At our October meeting we
had Mike Sizamore from the City Panning Office At our October meeting we had
Mike Sizamore from the City Planning Office (720-865-2510) speak to us about
the over occupancy problem, He offered the services of the 311 operator, so we
could call 311 to report license plate numbers of cars parking at high
occupancy locations. The 311 operator will forward these numbers to the office
so the inspector can determine if a plate is registered at the high occupancy
location. He reported that if it is not registered at that location they will
ask why not and you will be told. Let's start reporting license plate numbers
of vehicles that are parked every night at these locations so he can be aware
of the problem and help us stop this.
He said the city space
requirements are 150 square feet for the first person and 100 square feet for
each additional person. This must be livable space which means bathrooms,
closets and furnace rooms cannot be counted as livable.
We appreciate their
willingness to use the 311 system to report license plate numbers so our
inspectors can investigate the address where the cars are registered.
Ted Hackworth
News from Jeanne Faatz
City Council - District 2
Urban
wildlife: a neighbor you need to know
Would you
move out of your home because a red-tail hawk moved into your back yard?
Neither
would the hawk leave just because you showed up. It would adapt. Which is what
Colorado wildlife has been doing for decades. Every major city has hawks,
prairie dogs, foxes and coyotes that are as much a part of the urban landscape
as roads and shopping centers.
Coyotes
are of particular concern because they are so adaptable to the oasis of food,
shelter and water that urban areas offer. Coyotes are not cute, not cuddly and
not your pet. They are predators.
Coyotes
rarely attack people, says Denver wildlife ecologist Ashley DeLaup, but bites
are not unknown, usually because people tried to feed them. It's illegal to
feed a coyote in Colorado for more than just being a bad idea. Equally bad is
making food easily available or lessening a coyote's natural wariness of
humans.
Here are
some tips from DeLaup on co-existing with coyotes:
* Clean up
your yard: Cover trash tightly or keep it inside; cover compost heaps; rake up
fallen fruit promptly; and keep cats and dogs inside or closely attended.
* Don't
just stand there: When you see a coyote, blow a whistle, wave your arms, yell
at it. Help make sure coyotes don't become comfortable in the presence of
people.
* Install
motion lights: Keep fences mended, lights activated and yard vegetation
reduced so coyotes have nowhere to hide.
* Keep
pets away: Even large dogs are no match for a wild animal, and small dogs
could easily become prey.
For more
information, contact DeLaup at 303-455-0785 or
ashley.delaup@denvergov.org.
Dangling shoes aren’t fancy footwork
Tennis shoes tossed onto utility lines means only one thing: Some worker has
to go up and take them down. Shoe-flinging” is littering. It isn’t innocent or
funny - and it isn’t pretty. In fact, it’s pretty ugly. And a needless cost to
the cable TV or phone companies whose lines most often are adorned. When you
see shoes dangling, call 311 and report the location. City call-takers will
make sure the proper utility is notified and the line-litter removed.
Fire Station 25 to brighten up
By the end of October, fire station 25 at Raleigh Street and Harvard Avenue
will have a new roof, repaired masonry and concrete, and new windows and doors
–all for $155,798. By next September, the station will gleam even brighter,
getting improvements to its kitchen, shower room, dispatch and dorm areas.
This will cost $694,660, including electrical, mechanical and plumbing
updates. The money comes from the 2007 city infrastructure bond election and
will pay for badly needed improvements.
Wait-and-see is a $7 million gamble
For the first time since I’ve been in public office, a chief executive is
proposing a budget in which the funds available fall short of the spending
planned. Not short by a little bit, but short by $7 million! Mayor
Hickenlooper says he trusts his managers to suggest cuts during the budget
year. That’s a lot of trust. What’s wrong with the managers speaking out now
about what they might have to cut later? Then we can balance the budget before
adopting it.
October 6th is
the last day to register to vote for the November 4th General Election. Mail
ballots should go out October 10th, and early voting begins October 20th. With
all the attention the media is giving to this election, I do hope that all
eligible voters do vote.
The Secretary
of State has certified 18 ballot measures that we will vote on in November.
Four are referenda passed by the legislature, which means that they have
undergone intense scrutiny before receiving 2/3 of the votes in the State
House and Senate, and that means that they received strong bilateral support.
My Town Hall Meetings until Election Day are featuring speakers to give more
details about all the issues. Meetings will be on Mondays—September 8th,
October 6th, November 3rd. For my December 1st Town Hall Meeting, my speakers
will present a wrap-up of the election results and I will present my hopes for
the 2009 session. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m., and all are at the VFW Hall,
5220 West Warren Avenue.
