Woodrim Crossings Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood Newsletter - August 2003 Edition

Aug 29, 2003

Dear Neighbors

Our next bimonthly meeting will be on Monday, September 8, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. at the Life Care Center of Aurora, 14101 E. Evans Ave. located at Blackhawk and Evans. Our July meeting will have a little different format. Candidates for Mayor, City Council, and School Board are invited to participate in a candidate?’s forum. Each candidate will have 3 minutes to speak and we will conclude with a question and answer segment.

The November elections will impact city leadership so take this opportunity to meet those candidates! All neighbors are encouraged to attend!

If you should miss this meeting, you can watch the candidates debate on Channel 8:
September 30 ?– 7:00-9:30 pm ?– Mayor and Ward IV
October 1 ?– 7:00-10:00 pm ?– At Large, Ward V, Ward VI

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***CODE CORNER***

Noise in the Neighborhood

During these hot days, more and more houses are leaving their windows open in the evening in an effort to cool down. The City of Aurora has several ordinances covering noise control in the neighborhood, including decibel levels for construction sites and curfews for those under the age of 18.

Parks are subject to curfews and noise control by posting the hours of operation at the entrances. Tierra Park has a curfew of 11:00 p.m. but as many of you have noticed, our park is much quieter these days. If you see any suspicious activity around our park, please call the police non-emergency number 303-366-3351 to report that activity.

Other noise concerns are the boom boxes and backyard parties. Loud noises are considered disturbing the peace and fall under the Aurora Police Department jurisdiction. Call the police non-emergency number 303-366-3351 to report any late night activities that are keeping you awake at night. With the case of the boom boxes, the police will request that you identify the address of the person with the infraction. Otherwise, there is little they can do to issue a citation.

For more information, call Neighborhood Support at 303-739-7280.

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WCNA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Please see the "Community Calendar" that is on our website for this information.

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WOODRIM CROSSING NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF MEETING
July 7, 2003

The meeting was called to order by President, Barb Johnson, at 7:00. Barb announced that the meeting would start with a forum for the candidates for City Council. There was a very large turnout of candidates and a nice turnout of residents, also. Barb announced that each candidate would have 3 minutes to speak starting with the candidates for mayor, followed by At-large City Council candidates and then Ward IV candidates. After that questions would be taken from the audience and directed to a particular candidate or to a particular group of candidates. The responses to the questions would be limited to 1 1/2 minutes.

Two candidates for Mayor spoke. Bob LeGare spoke first. He is currently on City Council with an at-large seat. A few topics he spoke about were water, transportation, jobs in Aurora, and open space. Ed Tauer spoke next. He noted that he had spoken to our group recently about water in Aurora. He is also currently on City Council with an at-large seat. Some of his topics were the storage and acquisition of water, jobs, transportation and the vision for Aurora.

Next five at-large candidates spoke, and Barb noted that we will be able to vote for two of these candidates. First was Acen Phillips. He spoke about jobs for young people. He said we need to be partners with our surrounding areas and that Aurora has the potential to be the greatest city. Ryan Frazier spoke second. A few things he will work to promote are city pride, education, water, and strong neighborhoods. Next was Brad Pierce. He serves on many committees. His number 1 issues are water, growth, and drought. He will have town meetings. Ginny Zinth spoke fourth. She became involved when she moved to Aurora and is on many committees. Her issues are water and small businesses. She feels some older areas in Aurora are being forgotten while the city is moving out to other areas. The last candidate for the at-large seat to speak was Sum Nguyen. He is from Vietnam. He arrived in the United States after 22 days crossing the ocean. He wants to serve our country as a pay back for the ultimate sacrifice the U. S. made in the Vietnam war. He said he is willing to listen to citizen?’s concerns.

Three candidates for the Ward IV seat spoke next. Richard Doby has lived in Aurora for a long time and has been involved in many activities. He feels the city?’s lifeblood is in an increased tax basis. We need small businesses, he said, and Aurora has been too isolated. Matt Cook spoke second. He grew up in Aurora and has seen lots of changes. He decided to stay in Aurora because it is such a great city. He feels that one of the big buildings on the Abilene corridor could be a recreation center. He spoke about needing to keep our neighborhoods safe. The last Ward IV candidate to speak was Molly Markert. She wants to work for the city of Aurora and would like to bring her experience to help. She feels the city is on the verge of becoming the city of the century. She said she will be there to listen when we call.

After the initial talks, several attendees asked questions directed to a group of candidates and a few questions directed to individual candidates. All the candidates were thanked very much for attending our meeting and for their contributions.

At 8:20 the regular meeting started with the approval of the minutes of the May 5, 2003, meeting. The treasurer?’s report was given. Our balance is $1,187.42. Expenses were for printing and our name registration. Barb reported that we have received another $200 micro grant for our newsletters.

Some political candidates have asked about advertising in our newsletter or paying to have a flyer attached to our newsletter. After a discussion about advertising for candidates, it was decided to limit ads for candidates to a quarter of a page. Formation of a sub committee was discussed to find more people to deliver the newsletters in order to be able to carry additional ads attached to our newsletter.

There was no update on the fence replacement program for our neighborhood. We are still on the list.

Barb said that Officer Vaz said that the city is suspending any installations of speed bumps.

The next garage sale will be September 12 and 13. Signs will be up for it.

Our neighbors Kristin and Chris Neuharth were thanked again for the great job on our web site. The URL is www.neighborhoodlink.com/aurora/woodcross.

Our Neighborhood Watch Program Area Head Coordinator is Lynn Bradley. She reported that new pamphlets are being prepared and that the program will be more formal than it has been.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00.

Respectively Submitted,
Kathy Gamrath, Secretary

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Want to have more input in your neighborhood?
Our neighborhood is in need of an individual willing to serve as Vice President of our association. Duties include assisting the President with meetings and selection of speakers and attendance at city functions when the president is unable to attend. Interested? Call Barb Johnson at 303-306-0454 for more information.

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HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL ROUNDUP ?– SATURDAY, SEPT 13, 2003 ?– 9 A.M. TO 4 P.M.
13645 E. Ellsworth (off S. Potomac between 6th Ave. & Alameda)

Aurora residents will be able to drop off household chemicals for FREE! You need to bring proof of residency (driver?’s license, Colorado ID cards, utility bill, or voter registration). Only household items will be accepted:
?• Common household products and cleaners
?• Paint and paint products
?• Used motor oil
?• Antifreeze
?• Lawn and garden chemicals
?• Mercury
?• Vehicle batteries
?• Used tires (fees apply: $1/regular tires; $3/studded; $5/extra large
?• No commercial chemicals or containers over 5 gallons will be accepted

Use the ?“Reuse Station?” to pick up new or usable paint, motor oil, thinners, etc. If you can use it, take it!

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YARD OF THE MONTH
Please see the "Yard of the Month" link that is in the Community Pages section on the home page of our website for this information.

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