Copper Mountain development is focusing on sustainable living. Copper installed a 4.2 kilowatt solar system to generate power for part of the transportation center. Its new training facility, Camp Woodward, will earn the Green Globes certification. Its efforts will help combat the rating it got in 2007 by the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition as the worst “green” ski area in the West.
After years of back and forth meetings with county commissioners, the county finally approved Copper’s plan to redevelop the resort’s base. The plan includes a redesign of the golf course, new condos and a hotel near the chapel lot and condos near the A-Lift. About 50 Copper Mountain homeowners showed disapproval of the plan because it could interfere with their views and lifestyle.
As part of the plan, some of Copper’s transfer tax will go to the county.
Copper Mountain wants to develop its base area more, but the county commissioners are slowing progress by not deciding one way or the other. Another hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain Plaza at Copper.
Commissioners are mainly concerned that there won’t be enough parking after Copper Mountain develops 420 more units. Resort officials said Copper might talk about building a parking structure in the future to solve the problem. Questions over how development would affect recpath construction from Copper toward Fremont Pass also raised concerns.
If you’re moving to Summit County full time and have kids who need childcare, beware: Childcare is hard to come by up here.
One friend of mine who lives in Frisco had to quit her well-paying job when she couldn’t find space to enroll her infant in daycare last year. About 120 Summit County kids are on a waiting list for daycare.
Meanwhile, some daycare centers that were open a year or more ago are closed. Kinderhut, at the base of Breckenridge Peak 8 in Breckenridge, closed April, 2008, after 17 years of business. It accommodated drop-in daycare. It has been replaced by retail stores.
The good news is that the town of Breckenridge Colorado is stepping up and building a new childcare center, called the Timberline Learning Center, scheduled to open Aug. 1, 2008. It should be able to take care of 68 kids. The bad news is that during the needs assessment the town did, it discovered two facilities, not just one, would be necessary to meet the community’s needs. For more information on Timberline, e-mail: info@timberlinelearningcenter.com.
Another daycare center that used to help local parents that has remained closed for more than a year is the Pumpkin Patch at Copper Mountain. In April 2007, it closed, after allegations that employees put unlit cigarettes in infants’ mouths and took pictures. Criminal charges were not filed, but the center hasn’t reopened since its licensure suspension. Copper Mountain is looking for other childcare providers to partner with and is holding the space vacant for the day another facility opens. The Belly Button Bakery remains operational for short-term daycare for tourists during the winter.
