Groundbreaking for new Rifle health facility

The much-anticipated groundbreaking for Mountain Family Health Centers' new Rifle facility will be on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. at 195 W. 14th St. in Rifle. The public is welcome to attend.

Construction is expected to be completed by spring of 2011. The facility will be approximately 9,000 square feet with seven primary care exam rooms, one procedure room, a laboratory, administrative offices and several common areas. The site will also feature a dental suite to accommodate a dentist and dental hygienist. Expansion into Rifle will enable Mountain Family's health care providers to care for 4,500 additional primary care patients within three years of opening.

The new Rifle center is being supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Colorado Health Foundation, Caring for Colorado Foundation, Aspen Community Foundation, Gates Foundation, Boettcher Foundation, El Pomar Foundation and Encana Energy.

Sunnyside Senior Center to get new windows

Things will soon be a little less drafty at the Sunnyside Retirement Center in Glenwood Springs, thanks to a grant from the Garfield County commissioners.

The Board of County Commissioners voted on Sept. 7 to give $25,000 toward a window replacement project, in the wake of an energy audit conducted last spring.

The audit called for 17 energy efficiency improvement projects, with a price tag of up to $193,000, but window replacement was not included because a consultant determined it would not be a cost-effective use of funds compared to other, more critical needs.

The commissioners' grant will cover replacement of glass (but no frames) for a total of 22 rooms in the center.

County environmental health director Jim Rada has been working with the center and said the search is on for other funding to accomplish the list of energy efficiency improvements recommended in the audit.

Solar panels coming to county airport

A Carbondale-based company, Clean Energy Collective, has won authorization to install a “solar farm” on land at the Garfield County Regional Airport.

The deal involves payment of up to $2,000 per year in rent for the site, a rate that is tied to the amount of power generated by the solar panels.

The idea behind the company's projects is that customers who are unable to install panels on their own property can invest in one of the collective's arrays, and then can get a credit on their energy bills.

A CEC official said the plan is to start work on the solar array construction in October, and to finish it up by January 2011.