6:30-8:30PM The City is holding an initial planning meeting for the new DeLong Park at 23rd and Vernon Streets. This piece of ground is smaller than most “neighborhood parks,” so there are limits to what we can fit in there. If you live in this neighborhood, you should definitely attend! The meeting will be held at the Golden Community Center. There will be a 15 minute presentation at 6:45 with a repeat at 7:45.
6:30PM The Downtown Development Authority meets tonight in City Council Chambers. They will consider several financial requests, including
$2350 for Calvary Church to install WIFI on their new plaza on Arapahoe Street.
$300,000-$400,000 in tax increment financing for the Golden Mill
up to $30,000 to the Stillman Family for for several upgrades to their building (the Ace Hi Tavern)
$15,000 to Visit Golden to attract tourists
They will learn about the Public Art Commission’s plan to paint murals all over town.
They will discuss the proposed Clear Creek Corridor/Civic Center project.
Members of the Golden Urban Renewal Authority (GURA) will join them at the end of the meeting to discuss the use of the $1.8 million remaining in the downtown GURA fund. The original deal was that if GURA didn’t find a suitable urban renewal-type project for this money by the end of 2019, it would revert to the Downtown Development Authority.
Last week’s GURA meeting was very interesting. City Staff told them that what they most wanted to do with the money is to use it in Goosetown, for projects related to the new civic center and/or to build affordable housing. Several GURA board members disagreed, saying that they wanted to use some of the money to make the Astor House inhabitable again, and to ensure that it would remain in the public domain. They also pointed out that Goosetown was not part of the Downtown Urban Renewal Area, and spending the money outside of the area that generated it is questionable. Despite this clear statement by the board, tonight’s meeting memo says that they want to use it for affordable housing or work on the civic center. The memo also includes a very tepid mention of the Astor House.
As the GURA members pointed out, at this point there is only one remaining “blighted” property, in need of urban renewal, in the downtown renewal area. That property is the Astor House. How did it come to be blighted? The City closed it to work on the foundations, then they gutted it, then said they had no use for it. Can’t we just go back to using it as the Astor House Hotel Museum? No we cannot, because the City sold the artifacts while the building was closed for structural work.
The City first tried to purchase and demolish the Astor House in the early 1970s. They wanted to use the space for a parking lot. A group of citizens objected to this treatment of one of the oldest buildings in town (which preceded Colorado’s statehood). Finally, the matter was brought to a vote of the people, and the people voted to preserve the building. Now, almost 50 years later, the City is trying to “get it off our books” by selling it to a private party.
Isn’t a city supposed to have assets “on our books?” Will we next be selling our parks, to get those “off our books?” The City’s handling of the Astor House has been shameful. I applaud the Golden Urban Renewal Authority for their suggestion of earmarking money to bring the Astor House back to life. Learn more about tonight’s DDA agenda. Better yet, watch last week’s GURA meeting. Best of all, attend tonight’s DDA meeting and tell both boards how you think the downtown fund should be spent.
More Monday Events:
10AM – NREL Walking Campus Tour
10AM – Everything Dinosaur Talk at Dinosaur Ridge
11:15AM – Let’s Dance at the Golden Library
Live Music:
6PM – Fireside Pickers at New Terrain Brewing
Tuesday Preview:
10AM – Director’s Storytime and Craft at the Colorado Railroad Museum
2:30PM – Local Liquor Licensing Authority Meeting
6PM – Tuesday Night Book Group at the Golden Library
7PM – All Things Recycling at the Buffalo Rose
7PM – PRAMB Meeting at Golden Community Center
