INC’s annual Neighborhood Awards dinner is around the corner in late January. Be thinking about who in your neighborhood has gone the extra mile to make your community a better place to live, work and play; someone who has improved the quality of life for your community.
The August INC Delegate meeting included the following:
A comprehensive presentation about proposed changes to liquor license processes, particularly moving the petition process online.
A Denver Architecture Foundation representative spoke of the 2018 Doors Open Denver event September 22 & 23, and was presented with a $1,000 contribution from INC.
CU’s “The Denver Study of the Built and Social Environment” project was spotlighted.
In Around the Town, many neighborhood reps expressed concern about Denver’s initiative to repair sidewalks and potential impacts on historic flagstone sidewalks.
Host Spotlight
Larry Ambrose, new Southwest Improvement Council (SWIC) Director, provided some information on the history and current operations of SWIC including:
Meals provided to seniors daily and youth in the summer
Gym and computer center open to youth
Housing Development Corporation offering 19 units of affordable housing, with future plans for 1 acre of land
Loan Funds/Loan Guarantee programs
Work with area business districts to support local business retention
Aubry Gowdy, Brookdale Senior Living (also a Delegate meeting location host), discussed their partnership with SWIC in supporting area seniors.
Removing City Council from vote on DPR park use issues seemed easy a few years back, but putting the vote back in City Council is harder. Still, it is a necessary move, to give citizens a local elected voice. INC and PARC & ZAP are persevering. Also the public needs to know details on park budget expenses.
Proposed dedicated parks tax floated by CM Jolon Clark. Clark’s proposal would increase the city’s sales tax rate by 0.25 percent, or 2.5 cents per $10 purchase. That would bring the effective sales tax to 7.9 percent on regular purchases.
INC will host its annual awards dinner and silent auction fundraiser on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at the Doubletree Hotel Stapleton. The primary focus of this dinner is to honor those who contribute to and improve Denver’s community and neighborhoods. We invite you to submit your written nominations for the following awards. You may submit online or by mail. Please include the name, neighborhood, nominee’s contact information and a concise reason for the nomination as it pertains to the criteria.
“Oppose: League of Women Voters of Denver based its opposition to Initiative 300 on our position on Citizen Participation in Government, which advocates for increased opportunities for citizen input into governmental process.”
Rationale:
This ordinance does not include public hearings before a permit is issued or a process for citizens to oppose a permit. Good government process demands input from all interested citizens for good representative results.
The initiative requires approval from only one neighborhood group or business improvement district to issue the permit and does not require prior public posting of a potential permit. Again, this ordinance limits the ability of all citizens to weigh in on the permits.
It has been my pleasure to serve as President of INC for the past four years and a member of the INC Board since 2007. In agreeing to serve it has been my goal to fundamentally move the organization to actively advocate for neighborhood interests and to empower neighborhood organizations to effect municipal public policy. I believe that this is the role that INC has increasingly served as part of our City’s democratic process.
