Edgewater Councilmember John Beltrone
From Edgewater Councilmember John Beltrone:
Happy New Year, Edgewater!
I wanted to take a moment to recap what happened at the City this past year. Responding to COVID-19 has been the key focus, and I want to first thank City Manager Dan Maples and City Staff for their tireless commitment to Edgewater during this pandemic. Their ability to adapt to the unprecedented challenges while maintaining a high level of service to the City has not gone unnoticed.
COVID-19 Relief Efforts
In April, Edgewater received $420,954 of federal funding through the CARES Act. The majority of this funding went to residents and businesses most impacted financially by the virus. Over $150,000 from the City’s residential assistance grant program went to 134 households. Edgewater businesses received 80 grants totaling $189,000 through the business assistance grant program. Other actions taken during the year included allowing patio extensions for more outdoor dining and putting a cap on exorbitant third-party food delivery fees to help our small businesses get through these extraordinarily difficult times.
Social Justice
Greater visibility to social injustices impacted every city in America in 2020, and Edgewater was no different. In June, City Council passed a Resolution Against Racism, which included action items to address racism in our community. Since then, the City has implemented Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for all City staff and Council; developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan; and passed a budget prioritizing racial and gender equity. Dialogue and actions centered on social justice will continue at the City in 2021.
Policing
In response to concerns after the murder of George Floyd in May, the City and the Edgewater Police Department went to great lengths to be transparent and inform residents of our own police practices. The Police Department held a virtual workshop to go over policies and procedures and took questions from the public.
A key takeaway from our policing discussions this summer was that Edgewater needed to make investments in mental health and social service resources that support the Police Department and community.
New Co-Responders and Homeless Navigator
By combining resources with neighboring cities, Edgewater is welcoming two new co-responders and a homeless navigator this winter. A co-responder is a behavioral health specialist who works alongside law enforcement. The co-responders will assist with on-scene de-escalation, family support, and crisis and mental health assessments. They will also act as consultants and provide training on mental health topics to the Police Department.
Homeless navigators help persons experiencing a housing crisis get into stable housing and obtain the services and resources needed to maintain housing. The homeless navigator will be working as part of a county-wide navigation model and network launched in January 2019.
Living Wage for Municipal Employees and Subcontractors
One of the final acts of City Council this year was to pass Resolution 2020-07, which committed the City to pay a living wage to its employees and employees of subcontractors working for the City. The living wage rate is adjusted annually for inflation and starts at $14.26 per hour for 2021.
Sustainability Board
In its inaugural year, the Sustainability Board made some profound impacts on our community. It spearheaded the City’s curbside composting pilot program, which diverted 16,277 pounds of food waste from landfills. The now permanent composting program includes both food waste and yard waste pickup. The Board also worked with Xcel Energy to complete our Energy Action Plan. This plan will help meet the City’s energy efficiency and renewable energy goals set in the Sustainability Plan in 2019. One outcome from this effort will be subsidized energy audits for residents starting later this year.
Campaign Finance Transparency
With the passage of Resolution 2020-02 in February, a simple but important fix to our election process occurred. The resolution directs the City to publish municipal election campaign finance reports on the City website within two business days of the filing deadline. This provides voters the ability to view these reports before they vote.
City Finances
Years of prudent financial decisions and community investments have put the City in an enviable position in the midst of an economic crisis and pandemic. Although many businesses are struggling, overall the City saw sales tax revenue increase from 2019 through the first 11 months of 2020. Additionally, the City continues to have very strong levels of funding reserves.
Development at Kendall and 29th
The last significant undeveloped parcel of land in Edgewater on 29th and Kendall will be our newest neighborhood in 2021. Currently being constructed are 56 lots of two-family and multi-family dwelling units. The development resulted in finishing the connection of Kendall Street from 26th to 29th Avenue. A portion of land in the development was dedicated to the City and will become home to our newest pocket park.
Streamlined Code Enforcement
For the past year, Edgewater’s Code Enforcement Officer had the new ability to issue violations for weeds and trees. Prior to this change, the officer was required to refer violations to the municipal court before a ticket could be issued. This change has sped up the process without jeopardizing the rights of property owners (who still have the right to appeal to the courts. Because of the success, the City expanded the Code Enforcement Officer’s authority to cover snow removal violations this year.
I’m looking forward to a return to normalcy in 2021, with more in-person meetings and community events to connect. If you have questions or ideas, please feel free to reach out to me.
Contact Councilmember John Beltrone at jbeltrone@edgewaterco.com or 720-643-6077.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
Thanks for good positive report.
Regarding the death of George Floyd, Edgewater definitely needs to look into the influx of drug addicts and the buying and selling of Fentanyl in the area.