City Launches Sustainability Initiative Web Site

The City of Golden today launched its new Golden Sustainability Initiative web site.

Jacob Smith Announces Bid for Golden Mayor

March 29, 2007

Dear Neighbor,

Today I am excited to officially announce my candidacy for a four-year term as Golden’s Mayor.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you through my work with the Historic Preservation Board, as a City Councilor, and as a neighbor.  I’m looking forward to sharing my vision for Golden with you as a candidate for Mayor.

Ensuring a strong economy while protecting our small town and historic character is and will continue to be a top priority for me.  Growth will happen, and our biggest challenge is to chart our own course rather than simply letting that growth happen to us.

During my time on City Council, I’ve been a leader in the fight for responsible transportation solutions and keeping the superhighway out of Golden.

Delivering concrete results is important to me.  I helped secure $430,000 in federal funding to construct a bike and pedestrian path that will connect the southern part of Golden with the rest of the community.  I have also supported neighborhood planning, televised city council meetings, formally recognizing important historic buildings, and creating an historic preservation fund for the city.

Providing leadership is also important.  Building on my successful efforts to improve energy efficiency in the city, I also launched the Golden Sustainability Initiative that has become a thriving community initiative with more than 200 participants at its February community forum and more than 80 active working group members.  The Golden Sustainability Initiative is especially exciting to me because it is a genuine community initiative about the future of our city.

My Campaign Committee is comprised of small business owners, professionals, retired folks, and others, and includes citizens from every ward in Golden.  I invite you to join them in endorsing my bid for Mayor.  To add your name to my list of supporters or to find out more about my vision for Golden, please contact me at jacobzsmith@gmail.com.

I look forward to keeping you updated on my work representing you on our city council and on the key issues facing our community, and I look forward to the many important conversations about the future of Golden.

Sincerely,

Jacob Smith

Smith for Golden
Leadership.  Results.

Smith For Golden Campaign Committee:  Povy Kendal Atchison and Lloyd Athearn, Tom and Alice Atkins, Frederick and Annette Barta, Casey and Gina Brown, Wanda and Elliot Brown, Saoirse Charis-Graves, Preston Driggers, Jeff Goldenloo, Carole Hickam, Roger Mattson, Sean McVay, Leslie and Josh Pollock, Fred and Karen Setzer, Vera Smith, Dave Wann

Committee Vote on Bill to Protect Schools From Air Pollution

Representative Gwyn Green’s bill to help protect school children from harmful air pollution caused by highway traffic is scheduled for a vote in the House Education Committee Monday afternoon. House Bill 1293 would require school boards to consult with the state health department on health risks for new school sites before building new schools new highways and roads and would require CDOT to also consult the health department before building new roads near schools. A recent study in California found that children attending schools near highways are at higher risk of developing asthma or other serious health conditions. The playground at Mitchell Elementary is a short 84 feet from Highway 93. If CDOT’s vision of a six- or eight-lane superhighway through Golden were ever to become a reality that distance could become even shorter. You’ll find more info at the Mothers for Clean Air web site, including a list of legislators on the committee. If you have a moment you might call them Monday morning and express your opinion before their vote. You’ll find a fresh news story on the News 2 web site.

Sustainability Community Working Groups Kick Off

More than 60 people showed up for Wednesday night’s Community Working Group meetings for the Golden Sustainability Initiative.  We watched a video about some of the cool things happening in Salt Lake City, talked as a large group for a bit about the working groups and the process, and then broke up into the seven individual working groups:  renewable energy/energy efficiency, water, green building, transportation, economic health, recycling/waste reduction, and education/communication.  I am really impressed and pleased that so many folks are willing to commit some effort to make our Sustainability Initiative happen.  The community working groups have about six weeks to complete a first draft with recommendations about the proposed goals and a recommended action plan.  The working groups will finish their efforts by mid-summer or so, which should give city council enough time to consider the recommendations and make decisions before we start the 2008 budget process.

The Pothole Hotline and Pothole Contest Return

It’s spring, which means it’s time for this year’s Pothole Hotline Contest.  The 2007 program kicks off on March 22nd, and for five weeks will award a prize each week to the City of Golden resident that reports the biggest pothole.  It’s a light-hearted way to draw attention to a serious problem, and the hotline helps our Public Works Department find all of the potholes in need of repair.  The largest pothole I remember from last year was 24” x 30”, but with all the storms and freeze-thaw we’ve had I suspect there are some larger ones out there just waiting to be reported.  The Public Works folks’ goal is to patch the pothole within 48 hours of being reported (so long as the weather cooperates).  To report a pothole, call 303-215-8882 x2901.

Sustainability Initiative Working Groups Meet Wednesday

The first meeting of all the Golden Sustainability Initiative Community Working Groups is this Wednesday evening (March 21) from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Golden Community Center, 1470 10th St.  If you signed up for one or more of the working groups, you should have already received details about the meeting.  If you haven’t, and you want to volunteer on one, contact Mark Heller ASAP (mark@gura.com).

We have one community working group for each of the six proposed goals (on renewable energy/energy efficiency, water, transportation, economic opportunities, recycling, and green building) and one on education.  The working groups will carefully evaluate the proposed goals for that specific area and make recommendations to council about how to adjust them, if at all, and about what the city and community action plans should look like.  After the community working groups have finished their work and made their recommendations, city council will formally adopt goals and some sort of action plan for the remainder of 2007 and for next year (before we begin the 2008 budgeting process).

Also, in case you didn’t see it, the Golden Transcript ran my guest editorial on the Golden Sustainability Initiative in this week’s issue.  I don’t see it up on the web site yet, but as soon as I do I’ll post the URL.

See you on Wednesday evening!

Opening on the Planning Commission

We have a vacancy on the Planning Commission and I’d encourage anyone interested in having a major hand in shaping land use decisions in Golden to consider applying.  Folks on the Planning Commission work hard, typically meeting twice a month (the first and third Wednesday) and digging through sometimes extensive documents on proposed land use projects.  The city’s web site has more information about the Planning Commission.

Applications are available through the City Clerk (911 10th St., 303-384-8014) or on the city’s web site [pdf].  The Informer indicates that they are due by 5 p.m. on Thursday (but it has the wrong date, so it’s possible they are actually due Wednesday).  You must be a resident of the City of Golden in order to apply, and the term runs through January 2008.  For more information call 303-384-8097.

Highway 58 Bridge: Construction Schedule

Just in case you were wondering, here is the latest news on the construction schedule for the new Washington St. bridge over Highway 58:

CDOT is currently doing design and expects to finish by late summer.  They expect to go to bid in the fall, begin construction late this year, and complete the new bridge by late summer or early fall 2008.

CINQ and JeffCo Commissioner Kevin McCaskey on KOA

Rob Medina, CINQ’s president, will face off against Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCaskey on the Mike Rosen show on Wednesday morning (February 7) on the proposal to build a high-speed superhighway through Golden.  Tune in (850 AM) at 10:00 a.m. and call in with your questions (303-713-8585).

Honoring Golden’s War Heroes

Rick Gardner has been dutifully tracking down and sharing the stories of Golden’s own who have died defending the United States in conflicts as far back as World War I. It’s an important project and I appreciate his taking the time to do it. Here are some links you might find worthwhile:

The Colorado Freedom Memorial.

A list of all Golden’s known wartime casualties.

Profiles of three Great War casualties, and profiles of three others from the same conflict.

A profile of our sailor lost at Pearl Harbor.

Profiles of our five World War II casualties.

Rick’s plan, after finishing the rest of the profiles, is to create a permanent memorial website for them at goldenlandmarks.com.