Photo Credits Megan Buzan
In the 1890s, everybody who was anybody had been to Leadville, or so the story goes. The discovery of gold brought the first miners to this two-mile high city, but it was the discovery of silver that made Leadville the nation's wealthiest city at the time. When Oscar Wilde entertained his audience at the Tabor Opera House, more than 40,000 people lived in Leadville! Our population is a lot less now. But those of us who live life elevated think there is no better or more legendary place on earth to be.
The legends of the West in the late nineteenth century were no strangers to Leadville: Horace and Baby Doe Tabor, the Unsinkable Molly Brown, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid and even a John W. Booth whose headstone graces Evergreen Cemetery.
Then there are the modern-day legends, the Leadville Trail 100 Race Across the Sky for example and some equally legendary characters not everybody’s heard of, although everybody in Leadville knows who they are. If you want to know more about these folks, you’ll have to come up to Leadville, strike up a conversation with one of the locals and they will tell you some of the most legendary stories you may have ever heard. We‘ll keep the lights on!
Announcements:
10/23/2019 City Hall Open House
9/27/2019
Due to current critical weather conditions, per Lake County Ordinance 2000-22, Sheriff Amy Reyes has issued a county-wide burn ban until further notice.
The following acts are prohibited on all public and private property until further notice:
1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal.
2. Smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
3. Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads or trails.
4. Blasting, welding or other activities, which generate flame or flammable material.
5. Fireworks and model rocketry.
6. Target or Recreational Shooting is prohibited with the exception of using lead bullets.
7. Operating a chain saw without a 10lb ABC or 2 ½ gallon pressurized or equivalent fire extinguisher, and large size pointed shovel readily available for quick use.
Exceptions:
1. Persons with a written exemption from the Sheriff that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
2. Persons using a fire solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels (propane BBQ).
3. Any Federal, State or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
4. Approved fully contained outdoor wood burning furnace/boiler.
5. For commercial operations authorized under contract or permit, internal and external combustion engines may be operated as approved by the U.S. Forest Service within designated areas. 6. Campfires in developed campgrounds with fire rings. Individual fire protection districts may impose stricter restrictions than listed above within their respective district boundaries.
Contact Leadville/Lake County Fire-Rescue at 719-486-2990 or the non-emergency number for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 719-486-1249 for further information.
Intersection upgrades at US 24 & Mountain View Drive
TRAVEL IMPACTS: Through the project’s completion by late November 2019, motorists can expect single-lane closures from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (as daylight permits), Monday through Friday. Motorists are urged to drive with care through the intersection and watch for workers and equipment. Please avoid distractions as you travel through the work area and go “Slow for the Cone Zone!”
PROJECT INFORMATION: Those with questions or comments, or those wanting to receive weekly project updates via email, may call the project information line at (719) 427-0950 or email the project team at us24mountainviewintersection@gmail.com. The project web site is https://www.codot.gov/projects/us-24-mountain-view-leadville.
Sign up for CDOT project or travel alerts: bit.ly/COalerts
See CDOT’s scheduled lane closures: codot.gov/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html
Connect with CDOT on Twitter (@coloradodot) and Facebook (facebook.com/coloradodot)
LEADVILLE - The Colorado Department of Transportation, the City of Leadville and High Country Developer, LLC, are partnering to improve safety and mobility at the intersection of US 24 and Mountain View Drive. Contractor Technology Constructors, Inc., will begin work on Aug. 12 to replace the existing signals and make additional improvements that will support all modes of travel, as well as provide new accesses for a new development east of the intersection.
“This is a great improvement for Safety and Mobility” said Region 3 Transportation Director Mike Goolsby. “When CDOT gets the opportunity to partner with Local Government and Private industry it is a Win/Win for our Customers.”
Intersection improvements will include:
Replacement of existing span wire signals with mast arm signals
Upgraded push buttons and signals for pedestrians
Sidewalk upgrades to meet ADA* requirements at all four corners of each intersection, including ADA-compliant curb ramps
Drainage improvements (storm drain inlets)
New/upgraded pavement markings
Minor widening on westbound (runs northbound at this location) US 24 to provide a new deceleration/acceleration lane into and out of the new development
*Americans with Disabilities Act
The contract cost of the project is $1,199,742; $592,255 of that is funded by CDOT and $607,487 by the developer. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-December 2019.
“The City of Leadville is pleased to participate in this important public-private partnership benefitting our community,” said Leadville Administrative Services Manager Sarah Dallas. “We greatly appreciate the generous support of the Colorado Department of Transportation and High Country Developers in the Mountain View Drive intersection-improvement project. We look forward to the enhancements both the project and the development will bring.”
WHOLE SYSTEM. WHOLE SAFETY.: To heighten safety awareness, CDOT recently announced its Whole System. Whole Safety. initiative. This campaign takes a systematic statewide approach to safety combining the benefits of CDOT’s programs that address driving behavior, our built environment and the organization's operations. The goal is to improve the safety of Colorado’s transportation network by reducing the rate and severity of crashes and improving safety conditions for those traveling by all transportation modes. The program has one simple mission - to get everyone home safely.
ABOUT CDOT: CDOT has approximately 3,000 employees located throughout Colorado, and manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway and 3,429 bridges. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of other agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and airports, and administers Bustang, the state-owned and operated inter-regional express service. Governor Jared Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.
Interested in our Region 3 Annual CDOT Plan? Want to voice feedback about our roads and transportation needs in Lake County? This summer CDOT is taking a fresh look at investment priorities and asking people across Colorado what matters to their lives and what transportation can do to get them there. CDOT is bringing planning efforts together to create "Your Transportation Plan" that identifies a 10-year strategic pipeline of projects, inclusive of all modes, informed both by a data-driven needs assessment and public and stakeholder input. Please see the following PDF and take a quick survey!
https://www.codot.gov/programs/colorado-transportation-matters/your-transportation-plan
The City of Leadville and Lake County have been working with Build A Generation and spring semester master planning students from the University of Colorado Denver on analysis of property opportunities for a potential housing development that incorporates affordable housing units for our community. The final report and executive summary are located below. this summer a new group of students will that this report recommendations to create a designed development proposal. Please look for more information regarding upcoming community work sessions and open houses relative to this project.
Students this summer expanded upon the spring student capstone project which includes a report on potential infill policy and design considerations, a bike and pedestrian plan, a policy to elevate Leadville plan proposal, and finally the master housing design concept on the Climax parcel site. The following reports are the four final group projects presented to the Housing Coalition, members of the public, and key elected officials on 8/1/2019. For more infomration please contact Sarah Dallas 719-486-2092 or email questions to adminservices@leadville-co.gov
Leadville City Council passed the 2019 budget on 12/4/18. City staff has created a budget brief for the public that is located below as a PDF. To learn more about this budget and prior budgets, as well as the last four years of audited financial statements check out the Finance Department webpage on this website. For questions or concerns please call 719-486-2092 for more information.
The City of Leadville is now accepting online payments for all permits, forms, and donations. Liquor licenses, Marijuana licenses, and fines will not be available for online payment. Please click on the following link to access the online payment portal. PLEASE NOTE there will not be a confirmation of payment. Do not enter a payment card information more than one time. If you need to confirm receipt of payment please contact the City of Leadville 719-486-2092.
