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January 1, 2015 VOLU M E 51 | I SS UE 20 | 5 0 ¢
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Economic development, job growth make headlines A look at the top stories of the year By Tammy Kranz
Contributing Writer Several Top 10 items from 2013 have made it on the list again for 2014, but with positive updates – FasTracks, the municipal inmate cap lawsuit and several big development projects in Adams County. They are joined by hard news – a devastating condo fire, a plane crashing into a home and an intentional house explosion – and political news – gay marriage legalized, new sheriff and commissioners elected – to round off 2014’s top stories. In no particular order, here are the biggest headlines from the last 12 months:
Work on North Metro line begins
In a joyous ceremony, officials broke ground on the FasTracks North Metro Rail March 20. The ceremony took place on a crowded dirt parking lot where the Eastlake Station will be located in Thornton at 12650 Claude Court. Guest speakers included Gov. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Adams
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P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
County commissioners, RTD directors and staff, and mayors from Denver, Commerce City, Thornton and Northglenn. When the RTD board approved its amended regional transportation plan in 2012, the plan stated that service to 72nd would not happen until 2030-35 with the funding currently available. The future began looking brighter for the North Metro Rail Line February 2013 when RTD received an unsolicited proposal to build the line, which led to RTD looking at other options and soliciting for bids. The RTD Board of Directors voted Nov. 26, 2013, to hire Regional Rail Partners to design and build the North Metro Rail Line to 124th Avenue. Design began in January 2014 and the line should be ready for use in 2018 following testing. The line is supposed to end at Highway 7/162nd Avenue but RTD has current funding for up to 124th at this time, with options to extend as additional funds become available. The North Metro Rail line is 18.5 miles of electric commuter rail that connects Denver Union Station with Northglenn, Commerce City and Thornton.
Fire crews sift through the debris after an explosion leveled the home at 13072 Monroe Drive, killing a man, and damaging five other houses on June 19. Officials have determined that the gas leak was intentional and the deceased committed suicide. Courtesy photo
Growth, and more growth in Adams County
From the expansion of medical clinics to the revitalization of older neighborhoods in unincorporated areas to commuter rail and roads to large retail projects, economic development – big and small – flourishes in Adams County. “I think it’s really remarkable how much we’re experiencing all at once,” said Kristin Sullivan, economic development manager with Adams County. “I think we’re seeing it more than other areas. We have a lot of room for growth.” The development includes Webster Lake Promenade and Walmart Neighborhood Market in Northglenn; The Grove – 63 acre retail development that includes Cabela’s – and the adjacent housing developments planned, the redevelopment of the former Target site at Washington and 104 Avenue and various redevelopments throughout Thornton; and Midtown – 183 acres of mixed use, mostly residential at 68th and Pecos, and various revitalization projects in older neighborhoods and several pipeline projects in unincorporated Adams County.
ADCO growth outpaces nation
Along with the aforementioned development projects came jobs, lots of them. According to a report published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in September, employment in Adams County increased by 4.7 percent between March 2013 and March 2014. The national average, 1.7 percent. “Adams County has 8,416 more jobs than it did a year ago,” said Barry Gore, president/CEO of Adams County Economic Development. “We started seeing an uptick last summer and it’s been steadily increasing since then.” He estimates there to be 177,000 jobs in the county. Most of the job growth activity has been because of oil and gas exportation – up 10 percent from
Rebecca Brinkman and Margaret Burd outside their Thornton home Oct. 8. The women were the first to file a lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same gender marriages. File photo last year in the state, he said.
Man detaches gas line, house explodes
Officials determined Gary Pine, 59, wanted to kill himself when he intentionally detached the natural gas line to the furnace inside his Thornton home June 19. This act led to the home at 13072 Monroe Drive to fill up with natural case, which resulted in the eventual ignition and home explosion, according to an Aug. 22 statement by Thornton Police. “The evidence indicates the victim, Gary Pine, engaged in an intentional act to commit suicide …” the statement reads. Pine co-owned the home and lived in the basement. He lived with two roommates who were not home during the explosion. The blast leveled the home and damaged five neighboring homes, which are now uninhabitable. The debris from the blast went about a two-block radius.
The home was built in the 1970s and had asbestos inside its popcorn ceilings. However, Mike Van Dyke with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the risk of exposure to asbestos was extremely low because it was limited to the ceiling and the drywall pieces were found in large chunks.
District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. He served seven years on the Adams County Planning Commission. Pawlowski served eight years as the mayor of Brighton and six years prior to that as a council member. For the past 30 years, she has owned and operated Varsity Sports in Brighton.
Voters elect first District 4, 5 commissioners
Municipal inmate jail cap
Democrat Steve O’Dorisio and Republican Jan Pawlowski will be the first Adams County commissioners to serve the newly created District 4 and District 5. They will be sworn in Jan. 13. Voters approved in 2012 a ballot measure to increase the number of elected commissioners from three to five. Members on the board will be residents in their districts but are to be elected by the voters of the entire county. O’Dorisio lives in the Welby neighborhood and served four years with the Adams County
The cities of Thornton, Northglenn, Aurora, Commerce City and Federal Heights filed a joint complaint on Feb. 19 against the Adams County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Doug Darr for restricting or denying to house municipal prisoners in the county jail. The board of commissioners approved a cap restriction on municipal inmates, which was enacted on Jan. 1, 2012, to help ease financial constraints at the county jail. The cap was Job continues on Page 2