Downtown project taking shape

The Yuma Chamber of Commerce with the help of the City of Yuma received a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation through its revitalizing main streets program.
The program encourages physical activity, and enhances local economic vitality in towns and cities across Colorado through funding infrastructure improvements to make walking and biking easy, yielding long-term benefits that bolster community connections.

The first phase of the grant project has been completed with the planter boxes and hanging baskets along Main Street, outdoor lighting, and new digital sign at the corner of Main Street and Highway 34.
The Chamber committed to using local businesses as much as possible for this project.
This has been a huge team effort with the help of several businesses to complete the first phase of this project: Hoch Lumber with Jaret Glanz building the planter boxes and placing them along S. Main St.; local nurseries providing the plants, Country Green House, Park Hill Gardens, Ace Quality Farm and Ranch Center, and Sweet Peas, and; Megan Blach from Farm House Market helping with the planter boxes at the junction of Highway 34 and Main Street.
The Chamber also received a grant from the Colorado Garden Foundation to help purchase all the plants and flowers that went into the planter boxes and hanging baskets.
The Chamber is organizing a group of volunteers to help water and care for the planter boxes and hanging baskets throughout the summer.
The second phase of the grant will be starting soon. There will be renovations to the small pocket park on S Main St. by the water tower. The plan is to add an ADA outdoor water drinking fountain, add additional garbage cans along S. Main St., and replace the split rail fence with a decorative wall.
There will also be some new murals by Lake Yuma and Yuma Community Center, and the Yuma County Fair Grounds happening in the next few months. Monica King is working with the Yuma Art Association for the mural project ,along with Lisa Blach. The goal is to have the project completed by the end of July in time for the Yuma County Fair.