Englewood Herald 1220

Page 1

THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS Making holiday treats is serious work for area bakeries P16

75 CENTS

December 20, 2018

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

Council moves to audit EEF, but scope undecided Englewood Environmental Foundation has long generated controversy BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The top finalists in the City of Englewood’s Student Art Contest pose with their pieces at the Dec. 3 Englewood City Council meeting. The pieces are featured in the 2019 City of Englewood calendar. In back, from left, Councilmembers Cheryl Wink, Amy Martinez, Rita Russell, Laurett Barrentine and Dave Cuesta stand with the group. PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD

Student artists honored

Leah Kern, a student at Colorado’s Finest High School of Choice in Englewood, holds up her piece, “Rabbit in E Minor,” at a ceremony to recognize student artists at the Englewood City Council meeting Dec. 3. Kern is flanked by Councilmember Amy Martinez, left, and Mayor Pro Tem Rita Russell. The artists’ work was featured in the 2019 City of Englewood calendar.

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Englewood City Council meeting saw a packed house, but this time, it wasn’t a contentious political issue that drew the crowd. The audience, largely made up of parents and students, watched a ceremony to honor the top finalists whose artwork was featured in the 2019 City of Englewood calendar. SEE ARTISTS, P9

About a month into the Englewood City Council’s process of publicly grappling with accusations of financial improprieties in a nonprofit body run by city officials, the city is moving toward examining the claims, but what will be looked at is not yet clear. “I don’t want it to look like we’re playing around with this,” said Councilmember Laurett Barrentine, the council’s foremost critic of the Englewood Environmental Foundation, at a Dec. 3 council meeting. Known as EEF, the nonprofit corporation — created by the city in the late 1990s — oversees property that the city has indirect influence over, including the Englewood Civic Center and the surrounding CityCenter Englewood shopping development. After months of scrutiny over claims of past financial improprieties — such as accusations of giving work to friends and getting kickbacks — city staff recommended in early November that the council look into the claims against EEF with a forensic audit. Maria Sobota, the city’s acting finance director and an EEF board member, recommended at the Dec. 3 meeting an audit that would, in part, seek evidence of “deficiencies in controls” and fraud. SEE AUDIT, P9

THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL

“A teacher of biology or algebra … they are now expected to provide diagnosis and intervention on kids with social, emotional and behavioral issues, and that’s an incredible challenge.” Brian Ewert, LPS superintendent | Page 2 INSIDE

VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 27 | SPORTS: PAGE 28

EnglewoodHerald.net

VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 44


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Englewood Herald 1220 by Colorado Community Media - Issuu