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Monday, December 21, 2020
Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 18, 2020
Dillon Ice Castles to open Saturday
The Dillon Ice Castles will open Saturday, Dec. 19, inviting guests to once again make their way to the Dillon Town Park to view the fourth iteration of the frozen attraction.
The castles initially were scheduled to open Dec. 26, but officials said favorable weather conditions have set the table for an early unveiling.
“Mother Nature was nice to us this year, so we were able to get the castle open earlier then expected and hopefully make a lot of people happy this Christmas,” said Melissa Smuzynski, a spokesperson for Ice Castles.
In recent months, crew members have been on scene placing thousands of icicles to construct the castles, which are sprawled over an acre of the park and complete with tunnels, fountains, slides and towers embedded with colorful lights.
Smuzynski said the attraction initially would open at about 30% of its normal capacity in order to meet public health guidelines and promote physical distancing among guests but that limitations could change throughout the season if there are alterations to state or local restrictions.
“We really want to remind people to take COVID precautions,” Smuzynski said. “Masks will be required, and we really would like our guests to bring their own masks with them. We also just want to encourage everyone to come only with members of their immediate household and to practice social distancing while in the castle. Our limited capacity should make that really easy to do.”
With the attraction ready to open, officials with the town of Dillon also are finalizing their plans to try to minimize impacts to locals in surrounding neighborhoods. At the Dillon Town Council meeting earlier this week, Dillon’s Marketing and Communications Director Kerstin Anderson presented a new parking plan meant to better communicate appropriate parking locations to visitors.
Anderson said there are 247 parking spaces adjacent to the park and along Lake Dillon Drive, along with an additional 200 spots available in rotating overnight lots in the town core. The town is planning on placing “no event parking” signs at strategic locations like Tenderfoot and La Bonte streets to keep guests out of residential areas, and other signs pointing to preferred parking lots on Buffalo Street and Lake Dillon Drive.
Tickets are available at IceCastles.com/Colorado
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
State will not allow Summit County to move out of level red ahead of the holidays
Summit County won’t be moving out of level red restrictions for the foreseeable future.
At a Summit County Board of Health meeting Tuesday, Dec. 15, County Manager Scott Vargo said the county’s current public health order, which places it in level red, will extend past Friday, Dec. 18 — its current expiration date. When the county initially moved into level red, state officials said it would be able to move into level orange once the county showed a two-week decline in its incidence rate.
The state, which determines where counties fall on the COVID-19 dial, has since changed its mind. State officials are now saying that the county must show two weeks of level orange numbers to move out of level red, which prohibits indoor dining and gatherings among more than one household.
“We’re quite concerned about this,” Vargo said. “The state has moved the bar on us and changed their expectations.”
Although Summit County has seen a sustained decline in its two-week incidence rate — the number of new cases per 100,000 people — it is still far from being within level orange. As of Tuesday afternoon, the county’s incidence rate was at 968.3 new cases per 100,000 people, which is far above the 350 new cases per 100,000 people that is required to move into level orange.
Monday, December 14, 2020
Summit County’s adoptable pets for the week of Dec. 13, 2020
Call the shelter at 970-668-3230 with questions. The most recent list of animals available for adoption can be found via their website.
Cats
CYAN, 3 years, domestic medium-hair, orange, spayed female
HERSHEY, 7 months, domestic short-hair, black, neutered male
PATCHES, 1 year 1 month, domestic short-hair, dilute calico tabby, spayed female
REEF, 2 years, domestic short-hair, brown and white tabby, neutered male
STUFFING, 16 weeks, domestic short-hair, black and white, neutered male
TUBBY, 13 years, Persian, black, neutered male
Dogs
CLEO, 3 years, Chinese shar-pei and Australian cattle dog mix, black and white, spayed female
INDY, 8 months, German shepherd and smooth-coated Chihuahua mix, tan and black, spayed female
JACK, 1 year 6 months, Australian cattle dog and Australian kelpie mix, tan, neutered male
LEILANI, 2 years, German short-haired pointer mix, chocolate and white, spayed female
Saturday, December 12, 2020
The least expensive two bedroom ski in/ski out condo in Breckenridge
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Friday, December 11, 2020
Takeout options from Summit County restaurants and breweries
From the Summit Daily News.
Under level red restrictions, all Summit County restaurants are closed to indoor dining. Outdoor dining is permitted but is weather dependent.
Above the Blue “Reddz,” 421 S. Main St. Unit G
- Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Menu: Full. Visit their Facebook page
- To order: 970-453-3062
- Outdoor dining
Amazing Grace, 312 Lincoln Ave.
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Menu: Full. Visit AmazingGraceBreckenridge.com
- To order: 970-453-1445
- Outdoor dining
Angel’s Hollow, 113 S. Ridge St.
- Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Menu: Full
- To order: 970-453-8585
Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Even with low inventory, expect a strong 2021 housing market
Even prior to the pandemic, housing inventory had hit record lows, and the problem has only gotten worse as demand continues to rise. Total home sales are outpacing new listings by a wide margin every month, and real estate tech company Homesnap foresees the shortage continuing in 2021 unless more sellers enter the market.
The divide between supply and demand is striking: compared to last year, total new listings increased .22%, while total sales increased 19.29%. Homesnap said this trend could further drain inventory as 2021 approaches.
Home prices have risen as a result of the mismatch in homebuyer demand and housing inventory. The average list price for properties that sold rose 6.7% from September to October this year, which Homesnap said is significantly higher than the same figure in 2018 and 2019.
As median home prices keep rising, homeowners who originally planned to sell within the next three to five years might list their homes sooner, Homesnap said, freeing up more inventory.
Tuesday, December 08, 2020
Al fresco winter dining: Restaurants and bars get creative to accommodate customers
Typically, December wouldn’t fare well for outdoor dining in Summit County, but the unseasonably warm weather has made it possible for several restaurants and bars with food service.
Indoor dining is closed in counties under level red restrictions, including Summit, but the state gave restaurants the option to stay open for outdoor dining in addition to takeout and delivery.
Columbine Cafe has put tables in its courtyard, where customers can sit and eat. Owner Robert Simonton explained that while there isn’t service to the tables, the cafe is still doing takeout. So a customer can order food to go, and then eat it outside.
Rising Sun Distillery owner Dawn Richardson said having no capacity indoors has been difficult but that outdoor dining is the only thing moving her business along aside from a small amount of to-go orders. She said outdoor seating has been a tough sell because it’s December and it gets especially chilly after the sun goes down.
To make things more comfortable and cozy for people, the distillery has put a windscreen around the patio, placed a fire pit in the outdoor seating area and is bringing in more fire pits and heaters this week. If the fire pits become popular, Richardson said she’ll order more.
Monday, December 07, 2020
Extraction complete at Swan River Restoration Project, site moves to restoration phase
The Swan River Restoration Project is closing out on its extraction phase and moving into the restoration phase, which is expected to be completed next year. Some neighbors of the project site will be glad to hear that the mining piece of the project is done.
Jason Lederer of Summit County Open Space & Trails explained that gravel crushing activities have been completed by the county’s gravel removal contractor, Schofield Excavation, and all that’s left to do in the way of gravel is to finish removing it. This will involve hauling the stockpiles from the site with loading trucks, so there will still be some heavy machinery operating around the site until the gravel is fully removed.
“That big effort is wrapped up for the most part except for that residual material out there,” Lederer said.
The gravel material that has been mined has gone toward local highway and construction projects. Levi Schofield, president of Schofield Excavation, said the project has provided material for roads in Silverthorne’s Smith Ranch neighborhood, the Ski Hill Road project in Breckenridge, both phases of the CDOT road project that went from Dillon to Breckenridge, and numerous houses and smaller subdivisions.
Now, Lederer said the design team is planning the restoration to be completed during the next building season. The project includes two reaches and is meant to restore the Upper Swan River Valley from past dredge mining operations and reconnect the three main tributaries of the Upper Snake River Valley. It will eventually restore 12,200 lineal feet of the stream channel.
Saturday, December 05, 2020
Last Chance to buy this Chateaux Condo before it goes off the market till Spring 2021
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Thursday, December 03, 2020
Local police stepping up enforcement of public health orders
Local law enforcement agencies have stepped up the enforcement of public health orders related to COVID-19, slowly shifting away from umbrella policies of education over prosecution as officials seek to combat soaring case numbers throughout the area.
Last month, Summit County was moved to level red on the state’s COVID-19 dial, and officials released an amended public health order to further tighten restrictions in hopes of avoiding another shutdown. But improving the community’s response to the novel coronavirus is ultimately tied to how well residents and visitors are willing to comply.
Conversations on the topic have ramped up between public health officials, law enforcement leaders and the district attorney’s office in recent weeks, and some officials believe the time has come to swap the carrot for the stick.
“At this stage, everybody has had the opportunity to be educated, and they’ve gotten that message,” 5th Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown said. “If you’re not being compliant, then that’s a choice you’ve made, and you’re leaving law enforcement with no other choice but to take action. I think we’re at that inflection point. Rather than saying education is the only alternative, we’re looking at prosecution as an appropriate method. Some people just aren’t going to comply unless there’s somebody twisting their arm.”
Law enforcement leaders in the county said they’re responding to multiple calls a day regarding potential public health order violations. Between April and November, the county’s law enforcement agencies received a total of 648 violation calls, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. There were a total of 268 calls in October and November alone, according to Summit 911 Center Director Jerry Del Valle.
Tuesday, December 01, 2020
Vail Resorts’ cancellation of cloud seeding this winter could mean less water in streams
Due to budget shortfalls, Vail Resorts has pulled this winter’s funding for its cloud seeding program — the longest-running in the state at 44 years — potentially reducing the amount of water flowing down the Colorado River this spring.
According to a November report from Colorado Water Conservation Board Director Rebecca Mitchell, due to economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Vail Resorts was forced to suspend all funding for cloud seeding for the 2020-21 season. This has resulted in a $300,000 loss of funding for cloud seeding activities over the central Rocky Mountains.
While this could be bad news for skiers, it also means a challenge for Western water managers who use cloud seeding to increase water supplies by increasing snowfall in the mountainous headwaters of the Colorado River and its tributaries. While ski resorts tend to focus their cloud seeding on increasing early-season snow, water managers tend to choose the best storms throughout the season and boost those.
According to Mitchell’s report, the loss of Vail’s cloud seeding program severely reduces the ability to augment and increase water supplies.
“This recent decision has put managers of the (Central Colorado Mountain River Basin Program) in a very difficult position as they endeavor to meet the needs of drought recovery,” Mitchell’s report reads.
Vail Resorts did not respond to requests for comment.
The weather modification program is one of six in Colorado. This program is run by the Colorado River Water Conservation District and covers Grand, Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties. Vail Resorts’ program is separate from the central Colorado program, but it is within the permit area and focuses on Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts.