Matthew Burde has lived in Golden for 14 years, and has served on the Planning Commission since 2010. In 2010, the City redesigned Jackson Street to include a bike lane and better sidewalks. The original plan called for a number of trees to be planted along the thoroughfare, to make it a more pleasant place to walk. Due to budgetary constraints, the trees on the east side between 15th & 16th were omitted from the final project (in front of the Methodist Church’s parking lot).
Matt kept thinking about those trees, wishing they had been included in the final plan. In 2011, he approached the Methodist Church to enlist their support for the planting of trees in the buffer along Jackson Street, and in 2012, he approached GURA, asking whether they would contributed money to plant trees. It took about a year, and a couple of visits to GURA, but in 2013 GURA allocated $15,000 to plant 12 trees (four northern catalpas, four regal prince oaks, and four espresso coffee trees).
Matt worked with the city forester and department of public works, both of whom contributed their expertise and assistance, and the 12 trees were planted for well under the $15,000 GURA had allocated.
Thanks Matt, for going above and beyond to make Golden even better!
