Author : Lakewood News from Karen

Lakewood Shelter May Be a Magnet

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on May 8, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged commentary, community, housing, news, water

The mid-year report on Lakewood’s homeless shelter showed some progress and some new problems. The April 15, 2024, Council Study Session highlighted the 50-person capacity of the new “emergency” cold weather shelter at the location of the new Navigation Center on West Colfax. This was a planned shelter, used on an emergency basis because the building is not ready or approved to act as a shelter. As a new venture, the shelter encountered problems that Lakewood is learning from, such as determining the capacity of the building in-transition. Other problems that will be more difficult to solve are becoming apparent. For example: The success of the shelter was evidenced by the number of people using the program. The Navigation Center can currently support 50 people, and it exceeded that limit several nights. Guests who exceeded capacity were offered vouchers for hotels, paid for by Jefferson County. This has led to some policy changes so that people are not incentivized to wait for a hotel opportunity. Lakewood has started providing transportation services to and from these hotels for the people who want to use a hotel voucher in another city but want to remain in Lakewood. Transportation includes coordinating volunteer efforts and paying Bayaud Enterprises. City Council Members pointed out that problems would be decreased if other cities made the same switch Lakewood has, with the government taking on the work of what was previously non-profit domain. “It was never envisioned that Lakewood would be the sole provider of navigation services. So we really need to see that so that Lakewood doesn’t become a magnet for those in need.” Deputy City Manager Ben Goldstein (24 min mark) Despite not having the current emergency operation under control, City Council is already pushing for more services. Councilors Mayott-Guerro and Cruz asked for city resources to set up a food network. Staff respond that having food service is difficult without some consistency. Councilor Shahrezaei advocated for being open more nights. Staff say changing the opening requirements makes it hard for staff to anticipate what is needed and may lead to being open for most of the winter. According to Deputy City Manager Ben Goldstein, it will be a couple of years until the Navigation Center is fully operational as a shelter. The city is still in the acquisition phase for the shelter property. “We all want to figure out how to not let people die from weather, right? And that’s such a cool shared value because it’s actually just not that radical, but it was five years ago.” Council Member Mayott-Guerrero on Lakewood’s switch in city philosophy (30 min mark) The idea of shelters is not radical for an individual or a charitable institution, but it is more so for a government. The Lakewood Informer reported in August, 2023, that local governments hoped someone else would step up to serve, without themselves committing to take responsibility. Previous letters of support to Lakewood made no promises of financial support. “At this time, Arvada does not have a plan for a navigation center, such as the one in Lakewood. Like other cities in the metropolitan area, we are evaluating a number of ideas that might help address the unhoused population. Arvada intends to observe what happens at the Lakewood navigation center with their implementation.” Arvada email dated December 7, 2023 Council is concerned about reaching the limit of shelter capacity next year. Goldstein says Lakewood cannot open another shelter without becoming an even greater attractant (58 min mark). Many of the area’s unhoused are now counting on the Navigation Center for shelter, as opposed to the local non-profits that fill up. This will especially be a problem when the center is closed for renovations next winter. Retrofits are now expected to go into 2026, rather than being completed in 2025 as expected. Council Member Low praised the program for saving lives during the cold winter nights. When asked how much the number of deaths decreased, staff responded that they never tracked deaths, and if they did, it would be impossible to tell whether the death was from cold or not. Life-saving or not, 50 people were provided shelter over about 20 nights. According to the staff memo, this could be a total of over 887 individuals, or the same 50 people multiple times. Another measure of success was the 52 Facebook posts the city made, which received over 150,000 impressions on social media.

Support Lakewood Informer!

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on May 2, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

The Lakewood Informer is growing! We know that many of you are too busy to watch meetings and write articles and this is another way you can support local efforts. We still plan on keeping the content free but if you’d like to contribute towards costs, please use the link or QR code below. Thank you! https://app.autobooks.co/pay/lakewood-informer

Lakewood Will Lower Speed Limits and is Looking at Cameras

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 29, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Lakewood City Council agreed to lower residential speed limits on April 1, 2024, however what to lower them to is still in question. Council is reacting to a rash of complaints about speeding, however, Lakewood Police cited a lack of safety incidents. Lakewood Traffic Engineering cited studies that showed that lowering the speed limit 5 mph will turn into a 1 mph decrease, and sometimes there’s a overall speed increase, because drivers think that the new speed limit is unreasonable so they ignore it. Council relies on a report from the Lakewood Advisory Commission (LAC) to show the good intentions of speed reduction. Other programs that were discussed include automatic ticketing cameras and red-light cameras. All of these proposals will likely operate at a loss, as shown by recent experience in Aurora and other cities. The speed reduction concept started years ago, with an assignment to the LAC to study the issue, which was presented June 12, 2023. The LAC report showed several ways of slowing people down, but did not show the other side by fully reporting effectiveness or unintended consequences. They also assumed a low-level residential speeding problem was a safety problem. At that time, Lakewood Councilor Rich Olver sounded the alarm the issue was coming and was told he was a conspiracy theorist. The Lakewood Police Department and Public Works Department had a slightly different view from the LAC, as presented on April 1. Their experience in the city showed that speeding was more of a complaint issue than a safety issue. A lack of safety issues would present problems with being able to secure speed photo radar because those cameras require working with CDOT on establishing safety corridors. The corridor must show an existing pattern of safety incidents, such as accidents or reckless driving, which do not exist on the streets requested by City Council. Complaints alone may not be enough to justify the problem. Although the LAC proposal lists cities that lower speed limits, staff research shows that they are not effective or long-lasting without police enforcement. Changing the sign will do little to nothing, decreasing speeds only one to two miles per hour. Boulder showed an increase in speed as drivers got angry at the change and pushed back. Councilors such as Shahrezaei and Low argued that staff may not be as knowledgeable as the LAC on this issue. “It’s not good policy to make most of our residents outlaws” Staff response to “Why not go down to 20 mph” NOTE: It is important to note that the discussion did not differentiate between people going <10 mph over, versus aggressive drivers going >10 mph. The latter is more serious and those drivers are most apt to ignore all signs. Staff already cite lack of resources for dealing with other, more serious issues. On traffic concerns, they urge Council to look at red light cameras because running red lights presents an evidence-based safety concern. However, staff cite research to show no camera will generate enough revenue to cover the cost, meaning that Lakewood would lose money on any of these efforts with dubious return in safety. Aurora is stopping their pilot program and other cities who lowered speed limits to 20 mph had to raise them up to 25 mph due to public backlash. There was no report that residents were happier with the 25 mph ending. Council seemed to prepared to stick to their preconceived notions that speed limits must be reduced based on the LAC report requested by Council. They agreed 10-1 that speed limits must be lowered, but debate continues on what to lower the limit too. Additional research on cameras will proceed. Notable Council Quotes and Position Statements: Stewart: Wants to lower limits to 20 mph and acknowledges that the result may only be one or two miles per hour less, but that one or two miles per hour less could save a pedestrian’s life. Not interested in red light cameras or enforcement in high-traffic areas. Shahrezaei: Says Golden and Denver have gone to 20 mph so it would make sense to match our neighbors. Argues that the police and staff don’t have enough data to draw conclusions but the LAC does. Interested in red light cameras. Olver: “I applaud the reality-based thinking [by the staff].” Would like to stay at 30 mph and look into red light cameras. Low: “Very much in favor of reducing the speed limit”. Argues with staff whether it is really necessary to work with CDOT to justify and set up safety corridors and would like to find a way to make it happen. Argues that the staff presentation is mostly conjecture. Summed up that what he heard staff say was that lowering to 25 would have no real effect and going to 20 mph made things worse but if he saw data that going to 20 saved lives then he’d agree. Interested in red light cameras. Labure: Favors 20 mph. Focuses on enforcement consequences. Raises concerns on major arterials. Interested in red light cameras and noise level monitoring. Mayott-Guerrero: Says that since Lakewood is in a region of 20 mph, touching Golden, that this a known best practice. Advocates for redesigning streets with tree medians and bike lanes, with more speed limit signs. Not interested in red light cameras Cruz: Would like to see the more expensive street redesign measure and lowering to 20 mph because it would be an important investment in pedestrian safety and climate goals. Not interested in red light cameras Rein: Asked questions about technology effectiveness and data collection. Favors 25 mph. Not interested in red light cameras Sinks: Favors 25 mph. Would like red light cameras but not one per ward, instead at targeted intersections. Advocates for noise meters for speeders (staff respond there is no law that would allow that). Nystrom: Favors 25 mph. Asks for more research. Interested in red light cameras Strom: Favors 25 mph. Not interested in red light cameras

Lakewood Residents Petition to Save Their Parks

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 28, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colorado, environment, news, real-estate, water

Guest Post from Save Open Space Lakewood Lakewood residents petition to save their parks and open space which the City likes to give away to developers. On April 27th they were at Lakewood’s Belmar Park with petitions. Background Local environment advocates will circulate a petition at Lakewood’s Earth Day, on Saturday, April 27, that would force the City from its arrogant behind-the-scenes approval of out-of-control developments to provide significant environmental stewardship for Lakewood. Once certified with 6,000 required signatures, the petition becomes an initiative which Lakewood is required to vote for. If it doesn’t, it will be placed on a citywide ballot. Over one thousand signatures have already been collected in less than a month. When: Saturday, April 27Time: 11 AM -7 PMWhere: Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, 801 S. Yarrow St., Lakewood 80226 “It’s become clear that nothing short of this petition is going to change complacent City staff, the City Council and the Planning Commission to be responsive to citizen concerns and also supportive of preserving our parks and open space,” said Cathy Kentner, who co-created the petition with fellow longtime community activist Rhonda Peters. Both founded Save Open Space Lakewood which is organizing this all-volunteer petition effort. The petition, titled the Lakewood Green Initiative, was inspired after the public learned Lakewood staff had worked for several years to preliminarily approve and advance the plans of Kairoi Residential, a Texas developer, for a 412-unit, 83 unit per floor, 6 story luxury apartment building with a footprint the size of two football fields which would share the eastern boundary of Belmar Park. Belmar Park is a 132 acre beloved park in the middle of Lakewood’s growing concrete jungle. It is a peaceful haven for over 230 bird species (many protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act), abundant wildlife and innumerable human visitors. In preliminarily approving the Kairoi plan, the City ignored its own ordinances on protecting parkland and wildlife, improving tree canopy, fighting climate change and providing affordable housing. Instead it supported the gigantic 800,000 square foot design with no buffer with the park, the elimination of 69 mature trees, and lack of serious analysis of the development’s effects on the environment and on the safety of nearby residents who can only exit on a narrow street. The public was notified very late as if it was an afterthought. Now the City claims many elements of the project are a done deal and they lack the power to correct this. Since this deal was initially revealed, the City has placed numerous obstacles in the way of citizen attempts to have input on the development’soutcome. Likewise, Lakewood staff has been actively attempting to thwart approval of the petition. The latest effort was an unprecedented five-day delay. Interestingly, a few hours after a local TV reporter submitted questions to the City, the petition was promptly approved and released to Kentner. The Initiative Summary as Set by Lakewood City Clerk Shall the City of Lakewood Municipal Code Chapter 14.16. PARK AND OPEN SPACE DEDICATION be repealed and replaced to eliminate the option for developers to pay a fee in lieu of parkland dedication and to require the City to accept open space and land dedications for current and future developments. Longer version: See soslakewood.org Several years ago Kentner, who ran as an independent candidate for Mayor and has served on the Lakewood Planning Commission, successfully authored and helped pass a petition to limit population growth in Lakewood; it was subsequently approved in a citywide election. By not following its own standards, Lakewood has effectively sold what should have been more than a dozen acres of parkland in the last decade. According to information provided by the city, Lakewood has not required land from developers since the Solterra development in 2007 and 2013. Kentner said there appears to be a gentleman’s agreement between Lakewood and all of its developments so they are allowed to pay the City instead of providing open space. Although citizens have long felt powerless as Lakewood approved large apartment buildings in charming neighborhoods and at the perimeter of parks, the Kairoi monolith at Belmar Park inspired several groups to work to either limit the size of the building or eliminate it entirely. SaveBelmarPark.com is a comprehensive website that includes a petition to declare eminent domain on the land between the building and the park in order to create a buffer zone. Save Belmar Park, Inc. has been organizing, educating and fundraising to pursue legal channels to protect the park. Save Open Space Lakewood (SOS Lakewood) created a petition to bring these groups together to work toward a common goal of protecting Lakewood’s natural environment.

Give us your TABOR refunds, says Lakewood

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 28, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged city-council, Colorado, environment, infrastructure, Lakewood, news, sustainability

Guest Post by Alex Plotkin A city that for over a decade has not only refused to do economic development (in a true sense), but has lost jobs and is now planning to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize developers, under the guise of “economic development.” A city that, for over a decade, has done nothing to improve the path conditions along Alameda Avenue, in Ward 4. Nor have any improvements have been made to alleviate the traffic increases at Union and Alameda. To be fair, the city did spend an untold amount of money to add “roundabouts” on Green Mountain Drive. Perfectly placed to create a road hazard with any amount of snow. A city that has been lecturing the citizens about how the citizens should be planting trees, to cool the city, you know? The same city that is now allowing an-out-of-state developer to destroy a much-beloved park at Belmar, while chopping down dozens of decades-old trees. A city where for years now the recreational fields at Carmody Park are in an awful shape. Fields where parents actually pay a fee to have their children play. They “fixed it” this year: And this is a park that has favorable political sunshine on it. A city, where instead of maintaining the hiking and biking trails damaged by runoff, a sign is placed, telling you to be careful. You should see what the head of parks gets paid, though. A city, where the City Council goes in to executive sessions, to decide on even more perks for a City Manager, while the needs of thousands of residents are ignored and the city is millions over budget: A city, where the citizens are lectured about how they should not be driving, to save the environment and stuff. While the city has failed to champion any sort of real economic development, so that thousands of people would not have to drive out of the city for work. A city, where the citizens are told not to drive, while the aforementioned City Manager gets paid for mileage, just to go to work. A City Manager that lives in the city. Gets paid to drive to work. Do you? Here is an exert from City Manager’s contract: The taxpayers, it seems also get to pay for the privilege of the department heads using the medical benefits, after they leave. Do you get a perk such as that with your employer? The City Manager also has a retirement perk that seems more geared for a CEO than a “public servant”. In just one year, the city spends about $100,000,000 just on staff alone. To be fair, some of that is police, which the city’s council has been hamstringing from even enforcing the laws that exist. Here are the compensation numbers, just for the “department heads” (as of two years ago – you may want to see the updated ones for 2024): As you walk around the neglected parks and drive on Kipling where the road surface has been in need of repair for years and most of the lights are out on some of the sections, may be think about asking the city what has it done with the tens of millions it receives every year, before even getting to the TABOR refunds? Perhaps start off by looking at the expenditure trends of the planning and city manager’s departments? So when Lakewood asks for your TABOR refund (for parks and police of course), ask the city – why are millions spent on just the planning and the city manager’s offices alone and why is the city millions over budget every year? The cuts should have happened years ago, with money saved then be used for the parks, police, economic development and road and infrastructure maintenance. But, instead, the city is now spending thousands of dollars of your money for marketing research to see how to manipulate the residents in to allowing the city to keep millions more from the TABOR-mandated refunds.

Local Staffing Agency Under New Ownership – Community Gains Await!

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 23, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

Press Release The Express Employment Professionals of Lakewood will formally recognize an ownership transition via a ribbon cutting this coming Wednesday. This office has been a staple in the community since 1998 and has provided thousands of locals with jobs in the Light Industrial, Skilled Trades, and Office Professional fields. The office is being bought by Troy McLeland, the current owner of Express Employment Professionals in Downtown Denver. He has been an owner of the Express Franchise for almost seven years, and we’re so excited to watch him bring his expertise to Lakewood’s community. We would love to see the community there to raise awareness of our staffing agency’s FREE services. We help people in the community find jobs at no cost to them, and we’re so excited to be a part of this community. Wednesdays details: Wednesday, April 24th at 4:40pm 651 Garrison Street, Ste. 100, Lakewood, Colorado 80215

Lakewood’s Slippery Slope of Not Prosecuting Crime

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 22, 2024Posted in UncategorizedTagged Crime, criminal-law, Lakewood, politics, prosecution

Guest Post by Chuck Bedard Lakewood citizens are becoming increasingly frustrated over the amount of shoplifting, vandalism, and “less important” crimes that are not being pursued by the police. And rightfully so! Not long ago, my wife and I watched a man, pushing a shopping cart full of items at Home Depot, breeze through the self-checkout area – bypassing the opportunity to pay for the items – and head to the parking lot. We looked at the cashier/attendant with stunned expressions on our faces, as we watched the Home Depot personnel do nothing. Her response was, “The police won’t do anything, so we just let them go.” For a fleeting moment, I thought about canceling my purchase and just loading the items in the cart and heading to my car… Remember, I said “for a fleeting moment.” I wonder if I would have been treated in the same manner as the thief who had the shopping cart full of items. Chances are good that Home Depot would have alerted the police if I tried to steal the same merchandise. If I had been pursued by the police and the other person wasn’t, it would be a case of “Selective Prosecution.” Selective prosecution should be distinguished from “Prosecutorial Discretion.” Historically, prosecutors have had broad discretion to pursue those cases where the facts support a conviction and elect not to pursue matters where the facts are less clear. However, as we read the news the lines between “Prosecutorial Discretion” and “Selective Prosecution” have become blurred – perhaps intentionally. “Prosecutorial Discretion” has been in the news recently when a federal prosecutor elected not to charge Mr. X in a matter relating to stolen classified documents. Mr. X kept those documents in his garage next to his Corvette. In electing not to indict Mr. X, the prosecutor noted that he was an elderly man with a poor memory and those facts made it problematic in obtaining a conviction. Many legal authorities believed this prosecutor’s decision was far more political than legal, thereby removing this case as a matter of traditional and historical “prosecutorial discretion.” After all, the prosecutor had the individual “dead to right.” The facts were indisputable. In reality, the results of this case amounted to “Selective Prosecution” rather than “Prosecutorial Discretion.” Don’t think for a minute that you or I would not be indicted if Top Secret documents were found in your garage next to your Ford station wagon… even if we were old and had a poor memory. The City provides disparate treatment to different classes of individuals. Therein lies a big problem for the City of Lakewood (or any municipality). The City provides disparate treatment to different classes of individuals. The City seems to rely on some form of “prosecutorial discretion” for its diversionary programs that elect not to charge certain classes of individuals with crimes even though the facts of the crime are indisputable. Or, in the alternative, dismissing or reducing charges for those classes of individuals. In reality, it is “Selective Prosecution,” and it is only a matter of time before Lakewood citizens decide they are fed up with being treated this way. Based on current practices ANYONE can load up their cart at any store, and exit the store with the cash still in their pockets, knowing they won’t be prosecuted. In other words, in the Home Depot scenario above, if the police elected not to charge the vagrant pushing the cart full of stolen property out of the Home Depot store, they cannot charge anyone pursuing the same activities. To do otherwise is “selective prosecution” which the courts have said violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. (The 14th Amendment is often referred to as the Equal Protection Clause.) Some might suggest that a law that isn’t enforced should be removed from the books, or in the alternative, in the case of shoplifting, making it legal if it is under a certain dollar threshold. The “theory” is that people who need items like food to survive would have this resource. There again, legal authorities have said that you cannot prosecute only certain classes of people. If a vagrant can’t or won’t be charged then no one can be charged. That is the essence of the prohibition of “selective prosecution.” Lakewood City Council seems to think that shoplifting by anyone who can say they need the items for food to survive, should not be prosecuted. Likewise, other “low-level” crimes like panhandling/washing your window at the stop light, and public urination/defecation are not worthy of attention by the police. But remember City of Lakewood – if you allow one group to get away with something, you must allow all. Most honorable citizens believe that all crimes should be pursued and pursued equally. As parents, we know that if you don’t enforce the small stuff, it becomes impossible to enforce the big stuff. This isn’t rocket science but it is a matter of fair treatment of all citizens and all businesses. If everyone started pushing their shopping carts out of Home Depot, King Soopers, or Walmart, without paying, those stores would be closed and Lakewood’s tax revenue would be in the toilet. Reader Recommended Business: Gabriela Couture

Secret Plans for Emory Elementary

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 18, 2024Posted in Development, HomelessTagged city-council, Colorado, Lakewood, migrants, news, real-estate, realtor, schools

New information shows that Lakewood has been planning on purchasing Emory Elementary, in partnership with the Action Center, since at least September 2023 as part of a homeless strategy. In December of 2023, Lakewood City Manager Cathy Hodgson stated that Lakewood would be working with the Jeffco Action Center to move the Center into a closed public school so that Lakewood would have another building for their solution to homelessness. There was a strong, negative public reaction to this news, which only increased when Lakewood started talking about welcoming migrants. In reaction to the public backlash, the city cried “misinformation”, and both Hodgson and Mayor Strom stated that Lakewood has no direct control over the schools. However, Hodgson did not explicitly deny that Lakewood has been working with the Action Center and Jeffco schools to move homeless services into a closed neighborhood school and increase housing for homeless. Instead, the manager or council called it “misinformation” in the news headlines, a statement solely aimed at migrant support (this claim was later also negated by discussions that homeless is homeless and Lakewood would support everyone possible.) Recently a local effort called Concerned Citizens in Lakewood, concernedcitizensinlakewood@gmail.com, submitted a CORA Request (Colorado Open Records Access request) which revealed planning meetings with the City of Lakewood, JeffCo Public Schools, and the JeffCo Action Center related to Emory Elementary School and a real estate transaction. These planning meetings have been going on since at least September 2023. According to emails, Lakewood’s City Manager Hodgson hosted an organizational meeting between Lakewood, the Action Center Executive Director Pam Brier and Jeff Gaitlin, Jefferson County School’s Chief Operating Officer. The email pictured below reveals that Lakewood and Jeffco Schools have held behind-the-scenes planning meetings for this school, while officials from both governments denied or stayed silent regarding any knowledge of future plans. The email appears to indicate that the purpose of this meeting was to define next steps on the partnership to buy Emory Elementary. Not only do the emails show the partnership being formed months ago, they show the plans were detailed enough to involve future meetings with real estate agents and school board attorneys. Notable in this email was that commercial real estate agents may not be needed. This was not the public process with ample notice the school board advertised. Gaitlin, from Jeffco Schools, said in February that Lakewood was in the early stages of using the municipal option. The municipal option seems to have come into being just for Lakewood, since it was unveiled just after Hodgson announced the plans for the school. Using the municipal option, no community involvement is necessary, and the city could get the property at a discount. There is no municipal option for a non-profit and there is no information on how the Action Center could afford to buy the property directly, although recent evidence shows there is ample money in grants from the state to provide housing. Officials from all organizations have had months to tell the public that these plans were being formed and to explain the public good they expected to achieve. Instead, they chose silence and a “misinformation” campaign. There has been no public disclosure of what the city and or the Action Center plans to do with the building, should the deal go through. There has been no public disclosure of any possible agreements Lakewood has with the Action Center in order to use the municipal option for the benefit of the non-profit. City Councilor Rich Olver explained in one Council meeting that he was told that Lakewood just wanted the use of the ballparks, they were not interested in the school building. He stated that by talking to city staff he believed Lakewood had no intention of buying Emory Elementary building. This statement, unfortunately, does not seem to be accurate or else Lakewood would not have to be involved with a meeting between Jeffco Schools and the Action Center, let alone hosting such a meeting. So even sitting City Council Members are not getting the whole story from the City Manager. Paying close attention to wording, all parties could be honestly portraying the information they want to portray: The Action Center has not replied to several requests for comment. Lakewood and Jeffco schools have gone out of their way to not talk about their plans when the opportunity arose. When will residents know what is going on with their taxpayer-funded infrastructure? As of April 11, the School Board voted to dispose of two more Lakewood elementary schools: Glennon Heights Elementary & Vivian Elementary. To receive JeffCo Public Schools updates on these and other school properties sign up on Jeffco’s Property Disposition Work: Community Distribution List & Jeffco Public Schools: Property Disposition Community Voice Form

QuikTrip Continues Growth in Denver Metro with New Lakewood Location Now Open

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 13, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

From QuikTrip LAKEWOOD, Colo. (April 11, 2024) — QuikTrip (QT), one of the nation’s leading convenience and gasoline retailers, announced the opening of a new location in Lakewood at 5201 W. Mississippi Ave., located at the northwest corner of S. Sheridan Blvd. and W. Mississippi Ave. This is the 12th QT location in Colorado, with four more locations scheduled to open throughout 2024 and others in early 2025. “We are excited to continue bringing QuikTrip’s signature commitment to quality and efficient service to Lakewood,” said QuikTrip Corporate Communications Manager Aisha Jefferson. “The QuikTrip team is working hard to ensure our customers enjoy best-in-class service and amenities from day one, and we look forward to continuing our reputation as a good neighbor in the Lakewood community and throughout the Denver metro.” This location will create approximately two dozen new jobs, and all interested applicants should apply online at www.quiktrip.com/store-jobs/. For decades, people have looked to QT for an on-the-go snack or meal as well as a safe and comfortable atmosphere. The Lakewood location will include full-service QT Kitchens, featuring freshly prepared grab and go items and custom-made menu items. QT Kitchens customer favorites include warm, soft pretzels, custom breakfast tacos, hardwood smoked BBQ sandwiches, cold brew coffee and frozen treats like QT’s QuikShake®. Customers will also be able to enjoy fresh donuts, sub sandwiches, wraps, QT’s signature pizza by the slice and roller grill items. Since its founding in 1958, QT has established a reputation for taking great care of its employees, receiving national recognition as a top place to work year after year. In addition to providing superior benefits and opportunities for advancement, QT offers competitive pay, tuition reimbursement, medical insurance and excellent 401k benefits. QT is also proud of the positive impact it has in the communities it serves, with the company donating five percent of its annual net profits to charitable organizations. Among the organizations QT supports are United Way, Safe Place, local food banks, schools and Folds of Honor, a non-profit whose mission is to provide educational scholarships to the military and first responder families of those who have been killed or disabled while on active duty. Over the last 66 years, QT has grown its footprint to more than 1,000 stores across 17 states and employs over 31,000 people. About QuikTrip QuikTrip Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Tulsa, Okla. Founded in 1958, QuikTrip has grown to a more than $11 billion company with more than 1,000 stores in 17 states. QuikTrip gives back to the communities it serves, donating five percent of net profits to charitable organizations in those communities. With more than 31,000 employees, QuikTrip has consistently been ranked as one of the top convenience store marketers in product quality and friendly service. To find out more about QuikTrip, visit www.quiktrip.com.

FOR SALE – JEFFCO SCHOOLS

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 9, 2024Posted in Uncategorized

(Recently Remodeled and Upgraded at Taxpayer Expense) Guest Post by Chuck Bedard I happened to be “in the neighborhood” of the palatial palace which is home to the Jefferson County Schools Administration Building – more on that later – or jump to the end to read what Jeffco should do. I decided to poke my head into the School Board’s Study Session. The portion most intriguing to me dealt with the disposition of the first 5 of the now-closed elementary schools. It appeared that the two District employees giving the presentation to the School Board had both drawn the “short straw.” Neither seemed to be particularly prepared to answer the Board’s questions beyond the specific slides provided in the presentation. The slide presentation followed a similar format for each of the five schools. The first school discussed was Glennon Heights Elementary. I have some familiarity with Glennon Heights – at least I know where it is located. The presenters acted like they had no real idea where the school was. But, since it was the first school on the list I’ll continue to use it as the example . For example, the lead presenter noted that students who had attended Glennon Heights and were now at Belmar Elementary had access to public, RTD transportation to Belmar. True, RTD runs along Alameda with stops near Quail (Glennon Heights is about a half mile from Alameda) and Garrison (Belmar Elementary is a little over three/quarters of a mile from the Alameda bus stop). The K-5 grade students taking the RTD transportation would have quite the hike – probably doable for the fifth-grade student. I’m wondering if the Jeffco Staff would feel comfortable putting their kindergarten students on the RTD bus and having them walk 3/4 of a mile down the busy Garrison Street. However, the presenter made sure that the Board knew that public transportation was available to each school. Why is the availability of RTD even a factor for consideration in the closure/sale of elementary schools? The presenter also suggested that Jeffco Schools will never have any real increase in student population – at least in the neighborhoods serviced by the five schools. While the student population may not be at peak levels now, that isn’t to say the numbers will not be increasing in the very near future. Many of the Jeffco neighborhoods are starting to have new, young families move in – replacing the “old, white, rich people” a designator so eloquently used by the City of Lakewood. In the Glennon Heights neighborhood, 29 new rental homes are close to being on the market and given the average number of children per household of 1.93, nearly 56 children will be looking for a school. However, the Jeffco staff seems confident that the number of new students in these areas will be small and temporary structures at some of the schools will be more than adequate. BUT, keep this in mind: once those schools are permanently eliminated, there’s no going back. The schools will be gone and there is precious little space available to build new schools to replace what Jeffco wants to squander. And rest assured that the voters in Jeffco are not going to be eager to pass any bond seeking to build new schools. To their credit, some of the Board members asked thoughtful and probing questions. One Board member questioned the already over-crowing at one of the schools filling the gap from a closed school. She noted that space was so tight that teachers had to put filing cabinets in the hallway to make room for more desks. In response, the Jeffco staff quickly noted that those teachers just didn’t know how to appropriately use their space… hopefully, the teachers at the impacted school got the message and will start being more space-conscious. Or, maybe the staffer should visit that school and really see what’s happening. Another Board member expressed concern over how to respond to her constituents about the more than $8,000,000 of taxpayer dollars recently spent to renovate these 5 schools. The Jeffco staffers responded like deer in the headlights. Jeffco’s dire financial status is not debatable. Jeffco does not have a good track record of making wise decisions when it comes to its finances. Even selling the 5 schools will not get Jeffco out of the financial hole it has dug. But, here is something that might help… I wish I could take credit for this ingenious idea, but I overheard it from a group of people talking in the hallway after the Study Session: Why doesn’t Jeffco Administration unload the palace that they reside in and strategically place various departments in the closed schools? Why shouldn’t the administration staff be willing to “live” like the people they govern? Jeffco Administration could save a ton of money and save the schools for future students. WOW! What a thought!!