Commissioner’s Deed Presented to Apex Park and Recreation District

Left to right, Wayne Forman, Jeffco Open Space Advisory Committee Chair;  Chairman for the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Faye Griffin;  Jim Whitfield, Apex Park and Recreation District Board Member; and Mike Miles, Executive Director of the Apex Park and Recreation District.

At the Thursday, April 3, 2014 meeting of the Jeffco Open Space Advisory Committee, Jefferson County Commissioner Faye Griffin, and Advisory Committee Chair Wayne Forman presented to Apex Park and Recreation District Executive Director Mike Miles and Board member Jim Whitfield the deed to the Apex Simms Street Center, previously leased from Jeffco Open Space.  The property consists of 10.529 acres and 30,218 square-foot building located at 82^nd Avenue and Simms Street in Arvada, formerly known as the Christ Community Covenant Church.

In May 2002, the acquisition of Christ Community Covenant Church was completed by Jeffco Open Space in a cost share project with the North Jeffco Park and Recreation District.  The County contributed $1,792,950 in Bond Funds toward the purchase, with $576,050 paid by the District, known now as Apex Park and Recreation District. This property was purchased for the District to use as a recreation center site.

The District leased this property from the County and has renovated approximately 50% of the building into a recreation center.  The District subleased a portion of the building to Christ Community Covenant Church with the stipulation that revenue from the sublease be remitted to the County at the termination of the Church’s lease.

In September 2011, the Apex Park and Recreation District formally requested ownership of the property at 8151 Simms Street in Arvada for ongoing recreation uses and management.

This request triggered an evaluation of the Jeffco Open Space existing policies and identified the need to change policy, if there was a desire to convey this property to Apex Park and Recreation District. Staff and the Open Space Advisory Committee evaluated the topic of deeding properties to Districts and recommended the Board of County Commissioners’ approve a revision to Open Space policies to allow land to be deeded to districts on a case-by-case basis. The deed could not be conveyed to Apex Park and Recreation District until Open Space policy was amended and the Church lease expired.

The Board of County Commissioners approved the change to policy on May 1, 2012. The sublease with Christ Community Covenant Church expired in January 2014.

This conveyance of a Commissioner’s Deed for property acquired and leased to a district is the second event of its kind in the 41 year history of Jeffco Open Space.

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Jeffco Open Space was founded as a land conservation organization in 1972 to preserve land, protect park and natural resources and provide healthy nature-based experiences. We are funded with a one-half of one percent sales tax that has preserved over 53,000 acres and created 28 regional parks and 227 miles of trails in Jefferson County.