Trouble Viewing?

2011 Citizen Input Meetings

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners wants to hear from you. Please join us at one of our Citizen Input Meetings and tell us what services, programs and county issues are most important to you.

Wednesday, Sept. 28

Arbor House at

Maple Grove Park

14600 West 32 Avenue, Golden

7 - 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 11

Buchanan Park Recreation Center

32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen

7 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 20 

Peak Community and Wellness Center

6612 South Ward Street, Littleton

7 - 8:30 p.m.

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners looks forward to seeing you and appreciates your involvement in our community.

If you have questions before the events, contact Bailey Becker,
Citizen Involvement Coordinator, at 303-271-8521.

Meet Cheezo Sept. 13

Lakewood Library Reopened Sept. 6, Celebration Sept. 10

After a long, hot summer, the Lakewood Library will once again be open to patrons beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6. We have made improvements, most notably replacing our nearly 40-year-old HVAC system, improving energy efficiencies in the building and creating a new teen area.

We'll be celebrating the reopening Saturday, Sept. 10 with fun and refreshments.

Thanks for your patience as we made your library a more comfortable and inviting space!

If you've ever wanted to meet some of your favorite authors from around the state, join us from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Belmar Library. As we prepare to celebrate Banned Books Week, more than 40 Colorado authors will be at the library to discuss their works and provide insight into their writing process. Activities will include live readings, storytimes and crafts for kids, and more!

You won't want to miss this rare opportunity to connect with many of the best writers Colorado has produced.  

Dinner and History Nov. 18

Join the Jefferson County Historical Commission on November 18, 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. to celebrate Jefferson County's 150th anniversary. The dinner will be at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 15200 West 6th Avenue and parking will be free.

The evening will include a guest speaker, President Thomas Jefferson, and also a presentation of hall of fame inductees, former State Senator Norma Anderson and the 1861 settlers George and Sarah Church.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available at the event. To get your tickets now click here or visit www.blacktie-colorado.com and click on the calendar tab.

For more information, visit www.historicjeffco.org or contact Ernie Witucki at 720-323-8458. To learn how to become one of the event sponsors, contact Bob Briggs at 303-981-4141.

Dog Training
Classes For the Public

At Foothills Animal Shelter, we are committed to providing the best resources to keep pets and people together. Our training program is based on positive reinforcement, a highly effective training technique that works by using praise and positive rewards rather than punishment or correctional actions, to teach your dog right from wrong. Classes are $120 per six-week session. Classes are $110 for dogs adopted from Foothills Animal Shelter. We offer group classes that will help your dog become a happier and better companion animal, regardless of their age, breed or size!

For more information, visit www.foothillsanimalshelter.org, call 720-407-5216 or email mthompson@fas4pets.org.

South Plains Area Plan Moving Forward 

John Wolforth, Director of Planning and Zoning  

Recently, the South Plains Area Plan was approved, with revisions by the Planning Commission. This is a step towards having a comprehensive plan in place to be used by staff, the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners to make land use recommendations and decisions specifically for the southern part of Jefferson County.

So how did this get started? On January 27, 2010, the Jefferson County Planning Commission adopted the Jefferson County Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP). The primary goal of creating the CMP was to integrate all of the community plans into a single, comprehensive document. This was designed to be done in phases. The first phase was to create the general CMP. The second phase, currently underway, is to incorporate all the existing community plans into the CMP.

In order to reduce redundancies between the plans, the plains community plans were compared against each other as well as the policies in the CMP. The South Jefferson County Community Plan and the C-470 Corridor Plan, which addresses the C-470 corridor in southern Jefferson County, were chosen to be the first plans updated and consolidated. These two plans are now the South Plains Area Plan.

When developing the South Plains Area Plan, the county kept in mind the history and background of the area. Until the mid-twentieth century, when residential subdivisions began developing, the south plains area was sparsely settled and primarily agricultural. There were several farms along the fertile South Platte River Valley and Deer Creek and a few scattered cattle ranches and horse stables.

Development of residential subdivisions began in the 1950s. This was accelerated by the mid-1950s opening of the Glenn L. Martin defense plant, which is known today as Lockheed Martin, just north of Waterton Canyon, and the early-1970s opening of the Johns Manville world headquarters, north of Deer Creek Canyon Road and at the south edge of Ken Caryl Valley.

The Chatfield Basin, south of present-day C-470 between the South Platte River and the Dakota Hogback, remained relatively undeveloped until the 1990s. Today, little remains of the area's agricultural origins. Undeveloped acreage and farm structures are being replaced with residential subdivisions, townhouses, apartment complexes, and commercial centers. Commercial development, all of it post-1950, is located primarily along Wadsworth Boulevard and Kipling Parkway and on Ken Caryl Avenue east of Highway C-470.

The South Plains Area continued to expand in population at a faster rate than other areas in the county. Between 2000 and 2010, the South Plains Area added about 11,900 new people.

The new plan focuses on what is best for current and future residents. It includes recommendations on how to develop, keeping in mind housing, commercial and open space needs.

It includes a section on activity centers. Activity Centers are areas in the community where a mix of the most intense land uses occur, including residential, retail, office, light industrial, community uses, and public and private open space. They serve a regional population and are intended to increase non-residential land uses. There are five Activity Centers in the current plan.

• Southwest Plaza
• Fehringer
• C-470/Bowles
• Ken Caryl
• Belleview

The plan also includes Neighborhood Centers, which are shopping areas that serve as community focal points. They are smaller in scale than activity centers and are oriented toward the adjacent community and pedestrians. The goals of Neighborhood Centers are to provide a sense of place, accommodate neighborhood civic functions, be designed to serve the day-to-day needs of the immediate surrounding neighborhood, and provide higher density housing. So far there are four areas identified as a Neighborhood Center.

• Belleview/Kipling
• Bowles/Kipling
• Coal Mine/Pierce
• Chatfield/Wadsworth area.

Along with where the residents live and work, the plan addresses open space and parks. It outlines where parks, trails and open space are but also where they should be and places that need to be protected. One such area is the unique and beautiful land west of the Hogback. The plan even recommends that "Jefferson County Open Space acquire, protect and preserve the undeveloped portions of the Hogback."  

Now that this first community plan has been adopted, next up is the Central Plains Community Plan which will be heard by the Planning Commission on September 14, 2011 at 6:15 p.m. Planning Commission hearings are in the first floor hearing room at the Admin and Courts Facility, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden. The Central Plains Plan covers areas between Alameda and Highway 58 (south to north) and generally includes areas west of Golden including South Table Mountain, Colfax and areas around the I-70 corridor.

To learn more about the adopted South Plains Area Plan, click here.

Brown Bag Lunch Series:  Lunch & Learning   

Jeffco Human Services

Join the Jefferson County Department of Human Services at one of its upcoming Brown Bag Lunch Series. The series are an opportunity for anyone to come learn about a variety of topics concerning the community, and the goal is to facilitate better collaboration and ensure staff, customers and the community have resources they need.

No bologna, just fresh food for thought. Bring your lunch and get informed. Registration is not required. Everyone from throughout the community is welcome to come learn. Below are the upcoming topics:

Cultural Navigator Program

• Wednesday, Sept. 14, 12 - 1 p.m.
• Café Conference Room in the Human Services Building, 900 Jefferson County Parkway
• Come and learn about Jefferson County Human Services' culture of inclusiveness and how cultural navigators work to celebrate, foster and respect diversity by developing an environment of acceptance that empowers all.

Fatherhood & Child Support Services

• Friday, Sept. 16, 12 - 1:30 p.m. 
• Head Start, 5150 Allison Street in Arvada
• Come and learn about Jefferson County Department of Human Services' Fatherhood Program, which assists dads in identifying and overcoming barriers they face in maintaining a role in their children's lives, becoming and maintaining current on financial obligations to their children and finding on-going support in the community. At the same time, learn about Child Support Services' mission to assure that all children receive financial and medical support from each parent.

For more information, please contact Janet Hopkins at 303-378-0818 or jhopkins@jeffco.us.

Salient September Public Health Updates

by Nancy Braden, Jeffco Public Health Communications

Food Safety in Jefferson County

One individual's inadequate or improper food handling, preparation or storage can make hundreds, even thousands of people sick. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 million Americans get sick and 3,000 die from food borne diseases each year. That's why attention to food safety is so important. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is the national agency responsible for ensuring that the nation's food supply is safe. At the state level, the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability's Retail Food Program works statewide to ensure safe food is available to, and provided in, the more than 20,000 restaurants and grocery stores throughout Colorado.

Here in Jefferson County, it is the Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) Food Safety Program working to prevent foodborne illness and ensure safe food for the residents and visitors to the county. The JCPH Food Safety Program is actively participating in the FDA's Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. The program standards serve as a guide to enhance and improve food safety programs nationwide. The nine standards provide a foundation upon which regulatory programs can build a continuous improvement process and encourage regulatory agencies and the food service industry to focus on the factors that cause and contribute to food-borne illness.

Jeffco Food Safety Forum: As part of the FDA Standards program, JCPH is convening the Food Safety Forum. This group of food service operators and JCPH food program staff will meet regularly to collaborate and develop innovative strategies to reduce the risk factors associated with foodborne illness. To find out more or to get involved contact Carla Opp at (303) 271-5765 or copp@co.jefferson.co.us 

For more information on food safety click on one of the below links:

• Online restaurant inspections
• Colorado Retail Food Rules and Regulations
• Home food safety myth busters 

Join Us at the Safety Fair at Summerset Festival Sept. 17 & 18
 Public Health will have a booth at the upcoming Sheriff's Safety Fair at Clement Park. In addition to information, games and prizes, we will have entertainment this year that is sure to please. 

• Sing along with the History Hunter, a musical show for children ages 7-12 which promotes cultural awareness through music and world history.
• Ditch the workout, join the party...ZUMBA! Come dance your way to health and fitness. Representatives from Studio Sabor, an all-Zumba studio serving the Denver Metro area, will be present to help you get moving.

In addition, September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. Take steps now to protect your family during a public health emergency: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed!

Jeffco Resident Gets the Attention of the Colorado Board of Health

One man, one passionate cause and change is possible. A Jefferson County resident and tobacco prevention advocate, Dr. Walter "Snip" Young offered a three minute presentation about dissolvable tobacco products during public comment at the Colorado State Board of Health meeting on July 20. Armed with the brightly colored packages of some of the new tobacco company products such as Orbs, Sticks, and Strips, Dr. Young showed the board members the products that are currently being test-marketed in Colorado. Board members reacted with shock and awe as many of them had not previously seen or heard of the products. A simple request was made, that the board hold a public hearing about the dissolvables in order to discuss the potential health concerns and appeal to youth.  

Community members often don't realize the impact that they can have on decisions made at local and state levels. Young, an active member of the Healthy Unincorporated Jeffco Tobacco Coalition, was passionate about the potential harm these new products could cause and was determined to do something about it. His efforts have significantly impacted the face of tobacco prevention within Jefferson County and the state of Colorado.

The Board of Health held the public hearing about dissolvable tobacco, on Aug.17. Public health advocates, concerned citizens, tobacco industry representatives, members of the media, and a number of others filled the board room to testify and listen. After four hours of testimonies, questions, answers, and lively debate, the board concluded enough concern existed for a resolution to be adopted in regards to the products.

Dr. Chris Urbina, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, offered closing thoughts declaring that he believes dissolvable tobacco products are clearly targeted toward youth and that there is no safe level of tobacco use. The board is currently reviewing a draft resolution and is expected to sign a final draft sometime in September. The details of the resolution are still being debated but could include a request of the tobacco industry to withdraw the products from the state as well as components related to statewide educational efforts.

Jefferson County Public Health thanks Dr. Young for his involvement in local coalition efforts and his commitment to protect Jefferson County communities from the harm of tobacco.

To learn more and get involved in one of Jefferson County's four tobacco coalitions, please visit:

• Unincorporated Jefferson County - www.healthyjeffco.com
• Golden - www.healthisgoldencoalition.com
• Wheat Ridge - www.breatheeasywheatridge.com
• Lakewood - www.citizensforahealthierlakewood.com 

World Rabies Day is Sept. 28

JCPH reminds residents and pet owners of the importance of taking steps to prevent exposure to rabies. Rabies is caused by a virus, which affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. The virus is present in the saliva of infected animals. People or animals can get rabies from a bite or contact with saliva of any rabid animal, whether that is a wild animal or an infected pet, horse or farm animal. Immediate treatment is required after human exposure to an infected animal's saliva.

Rabies prevention starts with the animal owner

• All dogs, cats and ferrets should be vaccinated against rabies. Consider vaccinating livestock and horses. Animals that have frequent contact with humans should be vaccinated.
• Pet owners can reduce the possibility of pets being exposed to rabies by not letting them roam free.
• Spaying or neutering your pet may reduce any tendency they might have to roam or fight and thus reduce the chance that they will be exposed to rabies.

 Click on one of the below links for more information:

• View videos by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control
• JCPH Animal borne Disease Program (Zoonosis)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Energy in the 21st Century: Why You Should Care

Jeffco Human Services 

Does your business or organization strive to be the BEST it can be? To be the BEST involves working harder, putting in more time, and taking the extra step in order to stand out. Being the BEST as a company involves the same extras, and extra training may be just the thing that sets your company apart from others. BEST (Business Education Series Training) provides you with some extras through high quality education seminars and training sessions for businesses. Join BEST and Jefferson County Workforce Center on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 8:30 - 10 a.m. at Lakewood Cultural Center, Community Room, 470 South Allison to take an extra step and learn more about "Energy in the 21st Century."

Carol Sue Tombari, Manager of Stakeholder Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) works on electric utility and economic development issues and will be speaking on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the challenges and risks of business as usual. Carol specializes in energy and environmental policy and has been active in related programs for more than 25 years. She directed the State of Texas' energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, was appointed to two federal advisory posts and currently works at NREL.

During these tough economic times, will your company stand out?  Are you willing to take the extra steps in order be the BEST? If so, visit www.jeffcobrc.org/BusinessEducation for more information and to register. Cost is $15 and includes breakfast and Tombari's book, "Power of the People - America's New Electricity Choices."  Seating is limited. Reservations are required.

Business Education Series Training (BEST) is a partnership of Jefferson County municipal and non-profit business specialists, which provides high quality education seminars and training sessions to the region's business community that are relevant, diverse and affordable for the purpose of encouraging successful growth in a challenging business climate.

For more information contact Debbie Beckley, 303-271-4718 or dbeckley@jeffco.us.

September is Workforce Development Month

Jeffco Human Services

September is Workforce Development Month, a month highlighting services offered by the Jefferson County Workforce Center. The center helps job seekers explore careers and assists local businesses with their talent development. In today's economy, when the unemployment increases, it can be easy to lose hope. However, there are more and more resources becoming available in order to help people succeed. Jefferson County Workforce Center is one of those resources, dedicated to creating winning solutions during this challenging economic time.

Part of a statewide network, Jefferson County Workforce Center connects job seekers with companies looking for talent in the Jefferson, Gilpin and Clear Creek counties. The center provides services such as internet access, fax and copy machine access, and classes on resume writing and interviewing skills. Support is also available to assist employees in finding new jobs after an unfortunate downsizing. There are hiring events and major job fairs, which are offered throughout the year in order to match businesses with job seekers.

Services help veterans, first-time job-seekers, and everyone in between. The talent and education found within those job seeker profiles range from corporate executives and PhDs to youths looking for their first jobs. Placements range from project manager with CISCO to web development with the city of Lakewood to GIS mapping for the Colorado Department of Transportation to Mortgage Brokers. 

These services are not limited to individuals; Jefferson County Workforce Center also assists more than 700 businesses with hiring, training, retention, and expansion.  Services are available to any size business and the majority of the services offered are at no cost.

Job seekers are encouraged to attend a "Pre-Boarding" session, offered every Monday and Friday at 10 a.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m. These sessions discuss workshops, services in the career center, an overview of the Career Ready Colorado Certificate and the benefits it provides to job seekers. Customers are also provided a work search Action Planner and are invited to meet individually with one of our career specialist to establish goals and receive direction.

For more information about Jefferson County Workforce Center visit www.jeffcoworkforce.org or call 303-271-4700.

FasTracks Update

As classes resume in our local schools, construction of the West Rail Line progresses. Road construction is still a high priority as we take advantage of the "good weather" season.

Current and Ongoing Activities 

• Crews are working on sub-ballast and the guide way at the Jefferson County Government Center. 
• Crews continue underground work on Johnson Road requiring lane closures. Starting Sept. 9, construction will require a full closure of Johnson Road. Check the West Rail Road Closure page often for updates on traffic impacts in and around this area.
• Upon completion of roadway improvements on Johnson Road, final road improvements on Ulysses will begin.
• The demolition and reconstruction of the cul-de-sacs at Kendrick Street, Juniper Street and McIntyre Street on the north side of 6th Avenue will require road closures from 7th Avenue to 6th Avenue. Local business and residential access will always be maintained.
• The westbound 6th Avenue on-ramp from Indiana Street has been restored to two lanes. Crews will now begin to restore the eastbound 6th Avenue on-ramp from Indiana to its original configuration of three turn lanes onto eastbound 6th Avenue. The 6th Avenue on-ramp at Indiana could close overnight for paving operations later this month. Again, check the West Rail Road Closure page for detailed information.
• Roadway improvements continue to require lane closures on Union Boulevard and the 6th Avenue on and off ramps at Union Boulevard. Road reconstruction in this area will continue through August.
• The new Federal Center Station opened on Sunday, July 31, 2011 and the Cold Spring park-n-Ride has closed. Demolition of the Cold Spring lot is nearing completion and crews will soon begin tunnel excavation under Union.

Upcoming Activities

• Drainage improvements under North Avenue near the Federal Center Station will begin later this month.

Information contained in this post is adapted from the FasTracks newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter or an update on the latest information, see the FasTracks West Corridor website.