University Park

Up Words, September 2005

Sep 29, 2005

Fall Issue ?”UP-WORDS?” September 2005

University Park Community Council (UPCC) Newsletter
The Official Voice of the University Park Community Council

Rosemary Stoffel, President, 692-0107 Diana Helper, Editor, 733-4902
PO Box 102407, Denver, CO 80250 Donna Peterson,Distributor, 639-5750
www.neighborhoodlink.com/Denver/upcc (and Block Captain Coordinator)

IMPORTANT NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
WEDS., OCTOBER 19 (New Date!) --6:30 Social Time, 7 PM Meeting
At UP School, S. St. Paul and E. Iliff Ave.

UP-DATES on ZONING incl. plans for 1945 S. Josephine development
TRAFFIC, TRANSPORTATION and SIDEWALKS
HISTORIC LEGACY and OPEN SPACE / PARKS
Explanation of CERTIFIED HOME Program sponsored by Historic Denver
Report on NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH program
CITY NEWS from COUNCILMAN CHARLIE BROWN
Presentation and Vote to adopt
UPCC?’s PROPOSED NEW ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION & REVISED BY-LAWS !
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PROPOSED UPCC ARTICLES Of INCORPORATION & BYLAWS BRING CHANGES
By Bill Winn, Chmn. of the UPCC Bylaws Committee

The board of directors of University Park Community Council (UPCC) has unanimously voted to submit proposed Articles of Incorporation for approval of the general membership at the fall meeting of Members, October 19, 2005.

The Articles of Incorporation and new Bylaws will establish UPCC as a 501 (c) (4) Nonprofit under the Internal Revenue Service code. The new articles of incorporation set out the purpose of UPCC: To promote and enhance the quality of life in University Park Neighbor-hood; To assist in the preservation and maintenance of the character, history, and fabric of the University Park Neighborhood; To provide a forum for discussion, consideration, and resolution of issues and of multiple viewpoints regarding the University Park Neighborhood; and To maintain involvement and liaison with the Inter Neighborhood Cooperation, Incorporated, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, a coalition of neighborhood organizations registered with the City and County of Denver.

Incorporation will formalize our structure as a neighborhood organization and offer some liability protection for the association and its board of directors. UPCC previously has operated as an unincorporated nonprofit association pursuant to Colorado law after letting a prior incorporation lapse in 1994. See current news for more information.

UPCC Calendar
10/8 Ballot Issues Forum co-sponsored
by Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation
(INC), 9 AM, Ramada, 1150 E. Colfax
10/8 Star Gazing at Chamberlin
Observatory, Dusk-10 PM, call
303-871-5172 for information
10/19 UPCC Fall Meeting (p.1)
10/24 7 PM Legacy/Open Space Mtg.
10/25 7 PM DU Good Neighbors Mtg.
11/2 UPCC Board, 7 PM
11/5 Star Gazing

Also check the UPCC website, the bulletin board in Observatory Park, and the free monthly Wash. Park Profile newspaper, for UP notices and news.

UP School Events
10/14 Fall Dance & Multicultural Night
10/19 Parent-Teacher Conferences
10/19-21 Fall Break (no school)
10/27-11/1 Scholastic Book Fair
10/29 Fall Beautification Day
10/31 Annual Halloween Parade

Please call the UP School office, 303-756-9407 for more information about the school and opportunities to volunteer there.

SAY HELLO TO DU NEIGHBORS!

Many DU students, as well as faculty and staff, live in UP. Be a good neighbor and take some time to meet and get acquainted with them A friendly welcome makes students feel as if they are living in a ?“real neighborhood?” (not Party Central). Exchange phone numbers, and do let students know if a gathering or music is too loud, cars parked illegally, trash needs picking up or other information they may need to know about living in UP. Take them some cookies! Be Neighborly! (But-- if trouble arises? Call Police dispatch, 720-913-2000.)

The next GOOD NEIGHBORS meeting sponsored by DU is at 7 PM October 25. Plan to attend and hear what?’s going on at DU. It?’s also an opportunity to talk about any DU-related concerns or questions you may have. Call Warren Smith at DU, 303-871-2711, for location (usually at Driscoll, the building on the north side of the bridge over E. Evans). For other DU matters call Neil Krauss, DU?’s Neighborhood Liaison, at 303-871-4365.

UP?’S LEGACY?…Preservation & Parks

DO YOU LOVE A HISTORY?
If you?’re interested in this historic area and would like to help preserve it, please attend a meeting on Oct. 24 to discuss important UP projects that need your help.
And?…
PARKS & OPEN SPACES in UP also will be discussed at this meeting, so if you?’d like to help with UP?’s great parks and much-prized open spaces, please attend -----
October 24, 7 PM, at Rosemary Stoffel?’s house, 2275 S. Monroe. Call her or Whit Whitbeck, 303-758-0990, for details.

Meanwhile Historic Denver needs examples of historic homes which have been demolished or ?“insensitively remodeled.?” This info will help HD?’s Urban Living Program, encouraging preservation, consideration and care of historic homes being remodeled. Call Rosemary at 303-692-9197 if you know of examples.

BUCHTEL TRAIL UPDATE ?– Britta Herwig of Parks & Recreation hopes to start work on the Buchtel Open Space project this Fall. This will be a major endeavor for the Buchtel Committee. We will meet as soon as Britta can arrange it. For info please call Diana Helper, Buchtel Comm. Chmn., 303-733-4902, and/or attend the Oct. 24 mtg. (above).

SIDEWALK COMMITTEE EXPANDS
There is now a UPCC Sidewalk Subcommittee which is a coalition of neighborhoods along the light rail route from I-25/Evans to S. Broadway. The city recommends that such a group effort can help create continuous safe pedestrian and bicycle routes primarily along Buchtel Blvd., from the Colorado Center station to Broadway, enabling access to rail stations and other area destinations without driving. Buchtel is a desig-nated Parkway, located primarily through residential neighborhoods. West University Community Assn. and Warrens University are the first to join the coalition. Mary Myers is Chmn of the UPCC Sidewalk Committee, 303-733-1786.

PARKS & PEOPLE PARTNERSHIP also invites you to volunteer to be a park evaluator. Please call Parks/Rec Deputy Mgr. John Overstreet, 720-913-0668 for details.

BLOCK BY BLOCK?…
We?’re Becoming Safer and More Secure!
Neighborhood Watch (NW) is our nation?’s largest single crime prevention program, and many UP neighbors benefit from participating in this program. They experience fewer burglaries, and their active Neighborhood Watch block helps build and preserve strong, healthy communities such as ours.

Your block can reap these benefits by working with the Denver Police, who will instruct and advise your group on aspects of home and personal safety. Once you have had your meeting, a sign is posted indicating that yours
is a Neighborhood Watch block.

Such blocks also might organize pot-luck gatherings, or adopt a community cause or a project at the local school ?– a food pantry or grounds clean-up, perhaps. But primarily, the residents are observant of one another?’s property and report suspicious activity.

Remember to lock doors and windows when you?’re away, put on a light every night all night (but not one that keeps your neighbors awake!), and always report suspicious activity to police.

To schedule a block meeting with a Denver Police representative or to learn more about Neighborhood Watch, contact Mike Simpson with the Denver Police Dept. at 720-913-1175, or your UPCC Coordinator-at-Large for NW, Richard Rogers, 303-778-0466.

POLICE DIST. GENERAL MEETINGS for interested citizens in District 3 are held the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at District 3 Station, 1625 S. University Blvd. You can call this station at 720-913-COPS (-2677). For Police Dispatch call 720-913-2000, and of course call 911 in an emergency.

TRANSPORTATION ALERT!

RTD proposes to remove the #52 bus route on Buchtel Boulevard through University Park, when the light rail begins to operate late next year. A number of residents have said they oppose this removal, as they depend on this bus. Comment is solicited now-- please contact RTD Board Chmn. Bill Elfenbein, Director of Dist. A, at 2970 S. Cherry Creek South Dr. #5, Denver 80209, or elfs@comcast.net.
UP ZONING UPDATES

Here is an update from UPCC Zoning Chmn. Pat Cashen, 303-759-5969.

EVANS & COLORADO ?– The former Albert-sons site is being studied for redevelopment. The UPCC Board has met with the owner and is in contact with the Denver Planning Office on this project. No firm direction has been established except that a mixed use proposal is being dis-cussed. As the scope of this project unfolds, UP residents will have an opportunity to review and comment on this project.

EVANS & UNIVERSITY?– Plans for University Lofts are in the design development stage, working with the City?’s internal review process. Demolition of the existing structures is slated April 2, 2006, with an anticipated 13 month construction schedule to follow. The design includes 36 residential apartments over street level retail and two levels of underground park-ing. There is a great deal of interest in the retail space but no leases have yet been committed to.

1945 S. JOSEPHINE?—Plans for this very large condominium will be presented October 19.

It is important that all members have an opportunity to review, discuss, and vote on the proposed Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. Residents are encouraged to obtain a copy and attend the October 19 meeting. Copies can be obtained on the UPCC website, www.neighborhoodlink.com/denver.upcc or by contacting UPCC President Rosemary Stoffel, 303-692-9197, STOFF4@aol.com.

[Ed. Note: DO read the Bylaws! The committee worked hard on them. Among the interesting changes you?’ll find are new designations for board member titles, more power for the board to make some decisions, a rule that the news-letter job may no longer have both board status and remuneration ?– eek!- and more! Adios?]


UP IS A LITTLE ?“DOWN?”

The UPCC Budget, that is. Income is below this time in 2004, so if you have not volunteered your $15.00 voluntary dues for 2005, and are able to help this worthy cause, there is still time to contribute! You may do so at the UPCC October 19 meeting, or send a check made out to UPCC with the form below to co-Treasurer June Morgan, 2100 S. Monroe, 80210. If you can?’t remember whether you paid, at the October meeting we can check the full list of those who Have, or you may call June at 303-757-2563.

UPCC ?“dues?” help keep neighborhood projects going, fund the annual Holiday Sing and 4th of July Parade and Band, bring this newsletter to you, and cover other needs.

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UPCC DUES AND INTEREST FORM -- FALL 2005

Name_________________________________________________ Phone ________________

Address____________________________________________ email?___________________

Enclosed $_________ 2005 dues (or ?___________________________ )

Special UP Interests/Concerns___________________________________________________


ALL UP RESIDENTS ARE MEMBERS OF UPCC
General Meetings: Feb., May, Oct. -- plus July 4th Parade & Dec. Holiday Sing
UP Boundaries: I-25, E. Yale Ave., S. University Blvd., S. Colorado Blvd.
University Park was founded in 1886
The Vision of UPCC Residents was formally expressed in 2000 ?–
?“To Perpetuate and Enhance the Integrity of the University Park Neighborhood?”