Blue River to Vote on Tax Increase

Blue River voters will decide on November 6 whether to raise their property taxes by $100,000 per year to pay for road improvements and maintenance and to build a second bridge on Mountain View Drive for emergency access.

If the ballot question passes, the town’s mill levy could be raised up to three mills to a maximum of 15.29 mills.

“This gives us the ability to use some of the money should we need it. That doesn’t mean we’re automatically going to raise it. It’ll be there if we need it,” Blue River Mayor Lindsay Backas said.

The Town of Blue River doesn’t have any commercial businesses, and therefore is not supported by sales tax. Instead, it relies almost solely on property taxes to pay for services for its residents, Backas said.

The town spends a third of its approximately $690,000 budget on public safety, a third on snow removal and plowing and a third on road grading in the summer, leaving little room for larger projects, she said.

One of the town’s priorities is fixing Blue River Road, which needs new culverts, that cost about $250,000. Another is building a new bridge to connect the subdivisions on the east side of the Blue River to Highway 9 to provide a second route for emergency access.

Construction of New Roof for River Walk Center Underway

The Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge must have its hardshell cover and sides done before the National Repertory Orchestra musicians show up in early June of 2008, and they’ve hired a construction company with the capability to get it done, Kim DiLallo, director of communications for Breckenridge said.

The town is taking things slow to start to work out the kinks, but DiLallo is confident the facility will be well-utilized.

“It’s important to provide an incredible home for the Breckenridge Music Festival and National Repertory Orchestra, our two anchor tenants. We want to make sure we get it right and good for them first and then fill in programming as we can,” DiLallo said.

At this point, the town is not actively seeking more programming for the winter seasons, instead focusing on use issues for this winter while construction is taking place.

DiLallo said the construction schedule has been worked out to accommodate the International Snow Sculpture Championships which take place in the Riverwalk parking lot for a week in January.

BOEC Seeks Volunteers

Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) is seeking ski and snowboard volunteers.

Assist on adaptive ski and ride lessons, working with individuals with disabilities and special needs.

Join them for an open house at our Breckenridge ski office on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Village Base Area, Maggie Pond level.

Or, learn more at the Keystone Adaptive Center (a program of the BOEC) on Thursday, Nov. 1 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Mountain House Base Area, Guest Services Building.

Must be an intermediate level skier or rider; three days/month equals opportunity for a season pass.

For more information contact Jennifer Schappert, Volunteer Coordinator, at (970) 453-5633 or email volunteer@boec.org. Or visit http://www.boec

Another Sign Winter is Just Around the Corner

Trail Ridge Road across the high tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park closed for the season on Monday.

The road reaches more than 12,000 feet above sea level.

It's the highest continuous paved road in the nation, and winter wind and snow make it impossible to keep open.

Park officials say it closed Monday. The road connects Estes Park on the east with Grand Lake on the west.

More Snow Hits Summit County

The latest storm has brought snow, icy and snowpack conditions to most of the roads in Summit County.

Chain restrictions are in effect on US 6 Loveland Pass, Interstate 70 Eisenhower Tunnel Eastbound, Interstate 70 Vail Pass East and Westbound, and Southbound Hwy 9 from Frisco to Hoosier pass.

A winter storm warning is in effect until 6 p.m. this evening as snow will increase in intensity across the mountains this morning and then diminish during the late afternoon hours.

Total accumulations of 6 to 14 inches can be expected.

North winds of 15 to 25 mph gusting above timberline will produce areas of blowing and drifting snow.

Highs today will be in the mid 20's with the wind chill making it feel like single digit temperatures

.As of 5 a.m. this morning, both Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area reported three inches of new snow.

Two Ski Areas Open, More to Open Soon

Arapahoe Basin, had one run open as of yesterday, the beginner level High Noon, which winds down to the base from the Exhibition Lift.

The High Divide Terrain Park is also open.

A total of 20 acres is open at the hill with an 18 inch base.

Over the pass at Loveland Ski Area, Spillway, the short intermediate trail under Chair 1 opened on Friday, and Lower Richards Run, another intermediate was set to open today, according to Loveland marketing director John Sellers.

That's in addition to the beginner Mambo and Home Run trails that opened on Tuesday, Loveland's first day of the season.

Sellers said that with snow in the forecast Saturday and Sunday, more trails should be opening soon. Loveland also has an 18-inch base.

The other resorts in the area are gearing up for their respective seasons to start. Copper Mountain Resort is next in line, with a scheduled opening date of Nov. 2. Keystone and Breckenridge will follow on Nov. 9.

Chamber Generates Dollars

An evaluation done by the Breckenridge Resort Chamber found the group's marketing efforts in 2006 generated anywhere from $39 million to $63 million in tourist spending in the town, representing at least a 166 percent return on investment for the BRC's budget.

The BRC's efforts to quantify its contributions to the town won general praise from Breckenridge officials, and because of the strong performance the study shows, the group is asking for more than $600,000 in additional funding next year from Breckenridge.

But Town officials are split in both their support for more BRC funding and their reactions to the evaluation's findings.

Home Depot for Silverthorne?

Home Depot has purchased land in Silverthorne and is exploring the possibility of building a store in town, according to Mike Ciletti, a principal with Denver-based Phase Line Strategies, a consulting firm hired by Home Depot to look for alternative store locations to Frisco.

The land, three parcels in total, is located just south of Interstate 70 on S. Adams Avenue near the fairgrounds.

Ciletti said the purchase was a joint venture between the land owners and Home Depot.

Part of the reason the company purchased the land was because of the positive state of the real estate market in Summit County, Ciletti said

All three parcels are already zoned light commercial, and a Home Depot would fall into the use-by-right category, said Silverthorne town manager Kevin Batchelder.

Second Ski Area in Colorado Opens for the Season

Loveland Ski Area opened this morning - the second ski area in Colorado (and North America) to open for the 2007/08 season.

An 18 inch base, supplemented by a weekend snowfall that measured 10 inches in my back yard, gave Loveland a great start to the ski/snowboard season.

We will see many more ski areas open in the next few weeks. Tomorrow's forcase is for more snow. It looks as though winter has begun in Colorado.

Summit Foundation Philanthropy Nominations

The Summit Foundation is accepting nominations to honor and recognize outstanding philanthropy in Summit County. This year's event will be held on Friday, Nov. 16, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Keystone Conference Center.

Deadline for receipt of nominations is noon on Monday, Oct. 15.

Since the inception of the program in 1991, 169 individuals, organizations and businesses have been recognized for their outstanding philanthropic efforts in Summit County.

This year's awards will be presented in recognition of outstanding contributions in nine categories: Outstanding Philanthropist, Outstanding Volunteer, Outstanding Board Member, Outstanding Citizen, Outstanding Youth, Outstanding Professional in a Nonprofit Organization ("seasoned" and "novice"), Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Business and/or Corporation and Outstanding Nonprofit/Community Organization.

Nominations will be accepted for Summit County individuals, organizations and businesses only but may be submitted for more than one nominee in more than one category. You will be notified if your nominee is selected to receive an award.

For more information about making a contribution to the foundation or to obtain Philanthropy Day nomination forms, please contact The Summit Foundation office at (970) 453-5970 or at www.summitfoundation.org, and click on the "About Us" and "Philanthropy Day" tab. Completed nomination forms should be received in the Foundation office, 108 North French Street, (P.O. Box 4000), Breckenridge, no later than noon on Monday, Oct. 15.

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area Opens

Arapahoe Basin ski area officials announce that its opening day for the 2007-2008 ski season will be tomorrow, Wednesday, October 10, 2007. This marks Arapahoe Basin’s earliest opening in its 61 years of operation. Last year the ski area was the first to open in the nation and this year A-Basin continues that trend.

The Exhibition chair will open to the public at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. Skiers and riders can look forward to an 18-inch base on the intermediate High Noon run and some features in the High Divide terrain park. The will be no beginner skiing at this time.

New this season, A-Basin will introduce Montezuma Bowl, 400 acres of lift served groomed runs, glades, chutes and wide-open bowl skiing. The new expansion is expected to open sometime in late December, snow conditions permitting.

Silverthorne Updating Height Restrictions

Silverthorne is proposing new height restrictions in different parts of town as part of its comprehensive plan update.T

he height limit for all commercial buildings in Silverthorne is 35 feet, although builders are given some leeway for architectural features.

The new proposal would allow buildings up to 50 feet on either side of Interstate 70, where the La Quinta is already 76 feet and the Day’s Inn reaches 52 feet and around the Summit Place Shopping Center and the Red Village of the Outlets at Silverthorne.

The two hotels are considered legal, non-conforming projects because town records don’t show how their respective heights were approved, according to town planner Mary Devlin.

The height limit would taper down to 45 feet around where the Silverthorne Pavilion is located, as well as the Blue Village of the Outlets at Silverthorne. The east side of the Blue River from Tanglewood Lane down to 6th Street would lower to 40 feet, as well as the commercial area west of Adams Ave. behind the Outlets’ Blue Village.

Most of the other commercial areas would remain at 35 feet and the residential height limit of 25 feet wouldn’t change.

Devlin said the proposed numbers came from the community development department, as well as suggestions from the town council, on where best additional height could be accommodated and still maintain the character of the town.