Now Jay Cimino has a huge 30 Million Dollar development on 60 acres in the works that he feels will help spur revitalization of downtown Trinidad Colorado. It will include a classic car museum featuring the last car owned by Babe Ruth, a brewery pub and restaurant, a baseball training center, a 50 room hotel and gift shop, a movie theater and boutique style shopping center that he believes will get travelers off of I-25 and bring tourists to the Trinidad area.

He has been working on this project for 6-7 years and the goal is to help spark interest, activity and tourists to stop and enjoy what Trinidad has to offer. This is welcomed news especially after a number of local projects were canceled because of the US economy downturn. But this isn’t stopping Jay Cimino as he is moving towards his goal of re-energizing his hometown by giving back the way he knows best.

We have been in the Trinidad area since 1995 and although we have seen many improvements in our small town of about 10-12,000 residents it has pretty much stayed a small quaint town. Let’s face it Trinidad is not on the tourist map for Colorado and has mainly been a place to stop for fuel, food and a rest stop. But those who venture off the main I-25 corridor have been treated to a spectacular view of the vintage old west that is still intact. In fact Trinidad Colorado has one of the largest collections of Victorian style homes west of the Mississippi.

Plus Las Animas County just west of Trinidad has some of the most affordable mountain property that you will find in Colorado. Mountain property has been our business since 1995 and Adobe Gold Properties has helped hundreds of couples and families find their dream properties in this area. And many of our customers have built their homes here and have started businesses here in Trinidad also helping to revitalize our local economy. We feel that what they and Jay Cimino is doing will just help bolster our local economy and make Trinidad Colorado a place that you will enjoy visiting.

Here is a map of the location.

[mappress mapid="1"]

Read More:

Source: View Post

http://trinidad-times.com/new-development-planned-more-visitors-ecomonic-growth-hoped-to-be-realiz-p4653-1.htm

http://www.gazette.com/articles/cimino-150008-development-trinidad.html

http://trinidad-times.com/bigdoingsina-smalltown-p4654-1.htm

http://www.myphillongcareer.com/history.htm

http://www.chieftain.com/business/trinidad-wellness-center-gets-shot-in-the-arm/article_1be945bc-1bcd-11e1-9e4f-001cc4c03286.html

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Exciting Development Coming to Trinidad Colorado.


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Southern Colorado, like so many communities in the Western states, was so pristine and untouched before the coalbed methane gas well drilling started here in the late 1990′s but all of that has changed. Even though the gas well drilling activity has slowed and almost come to a stop because of the current low prices the damage has been done. But we have not seen the end of the damage, it is only beginning.

In addition to the threat on our ground water our quiet county roads and communities have been turned into a commercial work zone with large heavy truck rig traffic and methane powered generators (i.e. eight cylinder motors outfitted to run on methane gas) running out in the open 24/7 on nearly every other 40 acre parcel in Las Animas County west of I-25. The beautiful quiet retreat that was once the pride of Las Animas County Colorado has disappeared.

Take a look at this screen shot from Google Earth. Do click on the image to see a larger version. Most all of the small circles that you see in this aerial screenshot that is roughly 6 miles wide by 4.5 miles high is a Gas Well site that has been fracked. Take a good look at think of the impact that has already been done to Las Animas County. And just image that with the current 80 acre spacing for gas wells that means a gas well every other 40 acre parcel. So if you don’t have a gas well on your 40 acre parcel you will have 4 wells next door.

A Goole Earth View of an area north of Weston in Las Animas County

Honestly the property owners of Las Animas County really have never had much of a voice about this issue I think because of the low population, but now that Fracking has come to areas like Pennsylvania and New York that are more populated they spreading the facts that we should be concerned about.

Check out this informative Video about Fracking and keep Las Animas County and everyone one of the currently drilled gas wells in mind and you will have an idea of the image and damage that has already been done to our ground water and quality of life.

One thing that was not mentioned in the video is about the millions of gallons of water that is removed from each gas well so that it will let the gas escape. The water in each gas well is pumped until it is removed and many of these gas wells are within our drinking water levels up to 1200 feet deep. But we are told that they are only removing water below our drinking water and this is simply not true.

One thing that you should know is that Las Animas County has no source of commerical wells or water to supply water to local residents. All water that is hauled in the County by local residents is from a Trinidad City water source. Trinidad has in the recent past put water restrictions on County residents and limited the number of people that could haul water.

And think about this for one minute…..if there is a lack of water for the City of Trinidad it is only natural to assume they will protect the City Residents and not the County Residents. The City of Trinidad owns the water rights for Monument Lake and North Lake where their water comes from and they will by all rights protect the city in case of a water shortage.

Not until there is more negative impact on our ground water and until such time as there is a water shortage for Trinidad will this entire issue be felt. I hope that we can open our eyes long before this happens and effect a change. We need to realize that our water is precious and limited….heck we all know that already but the impact of the gas well drilling is just not realized or is overlooked by the residents and County officials. How can we be so blind?

If there is no place for the Las Animas County residents to purchase water and their water wells have been either polluted or have gone dry from the removal of our ground water and the City of Trinidad puts a restriction on their water to outside the city water haulers just know that there is no other source of water.

We can not go to Walsenburg and buy water or any place else near by for that matter. And you can not purchase water from your neighbor from his Domestic Water Well. You can only purchase water from a Commercial water well and it would have to be an extremely good source of water. Las Animas County does not own a source of water!

Imagine the entire area of Las Animas County west of I-25 without ground water because that is our future unless we can change it. It feels like we will just sit idly by and watch it happen like we are doing now. Then it will be too late. We can’t ignore this any longer.

When will it stop? How will the damage ever be reversed? What will it take for us to take a stand to protect our beautiful paradise in Southern Colorado? The money and economics in a bad economy shouldn’t overrule our common sense. We have to protect our water and our future.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at How Fracking Affects Las Animas County.


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Listen to this…

I drive truck, and LOVE your town! Coming from New Mexico, it has always been the best “welcome home to Colorado” sight! But please, PLEASE do something about those darn bright lights on the great new bridge you have built! The oncoming traffic’s side blinds me, then my side blinds me in my side mirrors! I’m sure you’ve noticed, and maybe others have complained. I love the bridge… it’s such a great great improvement, and I appreciate the time and money that must have gone into it. I would willingly drive through more construction if they were fixed! But that’s just my opinion, thanks for reading! And thank you for all the hard work you did on the bridge! One of these days I’ll be in my personal vehicle and get to experience what I can only admire from the interstate in my tractor-trailer!

Savannah

Have you have trouble with the lights on the new I-25 bridge in Trinidad also? Share your experiences….and thoughts.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Lights on New Interstate 25 Bridge Causing Problems.


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What makes this even more risky in this area of Southern Colorado near Trinidad is that this area is in a known earthquake zone called the Rio Grande Rift. What this means is that Trinidad Colorado is in an area that is active and alive.

Photo from Wikipedia Commons

“The Rio Grande Rift, a thinning and stretching of Earth’s surface that extends from Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains to Mexico, is not dead but geologically alive and active, according to a new study involving scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

“We don’t expect to see a lot of earthquakes, or big ones, but we will have some earthquakes,” said CU-Boulder geological sciences Professor Anne Sheehan” Source

If you are interested tomorrow, this Wednesday April 18th, Anne Sheehan, professor of geophysics at the University of Colorado, will give her presentation “Earthquakes! Far Away and Close to Home” at 7 p.m. at the Louisville Public Library, 951 Spruce St. Louisville Colorado near Boulder. Find out more at the link below.

Read more:http://www.coloradodaily.com/latest-stories/ci_20407246/cu-boulder-geophysics-prof-give-free-talk-louisville#ixzz1sJP1B5A1
Coloradodaily.com

There seems to be an article online everyday about the relationship between the recent outbreak of earthquakes and fracking and deep injection wells used by the Oil and Gas Industry. My question is how will they regulate this and keep it from happening. I recently ran across an article that discussed that earthquakes are a “known” calculated risk by the Oil and Gas Industry.

“Small earthquakes are a recognized risk of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, a procedure in which companies unlock energy reserves by pumping millions of litres of water underground to fracture shale rock and release the natural gas trapped inside.” and “The researchers found a proportional relationship between the volume of fluid injected and the magnitude of the earthquake.”  Source

So let me ask you “if this is a calculated and recognized risks then would not the Oil and Gas Companies be responsible for any and all damages caused by the earthquakes?”. I know that a number of local residents here in Trinidad Colorado had their homes damaged by the recent earthquakes. Including the recent damage to the Historic Opera House on Main Street. All of these people have been left with anywhere from minor to serious damage to their homes and businesses and insurance will not cover the damage.

I have been following the earthquakes since the first one reported in this area from 2000 on and I find it very interesting that most of these have been located and centered near the deep injection wells and or gas wells in Las Animas County. Humm…..very interesting indeed.

Here are some recent articles on the relationship between Fracking, Deep Injection and Earthquakes around the US.

• Scientists Link Rise In Quakes To Wastewater Wells
• Rise in Small Midwestern Earthquakes probably due to Oil and Gas Production
• Ohio Offiicals tie earthquake swarm to fracking
• Ohio Links Drilling to Earthquakes
• Injection Wells may cause Earthquakes
• Mining Museum Plans Fracking Discussion
• Human Made Earthquakes

What does this mean to you? Have you been affected by the recent swarm of earthquakes and if so how? Please share your story with and comment below.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Local Earthquakes, the Rio Grande Rift and Fracking.


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Also view this on LocalTouistColorado.com

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Visit to the Canyons East of Trinidad.


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The repercussions of city council’s 4-3 vote to put Trinidad City Manager Ed Gil de Rubio on leave have some people singing the blues, including those who run the Trinidaddio Blues Fest.

Board members of Trinidaddio Blues Fest Inc. met Wednesday and voted to cancel the festival in its 14th year due in part to city council’s unpopular decision to place Gil de Rubio on administrative leave amid overwhelming protests of that action by local citizens.

In a letter to the editor Feb. 28, the board wrote that it felt “the City Council has never been a strong and committed supporter of the Blues Fest. With the help of Mr. Gil de Rubio, things have worked more smoothly for both us and the citizens of Trinidad, so that we could continue growing in a positive way.”

In light of the city council’s conflict with Gil de Rubio, Jerry Campbell, president of the Blues Fest board, said the nonprofit “is unsure (about) the stance of city council” on the festival and it is “with regret” that the annual event is canceled.

On the Trinidaddio Blues Fest Website located at http://www.trinidaddiobluesfest.com/ this was posted.

In a special meeting on Wednesday (3/7/2012) evening, members of the board of directors of Trinidaddio Blues Fest, Inc., voted to cancel this year’s 14^th annual event, planned for Aug. 25 in Central Park.

Why is it that it seems that we take one step forward and two steps backwards? Maybe more like 10 steps backwards….

What is this all about? Here is another perspective on this issue from a concerned citizen.

This Letter is in response to City Council Reasons for Dismissal of the City Manager.

Council Woman Linda Velasquez had several bullet points in her letter published in the Chronicle News on March 9, 2012 that need explanation.

I would like to take this opportunity as a concerned Citizen and wife of a Power and Light Employee to more fully inform the public on a few key issues listed in Mrs. Velasquez’s response regarding The City of Trinidad’s Power and Light Department.  The bullet points below are quotes from Mrs. Velasquez’s reasons.

• “Electrical Safety Consultants were hired to conduct a Safety Audit in the Power & Light Department and paid $19,922.11 without council knowledge/approval.”

In the fall of 2010 the City of Trinidad was experiencing very high winds causing multiple electrical outages throughout town.  The Power Plant Operator on duty informed the Electrical Linemen working in the field that some circuit breakers would not close due to faults on the electric lines.  The Assistant Line Crew Foreman  instructed the Operator to leave all de-energized circuits open and place do not operate tags on the breakers until further notice while they began trouble shooting the multiple outages.  While the Electrical Linemen were in the process of repairing the outages the Power and Light Superintendent entered the power plant and went to the switch board, bypassed the Operator who was in the process of tagging out breakers and closed de-energized circuits.  This action by the Power and Light Superintendent put the lives of 7 City Employees and the general public in danger!

Luckily no one was burned, electrocuted or killed due to his negligent actions.  This incident was immediately brought to the attention of the City Manager who in turn interviewed the Electrical Line Crew, Power Plant Employees and the Power and Light Superintendent.  During these interviews it was brought to the attention of the City Manager the fact that this was NOT an isolated incident.     Therefore, the determination was made by the City Manager to have a Safety Audit done for the SAFETY of all Power and Light Employees and to reduce the LIABILITY risk to the City of Trinidad.

This audit was performed by Electrical Safety Consultants International, Inc. from Bellingham, WA.  The audit took place January 24-27, 2011.  This report is available to the public at City Hall.  It is quite lengthy and thorough so I am quoting only 1 important paragraph regarding safety issues taken directly from the Executive Summary.

“ESCI Auditors have never witnessed a situation where one individual, in this case the Line Superintendent, has such a negative impact to Safety Program and Safety Culture of a company and its employees.  During the audit, the Superintendent met with the ESCI auditors for one hour on the first day, but never met with them again during the remainder of the audit.  This minimal concern about the audit by the Line Superintendent confirmed his unwillingness to be part of the safety program which is reflective of the current safety program.”

Shortly following this audit the Power and Light Superintendent chose to retire.

• “Clothing allowance approved in the 2011 budget was $926.00.  A total of $4,782.00 was spent without council knowledge.  When asked about it, he replied should have been done long ago.

Recommendations taken directly from the audit:  “13. Have an arc assessment performed to find the highest available fault current on Trinidad’s electrical system then purchase FR clothing for the electric employees that are exposed to the hazard.”

Again, the City Manager took corrective action to protect the SAFETY of Power and Light Employees and reduce LIABILITY to the City of Trinidad.

 

• “In 2011, an employee in the power and light department was given a $5,000/year raise without consulting council.  This raise put his annual salary over what some Department Heads are earning.  City employees had not been given a raise in over two years due to budget constraints and were still taking furlough days.  An assistant foreman was also given a .50/hour raise.  When council adopted a 2012 budget, a 2% salary increase was approved for employees.  No increase was approved for this employee because he had previously been awarded the $5,000 raise.  Without council approval, the manager has given this employee the 2% raise anyway. “

The employees mentioned above had their job duties increased due to the retirement of the Power and Light Superintendent.  The City manager reallocated duties of the Power and Light Superintendent ultimately saving the tax paying Citizens of Trinidad a considerable amount of money during these trying economic times by not replacing the Power and Light Superintendent at this time.  The $5,000 raise was given to the Power and Light Supervisor whose duties changed to Outside Operations Manager which included the management of the power plant which dramatically increased his job duties.   The employee raise of .50/hour was approved by the Union representing the City of Trinidad Employees because of the change and additions to his job duties.

• “The Manager has refused to hire a Power and Light Supervisor, stating he is capable of running the department; yet the city received a fine for not turning in a timely report.”

Because of the swift actions of the City Manager the fine was reduced from $1,000 to $160.  The employee responsible for filing this report was properly disciplined and the fine paid by that employee personally.

I urge the Citizens of Trinidad to review the City Charter and find out for themselves the job description of our City Manager. Also, look into the discretionary spending allowed by the City Manager.   After I researched the issues at hand by reading the City Charter, reading the Safety Audit and reviewing the job description of City Manager it is my belief that there is OVERWELMING documentation that Mr. Ed Gil de Rubio was ONLY doing the job he was hired by The City Council to do.  As a taxpaying, registered voter in the City of Trinidad, I give him my full support.  It would be a travesty for the City of Trinidad to lose a City manager that actually cares about this beautiful City its Employees, and its Citizens.

Furthermore, I will not be intimidated by threats of recourse, retaliation, threats to my family or my property.  I will continue to speak out on these issues.  It is time for the Citizens of Trinidad to take a proactive role in the politics of this community.  We should be able to respectfully voice our opinions and concerns about local issues without ill will to our neighbors that have a different opinion.  I respect the fact that there are people who have an opposing view on some of these issues.  I only ask for the same respect in return.

Sincerely,

Danielle Rollo.

Trinidad Co

719-859-7653 or 719-846-3206

Do you have something to share about this topic of discussion? Look like this topic will stir things up more in Trinidad Colorado.

Let’s hear what you have to say.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Trouble Brewing in Trinidad Colorado.


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Colombia Hotel and Opera House

After the recent 5.3 earthquake centered just west of Trinidad last year in 2011 it is suspected that it caused damage to the historic Opera House on Main Street in Trinidad Colorado that is most likely going to force the owner to tear the building down. Seems that the earthquake caused a crack in the brick front near the top right of the building (not shown in this photo) and with the heavy snow and ice this winter it caused it to crack even more. All businesses located in the Opera House building have been forces to relocate.

Cost of repairs I have heard were over $5 million and cost of demolition will still be very costly. This has raised valid concerns in the town over other old historic buildings in need of repair such as the Columbia Hotel show in the photo above, the 1888 Building (show just below) located at the corner of Main and Animas Streets, the Schneider Brewery (show below) and the Presbyterian Church on Commercial Street ( also shown below)

The 1888 Building at the Corner of Main and Animas Streets

The owner of the 1888 Building, Massod Sadel who has owned the building now for 9 years, mentioned in the article in the Chronicle News Jan 10th issue written by Mike Albanese that he has put about $550,000 into the building since he has owned it. Including work replacing the roof and hiring a stone mason to repair grout and bricks and original sandstone on the building all while not seeing a return on his investment. He mentioned that the previous Mayor and City Manager showed no support for the project but that the new City Manager Ed Gil de Rubio is much more cooperative and helpful.

The Schneider Brewery

Trinidad City Planner, Louis Fineburg said that the Schneider Brewery was the most important building in Trinidad and that “anyone driving down I-25 would recognize a picture of it”. We personally love this old building and wait for the day that it is renovated and put back into use. The current owners of the building, White Construction out of Castle Rock, Colorado had plans for the structure that has gotten put off with the economy. So their plans to make this a vibrant public building again in Trinidad is on hold. But the good news is that this building has a great solid foundation that should protect it but as much work as they have done replacing the roof etc there are still open windows and repairs needed to keep it from deteriorating.

Presbyterian Church on Commercial Street in Trinidad

The article mentioned that the Presbyterian Church on Commercial Street is not in as bad of structural damage that was originally suspected but that it currently has a leaking roof that is not helping. Repairs to this building’s foundation would be most likely close to $100,000 or more.

Trinidad truly has a wonderful collection of old western, turn of the century building with many of them in need of repair. Quite a few buildings have been saved and fixed up like the old Dr. Beshoar Building that Frank Images is in on Commercial Street and the Toltec Hotel that was renovated by the owners of the Chronicle News just to mention a few.

Just looking at this old photo you will see how many buildings we have already lost to old age

We respect and admire the effort, time, love and money that has been put into many of these beautiful old buildings and sure will hate to lose the old Opera House and the history that it has shared with Trinidad all these years. It has certainly seen better days and I guess if money where no object it could be saved.

The biggest worry that I think we have in Trinidad is what will happen if we get another large earthquake. These old brick buildings sure don’t hold up well to the damage of earthquakes. And while we believe that our local earthquakes have been triggered by the deep well injection wells from the gas companies or the calculated risks of fracking by the gas industry, I just read an article that discusses that we are in an area with an active rift called the Rio Grande Rift that is moving slightly each year. This just adds to the potential of losing more of our precious old structures. So I guess we just need to enjoy them while we can.

The City of Trinidad is working on a plan to help ensure that these buildings get repaired and are safe for the public. Honestly I don’t think that fixing or repairing many of these old buildings will deem them safe from irreparable damage from the earthquakes but they certainly need to be fixed up if they are going to be useful so that they don’t get in worse shape. We need more Grant money to help fix up our buildings or owners that have the money to restore them and both are hard to come by.

So I guess we just have to take it one day at a time.  What do you think? Share your thoughts….

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at Saving and Losing Trinidad’s Downtown Buildings.


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Visit this Link 101 Family Stories to check them out, there are some really interesting stories. Share them with your friends and family.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at 101 Families and Century Families.


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Full Restaurant, Full Bar, Live Entertainment Every Week

Scheduled to open between December 15th and 30th….we know how these things go so just know that they are working on opening as soon as possible.

Purgatorie on Elm

The new business is called Purgatorie and it is in one of the neatest old historic building around, the old Trinidad Train Station on Elm Street at 516 Elm Street. It will have a full Restaurant, Full Bar and Live Entertainment every week. Catering and Banquet by ” is provided by the Little Catering Company.

Their new website is at www.purgatoireonelm.com

Phone: 719-845-7450 Rick or 719-214-2856 Leona

Check out their Facebook page and give them a huge “Like”!

Pass the Word and tell all your friends so that we can support this new business.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at New Entertainment and Restaurant Coming to Trinidad Soon.


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Read the story here: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/a-fracking-method-with-fewe-water-woes/

And let us know what you think….please comment below.

Read the rest of this Post on Trinidadco.com at A New Method of Fracking that may not affect Ground Water.


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