Centennial Council of Neighborhoods 06 August 01 Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 6:55 p.m. and was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. A total of 17 members were present.

Arapahoe Sheriff’s Department – Mark Campbell

• Second phase of "Safe Summer" enforcement, focused on teenage drinking & driving, has started
• Another major accident involving teenagers in Smoky Hill area and also at University & Dry Creek
• Partnership with King Soopers, 7 Eleven, and Mann theaters
• Free movie rental coupons, free soft drink coupons, and free movie passes
• Passes given to teens who are just driving around, but not drinking, to help get them off the street
• Sheriff’s training group also started Teen Academy for about 20 teens to acquaint them with police operations
• Distributed a flyer about the "Lo-Jack" automobile anti-theft device which went into service last week in the Denver area
• Transmitter in stolen car is activated and receiver in police car tracks signal
• Car stolen last week at South Suburban golf course recovered by Arapahoe Sheriff in about an hour
• Costs approximately $600 - $700, available at car dealers
• There is no county law against having a "for sale" car parked on private property or on public streets
• Reminder that new arrivals to Colorado must get license plates within 30 days

 Fire Districts – No report this month

 Arapahoe Library District – Eloise May

• Book sale will be held from the 13th to the 16th of September at Koelbel Library
• Library has started a teen Chess Club at the Smoky Hill library, based on information from a new Teen Advisory council
• Library is teaching a web page design class. You need to register for the free classes at 303-220-7704
• Castlewood library has had to repair problems of leaking water after the recent heavy rains
• New library administration building should be opening late this year or early next year

South Suburban Park & Recreation – Jean Flynn

• District is preparing for the 2002 budget
• Public hearings on 8 August and 12 September to allow citizen comments
• Dedication of newly renovated park for Foxridge subdivision on 12 August
• Award of contract to renovate Millikan Park expected this week
• New catalogs of SSPRD activities should be delivered to homes by 17 August
• Can register online for classes, even before receiving the catalog
• Looking for volunteers to help improve the community playground at the Cherry Knolls park in September
• Call Jean Flynn at 303-483-7016 to participate

 Arapahoe Park & Recreation – Rebecca Nash

• Swimming pool construction halted by delay in transfer of land from county to district
• Same delay for recreation center at Orchard & Buckley
• Working on new park at Picadilly & Netherland

• First round of tax/services town meetings completed. Everyone who has not already attended is asked and urged to attend one of the remaining meetings. Only about 50 to 70 people from each ward (of about 10,000 people) have attended so far. Call 303-734-4567 for more information
• August 8 Falcon Creek Middle School
• August 14 Grandview High School
• August 20 Koelbel Library
• August 22 Arapahoe High School

• Main issues are mill levy & sales tax
• About $5.7 million in capital improvement projects was not included in original Arapahoe County budget planning that was given to Centennial
• Loss of this money results in loss of matching state & federal monies
• Discussion at town meetings includes possibility of adding 0.25 to 0.5% to sales tax, designated for capital improvements
• The proposed 1.5% sales tax will cover expenses if these capital improvements and storm water drainage are left out of the budget
• TABOR amendment did not account for incorporation of new cities. Unless released by voters, Centennial cannot take in more money than it got the previous year (except for inflation). Last year, Centennial had zero income, so release from TABOR requirements is essential to success of Centennial
• Centennial needs to spend $1.5 million as the City's share for the new RTD lite rail station at I-25 & Dry Creek
• City Council trying very hard to keep the promises made during the incorporation effort concerning tax levels
• Mill levy for law enforcement only covers the deputies patrolling the streets. There is no allowance in the mill levy to cover emergency services, the jail, detectives, etc.
• If vote is not approved, Centennial would have to borrow funding from the state (and pay interest), or de-incorporate the city
• November’s ballot will be very large with many issues, and is totally a "mail-in" ballot
• Since Arapahoe County is no longer responsible for the expenses not required of Centennial, the citizens need to petition the county to reduce the taxes (county mill levy) proportionally to the decrease in expenses. County commissioner John Brackney has stated that this probably won’t happen unless the citizens complain about it.
• Centennial hopes to cut costs by contracting work to private companies rather than hiring city employees
• Centennial planning meetings are moving to the 2^nd & 4^th Tuesdays of the month

 Officer Reports - Treasurer

• Checking account Opening balance:             $329.64
•                            Income (dues)         $45.00
•                            Closing Balance       $374.64
• Savings accountOpening/Closing balance:   $645.20

Committee Report – By Laws

• Changes were included in the final draft version presented to all members. A formal vote on the By Laws & Articles of Incorporation will be held in September

• Letters will be sent to existing members with unpaid dues and to prospective new members

It was moved by Ted Conti, seconded by Gerry Cummins, and unanimously voted by all CENCON members to approve the July meeting minutes

It was moved by Lynn Leader, seconded by Claudette Cooper and unanimously voted by all CENCON members to forward a position letter to the Arapahoe commissioners concerning the county’s need to reduce the county mill levy relative to the reduced expenses since the formation of Centennial

One formal developer plan was discussed. Comments were noted and approved. Copies of both will be sent to each CENCON member.

There were also some additional comments on storm water drainage and traffic problems at Waterview 5 & 6. These plans were originally reviewed a few months ago, and Willow Creek #3 has been investigating the potential problems further

The web site for CENCON is: denver.neighborhoodlink.com/public (Enter zip code & select CENCON from list)

As Cathy mentioned during the meeting, following is the information on the Neighborhood Resource Center. They do much more than just the neighborhood policing.

NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE CENTER
2727 BRYANT ST. SUITE 550
DENVER CO 80211
303-477-0023

www.nrc-neighbor.org

The Community Associations Institute is:
303-756-8025

www.caicolorado.org

Page last updated on: 05/29/2006