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Colorado - Mon. 06/16/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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CDOT: OVERNIGHT CLOSURES COMING TO FLOYD HILL PROJECT ON I-70
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation announced there will be traffic holds and overnight closures on Interstate 70 at the Floyd Hill Project during the last two weeks of June. There will be rock scaling work to remove loose rock on the northside of I-70, east of the Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway interchange at Exit 243, with crews operating from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursdays for two weeks beginning June 16. Drivers should expect several traffic holds per day, approximately every hour, on I-70 between the Veterans Memorial Tunnels and Homestead Road at Exit 247. Delays of up to 45 minutes could occur as traffic clears, including delays that could extend past 4 p.m. Motorists should remain on I-70 during the traffic holds as there is no detour.
Two full overnight closures of westbound I-70 will also be required for sign installation between County Road 65 at Exit 248 and U.S. Hwy. 6 at Exit 244. The closures are planned from 10 p.m. Monday, June 16, to 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 17, and from 10 p.m. Monday, June 23, to 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 24. For the overnight closures, westbound I-70 traffic will merge into one lane and exit at County Road 65, head west on U.S. Hwy. 40 and use the U.S. Hwy. 6 on-ramp to return to westbound I-70.
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SAFEWAY WORKERS IN 4 LOCATIONS BEGAN STRIKING SUNDAY
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Workers of WFCW Local 7 began striking Safeway and Albertsons stores Sunday in Estes Park, Fountain, Pueblo and at a distribution center in Denver after failing to reach an agreement with Safeway/Albertsons. UFCW Local 7 said it hoped issuing a 72-hour notice on Wednesday to begin a countdown to the termination of the contract extension agreement would lead to a breakthrough in negotiations with Safeway/Albertsons. The union says the limited beginning to the strike is meant to bring awareness of current contract negotiations to the public while reducing "the hardship on shoppers and workers alike that result from a wide-spread strike on shoppers and workers alike."
UFCW 7 said members who work at Safeway/Albertsons across Colorado have been in contract negotiations for the past seven months. Safeway released the following statement on Thursday after the 72-hour notice was given: "We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, good for our customers, and allows our company to remain competitive."
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CDOT LAUNCHES ITS SPEED SAFETY CAMERA PROGRAM
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Last week, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation began installing photo radar cameras as part of a pilot for its Speed Safety Camera Program. The first pilot site for the CDOT program was Colorado Hwy. 119 in Boulder County. The program utilizes cameras to provide the basis for issuing warnings and citations to drivers exceeding the posted speed limit, without adding more Colorado State Troopers to the roads. When a vehicle passes one of the speed cameras, it captures an image and a timestamp, including the vehicle’s license plate number. The system calculates the average rate of speed between each camera, after which vehicles traveling an average of 10 miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit are issued a civil penalty. Though they were installed earlier this month, the speed cameras are not active yet.
A program announcement will be sent to the public next week with information about the new speed enforcement before the cameras are enabled. The state department is legally required to notify the public about the cameras and their location 30 days before they’re installed. The department will also place signs throughout the corridor warning drivers about the photo radar enforcement ahead. Although future locations for the cameras have yet to be confirmed, Interstate 70’s Floyd Hill and Glenwood Canyon were thrown out as possible locations for speed enforcement cameras during past transportation commission workshops.
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CITY OF BOULDER INSTITUTES HIRING FREEZE DUE TO BUDGET SHORTFALL
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The city of Boulder issued a news release Friday announcing the city will institute a hiring freeze for most vacant positions through the end of 2025. It is likely to continue through 2026. The city estimates that about 85 open positions could be subject to the freeze. Exceptions will only be made to critical roles, such as those necessary for public safety or water quality. The city still plans to fill an opening for a new transportation director. All exceptions to the freeze will require approval from City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde. Boulder has around 120 vacant full-time positions open, and written or verbal offers have been made to about 35 of those. Any offer accepted will be honored. The hiring freeze was implemented as a result of a steep drop in tax revenues. The city's blunt assessment, "“People are not spending as much money.” Sales and use taxes are the city’s primary source of revenue, and the city’s General Fund is under the most stress.
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UNUSUAL BOULDER PROPERTY FOR SALE: AN EQUESTRIAN CENTER ON 70 ACRES FOR $24.5M
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An equestrian center on 70 acres in unincorporated Boulder County has been listed for sale for $24.5 million. The property contains a nearly 7,000-square-foot residence, with five bedrooms, and eight bathrooms, as well as a six-horse barn, indoor arena, guest house and 50-foot pool. The property originally sold for $2.5 million in 2005, with just a small cabin on the property. It was remodeled by Barrett Studio. The indoor arena is about 131 feet by 65 feet and is constructed from “high-end material made for delicate horses.” There also is a tack room and utility space.
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS TO HOST HOUSING SUMMIT
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The Glenwood Springs Association of Realtors, with co-hosts the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, Housing and Building Association of Western Colorado and the Western Colorado Contractors Association, will present their inaugural Garfield County Housing Summit. It will be a half-day session, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 26 at the Ute Theater and Events Center, at 132 E. Fourth St. in Rifle. There will be panel discussions and speakers, with the keynote address from DJ Summers. Panels slated for the event include a local reaction to data from the Common Sense Institute and the role of nonprofit and local governments in addressing housing needs. The summit will close with a discussion of how local leaders can continue to work together to tackle the housing crisis. Panel participants include representatives from Colorado Mountain College, Grand River Hospital District, Rifle, Parachute, Silt, Glenwood Springs, Garfield County and many more.
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DIFFICULT TIMES AT MAROON BELLS: SHORT OF STAFF, WATER, TOILETS, ELECTRICITY
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The cuts instituted by the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) resulted in the White River National Forest not hiring any seasonal workers for the Maroon Bells Scenic Area. Normally, the Maroon Bells area would have six to nine seasonal workers. Early season visitors have had no water, and the Maroon Information Center, which provides visitor information as well as access to emergency communication devices, is out of service. Current management did not hire anyone to run the Maroon Bells micro-hydro system, which provides water and electricity to the scenic area, given the budget cuts, according to a former employee who managed the Maroon Bells Scenic Area for 10 years and worked at the area for 28. The 12-stall bathroom at the bus turnaround of the scenic area, which in total provides 12 toilets and four urinals, is not operating. There are six toilets (in four outhouses) still available for public use.
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VAUGHN JOHNSON: LA PLATA COUNTY CATTLEMAN OF THE YEAR
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Vaughn Johnson was named Cattleman of the Year for 2025 by the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen’s Association. Johnson grew up in the San Luis Valley raising cattle, sheep, hogs and horses on a ranch near Sanford before attending medical school at the University of Colorado. He returned to the San Luis Valley and served as the primary care physician for the Sanford community. In 1972, he realized that he really wanted to return to ranching and bought a few cows that were owned by his mother after his father died, along with the lease for summer pasture north of Chama, New Mexico and the brand registered by his father in 1938, the Smiling J.
In 1975, Johnson, his wife, Karen, and their seven children moved to La Plata County, where he became a partner in a local radiology practice. He began ranching on the Florida Mesa in the winter and moving his herd south for the summer, which had grown to about 75 head. He balanced his medical practice with livestock raising by managing long hours until his children were old enough to help with chores on the ranch. Two of his sons still live in Durango, Jay Johnson is a radiologist at his father’s former practice, and Vaughn Johnson Jr. is an orthodontist with offices in Durango, Bayfield and Pagosa Springs. Johnson’s other five children are scattered throughout the West. All four of Johnson’s sons have a few head in the herd, keeping them connected to their heritage.
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EGE GETS WINTER FLIGHT FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.; GAINS 7-HUB MILESTONE
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On Friday, officials of the Eagle County Regional Airport announced that this winter will mark the addition of a weekly flight, arriving from and departing to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. The flight will begin Dec. 20. In addition to that announcement, EGE officials said that the Eagle County airport officially became a member of United Airlines' “7-Hub Club,” meaning the airport hosts direct flights from seven of United’s major hubs around the country: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington. Eagle County Aviation Director David Reid said the airport is “thrilled” to welcome the new flight, adding that “Joining United’s ‘7-Hub Club’ is a major milestone for (Eagle County).” Eagle County is only the 23rd airport in the nation to join the club.
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DILLON FACING PROJECTED MILLION DOLLAR SHORTFALL THIS YEAR
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Dillon finance director Mary Kay Perrotti told the Dillon Town Council last week that sales tax revenue in 2025 through March was down 8.27 percent, or $233,000, compared to the same timeframe in 2024. Projections based on that data predict the town will be down 13 percent, or $1.1 million, in sales tax this year compared to the 2025 budget. At the planning session with the town council, Perrotti outlined a list of deferred capital projects from the staff to prepare for the worst-case scenario that the town will be approximately 13 percent down as compared to budget, or $1.1 million.” Dillon had the largest dip in sales tax among Summit County municipalities this ski season, down 6 percent from December to March as compared to the season before.
In April, Perrotti presented $700,000 worth of potential capital deferrals, including a police department facility analysis, replacement of marina docks, town park design work and the town park plaza. The additional deferrals total $405,000, meaning altogether the deferrals remove $1.1 million from the 2025 capital fund expenses, matching the projected sales tax shortfall. If sales tax revenue does improve throughout the year, the town could bring back these projects in 2025, although many of the ones now deferred would be unlikely to return because they are summer projects.
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CONSTRUCTION BEGINS AT FOX PARK, DENVER’S NEWEST NEIGHBORHOOD
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Leaders from the city of Denver, along with organizations that are partnering with the Fox Park development team, joined the developers in breaking ground on Fox Park, the 41-acre mixed-use development in Globeville, which will become Denver’s newest neighborhood. The first structure to be built will be a two-story parking garage with 480 spaces. The parking garage will run underground next to the World Trade Center complex at Fox Park, which is planned to include a Virgin Hotel with about 250 rooms, office space and a 2,500-person entertainment venue. The parking garage will be topped with Fox Park Plaza, a project that is being designed in partnership with the Denver Botanic Gardens, which will help maintain the 14 acres of parks and plaza space planned at the site.
Once the parking garage is finished, the next phases of the project will start in 12-to-18-month increments. That will include the theater, the around 130,000-square-foot Virgin Hotel, and URWLD, which will include indoor activities like surfing, scuba diving and ice climbing. Phase two will bring up to 550 multifamily units and more office space, which will be followed by phases with more residential buildings, office space and mixed-use development, creating a new neighborhood in Denver. Full build-out of the site will likely take 10 years, but the first phases are expected to come online much sooner. The World Trade Center in Denver, the namesake tenant, plans to move into its new space in 2027.
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GOLFWEEK’S 20 BEST PUBLIC GOLF COURSES IN COLORADO, 2025
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Here are the 10 best public golf courses in Colorado in 2025 from Golfweek:
- The Broadmoor Golf Club, East Course, Colorado Springs
- The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa, Grand Junction
- Red Sky Golf Club, Fazio Course, Wolcott
- Red Sky Golf Club, Norman Course, Wolcott
- The Golf Club at Bear Dance, Larkspur
- RainDance National, Windsor
- CommonGround, Aurora
- TPC Colorado, Berthoud
- The Broadmoor, West Course, Colorado Springs
- River Valley Ranch, Carbondale
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MARKET UPDATE - 06/13/2025 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 06/12/2025)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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