May 2019

Here’s my mid-month update of things going in Superior for May 2019 –

Town Hall Meeting:

This Saturday, May 18 at 9:30am to 12:30pm, State Senator Tammy Story (SD-16) and State Representative Matt Gray (HD-33) will be hosting a Town Hall meeting at Superior Town Hall. Come join your local State elected legislators for a recap of the 2019 State Legislative Session.

Roundabout Art:

As you may have noticed, the roundabout on McCaslin @ Main Street has been cleared of landscaping as contractors have started to prep the site for the Douwe Blumberg art installation “Zephyr in Triptych.” I’ve included a sketch of this artwork. The installation is expected to occur in June. You can check out some of Douwe’s other projects at his website: http://www.douwestudios.com/

Skate Park:

On Arbor Day (April 29), Superior held a ribbon cutting for our new Skate Park at Autrey Park (picture attached). The Skate Park includes half pipes, ramps, and a pump track and is located next to the Town’s existing Bike Park and Off-leash Dog Park. My family’s been down to Autrey Park every weekend since it opened and it’s always full of kids having fun. I even tried out the pump track on my mountain bike and didn’t break anything on my bike or myself.

Coal Creek Improvements:

Following the massive flooding that occurred in September 2013, Coal Creek overflowed its banks and split into several different forks. This required planning with the Army Corps. Of Engineers. Planning and permitting on that project took several years. Construction work has been ongoing for several months and the work along the Coal Creek channel is now 100% complete and the bank stabilization is done. The entire length of a new 10’ wide regional trail has also been poured. Revegetation and landscaping of the entire project area will be completed over the next month. A picture of the new Coal Creek channel is attached.

Bike Path US 36:

Construction of the new multi-modal trail linking the RTD Bus Rapid Transit station at McCaslin with the Davidson Mesa underpass is progressing as scheduled. The trail, which is bounded on each side by US 36 and Marshall Road, is 10 ft. wide and constructed of concrete. Projected completion is targeted for the beginning of July.

Riverbend Park Outreach Meetings:

PROSTAC is hosting open-house outreach meetings to gauge community interest in installing playground equipment at Riverbend. The first such meeting was held on May 15 at Town Hall. A second meeting will be held at Riverbend Park on June 1. If you are interested in seeing a playground at Riverbend Park — or alternatively, if you are opposed to such a project — please be sure to let the Town Board know how you feel. Please email us at: townboard@superiorcolorado.gov.

Coalton Street Improvements:

This summer — as part of our Town’s annual Capital Improvement Plan — the Town will be reconstructing and repairing Coalton Road from Indiana Street to Rock Creek Parkway. The Town will also doing some mill/overlay work on McCaslin near the Ridge development; paving and adding spaces to the parking lot at the Dog Park/Skate Park on Honey Creek Lane; crack sealing various roads around Town; and constructing an access drive and trailhead parking lot off McCaslin.

STEM School Shooting:

Here is a transcript of my opening remarks during the last town board meeting on May 13th:

“Lastly, on a more somber note, I know everyone is aware of the School Shooting that occurred at the Stem School in Highlands Ranch last week, where Kendrick Castillo was shot and killed, and where 7 other students were also injured in the shootings. These types of shootings used to be unfathomable…. now, they are commonplace. And after each of them, we hear common refrains, “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, calls for gun control on one end of the political spectrum, and calls for protecting 2nd Amendment Constitutional rights on the other. Then… memories fade and we move on with our lives, never making any progress, until we are reminded by the next mass shooting. Rinse and repeat. It’s an incredibly sad state of affairs… that this is the new normal that we and our children have to live in. A reality where active shooter drills are commonplace. Just last week, I had to explain to my 7 year old son, what to do in case there was an active shooter in his school. That shouldn’t happen. I’m not trying today to start a discussion on gun control. But thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. I don’t have the solution to our nation’s crisis… or a solution that can be implemented throughout the state or BVSD. But I do believe that we can do something to make the schools here in Superior — Superior Elementary, Eldorado K-8, and Monarch High School — safer. I am calling on the leaders in these schools to start a discussion with us. With the community. To let us know what we can do to make the schools safe for our children. Do they need better security? Deputies on site? Additional counselors and mental health services? I want to know what the schools need and then how we can help. If it’s a question of money — I want the Town to consider supporting this initiative. — we can certainly do more to keep our kids safe.”