South Platte River Corridor Vision - Our Future on the River

Photo courtesy of Arapahoe County

Interested in what the future might look like along the South Platte River? Check out the South Platte Working Group's South Platte River Corridor Vision. It outlines the challenges along the river today and opportunities to improve the corridor for recreational, educational, and habitat use, among others. Some of the ideas are pretty exciting, and they are achievable!

Some highlights related to Sheridan:

E. Hampden to Oxford.

This area primarily encompasses the relatively new River Point development, as well as a mobile home park south of Hampden, near the Bear Creek confluence. Presently, River Point is not well connected to the River, and there are a number of pad sites as yet unrented. Opportunities exist to work with the developer leasing these sites to encourage tenants who might benefit from a river presence, such as kayak and canoe rentals, restaurants, outerwear and gear stores (for example, similar to REI) and the like. This could benefit the developer and local economy, while encouraging more river-oriented activities.

Creative programming of the amphitheater (called for in the River Point PUD), for example, river-themed concerts and festivals, could also complement a focus on recruiting retailers who benefit from a river presence.

 
F. Oxford to Union: Sustainable Industry.


This stretch contains significant heavy industry, on sites with relatively large footprints. As discussed above, these businesses remain here due to their dependence on the cost effective transportation afforded by the railroad and truck. While the size of these sites would, over the long term, accommodate significant mixed-use development, over the short term, partnerships should be cultivated with these business owners. Opportunities exist to make the river edge both more visually attractive, as well as safer for users, by creating greater separation between these heavy industrial users and recreationists. Reasonably small actions, such as acquiring a river edge easement, terracing the edge, and installing murals and public art, could be a "quick win" that benefits the recreational community and the business owner.

Opportunities also exist to leverage the sustainable nature of these recyclers, including Oxford Recycling, Western Metals, and Waste Management immediately to the south, to attract other eco-industrial businesses to the area. Plans might be developed for an eco-industrial park that might support incubator businesses that focus on sustainable products or practices.

Retail marijuana packaging

Do you know how to tell if a product contains retail marijuana? Colorado has placed stringent requirements on marijuana products sold at retail, including labeling. Among other requirements, products should be "child-resistant" and stored in an opaque container. They should also display a mark from the Department of Revenue. See this announcement for further details.

The City of Sheridan has a ban in place on retail marijuana establishments, but since some of our neighboring communities allow these sales, residents should be aware of what to look for.

Tax Help Colorado Free Tax Sites Filing Taxes for Individuals & Families

27 free tax sites operating statewide

Tax Help Colorado's free tax sites are open across the state to help hard-working families become more financially secure by providing free tax preparation assistance. A partnership of The Piton Foundation and the Colorado Community College System, the Tax Help Colorado program has a presence on 18 college campuses and operates 27 free tax sites statewide. Click here for Tax Help Colorado's operating schedule.

 

To be eligible for free tax filing, individuals must have household incomes less than $50,000. More than 30% of Colorado families are eligible to participate in the program, which was created to help alleviate the financial burden of tax preparation on families while helping them claim valuable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit.

A list of all the Tax Help Colorado sites, as well as locations of other free tax assistance sites in Colorado, is available by dialing 2-1-1 (it's a free call), visiting Piton's website, and finding Tax Help Colorado on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net