Get a Glass of Water Before Reading This see page 7
Sobesky Academy Coming to Wheat Ridge
Spotlight on West 44th Avenue see page 8
Gazette see page 4
NEIGHBORHOOD
Wheat Ridge | Edgewater | JANUARY 19-FEBRUARY 15, 2016
‘Cre8 Your 38’ Expands To Accommodate Crowds
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ore than 300 people showed up to the City of Wheat Ridge’s first meeting in a new community engagement process to develop a streetscape design for 38th Avenue on Jan. 14. Because the crowd exceeded the room’s capacity, a second design open house will be held Thursday, Jan. 21, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, for those unable to participate in the first meeting. Participants will receive the full presentation and time to create models of 38th Avenue. Each table will present their design and all participants will be able to vote on the designs. “Latecomers were turned away at the door, baby carriers in hand notwithstanding,” said Zach Urban, District II councilman. “The fire marshall's set room capacity for the ballroom may well have been exceeded. The voting system was only able to handle a fraction of the attendees resulting in two rounds of voting to allow sharing of the clickers used to tally votes” on the 25 designs generated at the meeting. Urban estimated the crowd at about 300. “This does not account for the throngs that were circling the parking lot and those who inevitably turned around due to the traffic jam.” “The tenor of the room was rambunctious to start with a civil murmur throughout the two-and-half-hour meeting,” said Urban. At the next meeting, babysitting will be available free of charge for children ages 6 months through 10 years whose parents/ guardians are participating. “Cre8 Your 38” was designed to give residents and business owners the opportunity to discuss design elements, create models of what 38th Avenue could look like, and develop a shared vision for the streetscape of 38th Avenue. At the end of the process, the city will have a communitydeveloped streetscape design that includes enough detail to ensure that the plan is
accurately priced and can be used to create a plan to move forward. Design elements were considered in the first meetings: sidewalks; street furnishings; lighting; traffic; parking; signage and wayfinding; and modes of travel – walking, biking and driving. The top ideas from the January meetings will be reviewed and narrowed down at the second and third meetings, held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center on Feb. 11 and March 10. The goal is to have a majority of participants reach consensus by the end of the third meeting. “The top-ranked concepts will be more formally designed by the design team for presentation to the community during the Feb. 11 Cre8 Your 38 event,” explained Maureen Harper, Wheat Ridge Public Information Officer. “Participants at the February meeting will review these concepts and help narrow them down. The goal is to have a majority of participants reach consensus by the end of the final Cre8 Your 38 event on March 10.” While city staff encourages in-person participation, an online survey will be available after Jan. 21 for those who did not participate in either the January or February events. The surveys will ask for full name and address and a review of design values and elements to help ensure fairness. After the surveys are complete, all designs and the vote totals will be displayed on the city’s website. All meetings are open to the public and the city encourages active participation from residents, business owners and all community members. For more information, contact Public Outreach Coordinator Kristin Cypher at kristin@cplusbdesign.com, or follow the project on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ createyour38, or visit the project website at www.ci.wheatridge.co.us.
“CRE8 YOUR 38” FORUMS WERE DESIGNED TO GIVE WHEAT RIDGE residents and business owners the opportunity to discuss design elements, create models of what 38th Avenue could look like, and develop a shared vision for its streetscape.
MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE FIRST “CRE8 YOUR 38” OPEN HOUSE on Jan. 14 at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, prompting City of Wheat Ridge planners to add a second event and online surveys for those who couldn’t attend. Public input will be used to create a streetscape for 38th Avenue.
Sunshine Home Share Creates Solutions By Silvana Vukadin-Hoitt
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lison Joucovsky is a licensed professional counselor who has been working with seniors in Denver for over two decades. Her expertise in the senior resource provider sector has given her a unique vantage point to spot trends and needs in this distinct community. One trend that stands out is the escalating lack of housing in the Denver area. As the city is currently experiencing a growth spurt, with an influx of thousands of people coming in from all parts of the country every month, the situation has gotten dire for many residents. Though construction is seemingly everywhere, it is reportedly very difficult to qualify for reasonably priced housing. It is also a problem that is affecting young and old alike. Joucovsky, a veteran senior care advocate, has made it her mission to alleviate some of the pressure on potential renters by resourcing her links to the senior community. “This is a problem that can’t wait for two years while affordable housing is being built for 500 people when we need affordable housing for 5,000 people,” she said. She began searching for solutions that could be tapped into immediately. “You see, from my experience in serving the geriatric community for 24 years, I know that there are plenty of individuals 55 and older who are homeowners,” she said. “They no longer have children or spouses in the house and they live alone. We see the baby boomers, now in their late 60s or early 70s, who have extra bedrooms and extra space they don't use.” Here Joucovsky pauses for dramatic effect. “This is exactly where I see a viable solution,” she continued: Home sharing, a nationwide program created to identify senior homeowners who live alone with vacant space they could rent out. The upside is clear. Home Sharing generates extra
income for homeowners while allowing potential renters a chance at affordable housing a decent and safe environment. Currently 64 home share programs exist across the United States. After concluding that she was on to something that would benefit her senior community, Joucovsky, who currently directs Colorado Senior Connections in the Edgewater/Wheat Ridge community, started working on her master plan. Joucovsky created Sunshine Home Share Colorado and recently applied for nonprofit status. The business model was developed using best practices research published by the National Housing Resource Center, two local focus groups and many interviews with similar programs across the country. The Best Practices Manual is now the guideline for Sunshine Home Share Colorado. To make it work, she says, extreme attention must be paid to the vetting process, which will assure that “safe and thoughtful matches are made,” accommodating both homeowners and renters. To support that process, SHSC is currently creating a database, compiling information from established community services in place that serve the needs of seniors. To develop the database further, Joucovsky is giving prime importance to creating an outreach program for community-focused awareness. That program will familiarize neighbors, friends, family and clergy on how to detect if and when seniors are isolated, needing a little extra help or even needing to be connected to services and programs. Using the gatekeeper model created by local area pastor as her inspiration, Joucovsky hopes to create a network that grows organically from neighbors interacting with senior homeowners. This would be a cornerstone program for the organization, with the goal of facilitating a Continued on page 2