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January 2019
Hayden Round Up By Brodie Farquhar
Hayden residents can plan on many more opportunities for healthy activities such as walking, biking, hiking and horseback riding in the future. Town council has approved a three-year plan for building a modern, six-foot wide sidewalk on both sides of Hwy. 40, from one end of town to the other. In addition, Peabody Coal has donated an old railroad spur and 200 acres on the southeast side of town, to create a four-mile trail. The spur runs out to an old tipple site south of the racetrack, where an old coal mine used to load coal. Peabody workers have removed the rails, but won’t have to reclaim the raised railroad berm. Town Manager Matt Mendisco said the two projects will enhance exercise opportunities and safety for residents who want to walk along the main street of town or enjoy the new trail opportunity on the east southeast side of town. “We know from other communities that encouraging pedestrian access can improve health and economic activity,” he said, as much as five to six percent.
Valley Voice
The proposed sidewalks are part and parcel of facade improvement plans for Hayden. A revolving loan fund can assist business and home-owners who just need a bit more money for paint jobs, signage improvements and more. He said the concept is based on a Paint/Clean/Fixit programs in Oak Creek, Fairplay and Gypsum. Highway stripping and bike lanes are also planned for the Hwy. 40 corridor. Mendisco said there’s also plans for a real estate accelerator program – bringing together owners of vacant lots with other players, such as town officials, bankers and developers. The idea is to brainstorm about what Hayden needs, he said, and see who’s interested in development, and where. Mendisco said he’s heard nothing about whether anyone’s interested in the 10 acres of the current middle/high school site, which will become vacant when the students, teachers and administrators move to a new site adjoining the elementary school site in 2020. “My advice is to start planning now, because development of the current site will be complicated,” he said. It will take both time and money to develop plans. There’s a real opportunity that the demolition of the current school site could dove-tail nicely with development plans.
For those who live here and for those who wish they did.
Hayden Schools Development of final design plans for the new middle/ high school complex have about hit the halfway mark, said Hayden Superintendent Christine Sinner. About 50 community members have viewed the overall schematics and it looks like construction ground can be broken, as planned, in March, with an opening set for the fall of 2020. See drawing below. Meanwhile, the school district is actively considering a four-day school week. Research from other schools with a four-day week shows that it increases attendance of students and allows for greater professional development for teachers. Some 104 of the 178 school districts in Colorado are on four-day schedules. That typically means a 7.5 hour day for 144 days, compared to a normal six hour day for 180 days. Fridays are used for sports, medical appointments or other family business. Teachers get a day for lesson plans, rather than spend weekends on that task. The school district website has research about the f our-day work week, at haydenschools.org.