New DMV system launches in early August

August 1-5:  All DMV services in the State of Colorado will be unavailable at County Clerks’ offices due to a technology upgrade.  Plan ahead and renew your license plates early or renew your license plates online at www.mydmv.colorado.gov.
August 6:  A new motor vehicle system will be deployed statewide.  Please be patient while we adjust to the new system. Expect longer wait times for the first few weeks.  
This will not affect other operations in the Clerk’s office.  Recording, marriage licenses and voter registration will still be available during this time.

Country Ace Hardware helps raise funds

Over the last few months, the store’s “receipt round up” program raised over $4000 for the Moffat Road Railroad museum in Granby. The money will be used to finish the restoration of the Visitors Center. The group hopes to have the work done and the Center open by mid August, but they need volunteers. If you are interested in helping out, contact Dave Naples at (970) 281-9094.

High Altitude Gardening Class Offered in Granby
Join the Granby Recreation Department and Grand County gardener Peg VandeVoort in this fun class to learn how to garden in our mountain environment.  We’ll cover soil and site preparation, plant materials that grow in high altitudes, perennial and rock gardening, native plants, and principles of Xeri-scape landscaping.  The class will be held on Wednesday, August 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Granby Community Building. The cost is $25 and pre-registration is required. Call the Recreation Department today at 887-3961 to register!

Grand opening of WIC Clinic in Granby
Grand County Public Health opened a clinic at the Mountain Family Center on 480 East Agate Avenue 7/17/2018 to serve more customers, and improve accessibility and convenience for clients.
Currently, the clinic will be open on the third Tuesday of every month from 9-4. Call (970) 725-3288 to make an appointment.

DORA hosts Consumer Forum on Health Insurance

A Consumer Forum with the Division of Insurance is set for Tuesday, July 24, 2 – 4 p.m. Participate in-person or online. Find the details at https://bit.ly/2MJ3Kmq.

This Consumer Forum will focus on health insurance and we want your questions to drive the agenda – so please take our 5-minute survey to share your health insurance questions and concerns – www.surveymonkey.com/r/FMWWW2F.

Winter Park Liquor License Approvals
During the meeting, Town Council, which serves as the Town’s Liquor License Authority, approved two new liquor licenses:
Stoked Meeting House: Located at 78542 US 40 (the old Mountain Rose property), the business will serve beer, wine, and coffee, and have an old-fashioned candy shop to appeal to families.
Winter Park Liquor/Riverside: Located at 201 Zephyr Way, Riverside will be a liquor store to replace the previous liquor store at this location.

New Transit Technology
Unfortunately, the Lift’s current app provider, RideHop, will be closing its doors in September. The transit department has been evaluating other app and bus tracking systems to find a replacement that will fit the community’s needs.

After receiving several bids, staff recommended contracting with Ride Systems. They will create a branded Lift app, have enhanced bus-tracking features, and improve the back-end technology for reporting. Council approved the agreement, and more information on the new system will be coming soon

Baker Drive Update
The developers of Hideaway Station are required to install sidewalk improvements from the site to the intersection of Baker Drive and Telemark Drive. Town Council recently talked with several property owners located on or near Baker Drive about changing the current sidewalk plans to allow for additional parking.

During this meeting, Council reviewed cost analyses developed by staff for two different options to add more parking to this area. An option was selected that would create about 10 more spots between the north and south side of Telemark Drive. Council asked that staff add this project to the budget and capital improvement schedule for 2019.

Town of Winter Park Receives Prestigious Budget Award
For the tenth consecutive year, the Town of Winter Park received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) for the 2018 budget.
This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting and “reflects the commitment of the organization to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting,” according to the GFOA.
Having a clear and well-organized budget document provides solid direction to achieve the goals and objectives set by the Town Council. In order to receive the budget award, the Town had to satisfy specific guidelines and prove that the Town’s budget serves as:
• A policy document
• A financial plan
• An operations guide
• A communications device
The budget document was rated “proficient” in all of these four categories, and in other mandatory criteria within those categories.
As reported by the GFOA, “award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments in North America.”

Sugarloaf Fire holding at 35% containment

The Sugarloaf Fire, which started on June 28th, was recategorized under a Type 4 Incident Management Team, led by Incident Commander Eric Stuart. The fire continues to be managed under a suppression strategy.

The current size of the fire is 1,280 acres, which is unchanged since last week’s update, and is at 35% containment. There are 37 personnel; 1 Engine; 1 Type-3 Helicopter; 1 Type-1 Helicopter assigned to the incident at the time of press.

Observed activity is the fire is continuing to smolder, consuming dead down fuels with no growth. The Freemont Engine crew and the Newberry West Wildland Fire Module crew are based out at the South Fork Campground and will continue to monitor and patrol the fire area daily, testing pumps and hoses for structure protection purposes. All closures will stay in effect until further notice.

All structure protection for the homes and mine infrastructure has been completed. 6,000 feet of hose lay is in place and will remain so until the Sugarloaf Fire is no longer a threat. The fire is not immediately threatening homes or businesses.