February 13, 2014 Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 9, Issue 38 A publication of
arvadapress.com
Arvada Credit Union opens new doors By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com Arvada staple, Sooper Credit Union, will open the doors to its new branch, Tuesday, Feb. 18. The new branch, a prototype for future Sooper branches, is on the corner of Sheridan Boulevard and 60th Avenue, providing more visibility for the company and its members. “Visibility is key,” said Sooper Credit Union Executive Vice President of Corporate Mike Litzau. “We’ve been here for a while, and you can’t really see us, now, you can.” The building at 5151 W. 60th Ave. has a modern, clean design with an open layout. According to Sooper Credit Union’s President and CEO
Dan Kester the new site will provide a more open layout to help facilitate stronger relationships with the credit union’s members. “We’re building locations that are going to be much more accessible, visible and convenient for them,” Kester said. This move comes as the company is trying to merge its corporate offices together, and move member services, such as withdrawals, deposits, loan applications, and account services, to the new branch. Inside the building, there are six offices that will house account services, two open teller pods where customers will be able to view their information with tellers, an interactive kiosk, a shared branches ATM, and more. “It’s (the new branch) going to
serve our members better,” Litzau said. “We’re trying to remove the block between our member and the teller; we want to build the relationship with the member.” Along with this branch, Kester said they are looking to expand locations later this year with sites near Eldridge Street in Arvada and another in Lakewood. “We seized this opportunity to build a nice accessible, visible and informative branch,” Kester said. “We want to draw more membership, and this busy, visible corner, the key enhancements we made; it’s a cool design, and everybody is going to know where Sooper is.” The branch opens officially, Feb. 18, with a grand opening celebration in mid-March. For more information, visit www.soopercu.org.
An inside glimpse of the new Sooper Credit Union building, 5151 W. 60th Ave. The building will open for service, Feb. 18. Photo by Crystal Anderson
StevenSon reSignS
Supply is in high demand for Real Estate market Home purchases and mortgage rates to rise in 2014 according to experts By Amy Woodward
awoodward@ coloradocommunitymedia.com
Board member Julie Williams speaks to Jeffco Schools superintendent Cindy Stevenson, who announced her resignation Saturday rather than retire later this year. Photo by Crystal Anderson
Lack of trust by new board majority cited Superintendent Cindy Stevenson resigned from Jeffco Schools Saturday amid expressions of dissatisfaction with the direction of the school board. Following the general election in November, Stevenson announced her retirement and had agreed to serve through June — allowing the district time to recruit a new superintendent — before Saturday’s resignation.
“I can’t lead and manage, because I am not trusted or respected by this board of education,” Stevenson said at the start of the meeting. “Consequently, I did approach the board, and said this isn’t working.” Stevenson’s decision came after three months of work with a board that contains three newly elected board members: John Newkirk, Julie
Williams, and Ken Witt, who are credited with sharing conservative perspectives. According to a press release, sent out by the board’s attorney, Stevenson approached the board seeking early termination of her contract. Stevenson said the three do not respect
Resigns continues on Page 5
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Housing market experts seem to be in agreement that real estate is booming and healthy in Colorado. For Jeffco, single family homes averaged 48 days on the market which is a 32 percent decrease from 2012 where single family homes averaged 71 days, according to a market report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. “It’s showing a healthy market, it’s leaning a little bit to the buyer’s side and that’s just a lack of inventory,” Mike Welk, metrolist director of DMAR said. “That lack of inventory is going to be one of the obstacles consumers will face as demand surpasses supply. New listings are down 35 percent which is drastically under where the county is normally at,” Welk said. “When we have an increase in price and a decrease on days on market we’re just getting a competitive situation where supply is not there but the demand is very high which is driving the price up and lowering the days on the market,” he said. “We just need more inventory on the market for it to be more of a balanced market.” Still, buyers are purchasing homes over the asking price and cities like Golden are seeing homes being gobbled up by eager homebuyers. Today, the city of Golden has only six active listings and homes that hit the market can disappear in five days or less but no more than 26 days, according to Golden Real Estate. In the past there were 20 to 30 listings, said Jim Smith, broker and owner of Golden Real Estate. Supply continues on Page 5
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