February 25, 2015 VOLU M E 5 4 | I S S UE 8 | 7 5 ¢
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145-foot mural unveiled, tells story of ‘Us’ Councilmember Brovetto resigns By Norma Engelberg Contributing writer
At the Feb. 19 Woodland Park City Council meeting, artist Lois Sprague and Woodland Arts Alliance representative Scott Stearman unveiled the rendering for a new mural covering Woodland Park’s history from its Ute Nation days to the 1950s. “The art’s alliance board of directors feel that public art done well will have a positive impact on the tone of our community,” Stearman said. “This new mural gives us an opportunity to make that positive impact.” He explained the reasoning behind the board’s choice for the first mural in the city’s mural project. “This first mural has to be a home run, something beyond whimsy and decoration,” Stearman said. “We all came here by choice and we want to tell the story of those who came before us and made Woodland Park the place where we chose to live. We want to tell the story of us, starting with the Utes and ending with a time when cars and horses still shared our streets.”
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The board chose Sprague, a local artist noted for her portraiture, to create the mural and chose for its location the 145-foot wall of the Ute Pass Cultural Center that faces The Green and Midland Pavilion. To prepare the Ute Nation portion of the mural, Sprague and Stearman visited the Northern and Southern Utes, including Roland McCook, the great, great grandson of Chief Ouray and Chipeta. McCook’s face will dominate that section of the mural. The mural will be completed in three sections with each section unveiled separately. Sprague said McCook might be available for the first section’s unveiling. She plans to start preparation work in May and start painting in June. Other sections of the mural will cover lumbering, trains and the Ute Stampede Rodeo. Each section will include both text and a QR code leading to recordings by local voices explaining that section. “The city has set aside $3,000 in its 2015 budget to help with this project,” said City Manager David Buttery, adding, “This is not the season for painting but it is the season for fundraising.” The arts alliance will solicit donations and the faces of big donors could become faces in the mural, Sprague said. Buttery explained that there is no liability involve with painting a mural on a city building, saying, “We’re just repainting the building in an artistic way.” Councilmember Gary Brovetto provided the impetus that led to the city’s acceptance into the state’s Main Street Program and the possibility of creating a mural project and starting a creative arts district but at the end of the Feb. 19 meeting he resigned. “I did as much as I could to enhance our community and its economic development,” he said. “I’m losing my motivation so now it’s time for someone else to take over. I’m going to take some time off and veg-out. Some people come to Woodland Park to do that and then take on too much work.” Councilmembers and Mayor Neil Levy thanked Brovetto for his hard work and Councilman Ken Matthews led council and the audience in giving Brovetto a standing ovation.
The face of Roland McCook, great-great grandson of Chief Ouray and Chipeta. will be 20-feet tall when Lois Sprague finishes the Ute Nation section of a new mural she will be painting on a wall of the Ute Pass Cultural Center that faces The Green. A black and white rendering of the full-color mural was unveiled at the Feb. 19 Woodland Park City Council meeting. Photos by Norma Engelberg According to the city charter, council has 30 days to appoint a new councilmember to take Brovetto’s place. Advertising for letters of intention to serve has already started. The city’s recently reactivated Charter Review Advisory Committee will likely take a look at amending that 30-day timeline. Three councilmembers serve on the committee and council also appointed community members Gretchen Bundy-Ladowicz, Peter Scanlon and former Councilmember Eric Smith, leaving one more vacancy to fill. The committee’s first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 4 in the city hall upstairs conference room. All such meetings are public. Council also appointed Kathryn Kindt to the Keep Woodland Park Beautiful Committee. There is also one more opening on that committee. At the Feb. 5 council meeting, Buttery introduced an ordinance that continues the budget appropriations to pay the city’s 1999 Certificates of Participation just
After the Feb. 19 Woodland Park City Council meeting Renee Bunting, the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce’s choice for 2015 Employee of the Year, speaks with Gary Brovetto, who resigned from his council seat just minutes earlier. in case it fails to refinance those COPs to pay for construction of a new Fleet Maintenance Building and Memorial Park renovations. Council gave final approval to
the ordinance and also approved a resolution supporting a request for a $350,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado for Memorial Park.
Economy on the upswing; real estate a mixed bag Divide has large increase in land sales By Pat Hill phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com While commercial property and land in Teller County and Woodland Park remain in the shadow of the Great Recession, there are silver linings in the economic forecast. “In Teller County, you cannot underestimate the positive impact of Charis Bible College,” said Mark Weaver, president of Ascent Commercial Group. “You’ve got the potential of 2,500 students and, for a town this size, the college is an enormous generator of people and employment.” Weaver was among the professionals predicting the future at the third annual event hosted by Betty Clark-Wine, Teller County’s assessor. Because of the Bible college, the rental
Business leaders and officials turned out to hear the economic forecast from real-estate brokers, city officials and bankers at the 3rd annual Teller County Economic Forecast hosted by Betty Clark-Wine, Teller County assessor. Photo by Pat Hill market is hot, said Dale Schnitker, vice president of Vectra Bank. Since 2013, rental rates for the average apartment have increased by $300 a month, said Sharon Roshek, owner/broker with the Roshek Group at Coldwell Banker 1st Choice Realty. However, Trail Ridge Apartments have helped reduce the need for rental units, she added. Real estate is a mixed bag. For instance,
homes in the $150,000 range are selling but there are fewer of them while homes priced at $400,000 or above are not selling, Roshek said. In 2009, the median sales price was $187,850; in 2014, the median in 2014 in Woodland Park was $229,000. “Divide is the only area that actually went down in median price,” she said. Economy continues on Page 9