April 3rd, 2005

This past weekend was awfully pretty, hope you all spent some time outside. It was glorious, even though we lost an hour of sleep !!

Now for the news for Ward IV . . . .

At a meeting with Council, the Planning Commission and NURA on March 3^rd, the developer OPUS/Goldberg Properties was selected for the 120^th and I-25 development area. We're very happy with the selection, as the primary focus of this developer is to work closely with the people of Northglenn to create retail area that is suited to our needs. Look forward to some public meetings as the development progresses. Start thinking about what you’d like to see brought into our city. All ideas will be heard. The Council is committed to building in some public space, meaning perhaps a central amphitheater for small venue gatherings or entertainment.

The Century theater site design will be unveiled in the next week or two. We understand that the theater people are already in discussions with our selected developer as mentioned above so that both projects are in harmony. Just an FYI, the project is projected to cost Century Theaters $15.5 million to build. We purchased the land for $1.131 million last year in preparation for future development, and we will lease it to the theaters for 20 years at $1 / year. That sounds like a deal for them, but we stand to recoup $3.5 million over the next ten years from sales and admission taxes. That's a pretty substantial return on the initial investment. Additionally, NURA will earn all of the property taxes . . .money to use for future projects in other parts of the city. One of the pluses of this deal is that the land will always belong to the city.

I spoke with Mike Sawyer who is the Director of Rangeview Library District last week. I wanted to hear for myself whether or not all options in Northglenn had been explored regarding keeping the library in the city. It looks doubtful at this time. The building on Huron was built in 1969 and is just too small, and we don't have any viable land options for building a new library or any vacant buildings suitable for a move. So, it looks like our library will go to 94^th and Huron in Thornton. Look for a mill levy increase from the Library District on the ballot this fall. We'll have to start thinking about how the old building could be used. Any ideas ?

The sculpture selection committee for the art in the park program has an opening for one citizen from Ward IV. If you're interested, please call Michelle Nierling with the Arts and Humanities Foundation at 303-450-8727 before Thursday, April 7^th. Sorry for the short notice.

I'm going to cut this email short, I have more to say so will send that out later in the week. Once again, share this with neighbors or friends who don't have a computer. Spread the word about “@ Home in Ward IV”.

If you have any questions or just want to discuss an issue, call or email Bill or myself. Our address and phone numbers are on the website.

At your service,

Rosie Garner