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Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Why was GJ Auto Sales selected as the site for the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Downtown Grand Junction Mobility Hub when other nearby options existed, including city and county-owned land? Neither CDOT nor the City of Grand Junction has answered that question, despite multiple requests by The Business Times. However, city records, planning documents, and emails reveal a longer story, one involving years of redevelopment planning, conceptual drawings, and a vision for linking downtown to Dos Rios via a pedestrian bridge and the 2nd Street Promenade.  City Maps and Early Planning City maps appearing to date from before 2021 show the GJ Auto Sales property — the future site of the mobility hub — being converted into park...
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Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Plans to finalize protected bike lanes on Fourth and Fifth Streets this summer could cost the City of Grand Junction additional money in curb cut work and remove more downtown parking spaces. That raises a broader conversation about the cost of implementation and the city’s downtown parking system, including the financial viability of potential changes. Curb Cuts and Parking Losses The vote to revert to two lanes with a protected bike lane may require cutting curbs at intersections where there is currently not enough space to fit both vehicle lanes and the bike lane. This cost was not included in the May 29 special meeting when the City Council reversed a prior decision to end the pilot project. Councilmember Anna Stout asked, “So ...
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State transportation project shutters 22-year-old Grand Junction auto sales business via eminent domain
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

State transportation project shutters 22-year-old Grand Junction auto sales business via eminent domain

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times For 22 years, GJ Auto Sales was a fixture in the Grand Junction community, a family-run business operated by Amber Colunga Martinez and Mike Martinez. But now, the lot at 320 S. First St. will be transformed into a state-led mobility hub, part of Colorado’s climate-focused transportation plan. Selling the property to the state of Colorado, the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County due to impending eminent domain has left the couple without enough to financially open up again in a viable location. The Martinezes said they first learned of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s plans not through official communication, but by reading a story in The Daily Sentinel. “We found out about it through the Sentinel posting an article about i...
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How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?

By The Business Times Amid reports that the city of Grand Junction’s marijuana revenue fell short of projections by $800,000 and that statewide marijuana revenue has declined by more than 41 percent since its peak in 2020-2021, The Business Times reached out to Melanie Trujillo, chief financial officer of Mesa County Valley School District 51, to understand how the shortfall might affect the district Trujillo said local marijuana-sales-tax revenue does not directly fund the district and addressed misconceptions about how much and how often marijuana revenue has been distributed to the district since legalization, despite public expectations. Since recreational marijuana was legalized, Trujillo noted funding from marijuana tax revenue has largely been supplemental, coming in the fo...
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This should be the easiest City Council vote you’ve ever cast
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

This should be the easiest City Council vote you’ve ever cast

By The Business Times Staff | The Business Times As we see it, the coming Grand Junction City Council election on April 8, 2025, provides some simple choices. Although in our fair city two problems tend to arise when it comes to our spring, City Council elections. The first is always most glaring and in the past few elections has probably caused the citizens the most problems. And that’s most folks registered to vote simply don’t vote in City Council elections, which lately has ended with a bunch of “do-gooder” progressives getting elected to our City Council. And while you can’t readily identify them by the (D) that should follow their names on the ballot – as City Council elections are “nonpartisan,” the second problem – you can tell them by the company they keep. After the p...
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Former City Councilman argues for greater transparency in Grand Junction’s election filing process
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Former City Councilman argues for greater transparency in Grand Junction’s election filing process

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Three days. That’s all the time a Grand Junction resident has to challenge a candidate’s petition. But there’s one problem: the public doesn’t even know when the clock starts ticking. The City of Grand Junction claims that residents can challenge election petitions, yet the necessary documents aren’t posted publicly and CORA requests take as long as the objection window itself.  Former Grand Junction City Councilman Kraig Andrews learned this firsthand after reading a Rocky Mountain Voice article that included redacted candidate filing petitions.  With his experience in local government and an eye for detail, Andrews noticed discrepancies that raised concerns about how the city reviews and certifies election ...
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13-year-old brings gun on campus, threatens classmates at Grand Junction middle school
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Approved, KKTV CBS 11, Local

13-year-old brings gun on campus, threatens classmates at Grand Junction middle school

By Lindsey Grewe | KKTV CBS 11 News A middle schooler is facing more than a dozen charges after Grand Junction police say he brought a gun to school and threatened classmates. Officers were called to Bookcliff Middle School Friday morning on reports of a student with a weapon who had been making threatening statements to other kids. The school was put on a shelter-in-place order while police investigated. “Officers quickly located the handgun and took the student into custody,” the police department said. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKTV CBS 11 NEWS
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Western Colorado’s only psychiatric hospital to close
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Western Colorado’s only psychiatric hospital to close

By Katie Parkins | Denver 7 NEWS Western Colorado's only psychiatric hospital will be shutting down. West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction will cease its in-patient operations after March 10, the medical center announced on Facebook Monday. Outpatient services at Mind Springs Health will remain open. The West Springs Hospital has provided inpatient psychiatric care to the Western Slope for 20 years. However, according to a report in The Denver Post, the hospital faced financial issues and struggled to fill the facility's 48 licensed beds. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER 7 NEWS
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In Grand Junction, officials and community alike want to know more on future resource center site
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

In Grand Junction, officials and community alike want to know more on future resource center site

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice City officials are negotiating to relocate Grand Junction’s Resource Center to North Avenue, but residents and business owners have thus far been left uninformed. Despite past assurances a new location should limit its impact on businesses, Rocky Mountain Voice has confirmed that city officials are in the process of acquiring 2851 and 2851 ½ North Avenue, a strip mall surrounded by businesses and residences. Councilmen Dennis Simpson and Scott Beilfuss confirmed the deal is underway, but said the Council has not yet considered it in a formal session. “We’re in the process of negotiating to buy 2851 and 2851 ½ [on North Avenue]. I guess there are two different properties probably [to combine],” Simpson said. Beilfuss...
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