Westminster police chief recruitment update

Cross Currents

The number one vacant position to resolve within the Westminster city government has been the recruitment of a new police chief. is recruitment was paused until a new city manager was on board which was a prudent way to address this key

After Mark Freitag arrived, the city administration selected Strategic Government Resources, Inc. to handle the recruitment and assist in the selection process. A national recruitment was completed with applications closing on Jan. 9.

A total of 36 candidates have applied and screening is underway. City o cials are targeting meet and greets with nal candidates in March.

In the interim since the position became open, Norm Haubert, Deputy Police Chief, has been in charge and doing a capable job. Like other law enforcement agencies across the U.S., Westminster has been slow to ll the current 25 sworn o cer vacancies. Currently, the department is sta ed with 174 sworn o cers out of the budgeted 199 positions. Also, two deputy police chief positions (Investigation Services and Technical Services) are currently being handled by interim, internal personnel.

As I said before, municipal police departments in Colorado have the extra hill to climb in recruiting quali ed personnel due to current state laws that can be discouraging to interested candidates. e state legislature needs to look in the mirror and make some obvious adjustments which have been clearly stated in the past. Such laws as the liberal bonding law which created a “swinging door” e ect for law enforcement to arrest lawbreakers on a new crime soon after they are released on bond from the earlier crime. Also, reduced sentencing laws have been more conducive for criminal activity.

Thornton takes ownership of Thornton Shopping Center

e next key step in the City of ornton’s e orts to clean up hazardous waste in the ground and redevelop the existing ornton Shopping Center has taken place. e city’s urban renewal authority, ornton Development Authority, took possession of the property as of Jan 3. e Authority’s Commission previously authorized $3,311,854 last year to accomplish tenant relocations, property management/security, fencing asbestos assessment and abatement.

Sta noted that additional allocations of funds for excavation of contaminate soil, continued monitoring and other environmental activities will be necessary in 2024. Working under urban renewal and condemnation regulations so often equates to a long and drawn-out process to get to the end goal. Plus, any environmental remedial work is expensive.

At the same time, when there are blighted conditions and/or buildings, it often ultimately falls on the city government to resolve the unacceptable conditions.

Certainly, the City of ornton through its legal means attempted to enforce the laws and require the property owner to take the necessary steps on environmental remediation. e commercial area along Washington Street north of 84th Avenue and beyond needs updating and some areas warrant redevelopment. e replacement of the ornton Shopping Center with a contemporary look and a variety of retail/commercial tenants could be the synergy needed to redevelop along this major arterial street.

Hopefully, with the city now owning the property, a positive outcome for this area can be realized as soon as possible.

Methamphetamine residue shuts fourth public library e number of public libraries which have closed due to methamphetamine residue has now reached four locations. In addition to Boulder, Littleton and Englewood, the downtown Arvada library has been added to the growing list. is has occurred in a matter of six weeks which begs the question which libraries will be next? Before the libraries were discovered as havens for meth users, the RTD Union Station bathrooms were closed for the same reason.

Westminster has two libraries, College Hill at Front Range Community College and the Irving Street Library. In my opinion, the Irving Street Library would be “suspect” given the amount of homeless tra c in and out of this library. It is no secret that homeless people hang out in and around the city park which is next door to the library and the shopping center.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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It would be prudent for Westminster sta to evaluate both libraries and inform the public of their ndings. At the same time, Any ink Library District sta would be smart to check out their facilities as well and alert the public if necessary. Removal of meth is an expensive and time-consuming job in most cases. It is not likely that library budgets include funds for meth removal, but it becomes a public health priority.

The long line of Denver mayoral candidates

Wow, it’s almost as popular as peanut butter and jelly on bread! ere are seventeen certi ed candidates for the mayor’s seat in Denver. at is a new high for the number of wannabee candidates for the top Denver elected o cial.

Of course, many of these aspiring politicians won’t go far due to the hefty fundraising which is required as well as needing to be connected with the “who’s who.” I got exposed to the latter point to a small degree while serving on the RTD Board of Directors for eight years. It’s the same fundamental components as the suburban mayoral races, but on a much larger scale, as you might guess. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to add this little info piece after having listed the seats which are up this coming November among the four cities which this newpaper covers. By the way, the Denver Mayor’s position currently pays $92,099 per year.

Reminder: Metro District board elections are coming soon anks to information which

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ERIN FRANKS Production Manager efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com one of our readers sent me, I want to ag attention to the ling deadline and election dates for those of you who are within a metropolitan (metro) district. ere has been a lot of press and media attention over some of these districts which has given a “black eye” to this means of getting water lines, sewer lines, street paving, storm drainage lines and more built. While I am not fond of this approach, it is one of a very limited set of options to nance these needed improvements which are the developer’s responsibility. So, if interested in what is happening with your metro district (if applicable), here is your opportunity to throw your hat in the ring.

You will certainly know by the extra mill levy on whether or not you reside within a metro district. e deadline to le to run for your metro board of directors is Feb. 24,which is 67 days before the May 2 elections.

It is reported that there are 2,250 metropolitan districts in Colorado. As you may know, it has become a popular way to debt finance infrastructure in newer, larger master planned developments. An additional mill levy beyond all of the governmental mill levies is imposed to pay infrastructure debt and operate facilities such as private parks, swimming pools etc.

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

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