Following months of construction along Third Street and closing down a section of Railroad Avenue to through traffic, the fruits of downtown Rifle’s revitalization project are starting to ripen.
“When you actually get over to that west side, suddenly it feels totally different,” City Manager Scott Hahn told Rifle City Council on June 2. “It doesn’t feel like Rifle downtown, because you’re used to thinking how it used to be… I have business owners come out, and they’re extremely pleased with how it’s looking.”
City engineer Craig Spaulding said work began this week on the sidewalk on the opposite end of Railroad Avenue between Second and Third streets. Curb and gutter work are also underway.
File photo / Post Independent
As funding drops, Colorado River Fire Rescue plans to ask voters for the second time in two years to bolster funding through property taxes.
Though annual funding has dropped by more than $2.5 million since 2017, call volume for the Colorado River Fire Rescue district continues to increase, said a fire official.
In May 2020, a measure to add 6.099 mills to the current levy, which would have generated $4.72 million to help balance the fire district’s budget, was defeated by the voters. The outcome meant the district was forced to close Station 43 in south Rifle.
Over the course of 2020, in fact, the district that covers 851 square miles east of New Castle and west of Rifle has seen a 6.1% increase in 911 calls since 2019.
Ray K. Erku / Post Independent
Downtown Rifle business owner Nick Beightel said business has decreased 75% since construction activity picked up in the area earlier this year.
In fact, when asked if COVID-19 or construction has been more of a detriment to foot traffic, Beightel, who owns One Jewelers, said construction is worse “by far.”
“The fact a lot of my customers are elderly people, they don’t want to walk a block or two to shop,” he said on Tuesday. “They want the convenience to pull up and leave. Where are they going to park? It’s hard for them.”
Paradise Island is one step closer to becoming a public attraction for the city of Rifle.
Rifle City Council on April 21 voted unanimously to purchase the island, located in the middle of the Colorado River north of the Rifle Rest Area, for $400,000.
The purchase includes two parcels that encompass the majority of the land. The majority of which are owned by one party in Aspen and one out of state Paradise Island LLC and Kasia M. Bickel, respectively.
“The sellers really just want to liquidate,” City attorney Jim Neu said. “They want to get rid of the property.”
Once the land is fully acquired by the city, it will be maintained as space for wildlife, recreation and future development, which includes resource extraction and river ecological education purposes. Future space for housing and businesses is also being proposed.
Stickers promoting a white nationalist hate group recently discovered by a local mother and her son during a stroll in downtown Rifle have prompted calls for reform.
Rifle City Council on April 7 was asked by a number of residents and members of Colorado Trust, a statewide philanthropic foundation that promotes equity, to meet with community stakeholders to address what they consider to be growing racial issues within the city.
“I was grateful to (Rifle Police Chief Tommy Klein) for quickly addressing the issue by removing the vandalism and committing to careful vigilance in order to make sure subsequent instances are identified and removed,” Rifle resident and Colorado Mountain College assistant dean of instruction Marjorie Lear said during public comment. “But, honestly, I’ve had a stomach ache since that day, as I reflect on the fact that someone felt free to spread hate and racism within our community so openly.”