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Commission denies Heeney building proposal

NICOLE FORMOSAsummit daily news

SILVERTHORNE – The Lower Blue Planning Commission has unanimously denied a motion to change a temporary fire building in Heeney into a permanent storage structure for the county’s Road and Bridge Department.The building was erected in 2001 under the stipulation that it would be moved elsewhere in the county after five years.The county has since asked the planning commission to consider giving the building a permanent status, much to the chagrin of many Heeney residents.The residents say the building is ugly and are upset that the county is backing out of a promise it made in 2001.At Thursday night’s commission meeting, county planner Lindsay Hirsh provided computer enhanced images of how the building would look after several proposed aesthetic upgrades are made. The changes include surrounding the 4,700 square foot building with evergreen trees, repainting the tin exterior to a more neutral color and installing a wooden fence around the structure.Despite the pictures, several residents still voiced their opposition to the idea.The commission stood behind them and denied the motion, but the final decision is in the hands of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).”If the BOCC approves it, at least they did it, not us here,” commissioner Joe Hostetter said. “Let them take the heat on it.”The county paid $250,000 to construct the building in 2001 to serve as a temporary fire station while officials worked out funding for a new station.The Lower Blue Fire Protection District opened its new station last October.The BOCC is expected to gets it first look at the motion in early March, Hirsh said.-Nicole Formosa


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