Residents unhappy with cuts to bus service
If it ain’t broke, don’t cut it.
That’s the message the city of Steamboat Springs got from many local bus riders in 2015 after service reductions and schedule changes left many riders frustrated and out in the cold.
Anticipating it wouldn’t be able to hire enough seasonal drivers to run the previous level of service, the city administration decided to scale back the bus service.
After an outcry, the Steamboat Springs City Council decided to ensure the bus service would have enough funding to double down on recruiting efforts and restore the previous level of service this winter.
Downtown reinvestment plan produces results
Tired of seeing plans for a promenade, sidewalks and other basic downtown improvements collecting dust on shelves for decades, the Steamboat Springs City Council pulled the trigger on the biggest investment in the downtown corridor in many years.
The package approved by council will construct millions of dollars worth of new sidewalks, public restrooms and other basic infrastructure downtown by 2018.
The $10.3 million in improvements is being funded by a combination of grants, sidewalk assessments, franchise fees, certificates of participation and reserves from the city’s general fund.
Lodging tax dollars also funded the transformation of the Workman property into a park.
Hinsvark 3rd manager to leave since '07
In October, Deb Hinsvark became the third city manager since 2007 to leave after a rocky relationship with the Steamboat Springs City Council.
The revolving door in the city manager’s office spurred some council members to ask a question:
What can we do to stop this?
A new Steamboat Springs City Council has launched a recruiting effort for a new manager.
In one of her final interviews as city manager, Hinsvark said she would love for the community to find a way to “not replace its city manager every two and a half years.”
Hinsvark was praised for her fiscal know-how and day-to-day management of the city.
But her handling of an internal police investigation and her inability to convey the probe’s finality to the community ultimately led to her departure.
City leaders discuss future of Howelsen Hill
2015 wasn’t kind to this city’s beloved ski hill.
Mother Nature again thrust Howelsen Hill into the spotlight.
A spring mudslide damaged the Alpine slide and the chairlift on this city’s historic ski hill. The slide caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage and sparked a debate among the city’s elected officials about how much more of this can we take?
The conversation has since steered toward charting a more sustainable future for the ski hill.
The future of the hill will be the subject of many work sessions in city council chambers in the months to come.
Have an idea or an opinion?
Look for an upcoming meeting, and show up to make your voice heard.
Police station plans take several major turns
The city’s constantly evolving pursuit of a new headquarters for its police department took a couple of big turns in 2015.
A citizens committee was seated, and it recommended the city partner with Routt County to build a shared public safety facility next to the county jail in West Steamboat.
However, the county pulled out of talks for the facility late this year citing the improbability of getting a tax approved to fund construction of the facility.
County commissioners also cited the controversy surrounding the police department in the wake of the internal investigation as another reason to pass on the opportunity at this time.
City Council is poised to take back up the conversation early in 2016.
Council reverses police investigation decision
It’s not often the Steamboat Springs City Council reverses a previous decision.
But that’s what it did late in the year after a public outcry surrounding its move to not seek a more thorough summary of the internal police investigation that led to serious turnover at the top of city government.
New Police Chief Cory Christensen will produce a more detailed summary of the probe for citizens.
The council said ti thought a the new summary was needed to bring closure to the investigation and start to restore trust in the council, the police department and city administration.
Reins of MainStreet leadership changes
Downtown Steamboat Springs got a new face in 2015, and she has a lot to live up to.
Longtime MainStreet Steamboat Springs manager Tracy Barnett passed the torch to Lisa Popovich.
Before landing the new job, Popovich worked as a front desk manager at Mountain Resorts and at the former All That Jazz in the early 1990s.
With Barnett as manager, the Mainstreet program celebrated a number of accomplishments, including the expansion of the Farmers Market and the installation of new bus shelters that earned statewide kudos.
Mainstreet also was a major proponent of the downtown improvements that are slated to occur in the coming years.
Steamboat breweries continue to boom
Steamboat’s newest breweries continued to expand their reach in 2015. Butcherknife Brewing Co. and Storm Peak Brewing Co. have started selling their canned beer in liquor stores.
Look for Storm Peak’s pale ale and a wheat beer and Butcherknife’s Amputator IPA in local stores.
Both breweries also usually have something new to try at their tap rooms in west Steamboat.
2015 proves big year for Steamboat restaurants
Steamboat said goodbye to the Rio rooftop marg in 2015 but welcomed a wide range of new restaurants.
Heads of local dining spots say they haven’t seen a restaurant shuffle quite like the one we saw in 2015.
There were new spots on every major downtown street and also some movement near the base of Steamboat Ski Area.
Look for a new craft beer bar next to the former Market on the Mountain space on Village Drive, as well as a range of new places on Lincoln Avenue and Yampa Street in 2016.
Steamboat schools face overcrowding problem
The Steamboat Springs School District Board of Education moved quickly in early 2015 to find a solution to overcrowding in a district that now exceeds 2,500 students. The board approved the hiring of an architect and engineer who led a series of community meetings and identified the possible solution of building a new district high school and spreading students out between remaining campuses, effectively creating a third district elementary school. The
$92 million proposal, which would have included funds for millions in deferred maintenance and programmatic updates to schools, was proposed to voters as a bond measure in November and was defeated by a margin of 3 to 1.
Declining enrollment problem for South Routt
Enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grade classes in the South Routt School District dropped from 367 in fall 2014 to 327 in fall 2015, in part because of students leaving the district to attend the Steamboat Springs School District.
South Routt’s Board of Education began discussions on how to address declining enrollment and better market the district in hopes of not losing more students.
Steamboat school board race has political ties
Division emerged among candidates running for the Steamboat Springs Board of Education.
Candidates Margaret Huron and Michelle Dover were strongly supported by the local teachers’ union and were also buoyed by advertisements from Front Range groups. Meanwhile, candidates Anne Lowe and Lindsay Wert and then-board chair Roger Good were accused by the teacher’s union of having ties to school board reformers on the Front Range.
Huron and Dover won the contested portion of the election, while former teacher and current CMC administrator Sam Rush was elected to an uncontested two-year term.
Huron unseated Good as the board’s new chair.
Montessori school gains state approval to open
The Steamboat Springs School District released its interest in overseeing the proposed Mountain Village Montessori Charter School, so the school instead sought, and received, state approval to open in fall 2016. The school has received interest forms from families representing 126 potential students, and the group has executed a contract with Heritage Christian School west of Steamboat to rent out five classrooms beginning in summer 2016.
Perhac leaves Colorado Mountain College
After seven years with the school, Colorado Mountain College Alpine Campus leader
Peter Perhac announced in August that he was leaving the college and moving out of the area the following month.
Perhac joined CMC as the Alpine Campus’ CEO in 2008 and continued to be the top-ranking official as vice president through his tenure. The campus matured under the leadership of Perhac, who oversaw the planning and completion of the campus’ new academic building.
Dean of Academic Affairs Kathy Kiser-Miller was named as Perhac’s replacement.
YVMC announces plans for major expansion
Yampa Valley Medical Center announced in June plans for a new 14,000-square-foot Cancer Care Treatment Center and renovation of space at the former Doak Walker Care Center to create an Outpatient Pavilion, all part of a $14.3 million project.
The pavilion will include spaces for YampaCare for Women, the Gloria Gossard Breast Health Center and YampaCare Cardiology, as well as clinical office space for visiting specialists who see patients locally.
YampaCare for Women is expected to open in February, while construction of the new Cancer Care Treatment Center and renovations on the remainder of the Outpatient Pavilion are expected to begin in early 2016.
Casey’s Pond sees change in management
Casey’s Pond Distinctive Senior Living announced in November the community would undergo a transition in management, leaving behind Pearl Senior Living Management, which managed the community through its development and first two years of operation.
By February 2016, Casey’s Pond will be under the management of Christian Living Services, a Front Range nonprofit that owns and operates three senior living communities on the Front Range.
Occupancy of Casey’s Pond was at about 70 percent in early December, but Casey’s Pond board chair Chuck Parsons said the low capacity was not the reason for the management change.
2015: The year of large real estate transactions
Several large transactions of luxury homes and ranches were evidence of a real estate market that continued on its slow but steady path of recovery in 2015. Several homes more than $3 and $4 million, including those on the market for several years, finally sold this year, pleasing real estate brokers and sellers.
The largest transaction of the year was the sale of the majority of the historic Gay family ranch in Pleasant Valley, which sold for $23 million in October.
Sotheby’s, Steamboat Village Brokers merge
Steamboat’s two longest-tenured real estate brokerages, Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty and Steamboat Village Brokers, announced a merger in July.
Sotheby’s Principal Cam Boyd said Steamboat Village Brokers staff would be able to take advantage of a lot of Sotheby’s resources to help their business grow, and Sotheby’s would benefit from the addition of great agents and a location at the base of the ski area that could help Sotheby’s grow. Steamboat Village Brokers adopted the Sotheby’s name.
Diamond skis into sunset, Perlman to lead ski area
On Jan. 16, 2015, Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. announced the June 30 retirement date for President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Diamond after 15 years at the helm of the ski area.
His replacement came from within the company as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Rob Perlman was announced as Diamond’s successor June 26.
One of the lasting impressions Diamond left on the ski mountain was Four Points Lodge restaurant, which was an instant success at 9,700 feet in elevation.
State officials finalize water plan for Colorado
When the final version of Colorado’s new 35-year, $20 million water supply plan landed on Gov. John Hickenlooper’s desk with a thud in November, he sent a strong signal that he had heard the case made by water managers and conservationists on the state’s Western Slope.
The governor called for increased efficiency in how Colorado uses its finite water supply. The plan also called for getting the most out of available water by allowing more flexibility for rights holders to profit from the temporary transfer of their water. And in the Yampa Valley, innovators were already taking steps forward in mid-August to do just that.
Reserves affordable apartments gets funding
Easily, one of the biggest community wins of 2015 was the ability of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority to land federal income tax credits awarded through the Colorado Housing Finance Authority to rid itself of almost $2 million in debt and in the same process, forge an alliance with a private sector developer to build 48 new income-restricted apartments for people earning 40 to 60 percent of federal median income. What’s more, the new apartments at the Reserves will be within the city limits on Steamboat’s west side.
Out from under the debt associated with the purchase of the site for the Reserves at the highest of the last real estate run-up, the expectation is that the housing authority will be able to create more opportunity for households with modest incomes.
Yampa's historic Royal Hotel goes up in flames
2015 got off to a fiery start in South Routt as the 109-year-old Royal Hotel on Yampa’s Main Street caught fire after 10 p.m. Jan. 4 and burned to the ground. Seven residents of the hotel were safely evacuated, and about 20 firefighters fought the blaze through the night, successfully defending neighboring buildings.
The fire was determined to have been caused by a coal heating appliance.
The hotel was an important and informal community gathering place in the little town and also an important connection to Routt County’s early railroad history.
Longtime county officials announce retirement
Routt County government said goodbye to two of its longest tenure employees in 2015, with the retirement of County Attorney John Merrill and County Environmental Health Director Mike Zopf.
Merrill, Routt County’s attorney for 24 years, gave his closing arguments before friends and colleagues at the courthouse July 27.
County Commissioner Doug Monger said it was Merrill’s willingness to say something that was unpopular that made him so valuable all of these years.
Zopf, who was 24 years old when he first came to work at Routt County in 1977, retired in September after 38 years with the county.
Zopf partnered in the late ’80s and early ’90s with federal, state and local officials to champion a drastic reduction in wood-burning appliances in the city, resulting in substantial reduction of woodsmoke that had formerly fouled Steamboat’s air on winter nights.
Edward Zimmerman killed by Lucas Johnson
Lucas Johnson is awaiting trial for the murder of Steamboat Springs resident Edward Zimmerman.
Zimmerman, who leaves behind a daughter, was reported missing Feb. 28 after not showing up for work.
Investigators believe Zimmerman was killed as part of a robbery of medical marijuana that Zimmerman was growing at his home.
Zimmerman’s body was found in a chicken coop behind Johnson’s home.
Patricia Richmond found murdered in home
A motive still is not clear for the murder of 22-year-old Patricia Richmond.
Cole Pollard, 22, was arrested July 1 after Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies found him at a campsite in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area.
Richmond’s body was found June 29 at a home east of Clark in North Routt County.
Court records show Cole Pollard told deputies he “snapped,” choked Patricia Richmond to death and then raped her.
Pollard has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and theft. One of the murder charges is related to sexual assault.
Letter from Dave Kleiber shakes up police force
Former Steamboat Springs Police Department Detective Dave Kleiber wrote and distributed a letter that rocked the community.
Among other things, he accused the department’s leaders of promoting heavy-handed policing and a hostile work environment.
Then-Police Chief Joel Rae and Deputy Chief Bob DelValle were put on leave while a private investigator evaluated the department. Both men eventually resigned, and Fort Collins Assistant Chief Cory Christensen was hired to be the new chief.
The department has been implementing new procedures recommended by the private investigator, and Christensen is working to repair the department’s image.
Hayden town manager leaves for new job
The town of Hayden has begun its search for a new town manager.
Current Town Manager David Torgler is headed to Delta to be its town manager beginning Jan. 25. Torgler has been Hayden’s town manager for the past five years.
Torgler said the new job was an opportunity for him to advance his career. The city has a population of about 9,000.
Hayden Major Jim Haskins said he was happy for Torgler, but it was a loss for the town.
Economic challenges will be one of the biggest issues facing the new town manager.
First 19 months of Classic Air: nearly 300 missions
2015 will be the first full year of the Classic Air Medical helicopter being based out of Steamboat.
In the first 19 months, Classic had nearly 300 missions.
Steamboat resident Chris Arnis credited Classic with saving his life when he broke his back after crashing while skiing at Steamboat Ski Area. Arnis was flown directly from the ski area to Denver Health Medical Center.
Before Classic arrived in Steamboat, medical providers had to rely on other air ambulance services in the region.
In addition to medical missions, Classic affords Routt County Search and Rescue up to two free hours of flight time for missions.
Steamboat continues to struggle with bears
In 2015, the community continued to struggle with bears and humans who did not properly secure their trash.
By the end of July, Parks and Wildlife had euthanized four bears that got into homes or other structures in search of food.
One bear ripped the door off a detached garage. At Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp just outside Steamboat, a bear got into the kitchen area and ripped a door off. At a Steamboat home, a bear opened a door using the lever-style handle and stole bacon from the freezer. The resident discovered the bear in her yard eating the bacon.
The fourth destroyed bear bent up a door and tried to get into a home on Buckskin Drive.
Local police investigate credit card fraud
Routt County residents last winter quickly learned just how vulnerable their credit cards can be.
The Steamboat Springs Police Department in January identified eight businesses that had point-of-sale systems infected with a virus that was stealing customer card information. In the previous month, there had been an unprecedented number of people locally who had their cards compromised, and the information was then used at retailers throughout the United States.
Computer experts determined the computers were connecting to a host in Russia.
The businesses were able to remedy the situation.
Marijuana sales big business in Steamboat
Marijuana sales were big business in Routt County this year.
According to Colorado Department of Revenue Data, about $4.3 million in medical and retail marijuana was sold in Routt County from April through September.
In Steamboat, marijuana sales account for 1.5 percent of the city’s sales tax revenue collections. By comparison, liquor sales have generally accounted for about 4 percent of the local sales tax collections.
Steamboat working to become creative district
To bring arts and culture to the forefront, the Steamboat Springs Arts Council has initiated the process of becoming a Colorado Creative District. Engaging all sectors of the community, the designation will bring creatives together through state funding, professional development and community support.
The road to certification is rigorous and takes time. Candidates must complete a number of requirements that ensure there is community-wide buy-in and commitment.
Ziggy Marley brings the biggest concert yet
Possibly one of the biggest names in the Free Summer Concert Series lineup, seven-time Grammy winner, philanthropist, singer, songwriter and producer Ziggy Marley — reggae legend Bob Marley’s son — was in Steamboat Springs in August.
John Waldman, of Great Knight Productions and co-founder and promoter of the Free Summer Concert Series, said the Ziggy Marley concert attracted an audience of about 6,000 to 7,000 people.
Chief Theater continues to grown into future
In 2015, the 88-year-old Chief Theater came a long way from its launch in 2013 by the Friends of the Chief Foundation, all thanks to its dedicated troupe of volunteers and employees who work behind the scenes to do whatever it takes to book events and keep the venue busy and running smoothly.
Earlier in the year, the Friends of the Chief Foundation sold the theater building to longtime supporters Mary and Jack McClurg for $1.45 million. Executive Director Scott Parker said the sale has allowed the Chief to remain in operation and continue its work as an entertainment venue without the organization having to worry about whether it would be able to afford its monthly mortgage payment.
Friends of the Chief bought the building for the same price it was just sold for, $1.45 million, in October 2012.