September 24, 2020
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 33
Lone Tree approves $1 million in budget cuts ‘I’m hopeful for the future, but we have to take these steps today,’ mayor says BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Commissioners Roger Partridge, Abe Laydon and Lora Thomas sign their names in a storm drain in the newly opened Sandstone Ranch Sept. 18. PHOTOS BY ELLIOTT WENZLER
‘This is the gem of the county’ Sandstone Ranch paths can be used for hiking, cycling, horseback riding
IF YOU GO
BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A more than 2,000-acre property in southern Douglas County that was once destined for residential development is now open to the public with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling and horseback riding. Sandstone Ranch, which was purchased by the county in January 2018, sits in the foothills between Denver and Colorado Springs. The property, adjacent to Pike National Forest, SEE SANDSTONE, P9
An informational board sits at a viewpoint in Sandstone Ranch.
QUITE THE SITES
The metro area offers interesting, sometimes overlooked, attractions P14
To get to the trailhead at Sandstone Ranch, drivers coming from Castle Rock can get off I-25 at exit 182, turn west on Wolfensberger Road, then continue until it dead ends at Highway 105. After turning left, drivers will eventually see the trailhead — about 0.6 mile from the intersection with Perry Park Avenue. The open space property will be open from an hour before sunrise until an hour after sunset.
Lone Tree City Council unanimously passed a resolution further adjusting the 2020 budget to align with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m hopeful for the future,” said Mayor Jackie Millet, “but we have to take these steps today.” The newest resolution cuts the city’s budget by just under $1 million, bringing the city’s total “net COVID impact” to $8 million in cuts. The newest amendment is a net of roughly $10 million in projected revenue shortfalls, thanks to less sales tax revenue, and $9 million in expense cuts in things like canceling or postponing certain public works projects, according to the Sept. 15 staff report. City staff recommended the use of the city’s “working reserve” to cover this deficit, according to the staff report. The working reserve is specifically in place to cover unanticipated revenue shortfalls as a result of economic downturns, the staff report says. The new total appropriations for 2020 are being decreased by $6.2 million in the general fund, $1.3 million in the Cultural and Community Services Special Revenue Fund and $453,249 in the Arts and Cultural Facilities Debt Service Fund. These are aggregated cuts made since stay-atSEE BUDGET, P10
JAGUARS TAKE LEAGUE TOURNEY
Rock Canyon High School outpaces the pack on the links P16