WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?
9-10AM Women’s Exercise and Bible Study @ First United Methodist Church
9:15-9:45AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
10-10:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic (Virtual)
10:15-10:45AM Preschool Time @ Golden Library
12-12:55PM All Levels Yoga (Virtual)
12PM Managing Risk for Pre-Retirees and Retirees (Virtual)
1-1:45PM Silver Sneakers Yoga (Virtual)
4:30-5:30PM Teen Advisory Board @ Golden Library
5-7PM VIBE@5 @ American Mountaineering Center (map)
VIBE@FIVE is Golden’s Happy Hour! Come join other members of the Golden Chamber of Commerce for this “Very Important Business Event” – VIBE! This event is for members of the Golden Chamber of Commerce and their guests as well as for members of the Golden Young Professionals. Become a member Stop in for a quick hello and a refreshment right after work and a chance to get to know fellow members of the Golden Chamber of Commerce and Golden Young Professionals. This is a great networking and socializing event.
5:30PM Managing Risk for Pre-Retirees and Retirees @ On Tap Credit Union
5:30PM Tuesday Night Rides @ Golden Mill
6PM Books on Tap @ On Tap Credit Union
6-8:00PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
6-8PM Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills by Eddie Hackstaff @ American Mountaineering Center (map)
The AAC Library presents the next installment of their 2023 speaker series.
6:30-7:30PM Estate Planning – Basic Wills and Trusts @ Golden Community Center
6:30PM City Council Regular Business Meeting @ City Hall
See the complete calendar of events.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
5PM City Council Study Session @ City Hall
This fall, we’ll be voting on three council positions: the two districts and the mayor. Casey Brown is term-limited, so his District 2 job will be open. JJ Trout has indicated that she does not plan to run for second term, so District 1 will also be open. Mayor Weinberg has not (as far as I know) announced her intentions.
Tonight’s study session will begin with a discussion about whether the City should offer benefits, as well as a salary, to future council members. Council members are not well compensated, considering the number of hours they put into the job. In addition to the formal council meetings, they all serve on regional committees and, of course, spend time communicating with their constituents. For all of that, they are compensated as follows:
Mayor – $2,011.00
Mayor Pro-Tem – $1,611.00
Councilors – $1,511.00
They will discuss offering medical insurance and an annual pass to the community center as additional compensation. The meeting memo offers this interesting comment:
Several of the local comparators [nearby cities of similar size] who provide health benefits indicated that while they hoped this benefit would encourage candidates with different demographics than their current makeup of mostly retirees, that has not necessarily been the case. In some cases, individuals this benefit attracted had very high medical needs, which drove up medical costs for the entire City.
It’s important to note that current councilors cannot benefit from any compensation that they approve. Only future councilors would be eligible for these new benefits.
The second topic will be a brief discussion of Council’s priorities for the 2024 budget.
The final study session topic will be the downtown parking study. Those of you who fear that the City will reduce available parking will be glad to see this item:
Some users, such as seniors, will continue to need to drive and park. Implementation of new parking management strategies needs to take this into consideration.
On the other hand, the memo also makes this suggestion:
Revising the parking requirements in the zoning code to enhance the ability to share parking and ensure parking ratios are appropriate for the demand in the context of the overall parking supply and management system.
This generally means reducing required parking for new construction. See the meeting packet to review both the staff and consultant summaries.
6:40PM Regular Business Meeting
Tonight’s Consent Items (no discussion unless requested by one of the councilors) include an amended ballot box lease agreement; accepting a petition to annex 52.41 acres to the north end of the City; and approving the purchase of a motor grader for $345,757.
They will read proclamations regarding:
Mental Health Month May 2023
Building Safety Month May 2023
Public Service Recognition Week 2023
Golden Graduates 2023
They will accept conveyance of the 5 acre Bachman property from the county while indemnifying the county for any potential hazardous materials encountered on the property. This is part of the land swap where Jeffco Open Space traded a parcel of their property to the quarry, so the quarry could expand their operation.
The Police Chief will present the Police Department’s Mission, Vision, and Values.
The Finance Director will provide the first quarter financial report.
They will hold a public hearing on a budget amendment totaling $4,794,900 in additional expenditures and $114,800 in increased contingency appropriation.
Their second public hearing concerns a proposed ordinance that would require established businesses (generally the craft breweries) to ensure that their “transient/temporary vendors” (generally food trucks) be property licensed with the City.
They will have their first reading of Ordinance 2209, which will repeal and replace the current commercial zoning code. The public hearing for this ordinance is scheduled for May 23rd.
The Deputy City Manager will brief Council on progress of their 2023 Strategic Plan.
After the business meeting, they will adjourn to an Executive Session (no audience, no cameras) to discuss “the City’s water rights and relating to potential water right agreements and acquisition of water as may be necessary and prudent for long range water supply planning”
PUB GAMES
6PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
6:30-8:30PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Buffalo Rose
6:30-8:30PM Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171
LIVE MUSIC
6PM Karaoke with Linda @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
6PM Open Bluegrass Pick Night @ Over Yonder Brewing
GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT
Mothers Day is this Sunday, May 14th. According to History.com, “The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.” Clearly, she failed.
I traced the history of Mothers Day-related advertising in the Colorado Transcript. For the first several years of the holiday’s existence, it was mentioned as a news item, reminding readers to honor their mothers on this newly-minted day. The first commercial reference that I found was a 1922 advertisement by Robinson’s Book Store, encouraging people to buy Mothers Day cards.
After that, Mothers Day slowly gained traction amongst Golden’s merchants. It began with cards and then expanded into candy, then jewelry, then flowers. The telephone company always suggested that Mother would appreciate a phone call.
By the 1950s, any “female” gift was in play, including clothing, perfume, and labor saving appliances. By the 1990s, Mothers Day buffets were catching on.
One thing that struck me was the way the mothers depicted in the ads become younger and more glamorous. The generic mothers shown in the 1920s-1940s were distinctly matronly…grandmother age. The moms shown in the 1950s-1970s got younger and younger.
I have a theory about that: I think once merchants discovered that Mothers Day was an opportunity to sell gifts, they expanded the market to include young mothers as well as older ones. That way, it wasn’t just adults honoring their elderly mothers–husbands and children were drawn into the pool of consumers as well.
Happy (soon-to-be) Mothers Day!
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
