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Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
Wheat Ridge | Edgewater | DECEMBER 20, 2013 – JANUARY 16, 2014
Storm Clouds Ahead for 2015 Wheat Ridge Budget? BY J. PATRICK O’LEARY
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s the City of Wheat Ridge rolls into a new year, its new budget will look about the same as the last, thanks in part to federal grants and transfers of excess funds from reserves. But with reserves leveling off at their council-mandated level and fewer grants, careful consideration and hard decisions may be ahead for the new city council as the 2015 budget planning process begins in March. “It’s a pretty status quo budget,” says Wheat Ridge City Manager Patrick Goff of the 2014 General Fund budget. “We’re projecting minimal increases in revenue (just under 2 percent) and slight decrease in budget (about 1 percent)…” The General Fund accounts for roughly three quarters of the total city budget. The city’s capital investment and eight special revenue funds make up the other quarter. In late October city council adopted the proposed budget, with minor changes, and the final version will be published this month. The business-as-usual budget is good news, but Goff points to current and future funding changes to the city’s Capital Investment Program (CIP) fund as reason for concern. While the expenditures and revenue for the general and most special funds match, CIP has relied heavily on General Fund reserves to pay for projects. City council adopted a General Fund reserve policy in 2011, requiring a minimum 17 percent reserve, says Goff. The city’s general reserve fund was much greater, so the excess funding was being spent to balance the budget. Funding for CIP comes primarily from those reserves. “We didn’t use any reserves to balance the (General Fund) budget, however to pay for capital expenses, we dipped into reserves,” says Goff. About $1.7 million will be transferred to the CIP fund in the 2014 budget, 41 percent of the $4.1 million needed. The balance comes from grants (54 percent, $2.2 million), lodging taxes (5 percent, $200,000) and interest (0.02 percent). “This will only allow us $1.2 million for annual preventative street maintenance… we should be putting in at least $2 million a year… That’s the biggest story of the 2014 budget. We got to the point where we reached the reserve level. This will be the last year we will get to (transfer those funds) to capital projects.” What will get funded this year are Kipling Street pedestrian improvements ($2.8 million, partially funded by grants), courtroom security improvements ($63,000) and Doud Overlook storm water improvements ($25,000). The funding for CIP dropped 60-70 percent from 2013, primarily due to the completion of the $5 million, grant-funded improvements at 32nd and Youngfield. This decrease also skewed the average change for funding for all funds to an overall 12 percent loss. So next year the city council will need to cut General Fund expenditures, find new revenue sources, or increase revenue from
existing sources. That discussion of longterm, sustainable funding will take place at council’s annual retreat, held in March, says Goff. Council could, of course, do nothing. According to Goff’s letter to the mayor and council accompanying the 2014 proposed budget, without additional funding, only $1.6 million over seven years (2016-2022) will be available for preventative street maintenance. Tabor Street improvements related to RTD’s Gold Line can be made, as that $740,000 price tag is funded by grants. “It’s been an ongoing issue, we knew this day was coming,” says Goff. “They (council) know it’s an issue, and know it needs to be addressed…” City council acted to put a sales tax increase to voters this fall, but then-mayor Jerry DiTullio vetoed it, and council declined to attempt an override.
CARRIAGE RIDES & GOOD CHEER WERE ABUNDANT AT THE WHEAT RIDGE HOLIDAY CELEBRATION on Sunday, Dec. 8 on The Green, 38th & Reed. Sponsored by Ridge at 38, the bash brought out 1,200 people for the lighting of a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, Polar Express and refreshments. Despite the bitter cold, about 200 families had their pictures taken with Santa.. PHOTO: BLU IRON PHOTOGRAPHY
A Sport With Heart – Boxing in Wheat Ridge BY CYNDY BEAL
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oxing names and rules change, but the heart of boxing remains the same and beats in Wheat Ridge. In April, the Colorado Golden Gloves Charities (CGGC) Boxing gym moved to Wheat Ridge, and Head Coach Manuel Alvarado and Coach Bernie “Bern-dog” Alvarez began a new chapter as amateur boxing coaches. Their former gym in Westminster, and team name, was Colorado Chin Check. The definition of a “chin check” is to apply one’s fist to another one’s chin in creating a whiplash motion and or knocking them out. Amateur boxing is judged on a 10-point scoring system, more punches equals more points. “We do it more out of our hearts,” said Alvarez of himself and the coaches. Berndog is the name the kids gave him. All six coaches at CGGC are volunteers. Ultimately their boxing program needed more space for the boxers and equipment and CGGC could help. The boxing program is part of CGGC, Inc., part of the Colorado-New Mexico franchise of the nationally recognized Golden Gloves of America Inc. program. CGGC is a nonprofit, charitable organization and is always looking for sponsors. Both Alvarado and Alvarez are Denver natives with decades of boxing and coaching experience. The two have coached and ran boxing programs together for 19 years. Both started boxing in the 1960s. The boxing program is Christian based and includes group prayer – but all faiths and all persons are welcome at the gym. Registration for boxers and coaches is required through USA Boxing, which includes a background check for gym coaches. Boxers must be registered through USA Boxing to compete or to spar in the gym. Currently CGGC has 53 registered boxers. Membership at CGGC is open to anybody, boxers and non-boxers. It’s a family-oriented sport and gym and many
times families join together. “It’s all ages and sizes,” said Alvarado. It’s a sport where somebody can learn lifelong lessons about discipline, respect and sportsmanship, just to name a few. Boxing has been around for thousands of years and the earliest evidence of boxing dates back to Egypt around 3000 BC, according to the official website of the Olympic Games. Men’s boxing made its debut in the 1904 Olympics. Women’s boxing became part of the Olympics in 2012. The first Golden Gloves tournament took place in Chicago in 1923. Now called The Tournament of Champions, it’s an annual national event. In May 2014 it will be in Nevada. Colorado had its regional Golden Gloves Tournament in March.
Both Alvarado and Alvarez see their program as a way to keep kids off the street. Many times the kids bring their homework to the gym and are required to keep a minimum of a C grade average. They hope to start a homework program at the gym in the future. “Boxing is here to stay,” said Alvarado. For more information on the CGGC Boxing Gym at 6161 W. 44th Ave., please contact Coach Manuel 720-260-1658 or Coach Bern-dog 720-862-4912. The Gym is open Monday through Friday 4 p.m. till 8 p.m. For additional information about boxing go to www.goldengloves.com or www. teamusa.org/USA-Boxing. For questions or comments about this article email editor@ngazette.com.
Wheat Ridge Business in 2013: Growth, Grace or Grumbling BY GUY NAHMIACH
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conomists will tell you that confidence in the market is the single most important factor in how well our economy is doing. I can still hear Mr. Ewart, my macro economics teacher, preaching: “If you think the market stinks....well then, it does.” We live in a world where one’s perception becomes one’s reality. When we moved to Wheat Ridge from New York, I just couldn’t get over how beautiful it was here and was convinced that the weather was the best-kept secret in the universe. And yet when I shared my thoughts with my neighbor, she quickly asked me not to tell anyone else about it. Somehow she perceived the concept of more people moving to Wheat Ridge as a detriment to the place she called home. Of course, I told her about the advantages of an increased tax base and access to more resources, but clearly this was not the road
she wanted to share. During our recent election we heard some people remember a time when we attracted visitors who came in by car as a means to raising revenues for our retail establishments. Today’s market is very much based on a walkability factor. The slogan “think global, act local” applies to the way of life many families are seeking. In fact it’s why most of my clients are choosing to move to, or remain in, our humble town of Wheat Ridge. They love to just walk over to the store or bike to a restaurant. High-growth neighborhoods across the country all boast high walkability numbers. Home values in Wheat Ridge have gone up 16 percent. The large lots and midcentury homes are attracting more buyers than ever before. Pocket neighborhoods such as Tech-Row nestled by Founders Continued on page 2