July 2022

Hi everyone – Here’s my update for things going on in Superior for July 2022.  Read on for updates about our drinking water system, the Marshall Fire debris removal program, the Life Sciences Campus project in Downtown Superior, new businesses coming to town, the upcoming election, and more…  

4th of July Recap

Superior’s 4th of July festivities were awesome this year!  We had 350+ runners in the Downhill Mile and 45+ float entries in the parade.  We also had over 3,000 attendees and served more than 4,000 pancakes at the pancake breakfast!  Thank you to our amazing Town Staff for organizing this great event and to the community for coming out!  The 4th of July in Superior is always one of the best town events of the year and it was so great to see our community come together once again!  Hope you enjoyed my parade entry (cover photo.)

Water

On Monday, April 4, 2022, the Town Board approved an agreement with Evoqua Water Technologies LLC for the installation and rental of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Treatment System at the Town’s water treatment plant. This GAC system includes six 10-foot diameter steel vessels and is designed to remove compounds that are causing smoky odor and taste issues in our drinking water.  I’ve written about the Town’s water issues and the steps taken to resolve the situation every month since the fire, so if you’re looking for more history, I encourage you to start from the beginning here.  

Over the past three months, we’ve encountered various supply chain issues with this project, but we are expecting the system to be operational by Friday, July 15 and the Town should start distributing GAC-treated water throughout the community shortly thereafter. 

Debris Removal Update, New deadline to cleanup

Work on the County-led coordinated Private Property Debris Removal (PPDR) continues.  DRC (the company hired by the County to complete the PPDR) is expecting to finish debris removal work by the first week of August.  In order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the Town and its residents — and to ensure that all fire-impacted properties have been cleared of debris in a timely manner — the Town Board voted on July 11 to adopt an emergency ordinance establishing a July 15, 2022 deadline for residents to submit a debris removal permit application.  In addition, the opt-in deadline to participate in the PPDR program has been extended to July 15, 2022 as well.  This means that fire-impacted property owners can still opt-in to the PPDR and have their property cleared by DRC if they contact the County by July 15, 2022.  The new ordinance also sets a August 31, 2022 deadline for debris removal work to be completed, subject to one 45-day extension for good cause.

Separately, I attended a “debris removal” celebration hosted by Superior Rising for the Sagamore neighborhood on June 19.  Watch for future dates for celebrations for Original Town, Downtown Superior, and Rock Creek.  Check out Superior Rising’s website. 

Life Sciences Development in Downtown Superior

The Town Board heard a land use application for a potential Life Sciences Office Development in Downtown Superior on June 27, 2022 and July 11, 2022.  In the application, the developer is seeking to build four buildings (including three Life Science lab/office buildings and one above-ground parking garage with an attached commercial space).  At the Board Meeting on July 11, the Town Board voted to send back this application to the Planning Commision for review again.  The majority of the Board felt that the developer had made substantial changes to the application since the time that the Planning Commision had seen it, and therefore, the application should be sent back to the Planning Commission for further review.  

In my comments during the Board Meeting, I explained that I did not believe that an office user of this scale/magnitude would be consistent with the Design Guidelines that were incorporated into the Downtown Superior zoning documents and did not fit coherently with the rest of Downtown.  To hear the Board’s discussion on this issue, please watch the video which is available here.

A copy of the developer’s presentation to the Town Board is available here.

Carmel Presentation for Downtown Superior

At the June 13, 2022 Town Board meeting, we heard a presentation from Carmel Partners about the status of the Downtown Superior Commercial Core.  In my opinion, Carmel shares this community’s vision and passion for a vibrant Downtown and is excited about the project.  Work is underway on all blocks of their side of the development.  Carmel controls blocks 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 which are the blocks closest to the Sports Stable  They have reported that they closed on their construction financing this past March, so the project is fully capitalized going forward.  They are actively marketing their blocks to retail tenants, with the heaviest focus on “Town Square retailers — interesting/unique restaurant brands to provide anchor, and array of services and retails to support a vibrant Town Square.”  They have also started construction on the Town’s new civic center.  They are targeting certificates of occupancy for most of the blocks to be issued March through June of 2023.  I encourage you to watch Carmel’s presentation, which is available here.  There’s going to be a lot of activity going on with the construction of the Downtown Commercial Core this year and next.

SMID Sales Tax Ballot Question

At the Town Board’s June 30, 2022 Worksession, the Board discussed a potential ballot measure for this November’s election.  Superior currently collects an 8.445% sales tax, which consists of several different parts.  .16% of that sales tax is collected by the Superior/McCaslin Interchange District (SMID), but that .16% sales tax is set to sunset at the end of 2022.  Based on the discussions at the Worksession, the Town Board is likely going to ask the voters to extend the .16% SMID sales tax and earmark its use for various capital improvement projects in Town.  

As I said during the public worksession, I am concerned that putting another sales tax question on the ballot this year may come across as being tone deaf, given what our community has been through this year.  However, I am also cognizant that the Marshall Fire has had — and will continue to have — a substantial adverse financial impact on the Town and that there will be many difficult decisions ahead, especially in light of uncertain economic conditions and inflation.  More discussions to come on this potential ballot measure.  I hope you will join us in these conversations.

Name That Park – Tract H

Check out Superior’s newest park!  Although still under construction, it’s looking to be an amazing new area for our children.  If you’d like to provide input into the official name, take this survey which closes July 18.  

New Businesses coming to Town

In case you missed past blogs where I wrote about the new businesses coming to Town, here’s a recap:

• Santiago’s Mexican Restaurant – next to Wayne’s BBQ – opening Summer 2022.  I’ve been stalking their renovations after my Costco trip each week.  Signage is up!
• Papa John’s – leased the former Bishops Barbershop space – opening late 2022.  They have begun their tenant finish work. 
• Bambei Brewing – leased former Old Chicago Restaurant – opening late 2022.  The Town Board approved their liquor license at the July 11 Board Meeting.  Give their Facebook page some love.  I enjoyed reading this article about the Bambei family.
• Pat’s Tap – will be located next to Safeway – opening late 2002.  The Town Board also approved their liquor license at the July 11 Board meeting.  Give their Facebook page some love too. 

Hangry Horse (at the Sports Stable) has reopened!  We’re also expecting re-openings by Target (August) and Wayne’s Smoke Shack (late 2022?).  Tesla is also slowly rebuilding.  No official word from Element Hotel on their plans for rebuilding.

Election

This November, Superior voters will be electing a new Mayor and four Trustees.  Mayor Clint Folsom is term-limited and this will be his last year as Mayor.  Trustees Ken Lish, Neal Shah, and Laura Skladzinski were elected in November 2018 and their 4-year terms are set to expire. In addition, Trustee Paige Henchen was elected in November 2020, but announced her resignation at the July 11 Board Meeting, so her remaining 2-year position as Trustee will also be on the ballot.

If you are interested in serving as Trustee or Mayor, you must be a citizen of the United States of America, be eighteen (18) years of age or older on the date of the election, be registered to vote, and have resided in Superior for at least the twelve months immediately prior to the date of the election. To obtain candidate affidavits and petitions, call the Town Clerk at 303-499-3675 extension 112 or email patricial@superiorcolorado.gov. The deadline to make the ballot is in August.  For more information, please check out the Town’s Election Website.

Mark for Mayor

I am running to be the next Mayor of Superior.  Please see my announcement here. To learn more about me, visit the other parts of my website (About, Issues, Endorsements, etc.) and please follow my new campaign Facebook page for updates.  I hope to earn your vote in November.

Let’s Connect

Please follow my new Facebook page and sign up for blog updates from my website: www.marklacis.com.  You can also send me an email at markl@superiorcolorado.gov.  The next “First Fridays” will be August 5 and I’ll be planning the next “Thirsty Thursdays” soon.