By Mayor Julie Van Domelen

Redstone Review

LYONS – Main Street was hopping last Saturday as Celebrate Lyons unfolded in the downtown.

It’s incredible what can be achieved when everyone pulls in the same direction. Town hall has worked hard over the past years to improve the business climate, enhance the attractiveness of Main Street and upgrade the basic infrastructure. On the street on Saturday I heard many people who had not been in Lyons in several months say what a wonderful new feel there is to Main Street. I think the landscape architecture firm, Loris and Associates, deserves an award for the basic design. It managed to keep Lyons looking like Lyons by respecting our sandstone traditions and small-town feel, while creating wonderful sitting spaces and a really pleasant strolling experience. Town staff, and in particular engineer Jim Blankenship and economic development coordinator Jacque Watson, have been on site and behind the scenes keeping such a big project on track. Watson arranged for those beautiful banners, designed by local graphic artist and advertising executive Nigel Ellis, which point out all of the interesting things to see and do in Lyons.

Business owners have made significant investments in Lyons and it sure shows. Even in the face of one of the worst economic periods in recent memory, it is encouraging to see the new storefronts, new businesses and business expansions. The Lyons Area Chamber of Commerce should be congratulated for setting up Celebrate Lyons, spearheaded by Ellen Hine, chair of the special events committee. She tapped local writing talents Anne Ripley and Katherine Weadley to prepare press releases which marketed the event along the Front Range, drawing in visitors from Denver, Erie, Firestone, Longmont and others. These kinds of efforts turn Lyons into a destination instead of a drive-by town. From the talk on the street, many businesses had a great retail day and the Lyons Outdoor Market was humming, particularly with the addition of the bouncy castle much appreciated by our youngest citizens. This is a good sign as we head into the busy summer season. And, the chamber raised $500 out of the event for the Lyons high school scholarship it funds.

But we can’t rest on our laurels. One of the key challenges that remain is to bring the same type of streetscape enhancements to the section of Main between the Black Bear up to Third Avenue and Main Street. This is an important part of our commercial space and needs to be better linked to the rest of downtown. From the recreation base at one end (Black Bear Hole and bike path access to Bohn Park) to safe pedestrian linkages with the downtown area starting at Third and Main, we should proceed from the lessons learned on Main Street – good design, community input and consultation, and persistence in going after funding.

We have also not forgotten the area to the east of Lyons, the so-called eastern corridor. We are currently awaiting response on a request by Lyons to Boulder County to incorporate three properties within our planning area. One of these is the north side of the decommissioned Longmont water treatment plant, which would help pave the way for sale of that property. While integrating land into our planning area does not require or assure annexation, it does give Lyons a right to consultation about development in those areas and it makes it possible to annex if the property owners so desire. We will be working closely with Boulder County to come to agreement about potential commercial redevelopment along the Colorado Highway 66 corridor.

Lyons would also benefit from greater efforts to promote and protect the St. Vrain River corridor as it flows through town, eventually connecting up to the St Vrain Greenway project to our east. The river provides recreation and creates important wildlife and bird habitats. The St. Vrain attracts many day-trippers to Lyons, from birders to kayakers and fly fishers and people drawn to the quiet beauty of the river on a summer’s day. We have established paths and social trails, wastewater treatment services, ditch diversions, kayak courses, catch-and-release fishing areas, inner-tubing, ponds, bridges, a dog splash area, commercial and residential properties all along the way. The new Lyons Comprehensive Plan calls for a task force to be established to provide momentum to the integrated planning of the future of the river corridor. I would like to move to establish such a task force in the near future. If you have an interest in this, please let me know.

In signing off, an important way to serve your community is by volunteering on the various town boards and commissions. We currently have vacancies on the Board of Adjustments, Library Board of Trustees, Lyons Arts and Humanities Council, Lyons Historic Designation Commission and the Tree Board. If interested, please contact me at the email address below.

Julie Van Domelen was elected mayor of Lyons in 2009 in a special election. She was re-elected mayor in April 2010. Mayor Van Domelen works part time as an economist for the World Bank. She lives with her family in Lyons and can be reached at juliev@townoflyons.com.

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