Letters to the Editor
Open Letter To Three Who Voted No
Dear Councilpersons Rafael Espinoza, Kevin Flynn and Paul Kashmann,
Thank you for voting no last month on the proposed stormwater fee increase.
There is no doubt that the City and County of Denver needs to improve stormwater drainage infrastructure – whether it be man-made or natural means.
I was absent from the June 13 hearing as, ironically, I was detained by flooding. I work in Lakewood, near 6th and Simms, and this year’s storms and especially last year’s, made it difficult to get from west to east, in a downpour, at rush hour.
Just at 3:30 p.m., when I had planned to leave work, it poured down rain. When it finally let up, Google maps told me I-70 was the best route home to Park Hill. I-70 east was backed up to I-25/Washington exit, and luckily I was able to get off and make my way home via 47th street/I-70 viaduct.
Once I arrived in Park Hill, 26th street was flooded at the stormwater inlets, as is usual. The above photo shows 26th and Eudora about 10 minutes after I first drove past, then walking my dog, and the water had gone down significantly.
A detention pond in City Park Golf Course isn’t going to help the flooding we experience upstream in Park Hill. Those of you who voted no realize where our additional stormwater fees are going to be spent and for what reason. Widening I-70 and putting it [below grade] where we already experience significant flooding is not a good idea.
I grew up in Denver and my family always called I-25 “The Valley Highway.” That is because it is in a valley and that is where it floods and why last year it took me 90 minutes to get home during one of our gully-washers. The railroad bridge at Alameda and Santa Fe was a waterfall. I was able to cut through the parking lot at the northwest corner of that intersection and get onto dry land at Kalamath. Others drove through the flooding on Alameda and got stuck.
Give me a good reason to pay for more stormwater fees and let me vote as a property owner in Denver.
Sincerely,
Bernadette Kelly, Park Hill
Editor’s Note: The letter from Ms. Kelly was sent to Denver City Councilmembers Rafael Espinoza, Kevin Flynn and Paul Kashmann. The majority of council approved the rate hike to pay for $383 million in drainage improvements, including a controversial project northwest of Park Hill.
We Are Not Fooled
To the Editor,
Sweeping is what we do to floors, not to people, unless you are part of our city’s “solution” to homelessness.
Harry Tammen, co-founder of The Denver Post, noted: “The public not only likes to be fooled; it insists upon it.” And so our city leaders want us to believe the recent sweep of “homeless camps” – as reported by local news outlets earlier this year – is genuinely helping solve this incredibly complex problem?
Of course we are not fooled. Most of us have swept floors and know you must put what you have swept somewhere. But the city does not put the homeless anywhere because they have yet to sort out a workable, sustainable plan to effectively address how to help one of the most defenseless and marginalized group of citizens in our city.
Instead, the city ordered its employees to throw away what meager belongings these poor people have, including their food, while simultaneously forcing them away from a major shelter which actually does provide services. These behaviors do not support the city’s official stance.
On March 22, The Denver Post quoted Julie Smith, spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Human Services, as saying: “The city’s goal remains the same to connect people with services, shelter and housing so they are not in an unhealthy, unsafe and unsanitary situation.”
Really? How do you connect people with services when you deem them, and their belongings, deserving of being swept? How do you connect people with housing when shelter space and affordable housing is lacking? How do you connect the homeless to mental health services when our city under-resources them?
I doubt many of us were fooled by the city’s latest demeaning and cruel attempt to “help” the homeless. But just to make sure the city knows you are not fooled, write or call the Mayor and let him know you were not fooled and want Denver to stop such counterproductive practices, because we know “sweeping” people does nothing to solve this complicated problem. Mayor Hancock’s phone number is 720-865-9000.
Kathleen Hynes, Denver
Seeking Foster Grandparents
To the Editor,
I am writing to tell you about the Foster Grandparent Program in the Denver Metropolitan area and our need for older Coloradan volunteers. We are a group of motivated seniors who are living on a low, fixed income, and enjoy working with children.
Foster Grandparents volunteer in Early Childhood Education centers, such as preschools, Head Start programs and educational childcare, and public schools, focusing on literacy and numeracy for at-risk children and youth. For their time and volunteer service, the Foster Grandparents receive a non-taxable stipend to supplement their income that does not affect old-age pension.
Foster Grandparents feel good about their time spent helping a child succeed as well as bridging the gap between generations. Foster Grandparent service comes at no cost to participating schools and gives students that extra one-on-one attention in the classroom.
Currently, Volunteers of America has openings for Foster Grandparents to join the program. Those 55 or better, with an income under $23,760 for a single person household or under $32,040 for a couple, are eligible. Grandparents must devote 15 to 40 hours a week at their schools working with children. Our program also offers grandparents flexibility for paid time off, holidays, and trainings as well as transportation reimbursement.
The goal of our program is to support the community, specifically at-risk children and youth, while also helping seniors meet their social, physical, and financial goals. While the children and seniors clearly benefit from the Foster Grandparents Program, their reach really extends even further out to the teachers, parents, and community as a whole. When our seniors are engaged and active in our communities, everyone benefits.
If you are interested in becoming a Foster Grandparent or have a senior in your life who might be, contact us at 303-297-0408 or visit our website at www.voacolorado.org.
Patti Krattenmaker, Foster Grandparent Project Manager, Volunteers of America, Denver