Voice
Lone Tree 9-19-2013
Lone Tree
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 36
September 19, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Library plan may pay off for city Offer of new site could make space for community center By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Lone Tree’s bursting-at-the-seams library may soon have space to expand, and the city in turn may get a community center. RidgeGate is offering the Douglas County Library District a site for construction of a 20,000-square-foot building — twice the size of the current building at Lone Tree Parkway and Yosemite Street. The city plans to buy the current library building and convert it into a community center with a satellite library space. The proposed new library site is a vacant lot between Target and Sprouts that hosted the 2012 and 2013 Taste of Lone Tree.
To get the community’s take on the city’s plan, Lone Tree Mayor Gunning will host a series of public meetings throughout Lone Tree between now and Oct. 3. Meeting dates and locations include: • 6 p.m. Sept. 24, Lone Tree Recreation Center, 10249 Ridgegate Circle • 6 p.m. Sept. 26, Heritage Hills Clubhouse, 9201 Heritage Hills Parkway • 11:30 a.m. Oct. 1, Cornerstone Church, 9941 Lone Tree Parkway • 6 p.m. Oct. 3, Lone Tree Civic Center, 8527 Lone Tree Parkway “Eventually, we were going to have a community center,” Gunning said. “Now we can take a building that’s in the heart of Lone Tree and turn it into a community center. “We would keep that library presence. The rest of the facility we would convert into a community center, with meeting rooms and different functions. But instead of the city determining what the best uses Library continues on Page 11
The Lone Tree Library is located at Lone Tree Parkway and Yosemite Street — for now. File photo
Have you seen this mascot? Pizza Bandito statue vanishes from outside Lone Tree restaurant By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com A colorful statue nicknamed the Pizza Bandito that sat in the grass just outside Lone Tree’s Mellow Mushroom restaurant has vanished. Although Pizza Bandito is described by the Mellow Mushroom as a “reformed fast-food felon” and bears a striking resemblance to the McDonald’s Hamburglar, he was the new restaurant’s mascot. Restaurant employees said he was last seen the evening of Sept. 7.
Douglas County Parks and Trails Director Randy Burkhardt indicates the location of the next planned section of the East-West Regional Trail during a trail dedication ceremony held on Sept. 7 outside the Lone Tree Cabela’s store. Photos by Jane Reuter
Mascot continues on Page 11
Cabela’s adopts county trail segment Plans for eight-mile extension announced By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews. com Cabela’s officially became Douglas County’s first corporate trails partner Sept. 14 when it adopted a three-mile section of trail behind its Lone Tree store. Douglas County held a dedication ceremony in the store’s parking lot, attended by Lone Tree, county and store officials. The segment extends southwest from the end of Cabela Drive to the top of Bluffs Regional Park. It’s part of the 20-mile EastWest Regional Trail that begins in Highlands Ranch’s Redstone Park and now ends at Cabela Drive.
“What a perfect first corporate sponsorship,” County Commissioner Jill Repella said during the dedication. Repella, who runs at Bluffs Regional Park, and Lone Tree Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Millet both expressed their appreciation for the park. Millet’s Heritage Estates neighborhood backs to the Bluffs Regional Park trail loop. “We have a thing in my neighborhood we call bluffs withdrawal, and I’m telling you, we’ve had it this week,” she said, referring to the spate of rainy weather. County Trails and Open Space Director Randy Burkhardt also announced the planned 2014 construction of another eight-mile section of the East-West trail. That stretch Cabela’s continues on Page 11
The Mellow Mushroom’s Pizza Bandito, which sat in the grass outside its new Lone Tree restaurant, was stolen Sept. 9. File photo
Cabela’s is the corporate sponsor of a three-mile section of the East-West Regional Trail that extends from the end of Cabela Drive southwest to the top of Bluffs Regional Park.
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