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Message From Our Co-Presidents
Greetings Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods Members and Friends, The past three months have tested our 48 year old organization in myriad ways. But, they have also served as a testament-- of the fervent commitment and incredible dedication so many of you have for our work. We are reaching out to provide an update about where we are and what we have been up to since our annual meeting in January. - We have reduced operational expenses, eliminating unneeded overhead and equipment, refined internal efficiencies, and tapped into the expertise of our volunteer delegate base. Included in this effort, we have migrated our IT platforms to Google G-Suite and will soon improve membershipmanagement, and improve the online donation experience. - We are actively improving our governance structure. We implemented a few new policies and procedures on the board, and we added a delegate work-plan that outlines how each delegate aims to support the organization. - We are building our board committee structure to better support the operations of the organization. Each vice-president will now spearhead the internal functions related to membership, the Tears-McFarlane House, and so forth--thus, ensuring that our programmatic activities continue to move forward. Joined by other board members, these committees will execute a solid work flow and ensure we move our priorities forward. - The board of delegates has added an impressive roster of community advocates, public policy professionals, and other expertise. - The Tears-McFarlane House continues to be the primary source of revenue for our operations and neighborhood engagement efforts. We are pleased to report that all office suites, with the exception of one new additional space, are now fully leased. Short term rentals have increased as well. As you think about your upcoming events, please consider our community meeting spaces as your venue of choice. - Volunteers and delegates are providing critical office coverage. Many thanks to Caroline Schomp, Molly Williams, Michele Steed, Doug Goldman, Bill DeMaio, Kevin Kelly, and others for serving in this capacity. Collectively, they represent the active, engaged face of Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods. - Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods has representation on may other commissions, committees, and task forces. To that end, the board recently made the following appointments: Annette Woodward to the Denver Botanic Gardens Neighborhood Advisory Committee, Chris Hinds to Blueprint Denver Task Force, Nancy Charles-Parker to the Presbyterian/St. Luke's Community Engagement Committee; Jim Slotta and Margie Valdez will continue to represent our group on INC. Other appointments are forthcoming and we will share those with you in the coming months. - Our fundraising continues to improve and we have added 10 monthly donors in the last two weeks. Many of these recent donors are new delegates and we could not be more thankful for their support. If you would like to support Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods with a monthly or one-time donation, please click HERE. We are happy to discuss ways in which you can support specific programs or improvements to the Tears-McFarlane House and Community Meeting Spaces. - And finally, your feedback is invaluable. We recently conducted a survey and learned among other things that our members are looking for more communication and across various platforms. You may have noticed an increased presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. On behalf of the board of directors, we look forward to sharing more progress with you next month. In the meantime, if you have any additional questions or would like to connect with us more, please feel free to email us at travis.leiker@gmail.com or markcossin@gmail.com. To progress... Travis Leiker & Mark Cossin Co-Presidents, Board of Delegates Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods CHUN's Annual Easter Egg Hunt Is a Cap Hill FavoriteCapitol Hill United Neighborhoods' Easter Egg Hunt is fun for the kids and fun for the grownups to watch! Hundreds of kids from Capitol Hill neighborhoods get to hunt up Easter eggs and sweet treats at the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods Easter Egg Hunt. The fun begins at the Tears-McFarlane House, 1290 Williams St. on April 15 beginning at 1 p.m. In addition to the Easter Egg Hunt, there are refreshments. games with prizes and a chance to meet the Easter Bunny in person. Bring your children's Easter baskets to collect the eggs. The Jazz Project(March 17, 7:30 - 10:00 p.m. - special discount for Urban Dweller readers -- keep reading! It's an event that celebrates Jazz, Art, Drinks and Food at the revamped McNichols Building in Denver's Civic Center. Music: The Dave Devine Trio. Dave Devine is known throughout the Denver jazz and rock scene for his virtuosity and versatility as a guitarist and composer. This versatile group performs regularly throughout Denver and has held the First Friday Residency at Dazzle Jazz for the past three years. Dave is currently Coordinator of the Jazz and American Improvised Music department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Art: 3rd Floor Exhibit : Tectonic SHIFT | Dynamics of Change Tectonic SHIFT is a collective exhibition of regional artists exploring the concept of change. Works in a variety of media capture the artists’ reactions to changes in our society. 2nd Floor Exhibit : Picture Me Here | Stories of Hope and Resilience by Refugees and Immigrants Picture Me Here provides custom storytelling programs for displaced and marginalized communities, primarily refugees and immigrants, through photography, video, animation and writing, participants build creative tools for self-expression, social engagement, community building, integration and leadership. Drinks: Enjoy Prohibition-era cocktails throughout the night at pop-up bars scattered throughout the two floors of the event space! We’re still finalizing the exact menu, but you can look forward to classic go-to cocktails like Old Fashioneds and Sazarec, as well as slightly harder-to-find drinks like Juleps, Sidecars and Gin Rickeys. Food: There will be food available for purchase at the event provided by some of Denver’s fantastic food trucks in addition to some light snacks inside. We’d highly suggest you treat yourself, or eat before the event, since the cocktails are sure to be flowing. Stay tuned for more details on what grub to expect! Tickets: The Jazz Project's partner is Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods. CHUN receives a dollar for each ticket purchased and you get a dollar off every ticket you purchase. Use the code CHUN when you buy online. Meet Our Newest Business Leader, Houchin Consulting Houchin Consulting is a consulting firm that was founded in 2006 with the sole purpose of assisting small to midsize companies with their HR issues and employee relations, including workplace conflict, terminations and lay-off situations. Unemployment, Recruiting/Hiring, Training and Development, Management Coaching and Team Retreats are just some of the areas in which Houchin Consulting can help your business take its operations to the next level. As a local Denver company owner, Brent Houchin is able to meet with businesses in the greater Denver area in person, as compared to the large firms that generally charge to come and visit from outside cities or states. Houchin Consulting also has recently started a Resume Building service for individuals starting out, re-entering the workforce or changing careers. Visit Houchin Consulting today to learn more about what Brent can do to assist you. Call 303.503.1738 or email Brent Houchin, It’s about RESPECT, your employees will thank you. Drink a Brewski for Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods: Beer Fest April 8 @ Govnr's Park Tavern Come and join Govnr's Park and Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) in an annual celebration of craft beer. Meet some new people and enjoy great craft beers. With more than 100 varieties to test, you're sure to find a few that will tickle your palate. Purchase tickets from your server at Govnr's Park and do it soon because this event always sells out! Govnr's Park also has some great eats to go with those beers. Check out their menu at www.govnrspark.com. Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods is thankful to have the support of Govnr's Park Tavern, a Capitol Hill fixture since 1976 and its sister establishment, Lala's Wine Bar. GREEN CORNER: Time for Spring (Electronics) Cleaning!As you clean out your home and garden this spring, don’t miss out on the opportunity to make the most of the regularly scheduled services offered by Denver Solid Waste Management. Fortunately, keeping track of your home’s recycling, compost, trash and extra trash collection days is now easier than ever with free online reminder services. If you haven’t done so already, sign up for phone, email or mobile app reminders so you don’t miss any future collections. To set up your service reminder, visit DenverGov.org/trash or download the “Denver Trash and Recycling” app from iTunes or the Google Play Store. Here are some great disposal alternatives for some of the items you might find during your spring cleaning:
For additional information on Denver Recycles’ programs, visit DenverGov.org/DenverRecycles or call 311 (720-913-1311).People's Fair Getting a New Look for 2017 Hey! You try turning 46 and fabulous without getting a little work done! The People’s Fair is strutting into 2017 with a fresh new website and logo. The People's Fair still benefits Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods but is being produced by Team Player Productions. Celebrating Denver While continuing to honor the roots of this tradition, we’re celebrating Denver as the exciting and ever-growing city it is and all that the unique pockets it has to offer. Neighborhood breweries, restaurants down the street, local artisans, your buddy’s band – you name it, each area has got something special and we want to highlight that at the People’s Fair. Marketplace People’s Fair is known for having a diverse selection of vendors and food options. New this year, we’re doing away with pesky food/drink tickets to make the event more accessible for people. We’ll continue to have dozens of non-profits represented along with crafters, restaurants, food trucks and businesses. Musical Roots Of course, the event is well known for showcasing music. That component will continue and be expanded with a national act to headline on Saturday as well as dozens of local bands throughout the weekend. Who doesn’t want to plant your butt in the grass for hours of great music? Thought so. – see you there. Committee Updates:Now Is the Time to Prune Street Trees Into its third decade, the CHUN Tree Project has helped facilitate the planting of thousands of street trees in Greater Capitol Hill, but the Project’s care of our urban forest goes further. Pruning young trees to shape their growth to better suit our city environment is also an important task. Surprising to some, winter is the best time to prune street trees. Winter pruning saves the tree from expending energy putting leaves on branches that are later removed, and results in a vigorous burst of growth in the spring. Pruning is important to produce a tree that does not have branches too low to the ground. Remember, limbs do NOT move upward as a tree grows in height! A small branch 5 feet off the ground will, if not pruned, become a big branch causing trouble for pedestrians and cars. And, pruning is also important for the health of the tree. The removal of double leaders, rubbing branches, and suckers helps promote a sturdy, long-lived tree. And, removing a branch whose angle to the main trunk is too narrow will help the tree resist storm damage. Tree pruning is not as intuitive as many people think. Improper pruning can invite disease and inspect pests to invade the tree, and can sometimes be worse than no pruning at all. The National Arbor Day Foundation has published a short Bulletin entitled “How to Prune Young Shade Trees.” It explains in detail how best to prune your street trees, and should be consulted by every starting arborist. This Bulletin can be found on the CHUN website, and can also be purchased on the Arbor Day Foundation’s website at arborday.org. Denver’s urban forest is an important asset that provides many benefits. In addition to adding beauty to our neighborhoods, trees help cool our city, moderate street noise, and capture storm water. Pruning your street trees now while they are young is necessary to ensure they live a long life and are an enduring asset to the city. You're Invited! Spring Clean-Up at Tears-McFarlaneLast month these wonderful young ladies from Americorps helped us organize and clean out the basement. Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tears-McFarlane House, 1290 Williams St. Americorps volunteers and members of Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods will be working on getting CHUN's historic property spruced up for spring and summer.
We'll have some drinks and snacks for volunteers. The Tears-McFarlane House will be on display during Doors Open Denver, April 29 & 30. Help CHUN get this historic mansion ready to show off. Historic Preservation Comm. Talks Cell Phone TowersSullivan Gateway - Courtesy Colorado Preservation The committee had a lengthy discussion with 4 representatives of Verizon concerning its request to locate several new 30-foot tall monopole cellular communication pole/towers in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, including, particularly, one proposed for the edge of Civic Center Park at 131 W. 14th Ave. Civic Center Park is both a local and a national historic landmark district. The Verizon representatives explained that the need for more pole/towers is caused by the growing demand for greater capacity in cell communication, the growing density of residential and other uses in the inner city and high-volume events, marches, etc., in Civic Center Park. The committee voted to communicate to Verizon and city that it is opposed to the location of any cellular communication poles or towers in city parks, but especially in landmark-designated parks such as Civic Center Park. The committee urged Verizon and the city to commit that no signs, banners or equipment may be attached to any pole/towers installed in any neighborhood and to explore opportunities to co-locate pole/towers with Xcel Energy streetlights and/or pole/towers of other cellular communication companies in order to minimize visual clutter in all of our neighborhoods. The committee encouraged the city to establish a working group so that cellular communication companies, different city departments and citizens can study ways to minimize visual clutter and to learn best practices from other jurisdictions. The committee had a discussion with Steve Turner, a preservation architect who is the chief executive officer of History Colorado and the State Historic Preservation Officer. Steve explained the many tasks of History Colorado, including
The committee had a discussion with Jennifer Cappeto, who is the newly-promoted supervisor of the staff of the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission. She commented on the increasing number of demolition permit requests reviewed by the staff and also an increasing number of applications for landmark designation. The committee also discussed with her the work that the design review subcommittee of the CHUN Historic Preservation Committee has done since it began assisting the LPC during the last 18 months and ways to improve the process. The next committee meeting will be on Monday March 27 at 7pm at the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast at 1572 Race Street. Public HearingsDate: March 7, 10 am., Webb Municipal Bldg. Room 2.H.14 Premises Affected: 348 Lafayette St. Hearing Issue: Appeal of a denial of a permit to erect an addition to a single unit dwelling with a 2.5 story portion that will encroach 4 feet, 6 inches into the rear 35% of the zone lot at a height of 31.5' (1 story, 17 feet high permitted in rear 35% of zone lot), project 3.5' through the north side and 7 feet 10 inches through the south side bulk plane in the rear 35% of the zone lot and project 4 inches through the south side bulk plane in the front 65% of the zone lot in a U-SU-C zone.) Date: March 14, 10:00 a.m., Webb Municipal Bldg. Room 2.H.14 Premises Affected: 662 Columbine St. Hearing Issue: Appeal of denial of permit to erect a fence/retaining wall resulting in 2 ft. change in elevation of original grade of original grade within south side interior setback. Date: March 14, 10:30 a.m., City & County Building, Conf. Room 391 City Council Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Hearing Issue: 2016 Text Amendment Bundle, including Small Lot Parking Exemption. More info here. Grant Opportunities through City's IMAGINE 2020 ProgramDENVER’S URBAN ARTS FUND (UAF) Now in its ninth year, UAF is a graffiti prevention and youth development program which facilitates the creation of new murals in perpetually vandalized areas throughout the City and County of Denver. The program has nearly 170 murals, abating vandalism on more than 227,000 square feet, and has engaged more than 2,760 Denver youth and 550 community participants in the development and installation of these murals. Call for proposals: Now – March 20, 2017 Submission deadline: 5 p.m. on March 20, 2017 Award Notification: April 2017 IMAGINE 2020 FUND Now in its third year, the I2020 fund will help support and generate awareness of programs that take action on one or more of the seven vision elements of the cultural plan launched in 2014 for Denver. These are: 1) Integration, 2) Amplification, 3) Accessibility, 4) Lifelong Learning, 5) Local Talent, 6) Economic Vitality, and 7) Collective Leadership Call for proposals: May 3 – June 16, 2017 Submission deadline: 5 p.m. on June 16, 2017 Award Notification: July 2017 Comments are closed.
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