As our Edgewater community enters 2023, our world is increasingly divided and fractured. Economic and education gaps are widening. Watching the news makes us feel like political gaps are widening as well. As I’ve walked our streets and built relationships with residents, business owners and school staff, I believe we have a unique opportunity to bridge gaps in our small community and move forward together. If we can’t work for change together in a small place like Edgewater, good luck doing it in bigger places. So here are some thoughts for how we can move our Edgewater community forward together.
Community conversations before policy change
One of the beauties of our Edgewater community is its size. There is an opportunity to walk the streets of Edgewater, meet neighbors and build connections. Candidates for political office can knock on doors and listen to residents as they campaign for elected positions. In 2022, there were major issues discussed at Edgewater City Council from gun control to minimum wage. At every level of government, these issues are divisive and quickly become partisan. Maybe I am too optimistic, but I believe that in a community as small as Edgewater, we can come together in community conversations around these issues. All sides can be heard and common ground can be found. Then ideas for policy change in Edgewater can grow from these community conversations. Starting with community conversations, instead of policy conversations starting at Edgewater City Council, can go a long way to bridging divides and moving our community forward.
Smart development and housing solutions
One important opportunity to first have community conversations and then look to policy changes is through the Edgewater Comprehensive Plan process that will begin in 2023. You can take a look at the last Edgewater Comprehensive Plan that was completed in 2013 here. According to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Community Development Office, “The comprehensive plan is a framework and guide for accomplishing community aspirations and intentions. It states goals and objectives and recommends courses of action for future growth and development of land, public facilities and services and environmental protection.” Since the last Comprehensive Plan was completed ten years ago, home prices and rent rates have more than doubled making our community unaffordable for many. We need to think creatively as a community to see how zoning and housing policy can help people stay in their housing situation, if they want, and create more opportunities for people to live in Edgewater. There is also an opportunity for smart development along the 25th Avenue “Main Street” corridor, so small businesses can flourish and more housing opportunities can be created. Yet we also don’t want so much development that it looks like Tennyson Street with multi-story apartments that push out small businesses.
Listening to the past while looking to the future
As more people move to Edgewater, there is an opportunity to share the stories, places and people that have made our community special over the years. We also need to have hard conversations about how racial issues impacted/currently impact every sector of our community. Community members are currently working with the History, Arts, Parks, and Recreation (HARP) Board to write and publish a new Edgewater history book that should be released by the end of this year. There are also conversations about regular Edgewater history walking tours this spring to connect people to the stories and places from Edgewater’s past. The recent purchase of Edgewater Inn is an example of how to listen to the past, yet also look to the future of Edgewater. Instead of scraping the Edgewater Inn building and creating someone new, the owners are refreshing the Edgewater Inn space and hoping to create a new biergarden in the parking lot west of Edgewater Inn. Are there other ways to tell the stories of the past around Edgewater? Change is inevitable, but there are ways to move toward the future while still honoring the history of the community.
Following through on plans to create thriving, local schools
Based on my work with Edgewater Collective, I can’t talk about moving our community forward without talking about our local schools. As I look into the eyes of our families who we’ve walked alongside for the last ten years, I can see the struggle and disappointment of promises not kept and dreams not realized. The City of Edgewater, Jeffco Public Schools and Edgewater Collective are working together to bring our community into a conversation about how to reimagine education in our area with the closing of Molholm Elementary School at the end of this school year. These conversations must end with a plan that has specific and actionable steps for innovation and investment that will lead to long-term change for and with students, families and staff.
Celebrating diversity in Edgewater
One of the beautiful efforts that started during the pandemic was the Edgewater Pride Parade. The LGBTQIA community continues to be marginalized in many communities, yet Edgewater residents came together to organize this great, community-led event. City of Edgewater staff have worked hard over the last few years to celebrate a diversity of holidays and community events beyond those that were historically celebrated. Edgewater should be a place where everyone feels welcome, valued and celebrated. In this new year, how can we work together to bring more racial and ethnic diversity to Edgewater City Council as well as board and commissions? With a large number of community members that speak Spanish, how they can participate in Edgewater City Council meetings? As Edgewater increasingly becomes more progressive, how do we ensure that Republicans feel heard and valued for their opinions? How do we ensure that older members of our community don’t feel left behind?
My hope for 2023 is that the Edgewater community can be an example of a place where all members of the community feel valued, heard and are part of solutions that move Edgewater forward together. I’m committed to create opportunities for community members to join these partnerships for a thriving Edgewater community. Stay tuned and get involved!
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.
Be the first to comment on "Editorial: Resolutions for Moving the Edgewater Community Forward Together"