Please turn in your nominations forms for Voting Members, Board Members and Nominations Committee to the WR2020 office. If you are already a Voting Member and wish to continue your Voting Membership, please ensure that you are nominated or self-nominate and fill out the membership application to indicate your desire to renew. If you no longer wish to be a Voting Member, please let the office know. Please fill out your nominations and turn them in by Friday.

For the President's letter outlining this process or for additional nominations forms or membership applications, please go to Become a Member on our website.

Recently the Board of WR2020 unanimously approved a new meeting format.  The new format is to hold monthly Board working meetings and quarterly Board and Member meetings.  The next Board and Member meeting is Tuesday, September 25. The meeting will begin at 7:30am in the FirstBank conference room on the first floor at 4350 Wadsworth Blvd. We welcome your input and attendance.

As a part of revitalizing the 38th Avenue corridor, Wheat Ridge 2020 is a partner in the Taste of the Arts Street Festival. On Saturday, September 15, 38th Ave will be closed to traffic between Pierce and Upham and instead you will find a car show, arts & crafts displays, folk dancing, and the suburban art forest. Live entertainment will be featured, including the Colcannon Celtic Band. Stop by for food and refreshment, arts, and fellowship in the heart of Wheat Ridge. The festival will be open 9am-10pm.

WR2020 will have a booth as part of this celebration. If you are interested in signing up for a two-hour shift at the booth, please contact Britta Fisher at 720-259-1030 or reply to this email. Volunteers will help answer questions about WR2020, handout giveaways, and sign people up for our general member list. We will staff the booth from 8am - 5pm.

The City, WRURA and WR2020 are all working together to implement one key recommendation of the NRS - the option, acquisition, planning and solicitation of vacant, underutilized property in key commercial corridors of our community to promote new commercial development.

On Monday, August 27th, Wheat Ridge City Council authorized a $1.5 million budget adjustment to lend funds to the WRURA to exercise a purchase option secured by WR2020 for 3.4 acres of vacant property located at 44th and Wadsworth Boulevard.  The purpose of this purchase is to provide the City and WR2020 with an opportunity to master plan the land, consistent with the newly approved Wadsworth Corridor sub area plan, for mixed use retail, residential and possible library development project.  The land has been vacant for almost 30 years, and with this first step of land acquisition, Wheat Ridge is taking a giant leap towards progressive redevelopment planning and implementation.

Redevelopment of this scale requires considerable planning.  By owning the land, the city can reposition it for redevelopment, and alleviate the risks associated with an investment of this sort.  The City can actively position the land to accommodate multiple uses and also incorporate appropriate zoning allowances to secure a sustainable development project.  Additionally, by repositioning the site, the City can actively work with developers to achieve the highest and best return in sales tax revenues that will provide funding for important city services and recreation facility maintenance around the entire community.  The acquisition and planning process for this site was outlined by WR2020 in the Mayor’s Drainage, Infrastructure, Roads & Trails (D.I.R.T.) Task Force process and the D.I.R.T. Committee recommended this project as one of the top 10 priorities for the City to undertake.  This is a great example of how WR2020 works with the City and other administrative agencies to actively implement the NRS strategies and advocate for sustainable redevelopment.

The WRURA approved resolutions to further the redevelopment process at this site:
1. Accept the City’s funding to acquire the site, 2. Acceptance and assignment of the purchase option from WR2020 and to finalize a purchase of the land. 3. To secure additional financing to acquire adjacent property currently under option by WR2020.

WR2020 Planning Committee and Staff are currently working on a land use and site plan for the property with the City.  It includes residential, retail, commercial, and a library branch as possible components of the redevelopment plan.  We will keep you posted on the progress. 

Dumpster Days has been a popular program this summer. One new component of the program for 2007 is an initiative to provide a dumpster to a targeted residential block in each of the four City Council district. This is an opportunity to participate in a neighborhood clean-up in partnership with the Wheat Ridge Police Department.

Wheat Ridge Police Department Community Services Officers (CSO’s) will be on hand in the dumpster areas to support WR2020 and answer questions citizens may have about code enforcement and compliance.  The CSO’s will not be enforcing area code violations during the Dumpster Days so this is a great opportunity for community members to take action and clean up their property before enforcement begins.

Representatives from WR2020 and the Police Department CSO’s will distribute informational flyers to affected neighborhoods as clean up dates are scheduled through October 2007. If this partnership goes well, it may be expanded in the future.

Please check out www.WheatRidge2020.org for all of the latest information and events.