First Friday: May 2019

First Friday: May 20194 min read

Hello, neighbors! Spring has really sprung throughout the neighborhood, and I am loving the sight of the lush green lawns and flowering trees. (Except the tree in my front yard, which inexplicably is still bare?!) I was thrilled to kick off this beautiful day co-hosting May’s First Friday with Trustee Sandie Hammerly. As First Fridays are casual in nature, and we often break into simultaneous discussions of different topics on the two sides of the table, it’s tough for me to fully recap the discussion. However, I hope it is still useful for me to give a short rundown of the topics I heard, which can help provide a pulse of the town.

Topics discussed at May’s First Friday include:

  • Town Center Access: Several residents expressed concerns with the current limited access to Town Center, via McCaslin; we discussed potential ways to open more roads to Rock Creek (Coal Creek Drive, Promenade Drive) and Louisville (Campus Drive bridge over 36). No decisions have yet been made on this, though some options have been discussed by previous Boards.
  • Per Capita Services: A resident asked about our population growth and how our services / amenities can keep up. For example, will an additional two sheriffs be enough, or do we need more?
  • 88th Street Construction: 88th Street traffic flow has been impeded by temporary work on the Weldona permanent closure, utility work under the street, and construction vehicles entering / exiting the development at Lanterns Lane. A resident expressed concerns about emergency vehicle access, particularly with that being the main way for Superior residents to access Avista Hospital. One resident said he has been clocking the time to get to Avista being five minutes longer than usual – which could be problematic in an emergency.
  • Rock Creek Parkway and Coal Creek Drive Intersection: A resident asked about the 2019 budget line item for a traffic light at this intersection, and whether the work was planned to start soon. Although the work was budgeted for 2019, there has been some talk about whether this should be a traffic light or a traffic circle (or something else); a decision on this will still need to be made by the Board.
  • Riverbend Engagement Survey: At our last Board meeting, we discussed the engagement process for a potential park at Riverbend. A resident at First Friday talked about wanting a standard process for conducting resident surveys, that would remain consistent no matter what the topic, and provide a data rich view of the demographic segments / trends that prefer different options. Another resident suggested that we ought to be looking to the Comprehensive Plan to guide us in these decisions; this aligned with our discussion at the Board Retreat to potentially update the Comprehensive Plan.
  • Fire Department Agreement: One of the best parts about First Friday is the ability for residents to engage in dialogue and ask questions in a back-and-forth manner. At our Board Retreat, we discussed a potential agreement with Rocky Mountain Fire Department; a resident took advantage of the First Friday forum to ask questions and better understand the opinions of Trustees on this.
  • Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA): A few residents had a sidebar on RMMA, which I unfortunately didn’t hear. However, another resident reminded us that Airport Director Anslow is tentatively on the agenda for our May 13 Town Board Meeting. From a broader aviation perspective, she also drew our attention to the FAA’s community engagement process for the Denver Metroplex Project. (To be clear: the FAA community engagement process is about Denver International Airport’s flight patterns, not Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport’s.)
  • Green Space in Downtown Superior: A resident mentioned hearing that the Mayor was asking for feedback on the concept plans presented in the April 8 Board Meeting, and specifically the options for public green space in the Town Center. You can review the plans linked in my recap and send your feedback to mattm@superiorcolorado.gov.

Hope to see you at next month’s First Friday! In the meantime, our next Town Board Meeting is Monday May 13thIf you have thoughts on these or other topics, I would encourage you to attend the Meeting at Town Hall and speak up in public comment, or email the full Board at townboard@superiorcolorado.gov.

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