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R• E •REDS V • I • E • W TONE PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LYONS, CO PERMIT No 2053 RESIDENT / OCCUPANT

Redstone stands with President Zelensky and the people in Ukraine

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VOLUME 23, NUMBER 5 LYONS, COLORADO JUNE 15 / JULY 13, 2022

B• R • I • E • F • S

Tree limb/slash drop-off event

LYONS – On Saturday June 25th, one day only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Town of Lyons, Boulder County, and the Wildfire Task Force are hosting a Fire Mitigation/Fuels Reduction Day. This drop-off service is for residents with property located within the Lyons Fire Protection District boundary.

The drop off location is 4687 Ute Hwy, in front of the Town’s public works facility. Limbs, logs, and shrubby branches accepted. No general compost, yard waste, roots, grass, pine needles, pine cones, tree stumps, flood debris, dirt, rocks, construction materials, lumber or trash accepted.

Self-service, you unload your vehicle; residential use unly. Volunteers will ensure materials meet the requirements. No commercial drop-offs accepted.

Not sure where to start? Go here for information on creating defensible space around your home. www.nfpa.org//-/media/Files/Firewise/Fact-sheets/FirewiseHowToPrepareYourHomeForWildfires.pdf.

Stone Cup music for June and July

LYONS – The Stone Cup began summer hours on June 1. Wednesday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Last food order from kitchen at 1:30 p.m. Rachel Tallent’s art show Desert Sprawl will remain through the end of June.

Here is the outdoor live weekend music lineup. All musicians perform from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. June 18 (Saturday) Jim Seely June 19 (Sunday) Father’s Day Joe Teichman June 24 (Friday) Denny Driscoll June 25 (Saturday) Ashlei Priest June 26 (Sunday) Zea Stallings July 2 (Saturday) Karen Finch July 3 (Sunday) Sarah Caton July 8 (Friday) Denny Driscoll July 9 (Saturday) James Faulk July 10 (Sunday) Daniel Ondaro July 15 (Friday) Arbour Season July 16 (Saturday) Jim Seely

Colorado Highway 7 lower paving

LYONS – As crews continue work on the CO 7 project, the project team will begin permanent asphalt paving operations in June. The milling operations will

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Cooling off with friends on a hot day at LaVern M. Johnson Park in Lyons. PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

Town board discusses options on Cemex, debates issues on zoning at 431 4th Avenue

By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review Editor

LYONS – At recent workshop before a regular board meeting in early June, the Lyons Town Board discussed a request by Cemex to extend their permit to operate their plant for 15 more years. The plants’ current permit, which is issued by Boulder County, is due to expire in late September this year.

The plant is running out of rock material (limestone) to process and would not be able to continue mining at their quarry, Dowe Flats, but would instead truck in materials from other locations to process at the plant making cement which is then shipped out to make concrete.

It has been brought to the attention of the town trustees that Boulder County has been in negotiations with Cemex on the permit extension for months and it is only recently that the town board has been asked to weigh in on the matter. Although Lyons does not issue any permits for operations at the Cemex plant, Lyons does have an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Boulder County concerning land that the town wants to acquire at the Cemex complex that is in the Lyons planning area which the town hopes to use as part of its eastern corridor expansion.

An area of greater concern is the air quality emissions that Cemex continues to emit. The plant was built in the 1960s, is outdated and is the biggest polluter in Boulder County, responsible for over 7 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen said, “The County can’t reach its carbon emission goals with the Cemex plant operating – but it could reach its carbon emissions goal if the Cemex plant were closed.

Trustee Gregg Oetting said, “If we can’t stop it, we should see what we can get out of it; it might mean lower emissions,” and he named several other things as possibilities. Others suggested lowering the time frame in the permit to 10 years instead of 15 years.

Cemex offered the county more land for Open Space and some other land to buy at a lower price if they would agree to extend the permit. They also stated what sounded pretty much like an ultimatum, that if the county did not give them the 15 year extension, they would use the south side of the Cemex complex to operate their plant indefinitely bringing in materials from other locations. With the permit extension, the operation and the pollution regulations for the plant would be based on whatever they were in the 1960s because they are grandfathered in.

At the regular town board meeting the board decided to ask Boulder County for an extension, to allow for more time to consider their options, to complete the Lyons Comprehensive plan, which is now in the final stages of completion and to allow the Lyons Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC) to do research and advise the board of further options. Boulder County wanted Lyons to respond by June 10. As to what leverage the town has to influence Boulder County’s decision, that is not clear at this time.

In other news Mayor Hollie Rogin signed a proclamation recognizing June 19 as the official Juneteenth Holiday. The Town of Lyons encourages all residents to join in celebration and solidarity and actively raise their own awareness of the significance of this celebration in African American History and in the heritage of our nation and town.

The town board heard a report from Steve Simms, chair of the Ecology Advisory Board, on their recent activities and achievements. After Simms’ presentation Mayor Hollie Rogin said she is hoping for a more collaborative approach with the EAB, adding that, “If the EAB is going to make a recommendation to a watershed board please, please ask for an agenda item, so we can discuss it as a board and know about it.”

Several months ago, the Sustainable Futures Commission (SFC) found themselves in hot water with the town board for a similar action. Mayor Rogin wanted to make it clear to the EAB, that advisory boards and commissions should clear those actions with the town board before making recommendations. “It is important for all of us to be rowing in the same direction in order to save the river,” she said.

The board then turned to the property at 431 4th Avenue owned by Steve McCain. The former board agreed to rezone the property from commercial to industrial because McCain’s property was out of compliance with his business in commercial zoning. The industrial zone was granted with the condition that McCain build a fence around the property and that there would be no entrance or exit onto 4th Avenue, due to the Safe Routes to Schools upgrades that were constructed along 4th for school children to walk from the elementary school along that route.

McCain missed his deadlines for completing the fencing around his property and was assessed a fine of $100 per day for 4 days until he completed the fence. The fence was finally completed and the gate along 4th Avenue was removed by June 6.

Attorney Brandon Dittman said that missing his deadlines for completing the fence meant that the rezoning to industrial was not actually in effect, and the owner was out of compliance. The board is still debating how much McCain should be fined.

Administrator Simonsen said that staff had to spend hours convincing the property owner that he would be fined if he did not complete the fence and meet his requirements.

“This is a habitual land owner who has pushed the boundaries over and over for 20 years,” said Trustee Jocelyn Farrell.

Mayor Rogin said, “I am furious. I think we should fine him as much as we possible can and I would like to look at a risk analysis of declaring that industrial zoning was never in place.” Trustee Tanya Daty agreed and the board decided to pursue Mayor Rogin’s suggestion and authorized the risk analysis study.