Introducing new CPFAN President and Board — City Park or Bust!!!!

Letter from the President,  Stephen Eppler


Welcome

 Elections were held at CPFAN’s last meeting on May 9.  As the new president, I and the other members of the new CPFAN Board want to create a forum for open discussion of matters affecting the ‘classical pastoral character’ of City Park. We also want to address issues related to Denver City Planning and local urban development that effect parks and City Park, in particular.

Here are some of the current City Park projects in which CPFAN is interested.

As you may be aware, the east playground near the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) is being renovated and improved for nature play.  It is currently in the design stage.  The Dustin Redd Playground has been redesigned and construction will begin in the near future.

The DeBoer Canyon and the Lily pond are south of the east playground and have languished for years since the water flow was interrupted.  Recently, Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) has been collaborating with the DMNS about restoring this area and reestablishing the water flow in the DeBoer Canyon and the Lily Pond.  This has been a long term goal of CPFAN. We will follow this new development and offer any support we can.

There are many other matters that CPFAN is involved in and where we attempt to accurately represent and advocate for the collective voice of the adjacent neighborhoods.  These include:

  • Efforts to protect City Park from ill-conceived projects. We plan to attend meetings of the newly formed City Park Design Advisory Committee to offer constructive viewpoints of City Park users as to proposed projects.
  • Efforts to preserve the history and cultural legacy associated with City Park.
  • Efforts to get Denver Parks and Recreation to address
    • Improved toilet and hand washing facilities.
    • Improved animal (geese) control.
    • Altered irrigation with potable water or additionally treated used water. The high sodium and other salt contained in the current water is adversely affecting the park’s soil, trees and plant ecology.
  • The continued reconstruction of City Park Golf Course.
  • Ongoing City and County Community Planning and Development and Wastewater projects.
  • Support of historic preservation of the Hut House because of its architectural, cultural and historic significance.
  • Denveright – the East Central Area Plan for the Capitol Hill, North Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Congress Park, City Park and City Park West neighborhoods abuts the western and southern park boundaries.  Park Hill is also targeted.
  • The Colfax Redevelopment project changes transportation access to City Park and increase its urban character.
  • The Upper Montclair Stormwater project on Hale Parkway will affect the hydrology of City Park and City Park Golf Course.
  • Involvement with the VB/I-70 Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG).
  • Participation in INC – Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation, an umbrella organization representing almost 100 community groups and Registered Neighborhood Organizations.

Because our usual first Tuesday of the month meeting date falls on June 4, the Mayoral Runoff Elections, we are cancelling the June meeting. The next CPFAN meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 2 at Messiah Lutheran Church from 6-8 pm.

We have many exciting programs to present to our membership in the coming year and will announce the program for July in the next couple of weeks. One program is a slideshow, The History of City Park, presented by Kris Haglund and Liz Clancy, the Archivists at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  We are looking forward to learning more about the Crown Jewel of Denver from the many wonderful experts, historians and city officials who can broaden our perspectives about City Park.

Come lend a hand. Get involved. Speak out.

We welcome your participation.

 

441 total views, 2 views today

Share

Minutes May Meeting

CPFAN Annual Meeting May 9, 2019

May 9, 2019
CPFAN Annual Meeting
Board Minutes

The Annual Meeting of the RNO, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFAN), took place on May 9, 2019 at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1750 Colorado Blvd., Denver CO 80220. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Vice President, Hank Bootz since President, LaMone Noles was ill and unable to preside. CPFAN members present signed in to the Membership List. They were: Hank Bootz, Victoria Eppler, Stephen Eppler, Maria Flora, Georgia Garnsey, Woody Garnsey, Phil Hainline, Laurence Keith Loftin III, Owetta McNeil, Paula Singer, John Van Sciver and Jacqueline Victor. A forum of 12 was in place for voting purposes.

Members present formed a circle to discuss the accomplishments of CPFAN during the past year and issues concerning the group’s future. The creation of the City Park Master Plan Update and Design Guidelines were positive steps for providing protection, enhancement, and direction for City Park. CPFAN members were part of the planning process from the beginning to its final stages. The Design Guidelines provided for a City Park Design Advisory Committee composed of architects and other professionals, city officials and citizens whose mandate is to review all new projects proposed for City Park and provide guidance to the Denver Department of Parks and Recreation before any projects are initiated. The committee was formed in Fall, 2018. The CPFAN Board of Directors wrote a letter to the committee to address design concerns about the new Dustin Redd Playground. We attended the meeting where the Dustin Redd design was addressed and were able to persuade committee members to vote in our favor. CPFAN looks forward to a positive and productive relationship with CPDAC in the future.

We also discussed the excellent programs presented over the past year, most of which were organized by CPFAN Board member, Bridget Walsh. The Candidate Forums, in particular, engaged not only CPFAN members but many other members of the community as well. Bridget did an outstanding job of organizing and presenting these programs.

We commended the leadership of CPFAN President, LaMone Noles who guided our organization with eloquence, wit and wisdom. CPFAN gained recognition and respect under her leadership. She faithfully alerted us to community issues and managed the smooth running of our organization.

The group discussed their commitment to continue to offer high quality informational programs. One idea was to Invite speakers who could inform us about the possibilities for replanting the Lily Pond. We also discussed forming committees to explore restoration of the DeBoer Canyon and also to address effective landscaping and beautifying of the Gate 15 area behind the Zoo. Most of all, we reaffirmed our CPFAN mission statement. The primary purpose of City Park Friends and Neighbors is to is “to actively protect the classical pastoral character of City Park, Denver, Colorado.”

Finally, the CPFAN members present voted on the proposed CPFAN Board for 2019-2020. The Nominating Committee presented its slate of Stephen Eppler, Hank Bootz, Jacqueline Victor and Keith Victor. Georgia Garnsey nominated herself from the floor. All five candidates were unanimously elected. Officers will be voted on in the coming weeks.

Hank Bootz adjourned the meeting at 8 pm.

743 total views, 6 views today

Share

743 total views, 6 views today

Share

Annual Election May 9 2019

Dear CPFAN Members,

Our annual election meeting has been scheduled for May 9, 2019. The election will be held at the Messiah Church at 18th and Colorado Blvd. Doors open at 6PM. We currently have five people who are committed to serve on the Board. Those who might wish to run for a board position should let us know. Whatever aspect of City Park is of interest to you, your participation is encouraged.

We will set aside some time for a review of CPFAN’s past year and discussion of its future. We will also discuss CPFAN’s mission statement and members’ views on whether it should be expanded, changed or remain the same. We will review the responsibilities of all CPFAN officials, the President, the VP/Treasurer and the Secretary.

The nominating committee will present its slate of board members. Members present will vote on the slate. Elected Board Members will then vote to elect officers, President, VP/Treasurer and Secretary.

Please consider expanding your involvement in CPFAN. And please come to our meeting May 9 at Messiah.

LaMone Noles

President CPFAN

 

524 total views, 4 views today

Share

Park People 50th Anniversary to be Commemorated

City-wide, Community Tree Planting

FREE TREE APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE JAN. 1

Park People 50th Anniversary to be Commemorated with City-wide, Community Tree Planting Campaign

DENVER, CO – Denver nonprofit The Park People is offering free and reduced-cost trees for Denver’s citizens through its annual Denver Digs Trees program. Street trees – those planted in the public right of way – are free to all Denver residents, yard trees are offered at a very low cost, and homeowners may apply for multiple trees.

Applications are available Jan. 1-Feb. 15, 2019. The tree distribution and sale is on Arbor Day, April 27, 2019.

“This year’s annual Denver Digs Trees Arbor Day tree sale is even more significant, because The Park People will be celebrating our 50th anniversary,” says The Park People’s Program Manager Leah Jean Shafer. “While the traditional 50th anniversary gift is gold, Denver homeowners will be turning their gold into wood and planting a tree or two to help us celebrate.”

Street trees are free for all Denver residents. Yard trees are $10 for those living in targeted neighborhoods, and $35 for homeowners in the rest of the city. The typical retail cost of a tree is approximately $125, making Denver Digs Trees an affordable, easy way for residents to contribute to the health and beauty of their yards and the entire city. Denver Digs Trees is the only program offering trees for private property, and fees are waived for those who are experiencing financial hardship. Free tree delivery and planting support also is offered for those with physical limitations.

Shafer says a tree planted a half century ago, when The Park People was established, has already spent decades providing oxygen, improving air quality, conserving water, shading neighborhoods, supporting wildlife, and more. With proper care, it could provide this value for generations to come.

Denver Digs Trees 2019
“If you plant a tree this year, imagine what a difference your tree will make in its next 50 years of life,” she adds.

The nonprofit receives numerous positive reports from happy tree owners.

In a recent survey, a homeowner who purchased trees almost a quarter century ago wrote, “It’s 24 years later, and they’re healthy and tall, adding shade in the summer and color in the fall.”

Another past Denver Digs Trees participant wrote, “I love that small improvements I make today can have enormous impacts decades from now.”
Trees available on a first come, first served basis include:
• Bur Oak
• Western Hackberry
• Redmond American Linden
• Cleveland Select Flowering Pear
• Autumn Gold Gingko, which hasn’t been available at recent sales. It is known by the nickname living fossil, because the Ginkgo Biloba is one of the world’s oldest living tree species. It was around 350 million years ago!
• Shademaster Honeylocust
• Tulip Poplar
• Prairie Fire Crabapple
• Eastern Redbud
• Patriot Elm
• Fort McNair Red Horsechestnut, which has gorgeous spring flowers. It was the first to sell out last year.
To complete an application or get more information, visit www.TheParkPeople.org, text ‘TREE’ to 797979, or call 303-722-6262 for a paper application.

Denver Digs Trees is sponsored by Xcel Energy Foundation, Denver Parks and Recreation, MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation, Hank & Cheryl Saipe, Colorado Garden Foundation, OZ Architecture, and Colorado 811.

The Park People is dedicated to preserving, enhancing and advocating for Denver’s parks, recreation resources, open space, and urban forest. Through the Denver Digs Trees program, The Park People has added more than 51,000 trees to Denver’s skyline.

368 total views, 3 views today

Share

JOIN US FOR CPFAN’s MAYORAL FORUM 2

JAMIE GIELLIS (Click on image above to read a synopsis of Denver’s Mayoral candidates)

STEPHEN “SEKU” EVANS (Click on image above to read a synopsis of Denver’s Mayoral candidates)

Join members of CPFAN and extend a warm welcome to Jamie Giellis and Stephen “Seku” Evans, two declared candidates who want to be the next Mayor of Denver. Elections will be held in May, 2019.

Each candidate will have 45 minutes  to speak about their vision for Denver and to answer questions from the audience.
WHEN:  Tues, Dec 4, 6-8 PM,
WHERE:  Messiah Community Church, 1750 Colorado Blvd. 80220

544 total views, 4 views today

Share

Lisa Calderón and Penfield Tate squared off against … themselves because this was a mayoral forum, not a debate

by David Sachs

The Denverite 11/14/2018

Mayoral candidates Lisa Calderón and Penfield Tate III met at a Park Hill church Tuesday evening for a forum, kicking off Denver’s next political season.

This was not a debate. Each candidate (two of 10 so far) got about 45 minutes to wax politic and take questions from a crowd of about 120 people attending the City Park Friends and Neighbors meeting. Most of the audience was older, with some younger blood mixed in.

Both candidates relayed well-polished talking points about development, homelessness, transparency and transportation. Calderón, a justice professor at Regis University and criminal justice advocate, shared a few more specific policy goals than Tate, an attorney and former state senator. She also grabbed the most enthusiastic cheers. Both mayoral hopefuls laid down plenty of rhetoric aimed at the policies of Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration.

Here’s how things went.

Neither likes the expansion I-70 through north Denver neighborhoods.

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s I-70 widening, which is backed by the Hancock administration, was a big topic Tuesday because neighborhood advocates who are fighting the project showed up.

Tate said he has always favored bending the highway through Adams County, around the dense neighborhoods of Elyria Swansea and Globeville, instead of through them. That statement elicited the biggest cheers he got all night.

Penfield Tate speaks during a public forum for Denver mayoral candidates at Messiah Community Church in South Park Hill, Nov. 13, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Lisa Calderón speaks during a public forum for Denver mayoral candidates at Messiah Community Church in South Park Hill, Nov. 13, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

 

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

 

344 total views, 2 views today

Share
1 2 3 4 5 … 15