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Week of May 19, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LittletonIndependent.net
VOLUME 133 | ISSUE 43
Geneva Village residents not resting easy yet Low-income seniors say they have few options as city ponders site’s future BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Low-income seniors living in Littleton’s Geneva Village, a cityowned, age-restricted housing
complex, say they are left with few options if a council decision forces them to move. Colorado Community Media met with 12 of the 20 residents living in Geneva Village following an April 26 city council meeting where proposals to sell or renovate the property were discussed with staff. Residents have worried what might become of their homes since fall 2019, when notices taped to ten-
ant’s doors informed them that the city would stop filling vacancies in the complex “pending further decisions.” Though the property remains business as usual, according to city staff, residents said they fear being displaced by a sale or renovation in years to come. “It’s scary because you don’t know if you’re going to have a place to live or not,” said Mary Hanson, 72, who has lived in Geneva for three years.
Clothing boutique continues to grow Rooted Boutique opened by best friends BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Longtime business partners and first-time mothers Sara Mancuso and Tayler Streeter are taking multitasking to a new level in 2022, but it’s all part of the plan. Owners of White Oak and Rooted, a clothing boutique in Littleton, both women had babies within the last year and are leaning on one another more than ever. “It’s so nice to have each other,” Mancuso said. Mancuso and Streeter met while employed at a bridal store two years before going into business together. That’s where they developed a strong working relationship, Streeter said. The co-workers and best friends opened a shop, then called Rooted Boutique, on Alamo Avenue in 2016 with the aim of providing reasonably priced casualwear for women. They added clothing and accessories for special occasions — think prom, pageants and weddings — later in that first year of business SEE BUSINESS, P12
Other housing options may come with higher costs All 12 residents said they live on a fixed income, either from social security or pensions. City staff estimates Geneva’s 20 residents pay an average monthly rent of $375, though some pay more than $400 depending on the unit. The average rent in Littleton for a one-bedroom apartment ranges SEE VILLAGE, P8
Sewage treatment plant in Englewood receives millions South Platte Renew to invest in water infrastructure, research BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Sara Mancuso and Tayler Streeter met in a bridal boutique and now carry dresses for wedding guests, bridesmaids and mothers-of-the-bride in their shop on Main Street COURTESY OF WHITE OAK AND ROOTED in Littleton.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
South Platte Renew in Englewood, Colorado’s third-largest sewage treatment plant, will receive $22 million in federal loan money to pay for infrastructure upgrades, modernization of technology and facilities as well as new research initiatives. The plant, co-owned and operated by the cities of Littleton and Englewood, cleans about 20 million gallons of wastewater per day and services about 300,000 people in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties. It’s also been a crucial front line SEE SEWAGE, P5
THE LURE OF FLY FISHING
South Platte a great spot for anglers P16
