June 2004 |
| Breckenridge
News The newest addition to Breckenridge is a locomotive like the ones that traveled over Boreas Pass during the 1800’s mining boom. This one was actually built in the ‘20’s and pulled banana trains in Central America. After two years of refurbishing it is now very similar to old #537 that used to do the Breckenridge to Como route. It will join its cousin, the rotary snow-blowing train, near the ice arena. The restoration included replacing the boiler jackets, new water injectors, refurbishing the wooden wainscoting and new paint inside and out in the authentic colors of the Colorado, Denver, and South Park Railroad. It’s hoped the addition of the train will be a good investment as a recent study by the President’ Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has discovered that cultural tourism is the fastest growing segment of the industry. These types also tend to stay longer and spend a little more money. Breckenridge is a National Historic District and has always worked hard to preserve local historical sites, sometimes to the chagrin of developers. Now it appears the efforts will be paying off. The newest item on Breckenridge’s agenda is creating an artists’ colony of sorts within the historic district. Looks like we are right on track for the future by preserving our past. On a sad note for historic railroads, rumor has it that this could be the last year for the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Celebrating its 30th anniversary the attraction draws over 100,000 visitors per year. The operators and the state, that owns the rails and the park have been unable to come to an agreement on the contract renewal. Everyone from the locals to the Governor is searching for a new operator as well as trying to remedy the disagreement. The train makes a unique loop in order to ascend a 600-foot elevation change in only 4.5 miles that also involves a 95-foot high bridge. More information on everything going on this summer is at: http://thealtitudenews.com/Schedule.html, as well as: http://www.bestoftherockies.com. |
| SOMETHING
DIFFERENT IN KIDS’ CAMPS... The Dillon Yacht Club will be offering its youth sailing program for the third year and it’s being expanded more than double to allow forty kids this year. Designed for ages 9-17 the clinics are five days long and run from July 5th to August 6th. All instructors are American Sailing association certified coaches. At the start the instructors stay close and hand, but they say that within three days the kids are competent enough to get around Lake Dillon by themselves. By the end of the clinic they are well versed in rescue techniques as well. The clinics are held at the Dillon Yacht Club. For more information call Aleda Kresge at 970-668-0951. If your child is into nature perhaps the Keystone Science School summer camps are what you need. The KSS was founded in 1975 for the benefit of environmental sciences and attracts school groups from around the country. They also offer some excellent summer programs and scholarships are available. For more information go to: www.Keystone.org |
| WHY
I LIVE HERE… Five hundred people have purchased tickets, at $175 a pop, to attend the Summit Foundation's 20th anniversary celebration at Sharon Magness' and Ernie Blake's Triple Creek Ranch on July 2. They sold out in three weeks and when another hundred were added they went in a matter of days. The hosts graciously offered the use of their ranch with 2-25,000 square foot homes and a tent that will hold all the guests for the reception. It has taken a year to plan and the entertainment will be a sampling of Summit County’s best. Among the performers are the National Repertory Orchestra, the Lake Dillon Community Theatre and the Summit Concert Band. The foundation started an endowment fund to add to its $2.5 million fund and plans to reach the $6 million mark in grant awards this year. The foundation gives funds to over fifty non-profit organizations in Summit County. As an example of the local support the Foundation receives employees at the Frisco Safeway donated $638 to the Summit Foundation last month. The money came from the Safeway Cares Foundation where employees make voluntary contributions from their paychecks. More can be found at: http://summitfoundation.org. |
| SCHOOL
NEWS… The relatively new Summit County Head Start program received rave reviews during its federal inspection last month. The reviewers commented on how well the program ran for being in its infancy and gave it an overall grade of A-. The program is unique for Head Start in that it is run through cooperation of several different agencies. The Family and Intercultural Resource Center coordinates family support, the school district supplies teachers and classrooms, social services offers medical care and Early Childhood Options employs the program director. Another comment was how positive the families feel about the level of services that are being provided. The Summit girl’s rugby team recently placed third in the state tournament. They were eliminated in the semi-final round by eventual state champ Littleton. They then traveled to Sacramento California for the National Championships where they came in sixth. Their first loss again came against the eventual champion Burbank. It was a close game, 15-10, and the girls had several opportunities to win it. They were later eliminated in another close game by an Oregon team 17-15 with time running out as they drove for the winning score. Kate Orlin made the all tournament team and also set a new career scoring record for the Summit team. The Summit rugby team was national champions in ’98 and ’99 and we look forward to their return to dominance soon. The school board has come up with an ambitious new set of goals to quantify its mission of achieving excellence. Among those goals is a 95% graduation rate, having 85% of the students measure proficient in reading and math on the state tests, having 100% of the teachers participate in the continuing education and professional growth plans and maintaining a safe, drug-free and civil learning environment. One part of the structure designed to achieve all that is being implemented immediately: an expanded summer school program that will go beyond the traditional remedial subjects and offer enhancement and accelerated programs as well. Two unique elementary programs are being offered. One is a dual language camp where English and Spanish speaking students will totally immerse themselves with the goal of everyone taking big steps toward becoming completely bi-lingual and bi-literal. The other is an outdoor education camp with backcountry skills and team building being hosted by the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. More on the BOEC can be found at: http://www.boec.org. Local Summit Tigers and sister team of Whitney and Sierra Anderson stood out at the state high school track finals with a first and a third respectively in the 3200-meter run. Whitney, a junior, broke the 14-year-old state record in the process as well as beating the field by an astonishing 29 seconds. Earlier at the meet Whitney also won the 1600-meter run. The girls moved here from Alaska this year and commented how nice it was to run in front of a packed house for the first time. Early polls show promise for the passage of a bond measure this fall to fund school improvements. On the menu are renovations to the middle school, improvements to Frisco elementary, improved maintenance and technology throughout, as well as expanding the libraries. As the issue becomes better known it is expected support will increase. |
| SNOW
NEWS…to keep you cool! Keystone, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge Ski Resorts all have plans to expand their terrain parks and freestyle features for the coming season. Keystone plans to add more beginner features; Copper will add 25 rails and boxes to the 45 in place; and, Breckenridge will focus on its main park, Freeway. A-Basin may see some dramatic changes soon. The report is that the owners are purchasing privately owned mining claims within the ski area boundaries in order to make a trade with the US Forest Service for land at the base of the mountain. A-Basin is one of only a few ski areas that have not been able to develop any kind of base area overnight facilities. Everyone knows this is where the big money is in the industry now. Vail created Beaver Creek and Bachelors Gulch, Ralston created Keystone, and Intrawest is redesigning Copper Mountain. On the other hand areas like Loveland, Ski Cooper along with the Basin have been restricted to day use facilities only. I’ll keep you updated as things develop. |
| TRAVEL
TIPS… SOME OF MY FAVORITE SUMMER DRIVES… Colorado is home to spectacular roads that are higher than anywhere else in the country. The highest goes to the top of Mt. Evans at over 14,000 feet. The best way up is to get off I-70 at Idaho Springs. Just off the freeway is the Forest Service information booth and a good place to stop if you are unfamiliar with the area. As you wind up the mountain you will pass Echo Lake at 10,000 feet where you can go fishing or grab a bite to eat. There is also a multitude of hiking trails out of this area. If you took my advice the ranger at the first stop probably recommended some. This is where you will need to turn off to get to the summit and pay the $10 fee. Your next big landmark is Summit Lake, a beautiful glacier carved lake. From here the road is narrow and winding, and there is no place to turn around so you better be ready. I recommend you go during the week, as this last part can be very nerve wracking on weekends. You should also leave as early as possible in the day to beat the crowds to the top. If you make it, it is well worth the trip. Nowhere else can you drive to such an amazing spot and for most people it’s the only way they will get to see the top of a 14,000 foot mountain. Because of the elevation I recommend a few days in the high country, above 8,000 feet to get acclimated, and bring lots of water to help stem any altitude sickness. If you have any health issues be sure to consult your physician before you go. This is an incredible day trip. In the coming months I will be sharing more of my favorite drives with you to get your summer vacation to the peak of fun! See ya at the top! Contact me if you need further tips on where to stay, eat or play. |
| INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITIES Colorado added 14,500 new jobs last month, the second-fastest growth-rate in the U.S. Only Hawaii experienced a higher percentage increase. A new study commissioned by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, "Economic Impacts of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Watching in Colorado," reports hunting and fishing contributed $1.5 billion to the state's economy in 2002. The Colorado legislature gave final approval to Senate Bill 256 that would set up a tourism-promotion fund from the proceeds of the sale of the state's unclaimed property. Interest on the fund is projected to be $3.4 million next year and $5.4 million by 2024. The Northwest Colorado Council of Governments unveiled a study Friday that documented second homes as the "largest economic driver" in the four-county region of Eagle, Summit, Grand and Pitkin. For the region, spending by occupants of second homes accounted for 34% of the dollars flowing into the region from the outside while winter tourism accounted for 28%. Passenger traffic at Denver International Airport for February reached 2.9 million; an 11% increase over February 2003, and for the first two months of 2004, passenger traffic was up 13.1% from last year. That follows a December that was the busiest December in DIA history, with 3.14 million passengers served. Passenger traffic at Denver International Airport hit its highest level ever for March, 3,718,188 passengers, up 20% over March 2003. For the first quarter 2004, DIA recorded 9,867,474 passengers, a record, and an increase of 15% over the first quarter 2003. From a survey of the Travel Industry Association of America, where vacationers most want to visit this summer 1. Florida 2. California 3. Hawaii 4. New York 5. Colorado See you on the slopes . Contact me and we can discuss things. |
MARKET
CONDITIONS REPORT The preliminary results from the National Ski Areas Association, show the nation's 492 ski resorts posted their third-best season in 2003-2004, with 56.8 million skier visits. The tally was only slightly down from a record 57.6 million in 2002-03. February tax collections in Breckenridge indicate a rebound in destination visitors, with sales tax figures from lodging sector up 13.1% over February 2003, and year-to-date sales, through February, up 11.1%. Overall, the town's sales tax collections were up 9.3% in February and up 9.9% for the year. Year-to-date sales tax revenues, through February, are up in all four of the towns in Summit County, a significant turnabout from the declines in tax revenues that began in 2002. Year-to-date revenues from a countywide 2% tax were up 8.2% over the same period last year. Vail’s sales tax collections for the ski season, November through March, were up 4.5% from the same period a year ago. The U.S. economy is off to a strong start in 2004, with the U.S. Commerce Dept. reporting that gross domestic product, the broadest gauge of U.S. economic activity, rose 4.2% in the first quarter. The Travel Industry Association of America predicts a 3% increase in leisure travel this summer, the biggest one-year jump in four years. March continued the streak of records for real-estate transactions in Eagle County, with the a total of $160 million in sales, a new record for the month and the fourth-best month, dollar-wise, ever recorded. All these points are indicators of growing demand. Couple that with the rumors of rising interest rates and all indications are that now is the time to buy! Don’t wait ‘till prices start going up again, Contact Me Today! |