Golden Informer
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Informer Golden OCTOBER 2016 YOU’RE INVITED! MAYOR’S COMMUNITY Yard Waste EVENT Clean-Up Dates plus Tree Limb & Log Drop-Off Cemetery Tours Unearth Golden’s Past ART REFLECTS GOLDEN HISTORY 2016 Golden City Council Marjorie Sloan Saoirse Marcia Claxton Joe Behm Casey Brown Pamela Gould Laura Weinberg Mayor Charis-Graves Ward One Mayor Pro-Tem District Two Ward Three Ward Four District One Ward Two 303-279-0088 303-709-7529 303-621-5133 303-918-1103 303-900-2003 303-279-1164 303-241-9823 E-mail: msloan E-mail: scharisgraves E-mail: mclaxton E-mail: jbehm E-mail: cbrown E-mail: pgould E-mail: lweinberg @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net @cityofgolden.net To contact the entire City Council, e-mail [email protected]. IN THIS ISSUE The Golden Informer Cover: file photo is produced and published monthly Linking by the Golden City Manager’s Office The Golden Civic 8 and mailed as a source of news 7 Lookout: and information to all residences Foundation – The lid begins and businesses inside the City Building a to take shape limits. Comments on The Informer Better Golden! are welcome. New Public Art Installed Please write to: 19 City of Golden 911 10th St., Golden, CO 80401 Attn: Karlyn Tilley Call 303-384-8132 or e-mail 12 Golden Sustainability [email protected]. Night - Nov. 30 17 2016 Fall PAYT Yard Waste Collection: Week of Nov. 14 - 18 City of Golden Department Managers Jason Dan Hartman Steve Glueck Susan Brooks Rod Tarullo Bill Kilpatrick John Bales Jeff Hansen Teresa Reilly Karlyn Tilley Slowinski Public Works Comm. & Econ. City Clerk Parks and Police Fire Finance Human Communications City Manager Development Recreation Resources 303-384-8010 303-384-8150 303-384-8095 303-384-8014 303-384-8120 303-384-8033 303-384-8090 303-384-8020 303-384-8017 303-384-8132 jslowinski@ dhartman@ sglueck@ sbrooks@ rtarullo@ bkilpatrick@ jbales@ jhansen@ treilly@ ktilley@ cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net cityofgolden.net 2 | October 2016 HEADS UP: Important Upcoming Items Still Time to Nominate! Know someone worthy of recognition? The Mayor’s Awards for Excellence nomination deadline has been extended to Oct. 7. Mayor Marjorie Sloan is gearing up for the 7th annual Mayor’s Community Celebration, and she needs your nominations to tell us who in the Golden community has elow is Golden City really made a difference! The awards go to residents and businesses who contribute to Golden BCouncil's monthly in an extraordinary way. A special “Gold Mine” Award will also be presented to a nominee who calendar. Meetings are has helped make a special connection between the City and Colorado School of Mines. held on Thursdays and Completed nominations are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7. You may submit your nomination in one of three ways: through the City’s website www.cityofgolden.net/MayorsAwards; email begin at 6:30 p.m. in nominations to Ben Goldstein at [email protected]; deliver it in person to City Hall, Council Chambers at 911 10th St. The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25. See page 5 for all of the City Hall, 911 10th St., details on this exciting event! unless otherwise noted. Howdy Neighbors! Mark Your Calendars. Oct. 6 DDA OUTREACH EVENT No meeting Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016 • 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Oct. 13 Foothills Art Center, 809 15th Street, Golden, CO 80401 Regular business meeting DDA Outreach Event The Golden Downtown Development Authority (DDA) staff and board would like to catch up with Oct. 20 you at an interactive community input meeting. Bring the whole family to play games, enter to Study session win prizes, and experience all that Foothills Art Center has to offer. By simply providing your valued opinion, you will be eligible to win gift cards to downtown area merchants. Oct. 27 If you cannot attend the meeting and want to share your thoughts, drop us a line by calling 303-384-8080 or email [email protected]. Regular business meeting Tree Limb and Log Disposal - One Day ONLY! The City of Golden Parks and Recreation Council’s upcoming Department will host a limb and log agendas, packets and cleanup day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. The drop-off location meeting minutes are will be off of Catamount Drive behind available online under the brick house where the limbs are the City Council link at dropped off for Golden Pride Days. If www.CityofGolden.net. you are unfamiliar, just look for the signs on Catamount Drive. Public comment is This drop-off is for limbs and logs welcome on the agenda ONLY. We will not accept bags of leaves, at all regular business grass clippings, pine needles or any pretreated lumber. This is for anyone residing within the city limits of Golden. Please bring proof of your address with you. For more information, meetings. contact the Forestry Division at 303-384-8141 or email [email protected]. October 2016 | 3 MAYOR’S MESSAGE By Mayor Marjorie Sloan Your Vote Counts Well Beyond Election Day any Golden residents are showing side effects from large doses of media coverage during this election year. Observed symptoms include fatigue, numbness, irritability, and anxiety. But recovery is on the near horizon. Ballots for the MNovember 8 federal, state, and county elections will be mailed the week of October 17. In the meantime, we can re-commit to participating in the election process by recognizing its essential nature. A representative democracy allows voters to choose individuals who, in turn, set policy and enact legislation. Once in office, elected officials are not simple mirrors of majority opinion. Constituents rely on them to listen to their concerns and thoughts. But officials are also expected to study the issues, read extensively, explore expert opinions, and balance proposed options to serve the electorate’s best interests. At times, the process may lead to unpopular decisions, and ultimately officeholders are held accountable for their actions in subsequent elections. One major issue before us is downtown parking. This perfectly illustrates the operation of the representative system, where you will rely on your elected officials to ultimately make the best decisions for the community. The ball is already rolling. To respond to complaints about downtown parking availability, Council and staff hired consultants, collected data, talked to stakeholders, and sought advice from similar cities. The collective wisdom was that circling for parking causes congestion, pollution, aggravation – and customers who drive elsewhere. Scarce parking also leads to distracted, unpredictable driving, which is extra-dangerous in a pedestrian area. The overarching theory was that the parking experience is key to a welcoming, thriving, mixed-use downtown. An intuitive response would be to supply additional parking. Golden’s consultants, however, studied downtown parking patterns. They determined that existing parking is adequate, but the right spaces are not filled with the right cars at the right times. Additionally, parking development is incredibly expensive. A basic parking structure can cost $20,000 to $30,000 per space. And evolving transportation options mean that investment in parking can be unwise. The anticipated use of shared vehicles, autonomous cars, seamless transit, and bicycle/pedestrian improvements is expected to radically reduce demand for parking. A proposed best-practices alternative is to maximize the value of existing spaces. Accordingly, the City tailored a parking- management plan designed to encourage turnover and provide reliable access to convenient parking. For most of us, the only change associated with the plan will be an improvement in our customer experience. Two-hour parking will continue to be free at all times, employee parking will continue to be free at all times in most lots, and longer-term visitor and resident parking will continue to be free on weekends and weekdays after 5 p.m. Reasonable rates for peak long-term parking can be paid through convenient kiosks, smartphones, and a downtown resident system. During simpler times, always-free parking suited Golden. Fortunately in part, and unfortunately in part, our small town has changed. Under present conditions, City Council determined that active parking management could support businesses, improve traffic flow, enhance visits, and eliminate subsidies for disproportionate use. Council’s parking decision is a textbook example of representative democracy in action. However you stand on the issue, it may demonstrate the importance of informed, thoughtful voting for officials at every governmental level. 4 | October 2016 Sitting on a Gold Mine In Golden, “town” residents and MAYOR’S 2016 COMMUNITY EVENT CSM “gowns” recognize the major Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. assets they contribute to one another. CSM Student Center, 1600 Maple St. CSM students are some of the best and brightest students from around Golden mayor, previous Award for the world. Notably, CSM has formed Excellence recipient, and former CSM partnerships with major corporations football coach and athletic director. in the area; invented things that could Marv’s dedication and love for both help our community; offered internships Golden and CSM have been unflagging olden Mayor Marjorie Sloan will that may bring successful graduates since his birth – when his father was a hold the 7th annual Mayor’s 2016 back to Golden; and volunteered around CSM junior and the family lived across GCommunity Celebration at 6:30 town. For instance, students and faculty from the President’s House. p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Every year, the even work in the City’s water treatment Mayor presents Awards for Excellence to Since the days of Plato, the “Town- plant to create more efficient ways to extraordinary neighbors and introduces and-Gown” relationship between treat and use water.