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News from
Jefferson County
Want more news and information about Jefferson County? Subscribe to our monthly citizen newsletter that covers topics from all of the departments and divisions throughout Jeffco.
Simply click the link above or the icon below, enter the email address you'd like the newsletter to be sent to and then choose the "Jeffco eNewsletter" option. |
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Jefferson County Parks - Enriching Life
Jefferson County's Community Resources is getting a new name. At staff briefings, Community Resources Director Tom Hoby presented the new department name for the commissioners to approve. Community Resources will now be known as Jefferson County Parks with the tagline of "Enriching Life."
The new name will be more recognizable to citizens and better represent the shared function of its four divisions.
The department will continue to provide to the community great event locales such as the Boettcher Mansion, Fairgrounds and Open Space's Pine Valley Ranch Park along with various educational programming like CSU Extension's horticulture classes, the Lookout Mountain Nature Center and the Hiwan Homestead Museum.
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Repairs to be Made on McIntyre Street Bridge
The Board of County Commissioners approved a contract with Structures Inc. for $884,140. The contract is for repairs on the McIntyre Street Bridge, which is located south of state Highway 58 and goes over Clear Creek.
The bridge is 38 years old and an inspection conducted in 2010, rated the bridge as "Structurally Deficient." The goal of the project is to bring the bridge back into a state of good repair and extend its useful life. Repair work will include a concrete deck, an abutment and pier columns, as well as replacing the bridge railing and providing a new asphalt road surface.
The project will be funded by the Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery (FASTER) as administrated under the county's Road and Bridge fund. This project was approved as part of the 2011 Capital Improvements Project list.
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ERA Expanding in Jeffco
The Board of County Commissioners approved a personal property tax refund incentive for Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) that has expressed a desire to expand its business facility in Jefferson County.
Per current state statute, ERA is eligible to receive a 50 percent rebate for the first five years of operation provided that the company meets certain performance guarantees, including the expansion of its business on or before December 2011. In addition, it must also hire a certain number of additional employees, 20 over the next five years, and invest the amounts for personal property, capital, equipment and real property as all set forth in its incentive questionnaire.
This rebate only applies to the county's taxable share and does not include any other taxing entities, such as the school district.
According to a recent announcement by the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, ERA is planning on expanding to a new 66,000 square-foot facility in the Coors Technology Center in Golden. The new building is projected to more than double ERA's current facility space located in Arvada. The capital investment for the new facility is expected to be approximately $4 million.
Founded in 1977, ERA provides Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) and Proficiency Testing (PT) products to thousands of laboratories across multiple industries around the county.
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BCC Approves IGA for Low Income Housing Grant
The Board of County Commissioners OK'd a revised Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Edgewater, Golden, Wheat Ridge, Mountain View and Lakeside that will allow the entities to receive federal grants for low and moderate-income housing programs.
In 1993, Jefferson County, as an "Urban County," became eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CDBG funding was created to improve the physical, economic and social conditions for low and moderate-income residents or low-income areas in Jefferson County. It can be used for items such as new construction, housing services and public facility improvements.
In order to meet the population threshold, the cities and towns in the IGA have partnered with the county. The revised IGA sets forth the administrative allocation, which is used for funding staff, county oversight of all the projects, and the mutual agreement that CDBG funds can be used in each of the participating jurisdictions. It also eliminates, per a new HUD requirement, city allocations that were based on the percentage of low to moderate-income populations in the municipalities.
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View BCC Meetings Online!
Did you know Jefferson County records each County Commissioners Hearing for rebroadcast on its website? You can also find recordings of other county meetings, videos of events and Jeffco's video program, Jefferson County Insights. To learn more, visit the Jeffco Media-on-Demand site. |
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