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
10AM, 1PM, and 4PM Wild West Walking History Tour
10AM, 1PM, and 4PM Wild West Short Tour
12-12:55PM All Levels Yoga (Virtual)
1PM DDA Grant Committee: Business Grant Program Guidelines @ 1000 10th St. (map)
1-1:45PM Silver Sneakers Yoga (Virtual)
4:30-5:30PM Teen Advisory Board @ Golden Library
5PM Ribbon Cutting and VIBE@Five @ Symmetry 360 Massage (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.
5PM CSM Baseball – Orediggers vs. Northern Colorado @ Jim Darden Field
5PM City Council Study Session @ City Hall
6PM New World Disorder Movie Night @ Pedal Pushers Cyclery
6-8:30PM Exploring the Elements of Art @ Foothills Art Center
Whether you’re just beginning to paint, intend to strengthen your skills, or are refining a style uniquely your own, explore the potential for self-expression in our visual language. Each session we work on practical application, with demonstrations, of the essential tools of artistic expression: composition, edges, shapes, values, color, light, and subject matter. We always set aside time for feedback on participants’ artwork. Learn more….
6:30-8:30PM Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171
6:30-8:30PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Buffalo Rose
6:30-8:30PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
5PM City Council Study Session and Regular Business Meeting @ City Hall
Study Session (starts at 5PM)
Council will begin their study session with a discussion to consider putting several charter amendments on the 2023 ballot. One of the amendments would make the charter’s language more gender-neutral and inclusive. The others would change the charter to facilitate development of affordable housing.
An Affordable Housing Committee has been discussing this topic. The most recent meeting (March 23rd) was not recorded, but the meeting before that identified several changes that the committee hopes to see, including relief from parking requirements, relief from the 1% growth limit, and relief from density limits. They will present their specific requests to Council in May.
The second study session topic will be Clear Creek Management changes for this summer. Staff will present their 2023 suggestions for crowd management. They added 50 new waste stations (trash + recycling) last year and will add still more this year. See the meeting memo to review their full list of proposals for this year.
Business Meeting (starts at 6:30)
Tonight’s consent agenda includes a resolution agreeing to provide water and sewer to the owners of 850 Shelton Road (map). The tap fees to hook on to those services will total $40,467. The second consent item is a contract for $1,133.006.23 for utility replacement in 2023. The third consent item will be an ordinance to control water use through new restrictions on irrigation.
They will read proclamations regarding National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and National Volunteer Week.
They will discuss how to dispose of the excess $600,000 of lodging tax that we collected in 2022. According to state law, we are required to refund the excess tax to the people who paid it (visitors) unless we have a new ballot issue in which the citizens approve keeping it. Accordingly, this will probably go on the ballot this fall, so we can vote to keep it.
They will hold a public hearing regarding seasonal use of parking lanes and Miners Alley by bars & restaurants. Council originally allowed this in 2020, as a way to help restaurants survive the pandemic. They made it permanent in 2021. At that time, they charged the businesses only $50 per season for this use of the public right of way. This year, staff calculated actual cost to the city for staff time and loss of right of way, and proposed charging $5000-10,000 per season. The business owners are extremely unhappy with this proposal. They have sent many letters to the councilcomments email address and will probably be present to protest the new fees at tonight’s meeting.
The Golden Hill Mobile Home Park was purchased in November of 2021, and since then the residents have seen their lot rental prices double. The residents have been trying to purchase the park. In an effort to protect some of our existing Affordable Housing supply, the City committed to contributing up to $1 million. They had hoped that other government agencies would also contribute grant money, but so far, only Golden has come through. The residents are asking the City to contribute an additional $1 million, which will help keep residents’ rent more affordable. The additional $1 million would be structured as a very long-term, possibly forgivable loan. For more information, see the meeting memo.
Council will review and (possibly) approve a memo of understanding with the School of Mines regarding stormwater detention for Mines Park and the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC).
They will review another memo of understanding with the School of Mines regarding shared parking. The proposal would allow Mines to use the Splash (water park) parking lot (map) during the winter. In exchange, the City would be able to use the School’s K Lot at 11th and Maple (map), during the summer. Mines would also reserve two parking spaces near the trailhead for Triceratops Trail (map) for public use.
Council will review and (probably) adopt a resolution opposing Senate Bill 23-213. If you haven’t been following this issue, you should be! The Governor and some of the state legislators are pushing legislation that would negatively affect life in Golden. The plan is to eliminate single family home zoning by permitting multi-family housing in all zones. They also plan to eliminate growth limits, such as our 1% growth limit. There has been strong pushback against the proposed changes, so the specifics of the bill are still changing. The goal is to increase the amount of available housing, with the hope that the increased availability would bring down housing prices. Here are a couple of articles that describe the issue:
Gov. Jared Polis thinks density is the magic bullet for high housing costs. Is he right?
The business meeting will be followed by an executive session (no public, no cameras, no microphones) to discuss “personnel matters related to the contract for legal services with the City Attorney.”
TRIVIA
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
Brass band music was very popular with soldiers during the Civil War, and became an essential element of American life in the years following the war. Golden had its own local band as early as 1875, and its membership waxed and waned over the years. The Golden Band had a significant surge in popularity during the 19-teens.
The April 8, 1915 Colorado Transcript included an article by John. C. Vivian, saying that several members of the Golden Band needed employment, and if Golden wanted to continue having a first-class brass band, they needed to come up with jobs for those men. He pointed out that communities commonly went out of their way to find jobs for members of their baseball teams, and said that a good community band was just as important for civic pride. Vivian went on to be the Governor of Colorado from 1943 to 1947.
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!