Outdoor Cinema Series on May 21. Once a month through September, the mall will showcase five films in a drive-in manner in the South Sutherlands Parking Lot. No entry is allowed from the Patterson Road side. The first film being shown is âThe Sandlotâ to celebrate the start of the Junior College World Series. Gates open at 7:30 p.m., and the show begins at 8:30 p.m. The mall is partnering with Community Food Bank for the event , so theyâre asking guests to provide canned food or cash donations as an entrance fee. The series is presented by Alpine Bank. When guests arrive, theyâll be directed to a parking spot by volunteers from the food bank. Volunteers will tune their radio to a designated station so that guests can listen along. A popcorn vendor will also be on site.
The Grand Junction City Council approved a contract with FCI Construction to build the new Fire Station 3. Fire Chief Ken Watkins explained to the City Council, which was holding its first regular meeting with three new council members, why the city is replacing this station at 582 25½ Road. âThis is our oldest fire station,â Watkins said. âItâs actually over 45 years old. It has a number of maintenance and capital needs. Weâve done an evaluation to determine whether we could have done a more cost-effective remodel, and that didnât look to be successful.â The station is about half the size of the new stations the city has been building. It also had a number of other issues, including no gender separation in the facility for privacy.
The Grand Junction City Council held a lengthy discussion at its Monday workshop on how to move forward with developing ordinances to regulate the newly allowed marijuana businesses. One of the main topics under discussion was over how to further engage the community to get input and feedback on those regulations. Interim Mayor Pro-Tem Chuck McDaniel said he felt the council needed significant public engagement. âMy strong preference is to get this matter fully vetted among the public and listen to anyone who wants to say something about it,â McDaniel said. Senior Planner Lance Gloss gave the council a presentation laying out what work had been done on the marijuana regulation issue including the past public engagement.
Four Grand Junction City Council members were sworn in Monday morning for new four-year terms after winning their elections on April 6. Rick Taggart was reelected, and Abe Herman, Randall Reitz and Dennis Simpson were elected for the first time. The new council members met at City Hall in front of a small gathering, which included city staff and the three City Council members who were not up for reelection. The new council started off with a work session Monday evening, which included discussion about allowing marijuana businesses in the city. According to the agenda, discussion items were to include whether regulations should be put in place, the timeframe for licensing new marijuana businesses and whether to establish a cap on the number of certain marijuana licenses.
A new Grand Junction City Council will be sworn in Monday, kicking off the typical process of long-range planning but with an unusual twist not afforded most councils — millions
A new brewpub may be coming to North Avenue and revitalize the building that was formerly occupied by the Grand Junction REI store. The Grand Junction City Council cleared the way for the proposed business last week when it modified an ordinance to change the distance a brewpub can be located from a school from 500 feet to 450 feet. The building on the northwest corner of North Avenue and Seventh Street neighbors Grand Junction High School. In fact, the road just to the north of the property is Tiger Avenue, a nod to the schoolâs mascot. Sandra Weckerly, who is purchasing the property, spoke at the City Council meeting and said servers will be checking photo IDs when selling alcohol. She also said she did not expect there to be a high volume of to-go retail sales.
The Grand Junction City Council adopted a new destination brand, a customized branding strategy developed by Visit Grand Junction. Visit Grand Junction partnered with consultant Destination Think to create the destination brand, which includes the tagline âWhere Life Leads,â as well as four custom fonts, a logo and âPlace DNA.â The process cost about $85,000. Visit Grand Junction Executive Director Elizabeth Fogerty said they included a significant amount of outreach to the local community when developing the brand strategy. âThese stories and experiences we hear from our guests canât happen without the interaction from our residents and the locals truly were a key to our success in building this brand strategy and quite frankly will contribute heavily to the future of this brand,â Fogerty said.
The Grand Junction City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve wage increases for the city manager, city attorney and municipal judge. In the cityâs 2021 budget it included a 2.5% wage increase for all city employees, which included those three positions. Mayor Pro Tem Kraig Andrews explained that they first had to complete performance reviews before that raise was implemented. âThe wage increase for eligible employees was dependent on the employee being evaluated and being rated as performing at or above expectations,â Andrews said. âBecause we determined that each of these three employees is performing at or above expectations, with the approval of this ordinance, each will be awarded a 2.5% increase starting with pay period seven of this year.â
The Grand Junction City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve wage increases for the city manager, city attorney and municipal judge. In the cityâs 2021 budget it included a 2.5% wage increase for all city employees, which included those three positions. Mayor Pro Tem Kraig Andrews explained that they first had to complete performance reviews before that raise was implemented. âThe wage increase for eligible employees was dependent on the employee being evaluated and being rated as performing at or above expectations,â Andrews said. âBecause we determined that each of these three employees is performing at or above expectations, with the approval of this ordinance, each will be awarded a 2.5% increase starting with pay period seven of this year.â
After the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on Tuesday, local leaders involved in last summerâs racial justice discourse voiced relief at the verdict as well as resolve for continuing the work of the last year. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis Police Department officer, was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, when he knelt on his neck for more than 9 minutes on May 25, 2020. Marches and demonstrations were widespread across the nation, including in Mesa County, following that incident. Grand Junction Police Chief Doug Shoemaker said in a statement that those demonstrations led to positive conversations between local law enforcement and the community.