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March 13, 2014
50 cents Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 69, Issue 18 A publication of
westminsterwindow.com
E-470 traffic up 8.2 percent
So cloSe
Toll revenues reported at $129.2 million Staff Report
Jefferson Academy head coach Mark Sharpley, left, comforts his son senior Bryson Sharpley after the Jaguars lost to Manitou Springs in the 3A State Tournament March 8 at Jefferson Academy High School. Photo by Kate Ferraro
Training teaches communication skills Law enforcement learn about mental illness By Ashley Reimers
areimers@coloradocommunitymedia. com Police officers from various Adams County law enforcement departments recently participated in a week-long training session to improve their communication and de-escalation skills. The Crisis Intervention Teams, CIT, training was March 3-7 at the Westminster Public Safety Center and provided officers with tools and knowledge in handling various situations involving people with mental illnesses. CIT training is provided through Community Reach Center, an organization that provides mental health services to Adams County residents, and is administered a few times a year. The goals of the CIT training include minimizing police use of force, early intervention and proactivity, establishing cooperative relationships, promoting treatment, reducing chronic calls for service and increased public confidence and support. Mary Ann Hewicker, Adams County CIT coordinator, said through the training, officers will gain an understanding of the major mental illnesses, learn crisis de-escalation and intervention and problem solving skills and strategy and communication techniques. She said the officers participate in various role plays with actors and actresses simulating different emergency situations. She said the role plays are very intense and the acting is extremely realistic. “Each role play is different and the goal
Commerce City police officer Mike Vasquez participates in a role play activity during a Crisis Intervention Teams, CIT, training on March 6 at the Westminster Public Safety facility. Officers from various departments in Adams County participated in the week-long training in hopes of becoming CIT certified. Photo by Ashley Reimers isn’t necessarily to resolve the issue, it’s more about making the steps to resolve the issue,” Hewicker said. “Officers are put in very real situations and the acting is so good that the officers really feel like they are
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in that situation.” Brian Trujillo, a CIT coach and course director, took his first CIT training in 2005. He quickly excelled in the program and became a CIT coach. He says he really enjoys teaching other officers new skills and seeing them progress throughout the training. For many officers, Trujillo said the idea of role playing in front of their peers is daunting and nerve wracking. But after they’ve learned new skills and knowledge they are much more confident during the role playing, he added. “Sometimes officers are a little apprehensive about the program and not too sure about it,” he said. “But by the end of the week they love the program and comment on how they’ve learned a lot and how it’s one of the best classes they’ve taken.” The CIT training is not only beneficial to the officers, but also the departments as a whole and the community. Trujillo said from the department point of view, liability issues can decrease because an officer can utilize communication skills instead of use of force tactics. “It’s a win-win for both the consumer and the officer,” he said. “No one is getting hurt and officers are learning to be compassionate and looking at the big picture, which is a benefit to people. Officers are learning to build a rapport with people and to also be empathetic.” Cheri Spottke, public information officer for the Westminster Police Department, said a significant number of officers in her department are CIT certified. She said the best part of the training is the simple fact that when dealing with people in crisis or people with a mental illness officers have the tools they need to assess the situation. Plus, officers are also learning communication skills that can be used in the public every day, she added. “The training gives officers another tool on their tool belt,” she said. The CIT program in Adams County started in 2002 and the Northglenn, Thornton, Westminster, Commerce City, Brighton and Broomfield Police Departments and the Adams County Sheriff’s Department are all dedicated to putting all officers through the training.
Traffic along the E-470 tollway increased by 8.2 percent in 2013, with transactions rising from 54 million in 2012 to 58.4 million. This is the fourth straight year of traffic growth. These numbers are reported in the E-470 Public Highway Authority unaudited 2013 year-end traffic and toll revenue figures. The 58.4 million transactions were 102.8 percent of E-470’s 2013 projection. The rise in traffic, coupled with a 2013 toll increase, resulted in a 10.6 percent, $12.4 million increase to $129.2 million in toll revenues. Operating costs were $30.6 million in 2013, compared to the $32.9 million budgeted. The 2013 actual operating costs compare to $27.7 million in the prior year, a 10.5 percent increase. A significant portion of the authority’s increased operating costs are directly related to processing and collecting the growing volume of tolls, according to the report. According to Stan Koniz, E-470’s finance director, the 10.6 percent growth in toll revenues was sufficient to meet E-470’s financial obligations. Those obligations included $82.2 million of debt service payments in 2013 to bondholders. E-470 has $1.6 billion in outstanding bond debt. Koniz said the rise in toll revenues also fully funds capital construction, enabling, among other roadway resurfacing and safety improvements, the construction of a new interchange at Quebec Street in Thornton that will get underway this spring and open in late spring 2015. Koniz said, “The growth in revenues ensures we can meet our annual debt obligation to our bondholders and still have enough reserves to enable us to reinvest in the quality of the road. E-470 has to deliver the high-quality experience our customers, as toll payers, have a right to expect.” E-470 is the 75-mph toll road that runs along the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area. The road is financed, constructed, operated and governed by the E-470 Public Highway Authority, which is composed of eight local governments: Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, and the municipalities of Aurora, Brighton, Commerce City, Parker and Thornton.
‘E-470 has to deliver the high-quality experience our customers, as toll players, have a right to expect.’ Stan Koniz, E-470’s finance director