April 16, 2015 VOLU M E 1 0 | I S SUE 46
ArvadaPress.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
Committee actions stir transparency concerns DRC member appointment stalled amid city investigation By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com
Xavier Bledsoe smiles and laughs as his kite flies, intertwining with another. Photo by Crystal Anderson The 2015 Arvada Kite Festival soared as citizens from across the Denver-metro area flocked to the Stenger-Lutz Sports Complex, Sunday, April 12. Flying high in the sunny sky were kites of all shapes, sizes and colors. Residents old to young shared in the fun, playing with one another, flying kites, enjoying the kids zone and picnicking on the lawn.
COMMUNITY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND
Good News Breakfast celebrates 25 years BY AMY WOODWARD • AWOODWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For 25 years, Jefferson County has celebrated the humanitarian contributions of community members during the annual Good News Breakfast. The 25th annual Good News Breakfast starts at 6:59 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28 at the Jeffco Fairgrounds. To purchase tickets, visit www.goodnewsjeffco.org.
HISTORY
PURPOSE
The Good News Breakfast started in April 1991. During this time in Jeffco, political tensions were high as residents grew more agitated over community issues dealing with development and education. Rev. Alan Landes of the Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Lakewood envisioned a prayer breakfast to soothe community anxieties. Former Jeffco Schools superintendent Lew Finch was tapped as the guest speaker. “We discovered this key and Lew epitomized it,” said Jack Van Ens, chairperson of the program committee for the Good News Breakfast Coalition. “He said, I’m not going to talk about our differences. I’m going to talk about what I love about Jefferson County.” Thus, the original idea to have a prayer breakfast instead became the Good News Breakfast.
The Good News Breakfast is held annually in April to bring together Jeffco-based individuals and organizations to celebrate the county’s positive work. “When you leave, you just want to leave doing something good,” said Pam Russell, member of the public relations committee for Good News. Recognizing community building and teamwork is the primary focus of the breakfast. “People need that boost and they deserve it,” Jack Van Ens said. “When you put it all together, it makes for a terrific community celebration.” Each year, individuals and organizations are nominated for the breakfast with the exception of political leaders. A committee under the Good News coalition picks a dozen honorees who have stood out for services where they are recognized for their contributions at the breakfast.
PAST HONOREES
WHO ATTENDS Everyone! “It’s the who’s who (of events),” Pam Russell said. Organizations and individuals from law enforcement, faith-based communities, business, medical, government, education and residents attend the event.
There have been more than 20 honorees who have stood out for their contributions. A sample of these honorees include; the Golden Optimists Club, Kiwanis Club of Golden, Family Tree Housing and Family Services, Wheat Ridge Backpack Feed the Future and Arvada Community Food Bank, and many more. “We had a woman who was 96 and she was living in a retirement facility in Lakewood,” Russell said. “She did a food drive ever year…she’d have a big box and ask all the residents and staff and anyone who came to visit to bring food for the Action Center.” When she was honored at the Good News Breakfast, she came on stage with her walker. “It was the most wonderful thing,” Russell said. Located in Lakewood, the Action Center is one of the premiere non-profits in Jeffco who provide human services to residents in need of assistance.
THEMES Each year, the coalition identifies a theme for the breakfast. This year’s theme is “Jefferson County — We’re Here for Good,” which will celebrate a “quarter of a century of community building.” Honorees will include organizations that have had more than a decade of a presence in Jeffco. Past themes have included Seniors on the Move, Great Kids Building Great Communities, Business Building Better Communities, Turning Vision into Action, Building Bridges, Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Communities. The tagline, “the many, working as one, for the good of all,” is the historical roots of the Good News Breakfast, Jack Van Ens said. “We have not pruned those historical roots, they flourished,” he said. “Good news is in short supply.”
On April 6, the Arvada City Council voted to table the reappointment of Roger Direnka, Design Review Committee member, amid allegations of an open meetings law and conflict of interest violation. “The Arvada City Council postponed the reappointment of a member of the Design Review Committee at their April 6 meeting due to concerns raised by members of the public and the fact that only four Councilmembers were present,” said Arvada City Manager, Mark Deven. “Over the past two months those members of the public have expressed that a potential conflict of interest existed for the DRC member in question.” The issue was brought to the city’s attention by Cindi Kreutzer, a board of adjustment member who sat in on a Feb. 18 Design Review Committee meeting. She claims to have witnessed a conflict of interest and violation of Colorado’s open meeting laws. “It really is about making an unbiased decision and in the case of the Design Review Committee, they don’t make a decision but they do make a recommendation to the city and they listen very closely to what they say,” Kreutzer said. “It’s important that those things are kept so that it’s fair for all the citizens, it’s fair to the developers, it’s fair to everybody. Whether you’re appointed or elected you still have a responsibility to the people of Arvada.” Immediately following the adjournment of the Feb. 18 meeting, a committee member, believed to be Direnka, brought up the issue of a letter, sent by (his wife) Lori Direnka, regarding a project taking place in the two properties adjacent to her business in Olde Town. The group then discussed the matter, which was not placed on that meeting’s agenda, violating the state’s open meeting laws for boards, committees and commissions. “No preferential treatment or entitlement has ever been solicited or given with regards to the DRC or City in my experience,” Direnka said of the allegations. He believes the matter to be a misunderstanding and confusion of identities. “Ms. Kruetzer’s confusion of identities of committee members may have led her to feel that there were intentional efforts to obscure committee proceedings or that some committee members had a feeling of entitlement. Both are untrue and reflections of previous informality of operations of DRC meetings.” Previously, the city didn’t train citizens appointed to its various boards and committees. Since the conflict has arisen, the city has taken a deeper look at those matters, retraining members of the committee and ensuring a city attorney is present during all committee proceedings. The city council will vote on the matter following the city’s investigation of the allegations and when all members of council were present.