Friday, November 30, 2007

Silverthorne Annexes More Land

The Silverthorne Town Council annexed another small portion of South Maryland Creek Ranch on Wednesday adding 61 more acres to the 355 that was included into the Town two years ago.

Ranch owner Tom Everist is developing a high-end subdivision on a portion of his ranch on the northern end of town.

He requested the second annexation in May in order to create 12 additional home sites, but still stay within the ranch’s rural residential density of one home per five acres.

With Wednesday’s approval, the subdivision will now include 82 single-family lots and one caretaker unit spread over 416 acres. The ranch development will also include a 61-acre meadow, a 120-acre nature preserve, a 50-acre private lake area and a 20-acre town park.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Breckenridge Increases Mill Levy

With a 5-2 vote, Breckenridge Town Council passed the second reading of a ordinance that sets the Town’s 2008 mill levy at 7.52 mills, an increase of 1.45 mills from 2007.

The increase will go to pay the debt related to Breckenridge Recreation Center and Stephen C. West Ice Arena.

As a result, money will be freed up from other funds so the Town can continue to work on its vision plan for a sustainable community, council members said.

A mill is $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Silverthorne to Underground Utility Lines

Residents of Silverthorne’s older neighborhoods have asked the Town, for years, to underground unsightly utility lines.

The Town is offering to subsidize the high-priced project at $4,000 per lot.

The Silverthorne Town Council cemented its commitment this month by passing a resolution outlining the terms of its contribution. The money would come from $225,000 the Town set aside in next year’s budget for neighborhood improvements.

That same money has been earmarked in the 2009 and 2010 budgets.

The Town’s contribution will likely be about one-third to one-half of the overall cost per lot for undergrounding, said Silverthorne public works director Bill Linfield.

Citizens would only be eligible for the money if their neighborhood petitions the Town to form a special improvement district to pay for the rest of the project.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Frisco Museum Undergoing Evaluation

The Frisco Historic Park and Museum is one of 111 museums around the country that will go through an in-depth assessment by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Those organizations use a guided self-study process and on-site consultations with museum professionals to evaluate its current practices and establish priorities to achieve professional museum standards.

The idea is to help the Frisco museum plan how to best and most effectively serve the community."We welcome these museums into a process of self-reflection and improvement and congratulate them on their commitment to field-wide excellence," said Ford W. Bell, President of AAM. "Our nation's museums are already high performing and strong organizations.

The Frisco Historic Park and Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Closed Mondays. A self-guided tour of 12 original historic buildings lets visitors explore the park at their own pace. Admission is free, however donations are appreciated.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Backcountry Huts Open for the Season

Francies's Cabin, Janet's Cabin, Ken's Cabin and the Section House all will open for the season on November 21.

These are backcountry huts, availabe for rent for an overnight stay. Accesable by snowshoe or backcountry skis.

For more information call 970-453-8583 or log onto www.summithuts.org

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Dog Park Discussions

The Town of Breckenridge will hold a public comment meeting next Tuesday on the future uses of Carter Park. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at Breckenridge Town Hall.

Throughout the past several months, residents have met with Town staff regarding the current seasonal dog park plan at Carter Park. Out of those discussions, they arrived at two options for a permanent dog park. Now, the Town is seeking input regarding each plan at the meeting from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“This has been a collaborative effort fueled by concerned citizens from the beginning when we came up with the seasonal plan,” Chief of Breckenridge Police Rick Holman said in a press release. “Citizens have told us that the current seasonal plan doesn’t work so we went back to the drawing board with those same citizens and are ready to present some new solutions. With the input that we will gather during the November meeting, we feel confident we will arrive at a plan that meets the community’s needs.”

For more information, contact Holman at (970) 547-3163 or e-mail rickh@townofbreckenridge.com.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Keystone Opens for the Season

Keystone Resort will open for the season a week earlier than anticipated due to October snowfall and favorable snow-making conditions.

The county’s largest ski area will open tomorrow (Friday) with a 12-inch base, according to Keystone communications coordinator Lindsey Fussenegger.

Copper Mountain Resort is also set to open Friday morning.

Keystone will start the season with service on the River Run Gondola delivering skiers and riders to the intermediate Spring Dipper trail. Limited beginner skiing will be available in the designated learning area on top of Dercum Mountain. The Summit Express Chairlift will also be operating, as well as the mid-mountain Montezuma Express.

Skiers and riders will need to download on the gondola or the Summit Express at the day’s end. All skier access and services will be provided in the River Run Village base area.

The A51 Terrain Park will be open, offering 20 rails, boxes, walls and other features.

The mountain will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and adult lift tickets cost $59.

Keystone’s season opener festivities continue next week with a special one-day sneak peek of night skiing and riding on Friday, Nov. 9 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The resort’s fourth annual 36 Hours of Keystone returns Nov. 30 through Dec. 1. For more information, visit www.keystone.snow.com.