No More Gas Fireplaces?

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Lakewood City Council Member Paula Nystrom and Jacob LaBure proposed banning gas fireplaces on October, 14, 2024. On the heels of two other proposals that night for increased sustainability measures, most Councilors urged for a deeper discussion of the topic at the council’s annual retreat. Councilor Rebekah Stewart was the only other “yes” vote on moving this ban forward. This discussion will be included again later in the zoning update tentatively scheduled for May, 2025

The city is already moving forward to fund electrification efforts, which include eliminating all gas appliances. As recommended by Lakewood’s Sustainability Committee, funding incentives would be provided for residents to voluntarily change their appliances, after which, mandates would be needed for everyone else. When asked whether Council is advocating for electrification, then-Councilor Wendi Strom responded that Lakewood was just in the research phase.

According to the 2025 budget Q&A, Lakewood has moved beyond research without a Council policy vote and without further public discussion. Lakewood will be a part of five different programs to remove gas appliances in residential homes starting in 2025.

The theory is that since grants are “free money”, no one could object and furthermore, the city’s Sustainability Plan calls for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions 20% below 2007 levels by 2025 so no public discussion is needed. As Councilors LaBure and Nystrom point out, Lakewood is behind its goals. To assist in reaching those goals, all gas appliances will have to be replaced with arguably more expensive and less efficient electric appliances.

The goal does not address how to power the new electric infrastructure given the grid cannot handle the current load. It also does not address the legal problems caused by similar demands to the commercial property world. There is no word on how to reverse or stop Lakewood’s policy of encouraging high-density growth, which led to more people with more gas appliances over the past decade.

Funding programs according to budget Q&A:

  • Starting in 2025, Lakewood will use funds through DRCOG from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction grant. Lakewood will “offer financial incentives for residential efficiency and electrification projects (heat pumps, electric cooktops, etc) and invests in more local workforce development. The program focuses on supporting low-income and disadvantaged communities and will reduce 149 million tons of carbon emissions by 2050. The funds have to be spent over the next 5 years.”
  • Xcel Energy’s Clean Heat Plan (still needs to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission) will direct $440 million to electrification and efficiency measures and reduce natural gas use. Designed to support hundreds of thousands of households starting in 2025.
  • Colorado Energy Office is expected to launch a $140 million Home Energy Rebate Program for low to moderate income households and building owners in early 2025 from the Department of Energy. This is part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The funds will be used for home electrification and appliance rebates and efficiency measures.
  • Colorado Energy Office received $20 million to support efficiency and electrification improvements for buildings larger than 50,000 SF. Expected in 2025.
  • Xcel also has a Transportation Electrification Plan and Demand-side Management plan that is expected to be adopted later this year and offer financial incentives starting in 2025. Total funding for that program is unknown at this time. 

Scorecard: Banning Gas Fireplaces

Strom: Nay

Shahrezaei: Nay

Sinks: Nay

Mayott-Guerrero: Nay

Cruz: Nay

Stewart: Aye

Low: Nay

Olver: Nay

Rein: Nay

LaBure: Absent

Nystrom: Aye

Residents of Lakewood Reject Smart Tech, Citing ‘Big Brother’ Fears, Reveals Study

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

From HostingAdvice

Digital Dilemma: Residents of Lakewood Reject Smart Tech, Citing ‘Big Brother’ Fears, Reveals Study.

  • Survey reveals the cities most supportive, and most skeptical of smart city technology.
  • Residents of Denver the most supportive, whereas those from Lakewood are skeptical.
  • Infographic included showing study results.

For years, public policy experts have forecasted the rise of smart cities across the U.S., envisioning urban environments that enhance online connectivity, streamline infrastructure, and improve public safety. However, public opinion is increasingly divided. While some welcome the benefits, many are concerned about the potential downsides – chief among them, the fear of a “Big Brother” society where constant online surveillance undermines privacy, a reality already observed in some parts of the world, like China.

HostingAdvice carried out a survey of 3,000 respondents to take the pulse of the nation when it comes to the introduction of truly connected smart cities. The survey revealed that Los Angeleans are most in favor of converting theirs into a smart city. And who can blame them? By using AI algorithms, smart transportation systems can dynamically adjust traffic signals and manage and predict traffic patterns to address the city’s notorious bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

Residents of New York City followed in second place in the survey, which again is understandable, given that city’s heavy traffic, which commuters who travel via the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway would attest to.

The top 5 cities whose residents are most enthusiastic to become fully integrated smart cities:
1.     Los Angeles
2.     New York City
3.     Buffalo
4.     Dallas
5.     Jacksonville

When it comes to Colorado cities, 3 emerged as supportive of smart technology and would broadly embrace it. These were: Denver, Fort Collins, and Aurora.

However, residents of Colorado Springs and Lakewood were skeptical of embracing smart city technology and would vote to reject it.

Infographic showing survey results

HostingAdvice asked respondents who were supportive of smart-city technology which aspects of it most appeals to them. Thirty-two percent cited more efficient infrastructure and transportation – improving rush hour traffic congestion appears to be the biggest draw. The second most popular factor is the improved environmental sustainability that can be brought about by smart technology. This comes as no surprise after another blistering summer across the country – fighting climate change has become increasingly important to many people. Twenty-four percent identified increased public safety as the most desired benefit, followed by better online connectivity (14%).

However, as much as there is a willingness by some to embrace smart technology in their public spaces, a significant proportion of respondents are against it. HostingAdvice quizzed respondents on their primary concerns. The biggest concern (24%) is a potential loss of privacy due to increased surveillance. Many worry that smart cities in Colorado may lead to environments, such as Chongqing in China, a city of 30 million people, that is reported to have one of the highest concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world, with around 2.6 million cameras installed throughout the city. Critics argue that Chongqing’s vast surveillance network, including millions of cameras with facial recognition technology, represents a significant invasion of personal privacy. This technology allows the government to track individuals’ movements and activities in real time, raising fears about constant monitoring and lack of personal freedom.

Another concern includes data security, hacking risks, and unwanted government control or interference (28%). Lastly, 10% of respondents said they worry about a lack of transparency about how their data is used. Indeed, when HostingAdvice asked Coloradans their opinions on the likelihood that smart cities could lead to a “Big Brother” society, over half (52%) said that scenario was ‘very likely’ or ‘’likely’.

When respondents were asked whether they feel comfortable living in a city where online surveillance is used to enhance public safety, 57% said they were in favor. In fact, over two-thirds (70%) said they believe the benefits of smart cities outweigh the potential risks to privacy. 

Finally, respondents were asked what they believe are the biggest challenges to implementing smart cities:

Cost of infrastructure development (32%)
Public opposition due to privacy concerns (19%)
Cybersecurity threats (18%)
Technological limitations (16%)
Government regulations (15%) 

“While the advantages of smart innovations are undeniable, it’s important we acknowledge residents’ concerns over privacy and how their data is handled. A truly smart city isn’t just about the tech – it’s about building trust and ensuring that these advancements genuinely improve the quality of life for everyone,” says Christina Lewis of HostingAdvice.

Janssen/Menten Proved Right – Lakewood Illegally Over-taxed

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

In 2023, then-Council Member Mary Janssen and resident Natalie Menten brought to light that Lakewood’s City Charter had a revenue cap to protect residents from rapid property tax increases. Most of city leadership said Janssen and Menten were totally wrong and besides, leadership said, Lakewood needed the money. However, it turns out Janssen and Menten were not wrong, and Lakewood is now adjusting the 2025 mill levy to comply with the City Charter. There will still be a property tax increase for residents, but only half of the previously proposed increase. Lakewood did not explicitly state the reason for the change because residents can sue if the city of Lakewood was found to be over-collecting taxes. Instead, staff only referenced a “complex legal issue.”

Per the new slide presented October 21 (below), the original mill levy would have resulted in $1,561,000 more taxes than 2024 ($872k + $ 689k).

Recommendation: 2025 Budget: Mill levy 4.496 mills. Estimated to be $872k higher than 2024 estimated property tax. This will be $689 lower than the proposed budget. General Fund backfill for this change $689k
Slide from October 21, 2024 budget presentation showing new mill levy recommendation

The Budget Book advertised this was a 6.2% increase over the 2024 REVISED BUDGET. However, the revised budget is over $1,000,000 more than the original 2024 budget. The mill levy to collect property taxes was set in the original budget.

In reality, the original 2024 budget to 2025 budget numbers show a 13.5% increase.

Lakewood has been collecting almost double the amount of property taxes allowed by City Charter section 12.12.

No one has said that Mary Janssen or Natalie Menten was correct in their original interpretation of the City Charter, as presented to the Lakewood leadership on October 23, 2023.

No one even said this change was because of the City Charter provision. Instead, there was only a vague sentence explaining that “a complex legal issue has been identified.”

This was a tacit, belated, admission that Mary Janssen and Natalie Menten were right. The city had to lower their mill levy or risk getting sued by the residents for illegally over-collecting property taxes.

For three public meetings on the budget, the mill levy recommendation was an increase to 4.711 mills (about $22 per tax bill). On Monday, October 21, 2024, during the fourth and final budget meeting, city staff recommended increasing the mill levy to only 4.496 mills (about $11 per tax bill).

KEY TAKEAWAYS The mill levy is a property tax applied based on the assessed value of the property. The rate of the tax is expressed in mills - one mill is equal to one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax is applied by local governments and other jurisdictions to raise revenue to cover its budget and to pay for public services such as schools.
Explanation of mill levy from investopedia.com

Lakewood could only increase the mill levy by about half the amount they wanted because according to the City Charter they can only collect 7% more in revenue than the previous year, not 13.5% as originally proposed. With this change, Lakewood will only collect about half the amount of property taxes in 2025 as originally proposed.

Another tacit admission that something was wrong involved the lack of conversation surrounding this issue. Not one Council Member questioned why this lower levy was necessary, even though every Councilor – besides Councilor Olver – has advocated for more spending and higher taxes. The lack of opposition or even discussion was highly unusual and points to legal implications that Council may have been privately briefed on the issue. The entire mill levy reduction discussion and vote took less than one minute (41:49 min mark to 42:42 min mark).

Councilor Olver pointed out this was still a property tax increase for Lakewood residents. However, some Councilors disagreed, including Councilors Low and Rein who called the change a tax decrease. Nevertheless, Olver did the math for 2025 from 2024 and stated, “I have to point out that 4.5 is greater than 4.2. That’s my math and I’m sticking to it.“

Janssen/Menten Proved Right – Lakewood Illegally Over-taxed

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

In 2023, then-Council Member Mary Janssen and resident Natalie Menten brought to light that Lakewood’s City Charter had a revenue cap to protect residents from rapid property tax increases. Most of city leadership said Janssen and Menten were totally wrong and besides, leadership said, Lakewood needed the money. However, it turns out Janssen and Menten were not wrong, and Lakewood is now adjusting the 2025 mill levy to comply with the City Charter. There will still be a property tax increase for residents, but only half of the previously proposed increase. Lakewood did not explicitly state the reason for the change because residents can sue if the city of Lakewood was found to be over-collecting taxes. Instead, staff only referenced a “complex legal issue.”

Per the new slide presented October 21 (below), the original mill levy would have resulted in $1,561,000 more taxes than 2024 ($872k + $ 689k).

Recommendation: 2025 Budget: Mill levy 4.496 mills. Estimated to be $872k higher than 2024 estimated property tax. This will be $689 lower than the proposed budget. General Fund backfill for this change $689k
Slide from October 21, 2024 budget presentation showing new mill levy recommendation

The Budget Book advertised this was a 6.2% increase over the 2024 REVISED BUDGET. However, the revised budget is over $1,000,000 more than the original 2024 budget. The mill levy to collect property taxes was set in the original budget.

In reality, the original 2024 budget to 2025 budget numbers show a 13.5% increase.

Lakewood has been collecting almost double the amount of property taxes allowed by City Charter section 12.12.

No one has said that Mary Janssen or Natalie Menten was correct in their original interpretation of the City Charter, as presented to the Lakewood leadership on October 23, 2023.

No one even said this change was because of the City Charter provision. Instead, there was only a vague sentence explaining that “a complex legal issue has been identified.”

This was a tacit, belated, admission that Mary Janssen and Natalie Menten were right. The city had to lower their mill levy or risk getting sued by the residents for illegally over-collecting property taxes.

For three public meetings on the budget, the mill levy recommendation was an increase to 4.711 mills (about $22 per tax bill). On Monday, October 21, 2024, during the fourth and final budget meeting, city staff recommended increasing the mill levy to only 4.496 mills (about $11 per tax bill).

KEY TAKEAWAYS The mill levy is a property tax applied based on the assessed value of the property. The rate of the tax is expressed in mills - one mill is equal to one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax is applied by local governments and other jurisdictions to raise revenue to cover its budget and to pay for public services such as schools.
Explanation of mill levy from investopedia.com

Lakewood could only increase the mill levy by about half the amount they wanted because according to the City Charter they can only collect 7% more in revenue than the previous year, not 13.5% as originally proposed. With this change, Lakewood will only collect about half the amount of property taxes in 2025 as originally proposed.

Another tacit admission that something was wrong involved the lack of conversation surrounding this issue. Not one Council Member questioned why this lower levy was necessary, even though every Councilor – besides Councilor Olver – has advocated for more spending and higher taxes. The lack of opposition or even discussion was highly unusual and points to legal implications that Council may have been privately briefed on the issue. The entire mill levy reduction discussion and vote took less than one minute (41:49 min mark to 42:42 min mark).

Councilor Olver pointed out this was still a property tax increase for Lakewood residents. However, some Councilors disagreed, including Councilors Low and Rein who called the change a tax decrease. Nevertheless, Olver did the math for 2025 from 2024 and stated, “I have to point out that 4.5 is greater than 4.2. That’s my math and I’m sticking to it.“

Ward 4 Report with Police Chief and Venezuelan Gang Activity

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Guest post from Joan from Lakewood

On Wednesday, October 14, Ward 4 residents met with City Councilmen David Rein and Rich Olver in the fellowship hall of the Lutheran Church of the Master at Alameda Parkway and Jewel Street. This meeting was to have Lakewood Police Chief Philip Smith address some of the concerns that have been expressed at a previous meeting about shoplifting and auto property crimes.

Police Chief Philip Smith gave some personal background. He has been in law enforcement for 41 years, serving in both north Boston and Roswell, New Mexico. He stated that he had a PhD. (His PhD is in Global Leadership with a concentration in Organizational Leadership). His dissertation was Bahamian Police Leadership and Organizational Culture Through a Transformational Leadership Lens. Chief Smith’s expertise lies in Transformational Leadership Theory, Organizational Leadership, and Organizational Culture. He received the degree from the Indiana Institute of Technology (confirmed by John Romero
Public Information Officer Lakewood Police Department) and is confident in his leadership and staff. He expressed how many service calls that the police handle and how often the police service is not recognized because the citizens in general do not interact with the police on a day to day basis. He noted he is putting more police presence out into the community which has lead to a decrease in crime (I can attest that I personally witnessed this as often during the day I note a police car parked in the parking lot between the Walgreens and the Key Bank on the NE corner of Wadsworth and Alameda)

Police Chief Smith then gave a narrative of the incident that happened near the Home Depot parking lot near Alameda and Pierce on 10/14/24 at approximately 1:15 pm. There were shots fired and one man was shot in the finger. Chief Smith also confirmed that one of the people involved was a Venezuelan gang member with tattoos and clothes identifying him as such. The shooter was arrested and taken into custody.

Chief Smith went on to say that only .007% of Denver’s migrants were of Venezuelan origin but were responsible for 30-40% of the crime.

Chief Smith stated that most of the service calls were in the northern and eastern boundary regions of Lakewood and a large number were domestic violence calls.

At this point Chief Smith’s main message became “Don’t tolerate the Crime. Call Us.” Which led to an interesting discussion about the 911 dispatch system. This system seems to be overwhelmed from time to time and calls are being “lost.” If this is happening Police Chief Smith needs to know.

Police Chief Smith shared some of his vision for the future including the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones to help make the department more efficient. He talked of a pilot program called Draft One which is connected to the body cameras and makes a hard copy report from the tapes. Hopefully this will reduce the paperwork that agents do by 66%. The drone program is still in the planning stages but his hope is to have a drone do a first response assessment allowing the police on the way to a call to see what is needed. This should minimize some of the over-response in some situations.

Lastly, he addressed some of the problems with the camping restrictions and the window washing vendors in the streets of Lakewood. He stated that recently the ban for camping had been toughened from 72 hours to remain in the same spot to 48 hours. He also stated that the city attorneys are concerned about ACLU lawsuits with removing the window washers.

On the whole Police Chief did a nice presentation although there was a question regarding UCR vs NIBRS and how that was affecting the crime rates and officers (Frankly this was a bit over my head) that was left unaddressed.

Thank you Councilmen Olver and Rein for keeping your promise to bring the Police Chief to a public forum.

$466,000 for Weather Sheltering

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Lakewood has budgeted an ongoing $466,000 for Severe Weather Sheltering. This is a separate initiative from the Navigation Center but for now, the Severe Weather Shelter operates out of the Navigation Center. Once remodeled, the Navigation Center will have full-time sheltering capabilities. The Severe Weather Shelter is only for times when the temperature reaches below 32 degrees. In Colorado, there are about 153 days a year below 32. Lakewood leadership has not yet reached a consensus on sheltering options for the very hot days, but that discussion is happening. These are two separate discussions, weather sheltering and everyday sheltering, to serve different needs for the homeless population. The result is more homeless sheltering options and an increased budget. Money will come from the city General Fund. A decision on where to have a permanent Severe Weather Shelter has not yet been disclosed.

Lakewood has also set aside $300,000 from the Economic Development Fund to donate to unhoused non-profits, as well as $9.5 million to buy property for potential homeless initiatives.

Graph from BestPlaces.net showing approximately 153 days below 32 degrees

Resident Fights Against the City Machine – TABOR

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Lakewood resident Wendy Purcell has formed an issue committee to fight against Lakewood’s ballot initiative 2A to keep your TABOR refunds. This is a David vs Goliath story. What makes someone step up when the entire city government is against her? Lakewood Informer asked her.

*Updated with links to previous articles below

What made you decide to start an issue committee against the city’s TABOR initiative?

We are so lucky to have Natalie Menten as our TABOR watchdog all these years in Colorado. I am a handful of concerned citizens that want to keep TABOR refunds for Lakewood residents. Thanks go to Mary Janssen & Lynnda Gies to help get the word out about the city of Lakewood’s TABOR constant requests to take our refunds away forever.

Do you think you can compete with the big money the establishment has raised? Stevinson gave $10,000 and the majority of City Council has contributed.

Yes we can


Why do you think Lakewood can survive without your TABOR refund money? Every department is making statements about how dire things will be if they don’t get more money. Are they believable?


No. The city needs a balanced budget to expand the city as quickly as possible without any pushback from the residents the city depends on.
The city is lobbying through through taxpayer-funded communication agents and established facebook channels.

How does an everyday resident like you get your message out?

We had a few posts on a some websites. Lynnda Gies & I canvassed the intersection of Alameda & Garrison on 10/20/2024 & got a positive response from the drivers for voting NO on Lakewood 2A.

Lakewood Facebood ad to retain TABOR funds

Further Reading:

City Uses Budget Presentation to Push TABOR Retention

TABOR Will Be on the Lakewood Ballot

City Seeks to De-Tabor but Over Collects Property Tax

Give us your TABOR refunds, says Lakewood

Lakewood Lobbies for Your TABOR Refund

Lakewood and Jeffco To Spend Money To Keep Your TABOR funds

Lakewood Budget Board Recommends Keeping Future TABOR Refunds

Wadsworth Building Update

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Cross-post from Lakewood.org

Lakewood-Wadsworth Station apartment building

October 2024 update
Canyon Partners Real Estate and DeBartolo Development have formed a partnership to acquire and complete the apartment complex at 1221 and 1225 Wadsworth Blvd. Once the acquisition process is completed, the partnership is expected to restart construction of the project in 2025.

The new partnership has no ties to the original borrower or developer and is bringing fresh capital and a new team to the project including a locally based general contractor.

In early 2024, construction of the property was paused as the then-developer encountered financial-related challenges. The project was not halted by the City of Lakewood, and the project is not out of compliance with its permit at this time.

Read more…

Professional Women’s Hockey League Champion Returns to Hometown Lakewood

Written by Lakewood News from Karen on .

Press Release

Nicole Hensley, the accomplished goalie for the Minnesota Frost and Team USA, will be bringing the Walter Cup back to Lakewood this week.

Hensley played 4 years at Green Mountain High School and calls Lakewood her hometown.  

Edge Ice Arena is hosting a meet and greet with Nicole and local female hockey players at on Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. Her remarkable hockey resume is inspiring, and we would love for you to share her story and showcase her achievements. This event is a great chance to highlight both Nicole’s greatness and the local hockey community. 

Highlights from Team USA website

  • Represented the U.S. in two Olympic Winter Games (gold-2018, silver-2022)
  • As a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, has earned a spot on six International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship teams (gold- 2016, 2017, 2023; silver- 2021, 2022, 2024), as well as two Four Nations Cups (1st-2016, 2017)
  • Additionally, was a two-time member of the U.S. Under-22 Women’s Select Team (2014, 2015)
  • Has represented the U.S. in various other international events, including the 2023-24 Rivalry Series, 2022-23 Rivalry Series, 2021 My Why Tour, presented by Toyota, 2019-20 Rivalry Series and The Time Is Now Tour, presented by Toyota (2017)
  • Earned numerous accolades during her time at Lindenwood University, including winning the Presidential NCAA Award (maintained one of the highest GPAs among NCAA athletes, nominated by head coach)
  • Won a high school state championship in 2012

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