2017 in Review
JANUARY
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- The Colorado Cowboy Gathering took place in the Mountaineering Center.
- UllrGrass Bluegrass Festival took place in Parfet Park.
- January 10th marked the beginning of the 100-year anniversary observance of Buffalo Bill’s death.
- The Library & the School of Mines sponsored the 1st annual Girls in STEM competition.
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- The Planning Commission finished the North Clear Creek Neighborhoods Plan. The plan considers that at some point the CoorsTek building may be demolished and/or redeveloped. The City hopes to encourage low and middle income affordable housing in this neighborhood. One interesting and desirable addition to this plan is a suggestion to preserve “view sheds.”
- The City bought a the former Golden Transcript building to provide more office space for employees.
- The Economic Development Commission granted $25K incentives to three businesses–Nuclear Filter Technologies, Gunslinger Custom Paint, and Gateway Village Hotel.
- The City held the first of several meetings to gather public input for the redesign of North Washington Avenue.
- The city hired a Los Angeles-based consultant to undertake an $86K feasibility study regarding turning the Astor House into a Beer Museum.
FEBRUARY
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- Paid parking was instituted in the downtown parking lots and garages.
- GURA, the Planning Commission, and City Council discussed Affordable Housing.
MARCH
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- Golden Beer Talks had their biggest turn out ever, when the Regional Director for the Associated Press talked about “This Just In: How to Spot Fake News.”
- The Golden Lions Club celebrated their 75th anniversary.
- Golden Chamber held The Taste of Golden at the Mountaineering Center.
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- The Golden Relief Group asked City Council to name Golden a Sanctuary City.
- City Council selected a new food vendor for Fossil Trace Golf Club, and so Schnepf’s replaced Three Tomatoes.
- Fire on South Table Mountain, near Coors.
- GURA heard updates on the new hotel and retail to be built in the Gateway Village Development area and a CarMax to be built east of Kohl’s.
- City Council approved a request to build 12 condos in the former parking lot at 19th and Ford.
APRIL
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- The School of Mines held their Helluva Service Event.
- The Kiwanis Club and the Chamber celebrated Easter with an egg hunt in Parfet Park, and the Railroad Museum had a Bunny Express Train. The Library had a Peeps literary diorama competition.
- CSM celebrated E-Days with merriment and explosions.
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- The Planning Commission discussed ways of incorporating more affordable housing into Golden, including rent subsidies and relaxing the 1% growth limit.
- GURA finalized a Tax Incentive Agreement with the developer at 24th and Jackson.
- The City hosted a meeting for the public to discuss the School of Mines planning process as it affects the surrounding neighborhoods.
- The City’s Bike Library opened for the season.
- The giant hummingbird was installed at South Golden Road and Ulysses Street.
- The City opened the new $1 million skate park.
MAY
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- People picked up their xeric gardens at Greener Golden Day
- The Planning Commission approved a request to allow the new senior housing development at Hwy 93 and Golden Gate Canyon Road to include 120 apartments instead of 110.
- The Visitors Center hosted a rally for the opening of the tourism season.
- The Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee discussed Affordable Housing
- The City held Golden Pride Days and residents brought a lot of junk and yard waste for disposal.
JUNE
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- First Farmers Market of the season.
- Chamber’s First “First Friday” celebration downtown.
- Buffalo Bill’s Burial was reenacted.
- Archaologists from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science did a “dig” at the Magic Mountain site to learn about Golden residents of 1500 years ago.
- Thomas the Tank Engine visited the Railroad Museum
- The Golden Community Rodeo took place in Clear Creek.
- Woods Mortuary in downtown Golden closed, after more than a century in that location.
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- The Downtown Development Authority heard from a developer who wanted to build a 186 unit dormitory on the empty lot across from Safeway.
JULY
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- 4th of July celebration and fireworks in Lions Park.
- The Boettcher Mansion on Lookout Mountain celebrated its 100th anniversary.
- Buffalo Bill Days pancake breakfast, parade, Wild West Show, Duck Race, car show, muttin bustin, and live music.
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AUGUST
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- National Night Out with the Golden Police in Parfet Park.
- A developer asked permission to demolish a single family home on Ford Street to replace it with 6 condos.
- City Council heard the results of the $86K survey to determine whether the Astor House should become a Beer Museum. The consultants concluded that a Beer Museum would be popular, but the Astor House isn’t big enough to contain it.
- The GURA Board discussed supporting affordable housing in their Urban Renewal districts.
- The Parks & Recreation Board heard concerns from residents of the 8th & 9th St. Historic District about begging, unconsciousness, overnight camping, public consumption of alcohol, drug use, profanity, noise ordinance violations, theft, pet abandonment, and threatening in Lions Park.
- City Council heard from citizens who are are concerned about growth, congestion, increased density, and having no effective method of addressing the issues with city government.
SEPTEMBER
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- Calvary Church celebrated its 150th anniversary.
- The Neighborhood Rehab Project held their Be A Tool Day and helped many Golden residents with home repairs and yard work.
- The Downtown Merchants held a sidewalk sale.
- The Golden Gallop raised money for the Golden Schools Foundation.
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- The Fire Department hosted Safety and Preparedness Day, and the Golden City Brewery hosted a benefit to raise money for the Fire Department.
- The Golden Urban Renewal Authority discussed a possible redevelopment project on Colfax.
- City Staff reported to the Parks & Rec Board that it would take $500,000-$1,000,000 to bring the Astor House to a “minimum level of integrity,” and that no funds have been set aside to make the building serviceable or to study how it should be used.
- The Golden History Museums held their Black & White Night Fund-Raiser and announced plans to close and remodel the History Center.
- City Council discussed potential public improvements and how to pay for them.
OCTOBER
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- The City celebrated the completion of the Hwy 6/19th Street interchange.
- The Mayor’s Awards recognized The Golden Giddyup, NFT, Inc., Traxion, Suzy Stutzman, and DECTech.
- Leadership Golden hosted a candidates’ forum for city council candidates.
- The Parks & Rec board continued discussing crime prevention in Lions Park.
- The Planning Commission discussed the difference between tourist homes, bed & breakfast, accessory dwelling units, and dormitories.
- The City held a public meeting to discuss neighborhood dissatisfaction with the the recent redesign of Heritage Road.
- City Council approved the School of Mines’ plan to build a parking garage, with the stipulation that they improve access to the garage by re-opening 14th Street Illinois and Maple.
- A man visiting Golden was murdered in the Clear Creek RV Park, just west of Lions Park.
NOVEMBER
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- Golden United hosted a Flavors of Golden dinner, to foster community discourse.
- The Golden Civic Foundation held their annual auction and raised record amounts of money to be distributed to Golden’s non-profit organizations.
- The Buffalo Rose closed down for a year-long remodel.
- The Be A Tool 5K Elf Run and Small Business Saturday kicked off the holiday season.
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- City Council approved a change to the comprehensive plan to include the following Affordable Housing goal: “The city will use its resources to ensure that at least 15% of the total housing stock is affordable to low income households, 15% affordable to moderate income households, and 15% is affordable to middle income households.”
- Robert W Reed, Paul Haseman, and Jim Dale were newly elected to Golden’s City Council, and Laura Weinberg was re-elected.
- City Council appropriated funds to purchase a large parcel of land on 23rd Street to become a neighborhood park.
- Councilor Casey Brown departed from the tradition of having Coffee with a Councilor by offering Craft Beer with a Councilor. He had a much better turn-out than usual!
DECEMBER
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- We celebrated “Olde Golden Christmas” all month, beginning with the Candlelight Walk, following it with 3 parades. The Railroad Museum offered continuous performances of The Polar Express and Miners Alley sold out on their performances of A Christmas Carol. The Jefferson Symphony and Golden Concer Choir both gave holiday concerts.
- Colorado Gives Day brought windfall donations to more than 30 Golden non-profits.
- The Golden Library and the School of Mines kicked off their second annual Girls in STEM Competition.
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