‘Dr. Cog’ offers Weld planning cure

Rapid growth in three southeastern Weld County towns is prompting discussions about increasing the area’s ties to the metro-Denver area.

Officials from Dacono, Frederick and Firestone are considering joining the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and possibly even the Regional Transportation District. The talks are coming on the heels of a residential boom that made Weld County one of the fastest-growing counties in the state and the nation in recent years.

According to U.S. Census data, Weld County’s population grew 24 percent from 2000 to 2005. During the same time, Colorado’s population grew at a rate of 6 percent.

Dacono, Firestone and Frederick…