correction recorded08/16/2022 at Reception No. 306844 in the records of the Clear Creek county clerk and recorder, State of Colorado

Also known by street and number as:

319 13th Ave, Idaho Springs, CO 80452.

THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN IS ALL OF THE PROPERTY CURRENTLY ENCUMBERED BY THE LIEN OF THE DEED OF TRUST.

If applicable, a description of any changes to the deed of trust described in the notice of election and demand pursuant to affidavit as allowed by statutes:

**The legal description was corrected by an Affidavit of Correction recorded 8/16/2022 at Reception No. 306844 in the records of the Clear Creek county clerk and recorder, State of Colorado.

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, described herein, has filed Notice of Election and Demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that I will at public auction, at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, 03/09/2023, at The Clear Creek County Public Trustee’s Office, 405 Argentine Street, Georgetown, Colorado, sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of the said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will issue to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law.

Legal Notice No. CCC489

First Publication 1/12/2023

Last Publication 2/9/2023

Name of Publication The Clear Creek Courant

NOTICE OF RIGHTS

YOU MAY HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE REAL PROPERTY BEING FORECLOSED, OR HAVE CERTAIN RIGHTS OR SUFFER CERTAIN LIABILITIES PURSUANT TO COLORADO STATUTES AS A RESULT OF SAID FORECLOSURE.

YOU MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO REDEEM SAID REAL PROPERTY OR YOU MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CURE A DEFAULT UNDER THE DEED OF TRUST BEING FORECLOSED. A COPY OF SAID STATUTES, AS SUCH STATUTES ARE PRESENTLY CONSTITUTED, WHICH MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS SHALL BE SENT WITH ALL MAILED COPIES OF THIS NOTICE. HOWEVER, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE DETERMINED BY PREVIOUS STATUTES.

The name, address, business telephone number and bar registration number of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: Amanda Ferguson #44893 Halliday, Watkins & Mann, P.C. 355 Union Blvd., Suite 250, Lakewood, CO 80228 (303) 274-0155

Attorney File # CO11881

The Attorney above is acting as a debt collector and is attempting to collect a debt. Any information provided may be used for that purpose.

COMBINED NOTICE - PUBLICATION CRS §38-38-103 FORECLOSURE SALE NO. 2022-011

To Whom It May Concern: This Notice is given with regard to the following described Deed of Trust:

On November 7, 2022, the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in the County of Clear Creek records.

Original Grantor(s) CHRISTOPHER D. SLAVENS Original Beneficiary(ies) MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. ACTING SOLELY AS NOMINEE FOR QUICKEN LOANS INC.

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS INC.

Date of Deed of Trust November 04, 2013 County of Recording Clear Creek Recording Date of Deed of Trust November 13, 2013 Recording Information (Reception No. and/or Book/Page No.) 270679 Book: 878 Page: 690-706

Original Principal Amount

$208,725.00

Outstanding Principal Balance

$176,131.77

Pursuant to CRS §38-38-101(4)(i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations of the terms thereof

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

LAND SITUATED IN THE COUNTY OF CLEAR

CREEK IN THE STATE OF CO

PARCEL A: A TRACT OF LAND BEING COMPRISED OF GOVERNMENT LOTS33 AND 34 IN SECTION 19, TOWNSHIP 3 SOUTH, RANGE 73 WEST OF THE 6TH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, COUNTY OF CLEAR CREEK, STATE OF COLORADO, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:

BEGINNING AT A POINT AT THE INTERSECTION OF LINE1-10 OF THE HAPPY THOUGHT

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, described herein, has filed Notice of Election and Demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that I will at public auction, at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, 03/09/2023, at The Clear Creek County Public Trustee’s Office, 405 Argentine Street, Georgetown, Colorado, sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of the said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will issue to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law.

Legal Notice No. CCC488

First Publication1/12/2023

Last Publication2/9/2023

Name of PublicationThe Clear Creek Courant NOTICE OF RIGHTS

YOU MAY HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE REAL PROPERTY BEING FORECLOSED, OR HAVE CERTAIN RIGHTS OR SUFFER CERTAIN LIABILITIES PURSUANT TO COLORADO STATUTES AS A RESULT OF SAID FORECLOSURE.

YOU MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO REDEEM SAID REAL PROPERTY OR YOU MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CURE A DEFAULT UNDER THE DEED OF TRUST BEING FORECLOSED. A COPY OF SAID STATUTES, AS SUCH STATUTES ARE PRESENTLY CONSTITUTED, WHICH MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS SHALL BE SENT WITH ALL MAILED COPIES OF THIS NOTICE. HOWEVER, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE DETERMINED BY PREVIOUS STATUTES.

● A NOTICE OF INTENT TO CURE FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 38-38-104 SHALL BE FILED WITH THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE AT LEAST FIFTEEN (15) CALENDAR DAYS PRIOR TO THE FIRST SCHEDULED SALE DATE OR ANY DATE TO WHICH THE SALE IS CONTINUED;

●A NOTICE OF INTENT TO REDEEM FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 38-38-302 SHALL BE FILED WITH THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE NO LATER THAN EIGHT (8) BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE SALE;

● IF THE SALE DATE IS CONTINUED TO A LATER DATE, THE DEADLINE TO FILE A NOTICE OF INTENT TO CURE BY THOSE PARTIES ENTITLED TO CURE MAY ALSO BE EXTENDED;

● IF THE BORROWER BELIEVES THAT A LENDER OR SERVICER HAS VIOLATED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT IN SECTION 38-38-103.1 OR THE PROHIBITION ON DUAL TRACKING IN SECTION 38-38-103.2, THE BORROWER MAY FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE FEDERAL CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB), OR BOTH. THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT WILL NOT STOP THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS.

10th Floor Denver, Colorado 80203 (800) 222-4444

Clear Creek, State of Colorado

Carol Lee

By: Carol Lee, Public Trustee

The name, address, business telephone number and bar registration number of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: Anna Johnston, Esq. #51978 Barrett Frappier & Weisserman, LLP 1391 Speer Boulevard, Suite 700, Denver, CO 80204 (303) 350-3711

Attorney File # 00000009630898

The Attorney above is acting as a debt collector and is attempting to collect a debt. Any information provided may be used for that purpose.

COMBINED NOTICE - PUBLICATION CRS §38-38-103 FORECLOSURE

SALE NO. 2022-014

To Whom It May Concern: This Notice is given with regard to the following described Deed of Trust:

On November 23, 2022, the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in the County of Clear Creek records.

Original Grantor(s)

Drew J. O’Brien

Original Beneficiary(ies)

MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION

SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR GMAC

MORTGAGE CORPORATION, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON Trust Company, National Association fka The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, as Indenture Trustee for Residential Asset Mortgage Products, Inc., GMACM Mortgage Loan Trust 2003-GH2

Date of Deed of Trust

January 30, 2002 County of Recording Clear Creek

Recording Date of Deed of Trust

February 05, 2002

Recording Information (Reception No. and/or Book/Page No.)

211269 Book: 634 Page: 330

Original Principal Amount

$199,285.00

Outstanding Principal Balance

$107,156.89

Pursuant to CRS §38-38-101(4)(i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the evidence of debt secured by the deed of trust and other violations thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

LOTS 9 AND 10, BLOCK 6, BLUE VALLEY ACRES- UNIT 1, COMBINED BY AGREEMENT RECORDED SEPTEMBER 6, 1989, IN BOOK 470, PAGE 631, COUNTY OF CLEAR CREEK, STATE OF COLORADO.

Also known by street and number as: 1645 LITTLE BEAR CREEK RD, IDAHO SPRINGS, CO 80452.

THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN IS ALL OF THE PROPERTY CURRENTLY ENCUMBERED BY THE LIEN OF THE DEED OF TRUST.

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, described herein, has filed Notice of Election and Demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that I will at public auction, at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, 03/23/2023, at The Clear Creek County Public Trustee’s Office, 405 Argentine Street, Georgetown, Colorado, sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of the said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will issue to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law.

Legal Notice No. CCC500

First Publication1/26/2023

Last Publication2/23/2023

Name of PublicationThe Clear Creek Courant

DATE: 11/23/2022

Carol Lee, Public Trustee in and for the County of Clear Creek, State of Colorado By: Carol Lee, Public Trustee

The name, address, business telephone number and bar registration number of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

Town of Silver Plume ORDINANCE NO. 350

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 349 ADOPTED ON NOVEMBER 14, 2022 BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF SILVER PLUME, COLORADO CONCERNING THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL OF RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES WITHIN THE TOWN OF SILVER PLUME, TO AMEND SECTION 3(a) REGARDING THE DEFINITION OF THE INITIAL APPLICATION DEADLINE

WHEREAS, the Town of Silver Plume (the “Town”) is a home rule municipal corporation created and organized pursuant to Article 20 of the Colorado Constitution and the Home Rule Charter of the Town of Silver Plume; and

WHEREAS, on July 11, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the Town adopted Ordinance 348 concerning the short-term rental of residential structures within the Town of Silver Plume; and

WHEREAS, on November 14, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the Town adopted Ordinance 349 which amended Ordinance 348 with respect to Section 3(a) concerning the definition of the “initial application deadline” and Section 6(±) concerning the time period for the Short-Term Rental Administrator to issue or deny a license; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Town has determined that an amendment to Ordinance 349 is necessary with respect to Section 3(a) concerning the definition of the “initial application deadline” to submit an application for a short-term rental license, as more fully set forth below; and

WHEREAS, Ordinance 310, Section 4 of the Town provides for expedited procedures to adopt an ordinance if it is necessary to the immediate protection of the public health and safety, and, in such instance, to adopt the ordinance at the same meeting of the Town Board during which it is introduced upon proper notice; and

WHEREAS, proper notice was provided of the proposed amendment to Ordinance 349 as more fully set forth below and a reasonable opportunity has been afforded to all persons attending the meeting to ask questions about or comment on the proposed amendment to Ordinance 349; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees finds that the proposed amendment to Ordinance 349 is necessary to the immediate protection of the public health and safety. The Board of Trustees finds, determines, and declares that the amendment is necessary to preserve and protect the health, welfare, safety, and economic well-being of the Town and its citizens, and to facilitate the administration of the Ordinance for the welfare and economic well-being of the Town and its citizens. The Board of Trustees further determines that the adoption of the proposed amendment to Ordinance 349 is in the best interests of the citizens of the Town. This Ordinance amending Ordinance 349 shall be effective upon adoption; and NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF SILVER PLUME, COLORADO:

Section 3. (a) under “Definitions” is amended and replaced in its entirety to read:

(a) “Initial application deadline” means March 31, 2023.

INTRODUCED, ADOPTED, AND ORDERED PUBLISHED by the Board of Trustees of the Town of Silver Plume, Colorado on the 23rd day of January, 2023.

Town of Silver Plume, Colorado

Legal Notice No. CCC533

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Clear Creek Courant

Metropolitan Districts

Public Notice

A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly, to the electors of the Chicago Creek Sanitation District of Clear Creek County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an election will be held on the 2nd day of May 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, 2 directors will be elected to serve 4-year terms. Eligible electors of the Chicago Creek Sanitation District interested in serving on the board of directors may obtain a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form from the District Designated Election Official (DEO): Sheri Karner, ccsd_103@yahoo.com, 303-567-2855

The Office of the DEO is open on the following days: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The deadline to submit a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form is close of business on Friday, February 24, 2023.

UTILITIES

electricity customers are not signicantly impacting bill hikes, O’Neill said.

“We share the commission’s concerns and appreciate their e orts to provide greater insight into the causes of higher costs,” Xcel Energy said in a statement. e company said it is adding more low-cost renewable energy and securing competitively priced fuel contracts.

Natural gas continues to be the most reliable and a ordable source to heat its customers’ homes each winter, Xcel also said. e company is the largest utility provider in Colorado with 1.5 million electric customers and 1.6 million gas customers.

e price of natural gas for delivery in February has dropped 26% between December and January, to 56 cents a therm, so February bills may be lower, Commissioner Megan Gilman said. But even if the bill crisis is resolved in the short term, there’s a systemic problem. e market for natural gas is unregulated, Gilman

said, and fuel price spikes and severe weather events will continue to make prices and rates volatile.

“What we thought were the extremes before February 2021 are not the extremes anymore,” she said.

Addressing the overarching problem is not simple. Price hikes could be spread over time — Xcel Energy is doing this over 30 months with $500 million in gas charges from 2021’s Winter Storm Uri. But that could lead to future price spikes “pancaking” on top of each other, Gilman

Public Notices

Affidavit of Intent To Be a Write-In-Candidate forms must be submitted to the office of the designated election official by the close of business on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, an application for an absentee ballot shall be filed with the designated election official no later than the close of business on Tuesday preceding the election, April 28, 2023.

Sheri Karner /s/

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CCC529

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Clear Creek Courant Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

PLAINS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly, to the eligible electors of the PLAINS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT (“District”) of Jefferson County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the District will conduct a regular election on the 2nd day of May, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, (3) three directors will be elected for a 4-year term expiring in May 2027, and (1) one director will be elected for a 2-year term expiring in May 2025.

In order to be a candidate for one of the director positions, a qualified individual must submit a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on the Board of Directors may obtain a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form from the District’s Designated Election Official (DEO):

Sue Blair, DEO elections@crsofcolorado.com

Community Resource Services of Colorado 7995 East Prentice Avenue, Suite 103E Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Phone: 303-381-4960

Offices Hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form must be returned to the Designated Election Official by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023. The form can be emailed to elections@crsofcolorado.com.

A Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form that is not sufficient may be amended once at any time before 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023.

Earlier submittal is encouraged as the deadline will not permit correcting an insufficient form if received at 5:00 p.m.

Affidavit of Intent To Be A Write-In-Candidate forms must be submitted to the office of the Designated Election Official by the close of business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an application for an absentee ballot may be filed with the Designated Election Official, at the contact information referenced above, no later than the close of business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

PLAINS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

Sue Blair, Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CCC531

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Clear Creek Courant Public Notice

said. e commission needs to think in the long term, she said.

While the base rates only accounted for 16% of the December increase, both Gilman and Commission Chairman Eric Blank said that the commission should focus on those rates — which they must approve. Blank said the doubling of gas base rates since 2011 didn’t signicantly impact consumers when gas prices were low.

“Now the combination of higher commodity prices and the doubling of base rates really puts us in a different world and creates much more a ordability pressure,” Blank said.

More attention should be paid to what investments utilities make before the companies come to the commission to add them to the rates customers pay.

Another concern that commissioners expressed is Xcel Energy’s lack of incentive. Blank said there ought to be an alignment of interests between the company and its customers.

“When customers lose, utilities should share some of the pain,” he said.

Gilman said that the mechanism that just passes the cost of natural

gas, high or low, on to consumers is also a problem.

“Since it’s a direct pass-through, they do not have an incentive to get you more expensive gas,” Gilman said. “ ey also don’t have an obvious economic incentive to get the cheapest gas they can. So we need to ensure that they have some skin in the game.”

While 60% of the bill increase was driven by factors the commission can’t control — gas rates and weather — PUC can still have an impact, according to Cindy Schonhaut, director of the Colorado O ce of the Utility Consumer Advocate.

“What they can focus on,” she said, “is the 40% of bills beyond the fuel charges,” such as base rates, xeduse charges and add-ons for speci c projects, like pipeline safety.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR CENTRAL CLEAR CREEK SANITATION DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the electors of the Central Clear Creek Sanitation District of Clear Creek County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an election will be held on May 2, 2023 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, three directors will be elected to serve a four-year term. Eligible electors of the Central Clear Creek Sanitation District interested in serving on the Board of Directors may obtain a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form from the District’s Designated Election Official (DEO):

Natalie M. Fleming 3900 East Mexico Avenue, Suite 300 Denver, CO 80210 nfleming@erblawllc.com

303-626-7125

The Office of the DEO is open on the following days: Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The deadline to submit a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form to the DEO is the close of business on February 24, 2023 (no later than 67 days before the election). Affidavit of Intent To Be

A Write-In-Candidate forms must be submitted to the office of the DEO by the close of business on Monday, February 27, 2023 (no later than 64 days before the election).

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an application for an absentee ballot shall be filed with the DEO no later than the close of business on the Tuesday preceding the election, April 25, 2023.

CENTRAL CLEAR CREEK SANITATION DISTRICT

By: /s/ Natalie M. Fleming

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CCC534

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Clear Creek Courant

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ST. MARY’S GLACIER METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the electors of the St. Mary’s Glacier Metropolitan District of Clear Creek County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election will be held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, two (2) directors will be elected to serve a four-year term and one (1) director will be elected to serve a two-year term.

Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms are available from Crystal Schott, the Designated Election Official for the District, at Collins Cole Flynn Winn & Ulmer, PLLC, 165 Union Boulevard, Suite 785, Lakewood, Colorado 80228; email: cschott@ cogovlaw.com. Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms must be filed with the Designated Election Official for the District at the above email address not less than 67 days prior to the election (Friday, February 24, 2023 at 5:00 pm).

pm), until the close of business on the Tuesday immediately preceding the election (Tuesday, April 25, 2023). All absentee ballots must be returned to the Designated Election Official by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

ST. MARY’S GLACIER METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

By:/s/ Crystal Schott Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CCC532

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023 Publisher: Clear Creek Courant Public Notice

A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS ST. MARY’S GLACIER WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and, particularly, to the electors of St. Mary’s Glacier Water and Sanitation District of Clear Creek County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an election will be held on the 2nd day of May, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, two (2) directors will be elected to serve 4-year terms and two (2) directors will be elected to serve 2-year terms. Eligible electors of the St. Mary’s Glacier Water and Sanitation District interested in serving on the board of directors may obtain a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form from the District Designated Election Official:

Catherine T. Bright c/o Seter & Vander Wall, P.C. 7400 E. Orchard Road, Suite 3300 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 cbright@svwpc.com 303-770-2700

The Office of the Designated Election Official is open on the following days: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The deadline to submit a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form is close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Friday, February 24, 2023 (not less than 67 days before the election).

The Affidavit of Intent To Be A Write-In-Candidate forms must be submitted to the office of the Designated Election Official by the close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Monday, February 27, 2023 (the sixty-fourth day before the election).

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, an application for an Absentee Ballot shall be filed with the Designated Election Official no later than the close of business on the Tuesday preceding the election, April 25, 2023.

/s/Catherine T. Bright Designated Election Official

Clear Creek County (Owner) is requesting Bids for the construction of the following Project:

PW 23-01 Roadway Crack Sealing Project Bids for the construction of the Project will be accepted electronically with the following exact text in the subject line: Bid for PW 23-01 Roadway Crack Sealing Project. Bids sent by parcel service or U.S.P.S. shall be addressed to the attention of Darin Vashaw and be clearly marked on the front of the envelope with: Bid for PW 23-01 Roadway Crack Sealing Project.

All bids must be received via email to pw@clearcreekcounty.us, us via courier at the Clear Creek County Road & Bridge Department located at 3549 Stanley Road (CR 312), Dumont, Colorado 80436 or via U.S.P.S at P.O. Box 362, Dumont, CO 80436 no later than Thursday February 16, 2023 at 1:00 PM local time. At said time all bids duly received will be publicly opened and read aloud via Zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85494467951?pwd=N

zJwNkY2ckw0NzI0Lyt6N0owTWp5dz09

The Project includes the following Work:

Application of approximately 23,000 pounds of joint and crack sealant on various County roads

Obtaining the Bidding Documents:

Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found at the following designated website: https://co-clearcreekcounty2.civicplus.com/Bids. aspx?CatID=17

Bidding Documents may be downloaded from the designated website. The designated website will be updated periodically with addenda, reports, and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the designated website. Owner will not be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from sources other than the designated website.

Instructions to Bidders:

For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award refer to the Request for Bids that is included in the Bidding Documents.

Randall Wheelock, Chairman Board of County Commissioners Legal

of the envelope with: Bid for PW 23-02 Pavement Marking Project.

All bids must be received via email to pw@clearcreekcounty.us, via courier at the Clear Creek County Road & Bridge Department located at: 3549 Stanley Road (CR 312), Dumont, Colorado 80436 or via U.S.P.S.at P.O. Box 362, Dumont CO 80436 no later than Thursday February 16, 2023 at 2:00 PM local time. At said time all bids duly received will be publicly opened and read aloud via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82274878202?pwd=bi 91cWczUnNrZ1IrbXdOWkp6eHFPUT09

The Project includes the following Work: Pavement marking services on various County roads which includes repainting centerline stripes, edge line stripes, stop bars, turn lane lines, and turn arrows on approximately 20.5 miles of County roads at various locations.

Obtaining the Bidding Documents:

Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found at the following designated website: https://co-clearcreekcounty2.civicplus.com/Bids. aspx?CatID=17

Bidding Documents may be downloaded from the designated website. The designated website will be updated periodically with addenda, reports, and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the designated website. Owner will not be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from sources other than the designated website.

Instructions to Bidders:

For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Request for Bids that is included in the Bidding Documents.

Randall Wheelock, Chairman Board of County Commissioners

Legal Notice No. CCC523

First Publication: January 26, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Clear Creek Courant Notice

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Clear Creek County, Colorado on or before May 30, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred. Danielle Seevers

Legal

Thick snowfall o County Road 166 in northwestern Elbert County.

PHOTO BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON