Green light for the construction of VCMP trails
Idaho SpringsCity Council has accepted $ 350,000 in grants and is spending approximately $ 36,000 of its own funds to begin trail construction at Virginia Canyon Mountain Park this summer. The board approved the expenses at a meeting on June 28.
The city received $ 100,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado and $ 250,000 from Colorado Parks & Wildlife to build the first miles of trail, and $ 29,000 from Feast on the Creek fundraising events dedicated to the project.
So, city staff said Idaho Springs only needed to spend over $ 7,000 of their own money to get started. The exact amount would depend on in-kind services and how quickly the project could get started, staff said.
Officials initially planned to wait until a $ 400,000 advance on Mighty Argo Cable Car LLC’s ticket revenue was paid. However, the company has put gondola construction on hold until it can sort out its financial situation, as it took legal action against its debt fund and a securities firm earlier this year.
At the June 28 meeting, Deputy City Administrator Jonathan Cain noted that the GOCO and CPW grants were very competitive; therefore, if Idaho Springs wants to look better in future nominations, it should use up these grants as soon as possible.
Once the spending is approved, Idaho Springs and its contractor, the Colorado Mountain Bike Association, can build the hiker-only trails this year and supplement them as funding becomes available, he confirmed.
Mayor Mike Hillman commented, “I was worried about losing these grants. We had to figure out how to move this project forward with very little outflow from the city coffers. “
City Councilor Chuck Harmon estimated that $ 7,000 from city funds was “good value” for the construction of VCMP trails.
COVID-19 plan for the 2021-22 school year
As the highly transmissible Delta variant becomes the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Colorado, county officials are planning how to protect everyone when school resumes in the fall.
Tim Ryan, the county’s public health director, said on June 29 that he hoped the federal government would allow those under 12 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but that timeline is still unclear.
Even if the children were allowed and started receiving vaccines on September 1, they would not be fully vaccinated until mid-October, he explained.
Some Colorado school districts have already said they will not require elementary students to wear masks, which Ryan felt was a premature decision, especially given the current spread of the Delta variant.
“None of these children will be vaccinated when school starts,” he said at a meeting of county commissioners on June 29.
He said his department will continue to work with the Clear Creek School District to make the best decisions for local students, regardless of the plans of other districts.
“The decisions we made last year have worked well,” he said. “We were one of the few districts in the state to be (in person) for as long as we have been and to have as much activity as we do.”
Regarding the county’s vaccination rate, Ryan said 62% of eligible residents had received at least one dose and nearly 58% were fully vaccinated. He stressed that anyone who has received Pfizer or Moderna vaccines should receive their second dose, as those who have skipped it are susceptible to the Delta variant.
Ryan also noted that in the two weeks leading up to June 29, all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Clear Creek were among the unvaccinated.
The county will continue to hold weekly tests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday near Digger Field in Idaho Springs.
Sheriff’s Office Annual Scholarships
The Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office has awarded a $ 1,000 scholarship to Cela Davies and Kian Gutierrez, both recent graduates of Clear Creek High School, for the 2021-2022 school year.
According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, a citizens’ committee selected Davies and Gutierrez based on their leadership, merit, character, involvement, purpose and needs, among other criteria.
Applicants had to be full-time legal residents of Clear Creek County who planned to attend a college, college, or business school in Colorado.
Funds for the annual scholarships come from the office’s educational support program.
– Corinne Westeman
