Inside Firestone

Firestone Hosts 3rd Quarter Tri-Area Joint Meeting

Representatives from Firestone, Frederick, Dacono and the Carbon Valley Chamber of Commerce meet Tuesday night, Sept. 6, 2011, at the Carbon Valley Regional Library to discuss happenings within the three communities. The Town of Firestone hosted the event, and Mayor Chad Auer led the meeting with updates from the St. Vrain Valley School District, Carbon Valley Recreation District, mayors from the three communities and a discussion on the Tri-Area Transportation Study.

Auer said he finds the Tri-Town meetings to be extremely helpful. “Residents from across the region expect us, as local leaders, to collaborate whenever possible. While each of us has a duty to advance the best interests of our respective communities, there is a great value in regional cooperation.”

The St. Vrain Valley School District attested to the growth within the Carbon Valley area, and the ongoing efforts for education excellence. Amy Weed, Area 1 Assistant Superintendent, and Rick Ring, Chief Operations Officer from the St. Vrain Valley School District, gave the highlights of the building updates for the new Frederick High School, which is slated to open in fall 2012.

Ring said the construction is actually ahead of schedule, which will allow for additional time to install a state-of-the-art technology system throughout the school. Athletic fields have also been completed and may be used as early as next summer.

The district is exploring a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade model for the current Frederick High School, which would be the first within St. Vrain. This concept would help with overcrowding at Coal Ridge Middle School in Firestone. The district is also currently reviewing overcrowding needs at Prairie Ridge Elementary School in Firestone and hope to have a viable solution within the next few months as they look at official October enrollment counts.

Auer said, “The Carbon Valley continues to leverage a very positive working relationship with the St. Vrain Valley School District. Enrollment is up in the region, we are opening new schools, we are expanding infrastructure to and from schools, and most importantly – student achievement is trending up.”

Renee Witty, the executive director for the Carbon Valley Recreation District, presented an operational update on current and future programming. She also provided some initial comments on potential future capital projects.

Each of the three communities expressed their concerns on how they can each help the Recreation District move forward, and exhorted the district to develop a comprehensive operational plan that would address the vision for the future.

Auer said recreation facilities are critical to the Carbon Valley. “As individual towns, we are expanding our parks, trails and community recreation facilities according to our vision as expressed in our individual master plans. Simply put, it is very clear that a comprehensive master plan for the Carbon Valley Recreation District must become a top priority for our region,” he said. “Our communities deserve a master plan that responds to the exponential demands of the fastest growing region in Colorado.”

Witty also noted that elections for the district’s Board of Directors will be in April 2012. At that time, there will be three positions open: one for a Frederick resident, one for a Firestone resident and an at-large member.

The meeting also allowed attendees to review an executive summary from the Tri-Area Transportation Study completed in June. Dave Lindsay, engineer for the Town of Firestone, said the three communities applied for a grant to have the feasibility study completed, which took a year. The study first determined if there was a need for public transportation in the area, and then looked at available options.

“Based on the study, while there is not an anticipated crisis for public transportation in our area, the services provided are not 100 percent adequate to meet our current needs,” Lindsay said. Available services include the Weld County Transportation program and Boulder County Special Transit.

Meeting attendees agreed to form an Ad-hoc committee made up of two representatives from each Firestone, Frederick, Dacono and the Carbon Valley Chamber. The committee will be tasked with reviewing the report, developing a strategic plan and then meeting with the available services to determine how we can address the transportation needs of the area.

Auer added, “From there, we will build on the experience of other communities, as well as advance initiatives according to available money, appropriate demand and common sense.”

To wrap up the meeting, each of the three mayors gave an update on specific happenings within their respective communities.

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