Wheatridge transcript 0123

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January 23, 2014

50 cents Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 30, Issue 31 A publication of

wheatridgetranscript.com

Wheat Ridge works on a comeback

Hiring of attorney denied Board delays hiring decision until new superintendent hired By Crystal Anderson

canderson@ coloradocommunitymedia. com

Wheat Ridge’s Tyler Wagner licks his chops while waiting for a rebound as he boxes out Green Mountain’s Mitch Schafer. See sports on Page 12. Photo by Dan Williams

Council sets back-in parking debate on back burner By Hugh Johnson At both the Wheat Ridge city council study session on Jan. 6 and the council meeting on the Jan. 13, City Council discussed the possibility of removing back-in parking on 38th Avenue. The design plan for the renovation of 38th Avenue calls for the road to be restriped. During that time, the city has installed back-in parking spaces on a 1.5-block stretch of road between Teller Street and High Court. Back-in parking features angled spaces which drivers reverse their vehicles into. City officials claim the parking spaces offer eye-to-eye line of sight between a driver and another driver or a cyclist and allow for easy loading and unloading of the vehicle free from traffic. Wheat Ridge residents have mixed feelings about the back-in parking. Some are calling for its immediate removal while others remain content. The kicker is that the back-in parking is scheduled to be removed during the final phase of the 38th Avenue project. Despite that fact, some members of council believe it’s best to remove the parking now rather than later. At the study session, former Wheat Ridge mayor turned councilman for District 1, Jerry DiTullio, stated that it would be foolish

A look at 38th Street from Teller Street to High Court Street. Submitted map

to continue irritating the community over something that isn’t permanent, especially since the city may need voters to approve more funding for the overall project. The majority of council concluded that it would be a waste of time for the city staff to look into removing some-

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thing that will be removed in the future. Councilwoman Tracy Langworthy of District 4 believes that back-in parking is the safest option at the moment. Langworthy stressed the need for drivers to be patient while someone is parking. Another point made at the study session is that back-in parking only affects a small strip of the corridor. In response, Zachary Urban councilman of District 2 said that the outcry of disapproval is great enough that council should consider other options. “We’re giving ourselves the opportunity to consider constituents’ needs and wants and issues around this particular concern and addressing it with due diligence,” Urban said. Ultimately council decided to wait until staff provides new details before engaging in any more debate about back-in parking.

Jeffco Schools board of education denied the hiring of Executive Employee Relations candidate Nicole Tuescher by a 3-2 vote at the Tuesday, Jan. 16, meeting. President Ken Witt, First Vice President Julie Williams and Secretary John Newkirk voted against the hiring after a board discussion about philosophical ideals, legal counsel, need and urgency. “We need to empower the incoming superintendent, to fill key positions that are vacant presently,” Witt said following the meeting. “We have both adequate legal counsel for the district as well as employee relations that can’t be covered up by the HR (human resources) department adequately in the interim.” Prior to the discussion about the executive director appointment, Newkirk made a motion to move the item to an executive session, which was met with disapproval by First Vice President Lesley Dahlkemper and Board Treasurer Jill Fellman, as well as remarks and boos from the audience. “We have a CEO in our superintendent who leads our organization and identifies the best talent to meet the needs to continue to drive this district forward,” Dahlkemper said. “I would recommend that any conversation that is had, be had publicly, if there are concerns the board has, we address those and are public about it.” The motion to go to executive session failed 3-2 with Dahlkemper and Fellman opposed. Two-thirds majority approval is required to enter an item into executive session. “I would also like to remind us all, several hours ago we heard testimony from Lisa Elliot, saying how important and critical this position is, that we need to act on it and that it is critical that we move now,” Fellman said. Throughout the discussion, Witt, Williams and Newkirk raised concerns about making key employee decisions without the opinion of a new superintendent expected to be hired later this year and concerns about the need for an urgent, additional aspect of legal counsel in the district. Resigning Superintendent Cindy Stevenson will complete her tenure with the district June 30, and the process to hire a new superintendent is ongoing. “We’ve had excellent representation over the years from Caplan and Earnest,” Williams said. “Why can’t we do a temporary hire, with Earnest and Caplan to continue that representation until a new superintendent comes ... and then the new superintendent can choose who she wants.” Stevenson addressed their concerns and informed the board about the roles of the position and reminded the board this position is a crucial part of the Jeffco school district framework. “What I can tell you is that I’ve been doing this job for 12 years, I consider both departments essential,” Stevenson said. “You’ve heard from our associations earlier, they consider it essential, it really is part of the glue that makes Jeffco a great organization.” Following the discussion, the board voted to not hire the candidate for the executive director in favor of allowing time for the new superintendent the opportunity to weigh in on the discussion and use existing representation and staff in the interim. The audience was silent following the vote.


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