Arvada 4/11/13
April 11, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourarvadanews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 8, Issue 46
Arvada enacts water restrictions Dry conditions across state lead to limited water usage By Staff Report Due to drought conditions in the state, the city of Arvada has enacted water restrictions for this spring and summer. About 80 percent of the state’s water comes from melting snowpack, and with the current snowpack level, Colorado is in the same pattern it did in 2002 when it suffered from a severe drought. In Arvada, single-family residences with odd-numbered addresses can water out-
doors Wednesdays and Saturdays; singlefamily residences with even-numbered address may water Thursdays and Sundays. All other properties, including multifamily residences, Home Owner Associations, commercial, industrial and government, can water Tuesdays and Fridays. Lawn watering is not permitted between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on specified days. Lawn watering is prohibited Oct. 1-March 31. Drought surcharges will show up on residents’ bills beginning in June, which will include water use in April and May. Customers will not have additional surcharges for up to 12,000 gallons per month. From 12,001-30,000 gallons, customers
will be charged 30 cents per 1,000 gallons; 60 cents per 1,000 between 30,001-60,000; 90 cents per 1,000 gallons between 60,00190,000 and $1.20 per 1,000 gallons over 90,000 gallons. City officials expect the surcharges to add 3 to 5 percent to their annual water bill if they do not reduce water usage. Through the outdoor water restriction program, city officials hope to reduce water usage by 20 percent. The average annual water bill for Arvada residents is $441. If residents do not reduce their water usage, their bill could increase to $458 due to surcharges. If residents reduce their usage by 20 percent, their bill can
be reduced to about $366. Flowers, vegetable gardens, community gardens, trees and shrubs can be watered on assigned days with a hand-held hose or low-volume, non-spray irrigation. Residents can wash their vehicles, but must use only a bucket or a hand-held hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle. Permanent pools and hot tubs may be filled one time during the summer with minimal refills to compensate for evaporation and other water loss. Children’s small plastic pools can be refilled and emptied once per day. For more information about water restrictions, visit www.Arvada.org.
Aircraft firms’ tax credit gets support
prepping for flight
By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Kiah Jenkins creates a tie-dye sled kite April 5 at Majestic View Nature Center to fly at the Arvada Kites Festival April 13 at Robby Ferrufino Park. Photo by Sara Van Cleve
City gets green light for ‘healthy living’ grants Arvada one of three communities selected to receive up to $1 million for improvements By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews. com Arvada could receive up to $1 million to help promote recreation and healthy living opportunities through a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. Arvada, Lamar and Westwoods, an urban neighborhood in southwest Denver, were chosen from 26 applications to receive grant money under the foundation’s $4.5 million Healthy Place: Designing an Active Colorado initiative. “We’re excited to receive it,” said Jessica Prosser, city of Arvada sustainability coordina-
tor. “It’s kind of a new area. It’s something we haven’t focused a lot on as a city — active living. It’s nice to be recognized. We hope to have projects that can be replicated in other communities and set an example for the region.” Phase one of the initiative began in Arvada the week of March 18 when a panel of experts from the Urban Land Institute visited and reviewed Arvada and its active living opportunities. The ULI panel gave the city recommendations for projects to improve the city’s recreational and healthy living opportunities. “A lot of the recommendations were around bike and pe-
destrian facilities and programs to promote those,” Prosser said. “There were also recommendations for recreational opportunities for children and seniors as well as recommendations that we look at some of our policies in terms of incorporating healthy living into our comprehensive plan.” While the recommendations were somewhat general, Prosser said the ULI panel did give examples of what the city could possibly do to meet their recommendations. Possible projects could include improving bike and pedestrian connections to FasTrack stations, measuring the amount of people using the paths and creating events around such infrastructure changes — such as a fitness challenge and events with schools.
City staff is still studying the recommendations to figure out the best projects to pursue, Prosser said. “The next step is that Arvada has a requirement to put in an application for the projects with the Colorado Health Foundation in June,” she said. “We’ll be selecting at least one infrastructure project and programming aspects around that as well. We’re looking at infrastructure, programming and maybe something more citywide in terms of healthy living.” The foundation is expected to have the projects approved by October. Arvada is eligible for up to $1 million in funding, which they will have two years to spend. The city will be engaging with Arvada neighborhoods this summer to further develop ideas, Prosser said.
A bill that would expand tax incentives for the purpose of new hires in the state’s aviation field is flying through the Legislature with bipartisan support. House Bill 1080 modifies the 2005 Aircraft Manufacturer New Employee Tax Credit, which provides a one-time $1,200 tax credit for a new employee hired by an aircraft manufacturer. The bill expands the available tax incentives to manufacturers that provide aircraft maintenance, repair and modification services, which were not included in the bill from eight years ago. Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, a bill sponsor, said it’s important to extend the existing earned tax credits in an effort to atCapitol tract high-paying Report jobs in a growing field, rather than having planes fly to other states just for the purposes of having repairs done. “We have to recognize that big carriers like United or Frontier, when they need to maintain an airplane, very often they’ll fly it to Wisconsin or Chicago to do the work there, and then bring it back,” he said. “I think it’s ridiculous that Colorado is losing out on those job opportunities.” Holbert said he was approached about the idea for the bill by representatives from Centennial Airport. Airport Executive Director Robert Olislagers said Colorado is in a tough competition with other states for tax incentives for aviation jobs. “Twelve hundred dollars in tax credits doesn’t sound like a whole lot,” he said. “But, if you add that in with other incentives that Colorado counties are providing, it starts to add up.” Olislagers also said he hopes the bill will create more aviation jobs for veterans, especially when it comes to work that involves modifications of aircraft. The bill passed the House on April 5 by a vote of 61-2, with two members excused from the vote. “It’s a growing industry in Colorado,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada. “This bill helps aircraft manufacturers by being able to hire employees.” The bill now heads to the Senate.
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