| SiteMap | Centennial Festival Planned The Blanca Centennial Committee is planning the Centennial Celebration for August 8th and 9th. The festivities will begin with a street dance on Broadway next to Main Street on Founding Day, Friday evening, August 8th, from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm. The main celebration will be on Saturday, August 8th with a parade, bands, dancers, vendors, games and more. Please check back for the schedule of events. Blanca's Main Street Project scheduled to begin in May. Main Street will have a new look this summer. Construction should begin in early May on the new sidewalks, curbs and gutters. Decorative street lights will be installed after the sidewalks are completed. The memorial/honorary plaques (See the news item below about this program.) will be installed at that time. Benches and flower boxes are also planned to enhance the look of the downtown. The new look should be completed in time for the Centennial Celebration. 2008 Election Results Mayor Myrrl W. Smith ran unopposed in 2008. Four citizens ran for three trustee positions. The incumbants, Kenneth Cole Wakasugi, Edward G. Roybal and Paul Wiescamp were reelected for four year terms. Blanca Volunteer Fire Department receives new Fire Truck Blanca's new fire truck was delivered during the pre-Christmas snowstorm that hit Colorado hard. The 1990 Ford Western States Pumper was paid for with a combination of a FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Grant, a Rural Development Community Facilities grant, a small grant from the Firefighter's Charitable Foundation and matching funds from the Town of Blanca. Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) awards Blanca a grant to help with Main Street Revitalization Program The Town just received conformation of an additional grant to help with the Main Street Program. DOLA will be adding $81,280 to the previous CDOT grant to help fund the engineering design and construction phases of the new sidewalks, curbs and gutters. DOLA's contribution will reduce the Town's required matching funds for the project from over $55,000 to under $35,000 and enhance the streetscaping part of the project by providing part of the additional funds required for undergrounding the electrical lines for the new decorative lighting. and for benches, flower boxes and trees. Blanca Beautification Committee (BBC) launches a Memorial/Honorary Plaque program to raise money for the decorative lighting along Main Street The BBC has unveiled a new program to help raise grant-matiching funds for decorative lighting along Main Street and part of Broadway. For a donation of $250, a plaque will be placed at the base of one of the new street lights in memory of or in honor of a person, chosen by the donor, who was/is important in the history or development of the Town of Blanca. Because the Blanca's Main Street Beautification and Revitalization program has been granted Enterprise Zone project status by the State of Colorado, the donation may not only count as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes, but also may allow the donor to claim a 25% enterprise zone tax credit against his/her Colorado income tax obligations. Please check with your tax attorney or accountant for eligibility. For more information on the program, or to make a donation, please contact Blanca Town Hall at 719-379-3461. Blanca Main Street Revitalization Program granted Enterprise Zone Project status by State Blanca's Main Street Beautification/Revitalization Program has been designated as an Enterprise Zone Project by the State of Colorado. Any donations of $100 or more to the project can now qualify for a 25% enterprise zone tax credit against any Colorado State income tax obligations. Because the donation can also be claimed as a charitable deduction on the federal income tax returns, Mike Wisdom, district administrator of the San Luis Valley Enterprise Zone Projects, has calculated that donations to an enterprise zone project can return up to 57% to 58% of the donation in tax deductions and tax credits. Please talk with your tax accountant or tax attorney for more information. To make a donation, please contact Blanca Town Hall. National League of Cities honors Blanca The Blanca Beautification Committee has been listed on the National League of Cities' Examples of Programs for Cities database. This database includes proven city solutions that the NLC provides as examples to its 18,000 member cities on a wide range of issues. Cheryl Glaubinger, of the NLC Research and Municipal Programs section, sent the Town a copy of Blanca's new entry which highlights the work of the volunteer Beautification Committee in obtaining the CDOT grant for the Main Street Revitalization and its organization of the First Blanca Harvest Festival to help raise the required matching funds for the grant. (August 12, 2005) Blanca receives statewide attention The Town was highlighted in the April edition of the quarterly magazine Colorado Municipalities published by the Colorado Municipal League. The magazine, sent to elected and appointed municipal officials throughout Colorado, published a two page article on the Town's efforts to revitalize the downtown area. Spotlighted were the Blanca Beautification Committee, the beautification grant, and the 2004 Blanca Harvest Festival. In an email to the Town, the Editor said, " ...just want you to know that (the article) makes my heart sing ... On all counts: the writing, the great story, the energy, the team effort." (April 12, 2004) Blanca receives notice of CDOT grant A grant application to the Colorado Department of Transportation for the Main Street Beautification Project was approved. Blanca will receive a total of $284,420 with $227,536 coming from federal funds and the rest from a local match. The grant will fund replacement of deteriorating sidewalks, the addition of curbs and gutters and the installation of decorative lighting on the two blocks of Main Street (Hwy 160) between Weaver and Smith avenues, from the new town hall to the post office, and along two blocks of Broadway north of Main Street. The funding will come in two phases. In the summer of 2005, the Town will receive $43,901 for engineering design work. Any leftover funds will roll over to the construction phase during the summer of 2006. An additional $183,635 will be received during that fiscal year for the construction. The project will be completed in time for the Town's Centennial Celebration in 2008. (September 15, 2004) |
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