Castle Rock Town Talk

A month into the new year, we’re excited about the opportunities 2023 will bring, and we’re proud of the achievements of our Town Council and sta in 2022.

roughout 2022, we prioritized our e orts on key projects and core services, guided by our community priorities: ensuring outstanding public safety, securing our water future, maintaining strong parks and recreation, conservatively managing Town nances, enhancing our roads, preserving our community character and supporting economic development.

Some of our 2022 accomplishments include:

Completed construction of Cobblestone Ranch Park, a 12-acre neighborhood park featuring picnic areas, a large playground, a pump track for biking, a half-court for basketball, six pickleball courts and paved walking trails Implemented water-saving landscaping regulations for newly constructed homes that are anticipated to reduce water consumption by another 18% by 2050 Improved roadways, including by starting work to add capacity on Plum Creek Parkway and Ridge Road, and completing $18.5 million in pavement maintenance

In support of our community priorities, some of our 2023 goals include: Add four Fire and Rescue positions and four police o cers as part of the Town’s ongoing commitment to public safety Continue renovations at Butter eld Crossing and Mitchell Gulch parks, begin construction at Plum Creek North Park and complete the Colorado Front Range Trail within Castle Rock Continue work on the upcoming Crystal Valley interchange, along with improvements on Crowfoot Valley Road and at the “Four Corners” intersection, where Fifth Street meets Ridge Road is past year, Castle Rock earned recognition from Livability.com as one of the Top 100 Best Places to Live and by MoneyGeek as the Safest Small City in Colorado.

We invite Castle Rock residents to view more information on our 2022 accomplishments and track our progress toward 2023 goals at CRgov.com/ MajorProjects.

We know Castle Rock is viewed as a great place to live – the accolades and the number of individuals who choose to call our community home is a testament to that. Yet, the Town embraces the philosophy of continuous improvement. We believe, with our residents’ help, we can make Castle Rock an even better place to live.

Every odd-numbered year, the Town surveys residents about Town services, local issues and how the community could be improved.

Starting this month, every household should receive an invitation in the mail that will provide access to this year’s survey. e survey invitation will be sent on a rolling basis, with all mailed by the end of March. You can learn more about the survey and view past results at CRgov. com/2023Survey. Town Council will receive the survey results in April and will use them to help inform future decisions. Survey results will be available online by the end of April.

Castle Rock is an outstanding and successful community. Town Council and sta continue to work for you. We’re committed to providing the high level of service for which we’re known while planning for the future to ensure the great quality of life we enjoy today endures for generations to come.

David L. Corliss Town manager

pro-development and growth interests hold sway before council and the city’s community development structure. To regard neighborhood residents as special interests is therefore unconscionably disrespectful.

Ballot 300 is about restoring ballot access for citizen led measures intended to turn around or stop adverse municipal actions (referenda) and/or pursue actions that are being neglected (initiatives).

e last paragraph falsely states, Littleton is a representative democracy. It is not. For a little civics 101, Article IV Section 4 of the Constitution states: “ e United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of government …” is means all voices count; and Colorado, with its various municipalities, is included. at anyone would be fearful of registered voters making their will known at the ballot box should itself be a cause for grave concern. So vote “yes” on 300.

Don Bruns Littleton

cause I didn’t stay at that elevation for long as heading down the mountain was the goal, not camping at 12,000 feet. The home I am staying in has an awesome view. Now that I have acclimated I am enjoying it so much more as the views on a blue-sky sunny day are phenomenal. And with the amount of snow we have received, the mountains seem more majestic than ever.

Living at 10,200 feet brings with it a few extra benefits as the solace and quiet bring a sense of tranquility that escapes us in and around any city we may find ourselves living in. The rush and crush of daily life down at lower elevations is replaced up here with the hush of the wind whispering through the pine trees. It’s one of the most refreshing and relaxing places I have ever had the privilege to work from, even as I take calls, virtual meetings with customers and team members, while also finding time to write.

There is something else I have noticed, the people who live up here are used to living and rising above the noise and chatter going on in the city, in the news, and on social media. Not that there aren’t any concerns about the realities of life, they simply choose to find their peace by letting what others think about, worry about, and post about, to do it somewhere else and not up here.

Stopping into the local saloon there are people actually having conversations and not glued to their phones. Conversations are happening about the snowfall, the skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and other pleasures of living in the mountains. And not just during winter, I have heard all the stories of fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking, hang gliding and golfing in the other seasons. Since I have lived up here for this brief time and have tried to settle in with the locals, I haven’t heard any conversations about politics from either side, no discussion of the pressures of society, and no attacks on anyone in the small town or community. When they talk, they talk about family, friends, travel, life experiences, the fresh mountain air and how they still stand in awe and wonder at mountains and sights all around them from the snowcovered mountains to the turning of the aspen leaves as the yellow of the aspens melds softly into the brightness of the evergreens. They talk about fly-fishing the rivers, and as one gentleman shared, he didn’t even care if he went out and came back without any fish. To just stand in God’s handiwork, quietly admiring all the nature surrounding him, was equally rewarding.

We can’t all go live at 10,200 feet, but we can all choose to rise above the noise and escape the rush and crush happening all around us. Are you part of the noise or part of the peace? Can you use a break from it all and find a little more quietness? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@sandler.com, and when we can rise above the noise to find solace, peace, and tranquility, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.