January

    Boundary issue: The first issue to come up in 2009 in the Carbon Valley area was controversy over the boundary lines for the new Mead High School, which was set to open in fall 2009. The St. Vrain Valley School District held a public meeting Jan. 7 at Frederick High School to obtain input on boundary scenarios for the Mead High School attendance area. The idea favored by the committee making a recommendation to the board of education would potentially pull a number of students from FHS and send them to Mead High School. The board was scheduled to make its decision at the Feb. 11 meeting.

New Firestone trustee: Darrell Walsh was voted in as Firestone’s newest trustee after trustee Greg Foster moved out of the state.

Lawley named fire chief: Mark Lawley was appointed by the Mountain View Fire Protection District to be chief of the district.

February

Boundary decision made: The final decision was made on the Mead High School boundaries, and when it was all over, a percentage of Frederick High School students were to be removed from the 2009-2010 student population with the redrawing of boundary lines. But the St. Vrain Valley School District board also voted to allow a guaranteed open enrollment policy change for families looking to continue to attend FHS.

Frederick downtown dreams dashed: Frederick downtown planners were forced to go back to the drawing board in late February after it was determined that parts of the vision plan for the area may not be feasible. As the Feb. 19 meeting was nearing its end, the only landowner for the key piece of land on the west side of Colorado Boulevard where Phase 2 of the plan would sit, spoke to the crowd. He explained that if the new Frederick High School were to be built to the north of what was to be Phase 2 of the downtown project as proposed, a gas well would have to be moved south, therefore, Phase 2 of downtown could likely not be built on the property.

March

End of an era: The Tri Town Lions Club hosted its last event, a pancake feed, in the building at 701 Carbondale Dr. in Dacono. The building was transformed into The Roadhouse restaurant, bar and music venue that opened later in the year. The Tri Town Lions Club continues to meet throughout the month at various locations.

New Dacono city administrator: Bill Efting was welcomed as Dacono’s new city administrator. Efting previously spent five years as town administrator for Basalt, a town with a population of around 3,200 located halfway between Glenwood Springs and Aspen.

Library plans held up: Plans for a new Dacono Library were put on hold. The original plan was for the old senior center building down the street from City Hall to be renovated into a new library, and for Dacono city offices to expand into the current library space. It was determined that the senior center building was not structurally sound and city officials would explore possibilities of building a new library building.

Sundberg makes the move to Mead: Frederick High School Principal Jim Sundberg announced he was hired as principal of the new Mead High School for its first school year beginning in fall, 2009.

Hough moves on: Dacono Police Chief John Hough was honored for his 2 ½ years of service to the city. Hough moved out of state to take a job in California and Matthew Skaggs took over as acting chief of the department.

Church burglars arrested: Police arrested an 18-year-old male and two 17-year-old males in connection with a March 22 burglary at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Frederick. A church custodian discovered the thefts early March 22.

Three found dead in Firestone home: Michael Acker, 47, Sharla Pierce, 41, and Mike Federico, 38, were all found dead inside a Firestone home in the Eagle Crest subdivision early the morning of March 28. It was determined that Acker shot both Pierce and Federico before turning the gun on himself.

CV Rec District celebrates: The Carbon Valley Recreation District celebrated its anniversary, as well as the groundbreaking of a new building, March 28. As the district observed the anniversary of the recreation center’s present facilities, the Tri-Town Seniors turned the first shovels of dirt on a new senior building/gymnastics facility at the same time.

Valley Bank Dacono announces plans to close: Valley Bank & Trust Dacono announced it would be closing three branches in the coming months, including the Dacono bank. The downtown Frederick branch would remain open. Closures were effective May 29 in Dacono and Keenesburg and June 26 in Louisville.

April

Frederick Home Rule

election: Frederick residents, 172 of them, went to the polls April 7 to decide whether the town would take a step closer to becoming a home rule municipality. And the answer was yes. To the question, ‘Shall the Town of Frederick form a Home Rule Charter Commission,’ there were 91 ‘yes’ votes to 81 ‘no’ votes. For the second question on the ballot, voters were asked who they would like to see serve on the charter commission. All candidates, Laura Brown, Amy Schiers, Donna Hudziak, Gerry Pfirsch, Jim Wollack and Rafer Brent Brunham, received votes and would go on to serve on the commission. Since the town board set the number of commissioners at nine and only six filed for the election, the board decided to accept additional applications for the remaining seats. Commission members had 120 days to create a charter, similar to a town constitution, and Frederick voters went back to the polls in November to decide if they wanted to approve the newly-created charter at that time.

FHS MESA to world competition: Members of the MESA team at Frederick High School attended world competition for the First Tech Challenge in Atlanta. The students and their adviser, Julie Constantine, were awarded a Mayor’s Award by Firestone Mayor Chad Auer at an April Firestone Board of Trustees meeting.

New FHS site named: School board members voted April 29 in favor of building the new $34 million Frederick High School at Colorado Boulevard and WCR 16. SVVSD Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services Rick Ring said the board’s choice to build at Colorado Boulevard and CR 16 (Tipple Pkwy.) was due to multiple reasons. But one of the biggest reasons, he said, was because many believed building at that site, rather than at the current Frederick High School site on Fifth Street, was more inline with the area’s vision of the future. Frederick Planning Director Jennifer Simmons said since that particular site was chosen, downtown planners could now proceed to make changes and additions to the plan previously designed, rather than starting from scratch. 

May

Mountain lion in Firestone window well: On May 6, a resident of Stoneridge subdivision in Firestone called into the Division of Wildlife stating there was a young mountain lion in the window well of her home. The 40-pound animal was determined to be about nine months old and was tranquilized and released into the wild.

The Roadhouse opens: The Roadhouse bar and restaurant in Dacono opened with Van Halen tribute band Romeo Delight and ACDC tribute band High Voltage. The venue boasts a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system and had plans to feature area, as well as regional and national acts, and has a full restaurant and bar.

Thirty years of love: Children’s House of Weld County celebrated a milestone anniversary and took home the prestigious Hoffman Award from the Carbon Valley Chamber of Commerce. Children’s House of Weld County Montessori school director and founder Susan Halkin has served the community with her school for 30 years.

June

The Home Depot opens: The Home Depot opened at 10858 Jake Jabs Blvd. in Firestone June 10. Firestone Home Depot Store Manager Ryan Quam said more than half of the 120 employees at the new Firestone store are residents of the Carbon Valley area.

Nine million dollar pipeline complete: A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to dedicate the completion of the $9 million infrastructure pipeline from the existing former Tri Area Sanitation District to the current treatment plant for St. Vrain Sanitation.

July

Annexation arguments: The city of Longmont was ordered by Weld County District Court Judge Daniel Maus June 23 that it would be required to reimburse the Town of Firestone for legal costs amounting to nearly $110,000 in the lawsuit over Firelight Park, located at Highway 119 and Fairview Street. Longmont City Councilmembers then announced the same evening they would appeal the judge’s decision.

A revision of plans: The revised Frederick downtown vision plan was presented to the town board and planning commission. The Frederick Downtown Ad Hoc Committee met to talk over final details of the plan. The following evening, the final plan was presented to both the Board of Trustees, as well as the Frederick Planning Commission.

U.S. Engineering commits to Frederick: By the time the Loveland location of U.S. Engineering has finished its relocation process to Frederick by 2012, it is set to be one of the town’s primary employers. The company closed on 20 acres of land on the northwest corner of WCR 16 and WCR 11 in Frederick.

Hailstorm devastates area farms: A July 20 hailstorm damaged many area farms, including Miller Farms north of Firestone. The 800-acre farm received a first round of pea-sized hail at 9:30 p.m., followed by a second round of quarter to golf ball-sized hail at 10 p.m. The storms created between $100,000 and $150,000 worth of damage.

Welcome home: Sam and Susan Sais moved into the area’s first Habitat for Humanity Home. The house is located in the Glens subdivision in Dacono. The Sias family has lived in the Dacono area for many years.

August

Mead HS opens: Mead High School opened its doors to more than 320 students, with at least a third coming from the Carbon Valley area. Capacity on the building currently sits at 700, with room for an additional wing to be constructed in the future with full build-out at 1,200.

Firestone staff bury time capsule: Though its 2008 centennial year has come and gone, Firestone town staff put the final seal on the year of celebration. Town staff, along with members of the Firestone Public Works department, were on hand to seal up the town’s time capsule to be unearthed in 50 years. After it was in the ground, Town staff signed the top of the sealed capsule, each taking turns using the black Sharpie to sign their name and “2009” underneath.

September

Skaggs appointed Dacono chief: After serving as the interim police chief since March, Skaggs was sworn in as the new chief of police Aug. 24. Skaggs is a 15-year veteran of the Dacono Police Department.

Library to stay put: After months of discussion and consideration, the Dacono City Council decided to maintain the Dacono Public Library in its current location at 512 Cherry Street. In 2007, the city purchased the former Tri Town Senior building at 106 5th Street from the Carbon Valley Recreation District. The building was found to be structurally unstable and later condemned then demolished by the city.

New fire station opens: Mountain View Fire Protection District opened its newest fire station at 161 Perry Lane in Dacono.

IEDs found near CRMS: Neighbors near Coal Ridge Middle School were awakened by the explosion of several improvised explosive devices around the athletic field east of the school. The Firestone Police Department responded and found the remains of at least 10 homemade devices, including three that did not ignite. The Greeley Police Bomb Squad was called to neutralize the unexploded devices. The remnants of similar IEDs were found in the driveway of a home in the adjacent neighborhood later that morning.

Medical marijuana dispensaries approved: The City of Dacono passed on first reading an ordinance paving the way to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate within the city limits.

October

Bulrush Wetland Park opens: Oct. 23 marked the grand opening of Frederick’s Bulrush Wetland Park, 82 acres of land bisected by state Highway 52 and a few miles wast of I-25, of which about 57 acres are now wetland available as recreational property for the town of Frederick. In order to protect the natural resources of the park, it will be open by appointment or special occasions only. Motorized vehicles and pets aren’t allowed past the parking area and there is no hunting or fishing allowed in the park.

November

Frederick residents turn down home rule: Frederick residents voted no for a second time Nov. 3 to adopting a home rule charter. Election results showed Frederick Question 2A was defeated by a 3-to-1 margin with almost 75 percent of voters opting out.

Carlson finishes out term as mayor: The city of Dacono hosted a reception to celebrate the work of outgoing Mayor Wade Carlson, who was recognized with a bench to be placed on the Legacy Trail. Taking over his mayoral seat was lifetime Dacono resident Charles Sigman. Elected to the two open spots on Dacono City Council were Lori Sane and re-elected Tom McCune.

Senior center/gymnastics building opens: The senior center/gymnastics building for the Carbon Valley Recreation District celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 7.

December

Downtown plan moves forward: The Frederick Board of Trustees had their final consideration of the Frederick Downtown Development Plan Dec. 8, during which the members unanimously voted to adopt the plan that includes information on the town’s historical background, existing conditions, public improvements and infrastructure, transportation and implementation strategies. Since the plan has now been adopted, implementation could begin as early as 2010. The first steps to be made would likely include initial minor aesthetic enhancements while town leaders and downtown business owners discuss what to do next.