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RESIDENT / OCCUPANT PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LYONS, CO PERMIT No 2053
LOOK FOR REDSTONE REVIEW AT ISSUU.COM / SDCMC
VOLUME 16, NUMBER 10
LYONS, COLORADO
$.50
NOVEMBER 18 / DECEMBER 16, 2015
B •R •I •E •F •S 2015 Lyons Holiday Parade of Lights LYONS – The Annual Lyons Holiday Parade of Lights will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5. The theme this year is Christmas Around the World. Lyons residents love the bright glow of lights around town when the holidays return. Friends and family will be happy to see the return of Lyons Lights in Sandstone Park. Be sure to come out and enjoy a colorful, exciting, dancing light display synchronized to music. Beginning Saturday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 25, Lyons Lights will run every day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The highlight of the weekend is sure to be the Holiday Parade of Lights on Saturday, Dec. 5. The parade will line up at 5:30 p.m. and will start at 6:30 p.m. It will be filled with illuminated, colorful floats, many of which will be decorated in the theme of this year’s parade. Sign up today at www.townoflyons.com Don’t miss live music and entertainment following the parade, at approximately 7:15 p.m. in Sandstone Park on the Raul Vasquez Community Stage. Among those performing this year will be the Lyons High School Choir. At 7:40 p.m., there will be a wonderful fireworks display made possible by donations received from local supporters. The Parade Awards Ceremony for the floats will take place at 8:05 p.m. on the Raul Vasquez Community Stage, awarding the outstanding parade entries of 2015. The evening will wrap up with Lyons Lights in Sandstone Park from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you are interested in entering the parade, or would like to donate money or time to this event, the donation and entry forms can be found at www.townoflyons.com. Please direct questions to 303?823?8250, or email recreation@townoflyons.com. Continue Briefs on Page 3
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I •N •D •E •X LYONS
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MAYOR’S CORNER
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LOCAL
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OPTIONS
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CONCEPTS
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INSIGHT
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HOLIDAYS
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A&E
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FOUNDATION
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INTENTION
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CONNECTION
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Lyons Valley Preschool celebrates its one year anniversary. Left to right: Tobin Stepanovsky, Sophia Rahbany, Kira Hoyt, Lumin Zimmerman, Quinn Allen, Elsa Kepler. PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS
BOT has a problem with eagles nesting, 404 buyouts slowed to a crawl, and trying to bridge the gap in funding for Stone Canyon light By Mark Browning Redstone Review LYONS – The eagles have landed on Lyons. More specifically, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service informed the Town of Lyons on Tuesday that under the federal Bald and Golden Eagles Protection Act, all construction within one-half mile of the usual golden eagle nesting site above Meadow Park may come to a screeching halt on December 31. Construction could not resume until late summer. Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen informed the Lyons Board of Trustees (BOT) of that unwelcome news at Monday night’s BOT meeting. Unless a “take permit” can be obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Service, multiple town projects could be shut down: Meadow Park reconstruction, river improvement work, and street projects in the Confluence and Depot library rehabilitation. Other projects like the Second Avenue Bridge and new library could be affected in the future. Simonsen told the Board that Town staff would be working with Congressman Jared Polis’ office to seek the required take permit. But she also said that no take permit has ever been issued in the State of Colorado for a golden eagle nest (only for bald eagles). Without a permit, not only town projects, but any construction project in downtown Lyons and the Confluence area could be affected. The BOT wished Simonsen well in the permit effort. In other news at a workshop session prior to the BOT meeting, consultants from DHM
Design and Ballard and Associates presented their Operations and Parks Maintenance Analysis of planned flood recovery projects in the parks. The consulting firms were hired with grant funds. Should parks be built out as now proposed (the new Bohn Park master plan draft having recently been released) and staffed as recommended by the consultants, an additional estimated $133,000 in revenue would need to be devoted to parks over current funding sources. Parks would have more amenities and require more maintenance and staffing than they did pre-flood. Other items on the BOT’s Monday agenda included updates on Confluence permitting and the Main Street / U.S. 36 streetscape project, which includes the long-delayed McConnell Drive traffic light. The BOT, sitting as the Town of Lyons Ethics Board, also heard and resolved a complaint involving Trustee Lavern Johnson. With a large group of fellow Confluence residents in the audience, property owner Doug Miller listed six areas where he believed more follow-up was needed after September BOT meetings that resulted in promises for more attention to Confluence concerns. Town engineer Joe Kubala and Administrator Simonsen responded to Miller’s list, identifying progress on several permits, confirming that no trails or public access points are planned along the St. Vrain River on Evans Street, and informing everyone that a decision on moving Evans Street to the south would not have to be made until March.
Confluence residents clearly appreciated recent efforts by Kubala to address their permit concerns, giving a smattering of applause after Trustee Dawn Weller stated that she had gotten good reviews of Kubala’s performance during a recent visit to the neighborhood. Kubala and Simonsen reported that they, along with the “other” town engineer, Jim Blankenship, have come up with suggestions on how to bridge the $400,000 gap between available funds for the streetscape / “Stone Canyon light” project and the lowest bid. Three major items could be taken out of the project to reduce costs by that amount: storm sewer drainage improvements and connections on Third Avenue and U.S. 36, asphalt paving for the Black Bear Hole parking area, and improving / resurfacing the trail between Black Bear Hole and McConnell Drive. For all that to work, however, the Continue BOT on Page 13
PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS