Walking and talking
Colorado Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien (left) talks with Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert (right) and Rifle Downtown Development Authority manager Helen Rogers (center) while taking a walking tour of Rifle, Tuesday. O'Brien visited Rifle to talk with community leaders about the town's participation in Governor Bill Ritter's Sustainable Main Street Initiative program.
Colorado Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien visited Rifle on Tuesday to see firsthand the impacts of the Governor Ritter's Sustainable Main Street Initiative program.
The Sustainable Main Street Initiative program is headed by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and Rifle was one of four Colorado communities chosen for the pilot program, which was announced by Gov. Ritter in May. The program's mission was to identify needs and seek solutions to strengthen Colorado communities in partnership with state and federal agencies such as, the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and DOLA.
“We really appreciate what smaller communities are up against and what incredible strength they also bring,” O'Brien told a group of community leaders and members at Rifle City Hall after a walking tour of the downtown.
The initiative helped with projects such as development of the Health and Wellness Center, the Ute Theater renovations, and also formation of a combined revolving loan fund and downtown business incubator to improve and promote the downtown area.
O'Brien accompanied Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, city councilors, downtown business owners and city staff on a tour of downtown projects including the new Rifle branch of the Garfield County Library District, the Ute Theater renovation, Centennial Park and the site of the proposed Rifle Health and Wellness Center on east Second Street.
The premise of the visit is to gather input on the effectiveness of the program so to pass along any valuable information to the future administration. Gov. Ritter is not seeking re-election and the program is in jeopardy of being discontinued under a new administration.
“We just thought, can one of us get out to all of these four communities to see how it's going and see if there are lessons to be learned that we can pass on to the next administration,” O'Brien said.
“Because if they decide to go forward with this (program), or something similar, that is totally their call, but we were hoping to show that if it's possible to get enough momentum and to get state agencies talking to each other in a new way to benefit a community, that this might really become a tradition,” O'Brien said.
Rifle was selected along with Five Points Neighborhood in East Denver; the town of Fowler and the city of Monte Vista. The program helped bring people to the table with ideas and solutions who perhaps would not have been involved in the process, according to Lambert.
“We've got new faces in a sense,” Lambert said. “This brought them into action with a cooperative event and I think that has been beneficial.” Overall, O'Brien was impressed with the projects Rifle has been able to work on through the program. And she praised Rifle for the work, of which all involved have contributed.
“What you have been doing for a long time, what you are doing now, and the execution of it, it's just really impressive,” she said.
The Sustainable Main Street Initiative program is headed by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and Rifle was one of four Colorado communities chosen for the pilot program, which was announced by Gov. Ritter in May. The program's mission was to identify needs and seek solutions to strengthen Colorado communities in partnership with state and federal agencies such as, the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and DOLA.
“We really appreciate what smaller communities are up against and what incredible strength they also bring,” O'Brien told a group of community leaders and members at Rifle City Hall after a walking tour of the downtown.
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| Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien |
The initiative helped with projects such as development of the Health and Wellness Center, the Ute Theater renovations, and also formation of a combined revolving loan fund and downtown business incubator to improve and promote the downtown area.
O'Brien accompanied Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, city councilors, downtown business owners and city staff on a tour of downtown projects including the new Rifle branch of the Garfield County Library District, the Ute Theater renovation, Centennial Park and the site of the proposed Rifle Health and Wellness Center on east Second Street.
The premise of the visit is to gather input on the effectiveness of the program so to pass along any valuable information to the future administration. Gov. Ritter is not seeking re-election and the program is in jeopardy of being discontinued under a new administration.
“We just thought, can one of us get out to all of these four communities to see how it's going and see if there are lessons to be learned that we can pass on to the next administration,” O'Brien said.
“Because if they decide to go forward with this (program), or something similar, that is totally their call, but we were hoping to show that if it's possible to get enough momentum and to get state agencies talking to each other in a new way to benefit a community, that this might really become a tradition,” O'Brien said.
Rifle was selected along with Five Points Neighborhood in East Denver; the town of Fowler and the city of Monte Vista. The program helped bring people to the table with ideas and solutions who perhaps would not have been involved in the process, according to Lambert.
“We've got new faces in a sense,” Lambert said. “This brought them into action with a cooperative event and I think that has been beneficial.” Overall, O'Brien was impressed with the projects Rifle has been able to work on through the program. And she praised Rifle for the work, of which all involved have contributed.
“What you have been doing for a long time, what you are doing now, and the execution of it, it's just really impressive,” she said.
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