Golden Transcript 041113

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Transcript Golden

Golden 4/11/13

April 11, 2013

A Colorado Community Media Publication

ourgoldennews.com

Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 147, Issue 19

E-Days bring springtime rays

Blaster the Burro struts his stuff down Colfax. Photos by Glenn Wallace

By Glenn Wallace

gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com Things got rolling for E-Days 2013 with a burro walking down Colfax. The Colorado School of Mines annual weekend of fun traditionally begins with the school mascot, Blaster the Burro, pull-

By Glenn Wallace

gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com

ing an ore cart down West Colfax, all the way to the State Capitol Building. Nowadays, the ore cart is left at home. More than a 150 Mines students accompanied Blaster this year, wearing event shirts. On their shirts were the words, “We have the endurance to go all the way.” “This weekend is just a celebration of all the hard work that all of our students do, giving them something to look forward to, some balance,” Student Activities Office Associate Director Kelli Bell said, calling last weekend the most successful E-Days in recent memory. Bell said much of the weekend’s many

activities are student organized. Several of the special events reflected the student body’s engineering bent. There was the Tesla Coil demonstration on Friday, cardboard boat Clear Creek races Saturday, followed by a trebuchet (catapult) launch. “They really worked hard and really believe in providing this for their fellow peers,” Bell said. Competing in the boat race was the dynamic duo of Gabriel Alvarado and Carlos Tasayto, both juniors. They had the bad luck of their boat disintegrate within sight E-Days continues on Page 22

Commissioners survey road projects First project aims to improve traffic flow on South Golden Road By Glenn Wallace

gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com Construction on a roundabout at the Lena Gulch intersection is expected to begin in early summer, and be completed by the end of the year. The project was among the county’s list POSTAL ADDRESS

A strike against Golden Bowl City gives OK for bowling alley demolition

Colorado School of Mines students guide school mascot Blaster the Burro from Golden down Colfax Avenue to the State Capitol on April 5.

Annual event of Mines offered pride and wacky events

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of transportation improvement projects discussed at the April 2 meeting of the Jefferson County’s Board of County Commissioners meeting. Transportation and Engineering Director Kevin French went through the 2013 list with the commissioners April 2. First on the list was ongoing work to improve traffic capacity and flow along South Golden Road, including a roundabout at the Lena Gulch intersection, and roadway improvements between Quaker and Moss streets. The rest of the roadway improvements are complicated by the narrowness of the

available roadway, with any extra roadway requiring the shifting of power poles and parking lots, French said. “On both sides of the road, you’ll see more space for pedestrians,” French said. District 1 Commissioner Faye Griffin asked if the nearby NREL facility had followed through on a verbal offer to help pay for improvements along Moss Street. French said the federal laboratory had not yet replied to the request. French said the South Golden corridor required the special attention because trafProjects continues on Page 22

Plans to tear down the Golden Bowl and build a Natural Grocers store in its place passed the first of the two hurdles the city’s planning process requires. At the April 1 meeting of the Golden City Historic Preservation Board (HCB), the seven-member group voted 5 to 1, with one absence to approve the demolition of the buildings at 525 24th and 2401 Ford streets, currently the Golden Bowl and Pedal Pushers bike shop. Under city ordinance, any non-resident building at least 50 years of age requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the HCB before it can be demolished. HCB board member Laura McCall suggested the group delay a decision on the demolition for a month or more. “I think it would give people time to think about this, and perhaps for another buyer to step forward,” McCall said. The other board members disagreed that more time would necessarily be helpful, and voted to approve the demolition. The project developers from Equity Ventures, representing Natural Grocers, warned that a 180-day delay would be onerous enough to potentially kill the project. “I know that the bowling alley is of a lot of benefit for a lot of people, but I think that Vitamin Cottage (Natural Grocers parent company) is exactly the kind of business we want in Golden.” HCB member Dixie Termin said before making the motion. Both buildings were constructed in the 1950s. The buildings do not have any special historic designation, though they are adjacent to an existing historic district. The nearby 5th Ring Coffee Shop will remain. The Natural Grocers’ plans showed a 15,000-square-foot neighborhood market. smaller in square footage than the current bowling alley. The space where Pedal Pushers is now would become a parking lot, and is considered unbuildable due to being inside the FEMA 100-year-flood map zone. “We hope this will be a nice revitalization of what we call one of the gateway areas of Golden,” Equity Ventures spokesman Craig Lofton said, adding that the proposed grocery store design would aim to meet all the requirements of the city’s Central Neighborhoods Plan. Several members of the public that spoke at the meeting were against approval of the demolition, based more on the cultural value of the businesses, than the structures themselves. “It’s not necessarily that people don’t want a Natural Grocers in Golden, but that it’s displacing three businesses to do it,” Mike Keily, the current operator of the bowling alley said. The Natural Grocers proposal can now present a site plan to the Planning Commission for approval, which could happen as early as June, according to the applicants. If approved there, demolition could occur as early as this fall. Construction is estimated to take seven to eight months Lofton said.

GOLDEN TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 0746-6382)

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