WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?
9-10AM Women’s Exercise and Bible Study @ First United Methodist Church
9:15-9:45AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
10-10:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic (Virtual)
10:15-10:45AM Preschool Time @ Golden Library
10AM, 1PM, and 4PM Wild West Short Tour
12-12:55PM All Levels Yoga (Virtual)
1-1:45PM Silver Sneakers Yoga (Virtual)
1PM and 4PM Wild West Walking Tour
1:30PM Triad Senior Safety @ Jeffco District Attorney’s Office
5:30PM Tuesday Night Rides @ Golden Mill
6-8PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
6:30-8:30PM Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171
6:30-8:30PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Buffalo Rose
6:30PM Band Concert @ Bell Middle School
See the complete calendar of events.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
5PM City Council Regular Business Meeting @ City Hall
City Council anticipates a very long study session tonight. They estimate that the business meeting will begin at about 8PM.
5-6PM Golden Fire Department Cooperative Services Discussion. A committee has been reviewing the organization of Golden’s Fire Department and considering joining with the departments from two adjacent communities–Pleasant View and Fairmount. Since the study began, two years ago, Fairmount has decided to merge with the Arvada Fire Department. The Fire Chief will review the pros and cons of various alternatives, make recommendations, and hear Council’s recommendations for next steps.
6-6:30PM Dinner Break
6:30-8PM Recommendations from the Affordable Housing Task Force. Council will hear from this group, which recommends eliminating the growth limit for affordable housing, reducing required parking, and allowing affordable projects to eliminate the 25% commercial requirement. There are nuances to each of these recommendations, so see the report for all the details.
8PM (approximately) Business Meeting
Council has a long Consent Agenda tonight. These topics will be passed in a single vote unless a councilor requests that a topic be removed for discussion.
They will read Proclamations regarding Memorial Day and National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
The Affordable Housing Policy Coordinator will update them on Proposition 123, which will provide funding opportunities for affordable housing projects.
PUB GAMES
6PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
6:30-8:30PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Buffalo Rose
$10 Wheatley Vodka Mules & $11 Paddy’s Whiskey Mules
6:30-8:30PM Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171
LIVE MUSIC
6PM Karaoke with Linda @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
6PM Open Bluegrass Pick Night @ Over Yonder Brewing
GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT
32 Years Ago
The May 23, 1991 Golden Transcript announced that Golden voters had approved a 1% sales tax increase–barely. The new revenue was to go toward capital improvement projects. The first two projects in the pipeline were “streetscaping” Washington Avenue through the downtown shopping district and a brand new community center.
The hotly-contended issue came down to 11 votes, with 1,149 voting for the new tax and 1,138 voting against. The streetscape was competed in December of 1992 and the Golden Community Center opened in 1994.
The Transcript commented on the fragile, half-empty state of downtown at that time, and expressed hope for the future.
Our hope now is that Golden’s unique and irreplaceable downtown gets some help. No mall will ever mean as much as those Washington Avenue buildings with their fascinating history. But they are crumbling before our very eyes. Old buildings need to be fixed Vacant buildings need to be occupied. New and varied businesses need to open. And the infrastructure around the buildings needs to be first-class so that developers are willing to invest here. If the government pays to improve the publicly owned areas of downtown, then private money will come and take care of the rest. This tax will allow that.
That year was probably the lowest point in downtown’s long, slow decline, but it also marked the economic turnaround for downtown and the rest of the City. Earlier in May, the vacant Holland House Hotel had been purchased for remodeling into the Table Mountain Inn.
The old theater building was refurbished, with restaurants on the ground floor and offices above. The kayak park opened in 1998, making Clear Creek a sudden focus of recreational interest. Residences were built downtown, including Clear Creek Commons senior apartments and Millstone Condominiums along the Creek.
The Hested’s Department Store, vacant for more than 20 years, was demolished and replaced with Gateway Station, with restaurants on the ground floor and residences above.
This wasn’t all the result of the 1% tax–as the Transcript projected, plenty of private money was also invested in downtown–but it served as a catalyst to start the turnaround.
The 1% sales tax continues to keep our infrastructure in great condition. Back in the early ’90s, when that tax was voted in, the Transcript used to run a weekly pothole-spotting contest. The person reporting the biggest one won a prize, donated by Coors.
Jo Barber, Golden area resident and employee at Golden Library, is the winner of the city’s Pothole Hotline Contest…. The pothole called in by Barber was at 1409 East St., and it measured 4.5 cubic feet.
Golden Transcript – April 16, 1991
(When was the last time you saw a pothole anywhere inside the Golden city limits?)
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
