YOUR AD HERE »

Town of Grand Lake delays approval of Grand Camp final plat

Tonya Bina
tbina@grandcountynews.com
Grand County, Colorado

The commercial development Grand Camp, across from the Conoco Station at the entrance to Grand Lake, is winding its way toward final town approval.

Grand Lake board members continued the final-plat public hearing for Grand Camp to Feb. 9, to allow time for town-attorney review of documents as well as well as other final details.

Located a the intersection of Highway 34 and Mary Drive, Grand Camp promises 14 commercial units for anything from restaurants to retail, according to developer Morris King.



Sketches of the future Grand Camp show a two story center structure with two 5,000 square-foot building wings. The building will have a maximum height of 35 feet.

As part of the project, the Colorado Department of Transportation is requiring that the developer provide turning lanes on Highway 34. Likewise, the developer is agreeing to a town request to widen the base of Mary Drive.



A 7 percent land dedication required by the town is being met with a fee in-lieu of $24,500.

Included in development plans is a multi-sided kiosk that would be located in front of the main building. The town is negotiating a deal that would allow the town to manage one of the sides of the kiosk to promote downtown.

Ideas for other sides of the kiosk include displays of information for the U.S. Highway 40 Scenic Byway, Rocky Mountain Repertory or Grand Lake Area Historical Society.

Town turns down land trade

The town turned down an opportunity on Monday to trade its .13-acre parcel of Tunnel Road lake-view property called Coker Tract B for two parcels totaling .59-acre adjacent to Patterson Street closer to town.

The owner of the latter property pointed out that the trade made sense because his property is on the “border of the town of Grand Lake plat rather than an inholding-type parcel like Coker Tract B.”

The town acquired the Coker Tract from a land dedication requirement when the former owner subdivided his property.

Town board members ” save for Trustee Jim Peterson ” indicated they’d rather keep the Coker tract for its intrinsic value, saying they had little use for the offered parcel.

“This is not enticing enough for a trade,” said Trustee Tom Weydert.

Chamber rubbed wrong way

The town of Grand Lake is seeking more “accountability of financials” from the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce.

At Monday’s town workshop, town-chamber liaison Trustee Kathy Lewis reported to the Grand Lake Board of Trustees that her request for a chamber audit was taken “unprofessionally” earlier that day.

“I do think the chamber has done a good job and is going in the right direction,” said Lewis. But she had reminded the chamber that the town made it clear during budget time that it wanted an audit because chamber books were “hard to read,” she continued.

The town plans to withhold all 2009 funds it contributes annually to the chamber until it receives a third-party review of chamber financials.

But that is unlikely to happen, according to the chamber’s treasurer Bob Freeman.

According to the chamber’s CPA, audits can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000, he said, and the chamber does not understand why one is necessary since town staff had previously indicated the chamber’s recent financial reports had been “the best they’ve ever had. It makes no sense,” he said.

If town funds are withheld from the chamber, the town could be forced to find another arrangement in running its Highway 34 visitors center, currently operated by the chamber, Freeman said.

Trustees resolved on Monday to try and arrange a meeting with the chamber of commerce board of directors.

” Tonya Bina can be reached at 887-3334 ext. 19603 or e-mail tbina@grandcountynews.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.