Coronavirus Update
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Jefferson County’s case count page says that as of 3PM yesterday, there have been 2,098 cases in Jefferson County (up from 2,065). There have been 127 deaths (up from 123) and 326 are hospitalized (up from 324). There are 170 known cases in Golden (up from 169).
The Safer at Home protocol is now in effect. Check the City’s site to learn more about what that entails. Everyone is still requested to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when leaving the house. City and County fire restrictions are in place. Clear Creek is closed to all recreational activities.
Astor House–What’s Next?
In response to City Council requests, a citizens group has been gathering public input to see what the Community wants to do next with the Astor House. They had hoped to hold public meetings, but the COVID epidemic made that impossible, so instead they’ve been doing surveys.
The first survey asked wide open questions about what people would like to see in the building. 146 people took the survey and provided some clear focus regarding their interests. (See the results of the 1st survey.)
Now the second survey is online. The first one asked people to “DREAM BIG” (without regard to practical considerations like cost). The second one (“GET REAL”) focuses on the most popular suggestions and asks questions like, “who do you think should pay for it?” Please provide your opinions–take the survey!
Virtual Golden
10:15-11:15AM Cuentacuentos en español / Spanish Story Time with the Library
6-7:30PM Online Lecture from the History Museum – Let the Women Vote: How Colorado Women Led in the Women’s Suffrage Fight
Colorado women began their fight for voting rights in 1876 during the Constitutional Convention. By 1920 and the passage of the 19th Amendment, Colorado women took the lead and helped gain voting rights for most American women. Join CU Denver historian Rebecca Hunt as she reveals how all of this came about. Tickets
6:30PM Downtown Development Authority
The DDA meets this evening. They will discuss the COVID-19 relief programs. They subsidized $135,760.93 in rent payments for downtown businesses. They made grants (not sure how much) to the Golden Backpack Program, Christian Action Guild, and Calvary Church Golden Rescue fund to provide food and rent assistance. The partnered with GURA to make $1 million available for business loans. They received applications for $502,046 of that money.
Tributary Food Hall has applied for a sales tax sharing agreement that would make them eligible for a rebate of up to $20K. The Public Art Commission is requesting $15K to paint murals on downtown buildings. DDA will consider adding a wheelchair ramp to the SE corner of 11th and Washington. It would cost $70K.
They are still discussing adding overhead lighting to Miners Alley, to make it feel more festive, but the consultants have been slowed down by the stay at home order. The former Woods Mortuary building at 11th & Washington is doing interior work.
The DDA pays for three services every year: power washing the sidewalks, extra trash pick up on summer weekends, and the downtown holiday lights. The sidewalks will be washed soon, and trash collection will be started, since the number of visitors is increasing. They will use the same company to do the lights this year.
To learn more about any of these topics, see the meeting packet.
The Coming Summer
With COVID-19 as an ongoing concern, this will not be a typical summer in Golden. The Lions Club has canceled our annual 4th of July celebration. The Buffalo Bill Days committee has canceled this year’s Buffalo Bill Days. The Farmers Market is still on, presumably with extra measures taken regarding social distancing and sanitizing.
Playgrounds are closed, but parks and trails are still open. The Clear Creek Whitewater Park is closed, so we won’t have the usual complement of tubers and kayakers. The Community Center remains closed, and Splash is delayed, or may not open at all this summer.
Not surprisingly, our consumer-driven businesses are uneasy, as are the people who depend on those businesses for their livelihoods. Rents and loan payments don’t stop just because customers aren’t coming in anymore.
City Council had an interesting discussion on the topic at last week’s meeting. They had received letters from downtown restaurant owners, who asked if downtown could be configured, during this shut-down period, to allow for more outdoor seating, with tables set up at appropriate distances.
This inspired quite a bit of conversation on the part of Council. Right now, per state regulations, restaurants can’t serve food for people to eat on site, but it’s likely that they’ll ease the prohibition to allow outdoor seating. There may be other state-level restrictions regarding common seating areas and liquor licenses–they’re working on those.
They discussed putting up barriers to keep street traffic flowing but use the parking spaces as extended seating space. They also considered closing down the streets, since we have less traffic than usual. On the other hand, we’re assuming that as the summer goes on and many other recreational alternatives are closed, downtown Golden will become more and more attractive…thus, we’ll have more traffic later. On the other hand, being outdoors and around other people is considered important for mental health. On the other hand, do we want to attract people to Golden during a pandemic? It’s a complicated issue.
Golden History Moment
For those of you who don’t check email over the weekend, on Saturday I wrote about a lynching that occurred in Golden in 1879, and on Sunday I wrote about how the grocery business has evolved over time in Golden.
Mitchell Elementary School was located on 12th Street until it moved to its new location on the north side of town. The school was built with federal funding during the Depression and torn down in 1998. The Golden Urban Renewal Authority fostered several major redevelopment projects on the former school property.