Adams County Adds First Appearance Center, More Courtrooms to Justice Center in Brighton

If you're looking for a new addition to your family, come out to one of the free adoption events offered by the Adams County Animal Shelter/Adoption Center. The shelter will have dogs from the shelter available for adoption.

Join us for the next Community Resource and Employment Fair on Thursday, Oct. 6, 9 a.m.—2 p.m. at the Waymire Dome, Adams County Regional Park (9755 Henderson Rd., Brighton). Meet with employers, apply for jobs and attend our free job workshops. Also, register for a wide variety of support programs, including: food assistance, Medicaid, housing, childcare, early childhood education, senior services, employment services, health and wellness, and more.  Additional information, including helpful documents, will be posted shortly.

Adams County Parks and Open Space has opened the new segment of the South Platte River Trail. The trail became active on Wednesday, August 24, completing the trail within unincorporated Adams County. This $1.8 million project, funded by the Adams County Open Space Sales Tax and a Great Outdoors Colorado “Paths to Parks” grant award, will add approximately two miles of concrete trails along the river as well as two bridges to accommodate pedestrians between 104^th Avenue and 120^th Avenue.

Adams County Parks and Open Space will host a Grand Opening Ceremony on Friday, Aug. 12, 3:30 p.m., for Adams Hollow Disc Golf Course, located at the Regional Park, 9755 Henderson Rd., Brighton, CO 80601. The ceremonial “First Disc” will be thrown at 3:45 p.m.

The Adams County Department of Community and Economic Development (CED) hired Chris Simmons to serve in the role of oil and gas liaison. In an effort to increase public outreach and provide administration of the county’s new oil and gas regulations, the Board of County Commissioners approved the addition of a full-time oil and gas liaison following a six-week moratorium on oil and gas development, which ended March 22, 2016. 

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) broke ground this week on the latest expansion of the I-25 Express Lanes project. The $97.5 million project is an extension of the Express Lanes project completed on I-25 between US 36 and 120^th Avenue, which will add one tolled express lane in each direction from 120^th Avenue to Northwest Parkway/E-470. Details regarding construction and toll information can be found here.

With the goal of increasing citizen engagement and participation, the Adams County Board of Commissioners is adding one evening hearing per month for the duration of 2016. The first evening hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2, at the Government Center, 4430 South Adams County Parkway, Brighton.

Adams County employees are enjoying the largest wage growth numbers in Colorado. In a report published Tuesday by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees in Adams County recorded the most impressive gains among Colorado’s largest counties at 5.1 percent. The increase in wages comes as the unemployment rate in the county dropped to 3.9 percent, down from 4.4 percent in 2015 and 6.2 percent in 2014.

Ending a six-week moratorium on new oil and gas permit applications, the Board of County Commissioners today approved amendments to the county’s regulatory process by a 3-2 vote.

A vote on a separate amendment to revise the county's fee schedule to add new application fees for administrative use by special review application also passed on a 3-2 vote with the Board's direction to create a task force to provide recommendations on traffic impact fees as they relate to oil and gas production.