SEE ROTARY

of Littleton life including Edwin Bemis — a former editor of the Littleton Independent — past city managers, Littleton Public Schools superintendents and presidents of Arapahoe Community College.

The nonprofi t belongs to the larger international Rotary network, which consists of 1.4 million members whose humanitarian goals include ending Polio worldwide, a cornerstone mission of the nonprofi t.

In Littleton, the 90-member club has been integral in forming major community hallmarks, including the Shots for Tots program through the Tri-County Health Department — which helps provide vaccines for children — and the development of Littleton’s Hudson Gardens and Event Center.

The club usually donates about $75,000 yearly to local nonprofi ts that target food insecurity, homelessness and more — though its fundraising efforts have exceeded that amount in years past. In 2005, Littleton Rotary raised $1 million to help Project CURE, an international supplier of donated medical supplies, build a headquarters in Centennial. In 2020, it raised over $90,000 for Nourish Meals on Wheels, a mobile food bank that lost its original Littleton location and was forced to move.

Other donations include $30,000 for the victims and families of the Columbine High School shooting and an annual $25,000 grant for organizations most impacted by the pandemic. The club also sponsors a yearly clean-up of senior residents’ homes, an event called Hands Across Littleton, and hosts international exchange students.

Attendees during the night’s event said they were drawn to Rotary for its various missions and, above all else, its sense of community.

“It’s really given me a deep seeded sense of commitment to where I live,” said Darlee Whiting, who has been a member of Littleton Rotary since 1995. “The camaraderie, the friendship and purpose. It’s just such a wonderful sense of community.”

Whiting said one of her favorite events has been Hands Across Littleton, which she said makes her and her fellow members feel like “a swarm of bees” when they descend of area residents’ homes to weed, rake, cut and clean.

Sally Parsons, who was Littleton’s fi rst woman mayor in the late 1970s and fi rst woman member of Littleton Rotary, said she has been “very pleased with there openness, the number of women who have been brought in.”

Parsons became a member in 1987, the fi rst year Rotary International allowed women to join after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Parsons said back then “there were of course people who did not feel women should be in certain positions” but knew someone “had to break the ice.”

As the club celebrated its 100-year legacy, it also looked to its future. Anne Rice, the club’s current president, said she is always asking community members why they want to be a part of Rotary. She said she was reminded by something her husband told her: “My favorite quote is ‘What we do in life echoes in eternity.’”

“And that struck me because what Rotary does echoes in eternity,” Rice said. “We live in a very metric-driven society, we cannot measure the impacts of the lives we touch. Not just in this generation but in future generations.”

The Rotary Club of Littleton celebrated its 100-year anniversary during an event in Littleton Nov. 4.

PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN

A return to authentic.

The Schweiger Ranch Austrian Christmas.

Saturday, December 3rd, 11-5 pm.

Welcome all to this free event, celebrating Austrian food and drink, holiday lights, Santa Claus and real reindeer. Inspired by the genuine holiday traditions of the Austrian immigrants who settled Schweiger Ranch. “Frohe Weihnachten!”

10822 S. Havana Street, Lone Tree.

Just east of I-25, south of RidgeGate Parkway.

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Veterans Day

All County o ces will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11 in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. Visit arapahoegov.com/calendar

The Passive House is the fi rst in Colorado.

COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Local duplex becomes state’s fi rst multifamily certifi ed Passive House

BY KYLE COOKE, JEREMY MOORE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

After Seth Riseman’s Louisville home burned down in the Marshall Fire, he struggled to make a decision on what to do going forward — sell the lot and move on, or stay put and rebuild in a neighborhood he loves?

The second option won out in the end, and like many of the victims of the Marshall Fire, which destroyed over 1,000 structures in Boulder County last year, Riseman is hoping to rebuild his home in a way that makes it more energy-effi cient and fi re-resistant.

Riseman recently attended a private tour of a unique home in Englewood — it’s the fi rst multifamily, certifi ed Passive House in Colorado. Building to Passive House standards is considered building to the gold-standard of energy-effi cient buildings. A home must meet strict criteria in order to be certifi ed as a Passive House.

“I’d like to do the passive home, but it depends on getting a builder who can build it,” Riseman said.

The multi-family home on South Ogden Street in Englewood is a duplex; each unit has four bedrooms and fi ve baths. The homes are each 2,854 square feet. They’re listed for $1,475,000.

“Comfort, durability and effi ciency are achieved through an air-tight building envelope, super insulation, and continuously ventilated indoor air,” the listing reads.

Though expensive — the median list price in September in Englewood was $569,000 — the future owners of these duplex units will save some money on the back end, as Passive House buildings allow for heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared with average new builds.

There are some more affordable options to reach Passive House standards. Andrew Michler, the owner of the fi rst certifi ed Passive House in Colorado, recently teamed up with architect Rob Harrison to create the “Restore Passive House.” The duo designed the home especially for Marshall Fire victims and say it can be built for $550,000 (that price includes incentives from the Colorado Energy Offi ce and/or Xcel Energy).

“Building the principles of Passive Houses into every single building that’s built today should be a thing,” said Peter Stuart, a certifi ed Passive House builder and realtor who listed the Englewood duplex.

Stuart said we’re at a potential turning point when it comes to building energy-effi cient homes.

“Every car has seat belts, and at one point in time people argued whether or not seat belts were necessary — we’re at that point in the construction world,” he said.

However, high construction prices combined with underinsured Marshall Fire victims has resulted in a slow, frustrating rebuilding process in Boulder County. To date, only about 10% of victims have received a permit to start rebuilding. Still, a record number of those people — more than 40%, according to Boulder County offi cials — are building to standards that qualify them for energy rebates and incentives.

If customer demand makes it so that more builders and contractors are interested in building to Passive House standards, then Riseman is hopeful that these energy-effi cient homes will become more accessible.

As for Stuart, meeting those standards is a “no-brainer.”

THANK YOU!

November is National Adoption Month

Arapahoe County would like to send a big thank you to all the families who have opened up their hearts and homes to adoption. You can thank them too! O er a kind word of support, a simple note to say thank you, a small gesture to show how much you appreciate the adoptive families in your community.

PUBLIC HEALTH