Annual SUN Elections— Searching for Candidates

SUN board elections will take place at the Annual Community Forum on Tuesday May 16. Of the 15 seats on the SUN board, six are up for election.

If interested in a seat on the SUN board, please submit a 200 – 250 word bio by Friday March 17 to StapletonUnitedNeighbors@gmail.com, and attend the SUN board meeting the evening of March 21 from 7:30 – 8:45pm in the Central Park Recreation Center. Bios of recommended candidates will be published in the April issue of the Front Porch, and posted on SUN’s website at www.StapletonUnitedNeighbors.org.

If slated, you will need to attend the Annual Forum on Tuesday May 16, and the June SUN board meeting the following month. Board members are expected to:

(1) Attend eight or more of the 10 SUN board meetings each year (7:30-8:45 on the 3rd Tuesdays of 10 months out of the year);

(2) Chair or serve on at least one SUN committee, or as a SUN liaison on a Stapleton Citizens’ Advisory Board (CAB) or Stapleton Development Corporation (SDC) committee (Parks Advisory Group, Zoning and Planning, Housing Diversity, Community Communications and Design Review) or serving as a SUN liaison to Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC), or with a group within the Stapleton Foundation;

(3) Attend and help host the Annual Kickball Tournament (September 9, 2017, time/location TBD);

(4) Author at least one article per year for the SUN Spot section of the Front Porch;

(5) Be responsive to email and respectfully engaged and informed on topics of importance to the community.

A nominating committee has been formed to identify members of the Stapleton community who are committed to leading efforts to organize neighbors according to SUN’s mission. Please consider sharing your voice and experience by becoming a candidate for the SUN Board of Directors. As Stapleton is always growing, SUN is committed to a diverse board and welcomes residents from all areas and parts of our neighborhood.

March 21 SUN Meetings Central Park Rec Center

SUN block captain/Outreach meeting (6:30 – 7:25pm) – after updates from Denver Police, guest speakers include Councilman Chris Herndon, Nourish Community Market, and WalkDenver.

SUN board meeting (7:30pm – 8:45pm) after open comment, we will meet and introduce candidates for the 2017 slate, discuss the status of the 2017 SUN survey, and other new business items.

Mayor Hancock at February SUN Block Captain Meeting, Excerpts from Q & A

How has crime changed with the increase in population? There has been an increase in violent domestic crime, however in the past 52 weeks both violent index crimes and property crime are down 1%.

Composting? All of Stapleton will be included in the city’s composting program in March. The city will start to disincentivize the use of trash (vs recycling and composting).

Affordable Senior Housing? (Answered by Lee Ferguson from Forest City)—There is no designation for senior ownership, however there are financing programs for senior affordable housing. 35% of affordable rental will be for seniors. In some parts of the city, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) i.e. carriage houses are a solution.

What does the Mayor ask of us/SUN?
Review, provide feedback on and vote for 2017 bonds in November. Visit
www.denvergov.org/2017GObond.

Stay engaged as a community—Stapleton has always been a leader in community engagement

Denver Days—Participate and know your neighbors (host a block party!)

Prevent crimes of opportunity—Lock doors, cars, windows. Know your neighbors and your surroundings and be alert.

Is Denver a Sanctuary City? Will police participate in Immigration roundups? This city is open and inclusive. The immigration system, however, is broken. There should be a better plan for people here illegally. Mass deportation, fear and chaos threatens our economic security and safety, and creates an “underground.” It is against the law for the federal government to threaten us, our city attorneys have read the executive order, we cooperate, but we do not hold people for longer than a person rightfully should stay in jail (without a federal warrant).

Charter schools—The final discussion of the evening involved community members expressing frustration with interactions with Denver Public Schools (DPS). Though the Mayor mentioned having met with Superintendent Tom Boasberg earlier in the day, DPS is independent from the office of the mayor and the City of Denver. The mayor voiced his personal support for the choice process of which charter schools are a component, adding he thinks the DPS Board should consider fixing a school before it is closed and turned into a charter.

Sandoval Campus Issues—The mayor said he was not fully briefed on the most recent source of discordance between the Stapleton community and DPS. SUN has established a committee to track progress of and advocate for Northfield High School in the wake of the decision by DPS to place a second Stapleton DSST high school on the Sandoval campus prior to the completion of Northfield High School.