The Brighton Blade
Weds, Oct 28, 2015
Mitchell was city’s ‘best ambassador’ — and much more
By Crystal Nelson
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
BRIGHTON – After a lifetime of service to the community, Brighton is saying goodbye to Ken Mitchell. Brighton’s longest serving city councilman, Mitchell died last week.
Although Mitchell is most known for his service as Brighton’s mayor in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he most recently served as an alternate on the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission.
Historic Preservation Chairwoman Allison Lockwood said the members of the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission were saddened to learn of Mitchell’s passing.
“Ken was a current member of the commission,” Lockwood said. “This was at least his second term on the commission, as Ken had served an earlier term in my time on the commission.
“Ken was an asset to the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission, committed to our work and generous with this knowledge of the Brighton area. He will be missed,” she added. “On behalf of the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission, I extend our condolences to Ken’s widow, Dorothy, and his family.”
In an excerpt from historian Robin Kring’s private publication on the Great Western Sugar Factory, one of Mitchell’s most prominent memories before his service to the city pertained to the sugar factory. Mitchell had just graduated from Brighton High School when Frank Kemp, president of the GWS Co., asked him to work as a tour guide. Up until that point, Mitchell had only worked on the family farm.
In addition to being a tour guide, Mitchell also took on other sugar factory jobs, including transporting sugar bags from the fill station to the loading area. Mitchell didn’t do that particular job for long, as he explained: “The sugar weighed more than I did.”
Mitchell was elected to city council in 1964 and took office the following year. He served two years on council before being appointed mayor, when council was still allowed to make that appointment. Mitchell served as mayor from 1967 to 1973.
Mitchell continued to serve as a councilman through 2004, when his term ended. During his tenure as a councilman, Mitchell helped bring the reverse osmosis water treatment plant to the city, supported a large annexation to the North to prevent a landfill from being built on Weld County Road 4 and worked to bring commercial growth into the area.
According to an article from the Standard Blade’s “100 Year’s of History,” after nearly 40 years on the council, Mitchell’s only regret was that he didn’t put as much time into his insurance business as he did into his council work.
Following his tenure on city council, Mitchell served the community on other boards and commissions. One of his tougher times serving the community occurred in 2010 while serving as president of the Brighton Collegiate High School Board of Education. After a number of incidents involving teachers and students, Mitchell was one of two members on the board who refused to sign the documents that would dissolve the school and turn the keys over to School District 27J. Instead of closing the school, he had high hopes for putting the troubles behind them and moving forward.
In 2011, Mitchell was honored by the city during a dedication and ribbon cutting for the fishing pier at the Ken Mitchell Lake reservoirs, which were aptly named in his honor. During the ceremony, Mitchell was praised by Mayor Dick McLean for his nearly 40 years of service on city council, and for always looking out for the best interests of Brighton.
After hearing the news of his death Mayor Dick McLean spoke on behalf of the city and city council, saying, “To know Ken was to know Brighton. He served our community for 39 years as a City Council member (six of those years as mayor and mayor pro-tem for another two) and led various Brighton and Adams County boards and commissions. He loved to give tours around town where he often took people beyond paved roads. He was truly our best ambassador and will be missed by all.”
Contact Brighton reporter Crystal Nelson at 303-659-2522, ext. 223, or by email atcnelson@metrowestnewspapers.com.
By Crystal Nelson
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
BRIGHTON – After a lifetime of service to the community, Brighton is saying goodbye to Ken Mitchell. Brighton’s longest serving city councilman, Mitchell died last week.
Although Mitchell is most known for his service as Brighton’s mayor in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he most recently served as an alternate on the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission.
Historic Preservation Chairwoman Allison Lockwood said the members of the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission were saddened to learn of Mitchell’s passing.
“Ken was a current member of the commission,” Lockwood said. “This was at least his second term on the commission, as Ken had served an earlier term in my time on the commission.
“Ken was an asset to the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission, committed to our work and generous with this knowledge of the Brighton area. He will be missed,” she added. “On behalf of the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission, I extend our condolences to Ken’s widow, Dorothy, and his family.”
In an excerpt from historian Robin Kring’s private publication on the Great Western Sugar Factory, one of Mitchell’s most prominent memories before his service to the city pertained to the sugar factory. Mitchell had just graduated from Brighton High School when Frank Kemp, president of the GWS Co., asked him to work as a tour guide. Up until that point, Mitchell had only worked on the family farm.
In addition to being a tour guide, Mitchell also took on other sugar factory jobs, including transporting sugar bags from the fill station to the loading area. Mitchell didn’t do that particular job for long, as he explained: “The sugar weighed more than I did.”
Mitchell was elected to city council in 1964 and took office the following year. He served two years on council before being appointed mayor, when council was still allowed to make that appointment. Mitchell served as mayor from 1967 to 1973.
Mitchell continued to serve as a councilman through 2004, when his term ended. During his tenure as a councilman, Mitchell helped bring the reverse osmosis water treatment plant to the city, supported a large annexation to the North to prevent a landfill from being built on Weld County Road 4 and worked to bring commercial growth into the area.
According to an article from the Standard Blade’s “100 Year’s of History,” after nearly 40 years on the council, Mitchell’s only regret was that he didn’t put as much time into his insurance business as he did into his council work.
Following his tenure on city council, Mitchell served the community on other boards and commissions. One of his tougher times serving the community occurred in 2010 while serving as president of the Brighton Collegiate High School Board of Education. After a number of incidents involving teachers and students, Mitchell was one of two members on the board who refused to sign the documents that would dissolve the school and turn the keys over to School District 27J. Instead of closing the school, he had high hopes for putting the troubles behind them and moving forward.
In 2011, Mitchell was honored by the city during a dedication and ribbon cutting for the fishing pier at the Ken Mitchell Lake reservoirs, which were aptly named in his honor. During the ceremony, Mitchell was praised by Mayor Dick McLean for his nearly 40 years of service on city council, and for always looking out for the best interests of Brighton.
After hearing the news of his death Mayor Dick McLean spoke on behalf of the city and city council, saying, “To know Ken was to know Brighton. He served our community for 39 years as a City Council member (six of those years as mayor and mayor pro-tem for another two) and led various Brighton and Adams County boards and commissions. He loved to give tours around town where he often took people beyond paved roads. He was truly our best ambassador and will be missed by all.”
Contact Brighton reporter Crystal Nelson at 303-659-2522, ext. 223, or by email atcnelson@metrowestnewspapers.com.