Coronavirus Update
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Jefferson County’s case count page says that as of 3:30PM yesterday, there were 786 (up from 753) cases in Jefferson County. There have been 29 deaths (up from 27) and 193 are hospitalized (up from 185). There are 70 known cases in Golden (up from 67). Here is the breakdown of cases by age group:
The State-Wide Stay-at-Home Order is in effect through April 26, 2020. Everyone is asked 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.
Virtual Golden
6PM The Golden Urban Renewal Authority will hold a special business meeting tonight to discuss a proposed COVID-19 Business Recovery Loan Program. GURA and the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) are both specifically structured to accrue tax revenue and use it for economic development purposes. Right now, the Golden business community is keenly in need of economic shoring-up. The proposal at hand is to offer loans to Golden businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 shut-down. The loans will come from a fund consisting of $200K from the DDA and $200K from GURA, plus $600K from the Legacy Fund. The hope is that these loans will enable Golden businesses to remain afloat and the expectation is that most of the money will be repaid within 4-1/2 years.
On Tap Credit Union (formerly known as Coors Credit Union) will administer the loans which will have an interest rate of 3.25%. Eligible businesses must be independently owned (non-corporate) and not be home-based. Businesses need not be located within the GURA or DDA boundaries, but must be located within the City limits of Golden.
If the GURA board approves this program tonight, the DDA will hold a similar meeting to approve it on their side. Click here to learn more about the details of the program….
The Legacy Fund is money left over from the years when the historic downtown was a Golden Urban Renewal Area. At the conclusion of GURA’s work to revitalize downtown, there was approximately $1.8 million left in their coffers. This money, commonly referred to as the Legacy Fund, is now jointly stewarded by GURA and the DDA. They have been hoping to find a stand-out project that will substantially benefit downtown. There are many divergent opinions as to how to use it, including affordable housing, park & trail enhancements, and bringing the Astor House back into habitable condition. This new Business Recovery Loan program will make approximately one-third of the fund unavailable for a few years, but hopefully most of the businesses will recover and repay the loans, thus replenishing the fund.
This meeting will be shown live on Comcast Channel 880 and through the City website. You can also listen via phone by calling 1-408-418-9388. The meeting will be recorded for later viewing.
Golden Business News
The Table Mountain Inn announced yesterday that both the hotel and the restaurant were closing until it is safe to re-open.
Golden History Moment
On this date in 1933, the Colorado Transcript reported that Golden Businessmen and Jefferson county officials, numbering more than 100, visited Adolph Coors Jr. in his office last Friday, to show their appreciation for the Coors’ industries and what it has done and is doing for Golden and this community.
That same issue of the Transcript included an editorial, also thanking Coors for his support for “tougher times which preceded the legalization of beer.” Although the Depression was far from over in 1933 (in fact, it would go on for another decade), there was a strong feeling in the Golden community that the end of Prohibition meant that “Happy Days Were Here Again.”
The editorial expressed gratitude to the Coors family for re-tooling their brewery to make malted milk instead of beer during Prohibition. The Golden community felt that Mr. Coors did that in order to provide a market for local dairy farmers. Even when the market for malted milk fell off, the company continued to buy milk and stockpiled their unsold product, to continue to support the local economy.
The editorial concluded by expressing sorrow that Adolph Coors Sr. “who loved Golden with his whole heart and soul, and who continually preached the doctrine of the boss’s responsibility to his employees” hadn’t lived to see the end of Prohibition and the return of profitability. Adolph Coors Sr., who founded the Golden Brewery, had died in 1929.
The Golden Transcript (originally called the Colorado Transcript) has been publishing since 1866. The Golden History Museum has been working on digitizing the historic issues. You’ll find old Transcripts online at coloradohistoricnewspapers.org.