Woodrim Crossings Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood Newsletter - August 2004 Edition

Sep 26, 2004

Dear Neighbors

Our next bimonthly meeting will be on Monday, September 13, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Life Care Center of Aurora, 14101 E. Evans Ave. located at Blackhawk and Evans. All neighbors are encouraged to attend!

Volunteers Needed!!!

We are in need of volunteers to deliver our bimonthly newsletter. You can contribute to your neighborhood by giving up approximately one hour every two months to help keep the community informed of up-coming and on-going events. For more information, call Sharon Ward at 303-750-3220.


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***CODE CORNER***

City Regulates Exterior Maintenance of Residential Properties

If there are homes in your neighborhood that are looking dilapidated and are detracting from the visual integrity of the neighborhood, there may be a city code that can provide support and guidance for each home?’s repair and upkeep.

Section 146-1106 Exterior Maintenance addresses the following conditions of home exteriors:

• Deteriorated exterior walls and siding;


• Peeling paint on 30% or more of the exterior;


• Shudders, windowsills, chimneys, air vents and other projections from a building that are in disrepair;


• Severely deteriorated roofs and drainpipes;


• Broken or boarded up windows;


• Yards that do not drain properly;


• Driveways, garages, sheds, porches, carports and other accessory structures that are severely deteriorated.

For more information related to this city code and how it may apply to a situation in your neighborhood, call Neighborhood Services at 303-739-7280 or Access Aurora at 303-739-7000.

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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 12, 2004

Prior to the meeting being called to order and due to the large crowd gathered for this meeting, speakers from the City of Aurora Neighborhood Services Department were introduced to talk about the Fence Replacement Project. Margee Canon, Neighborhood Services Coordinator and Cesar Sanchez, City of Aurora Planning Department presented drawings of the proposed fence area and answered questions. Mr. Sanchez presented Marilyn Turner, chair of the Fence Replacement Committee, with the City?’s proposal.

After the presentation, the meeting was called to order by President Russ Perron. Discussion about the presentation continued and a resolution was read by David Student, moved and seconded as follows:

?“Let it be resolved: That the ?“Fence Committee?” (hereafter referred to as the Committee) be dissolved effective immediately as a functioning organization/body, within the Woodrim/Crossings Neighborhood Association (hereafter referred to as the Association), but will be permitted one final action as defined herein;

And let it be resolved: That the last act of the Committee will be for it to contact the City of Aurora, Colorado, to inform them of this decision by the Association membership; that the Association does not plan to participate any further in the City of Aurora?’s Neighborhood Fence Replacement Program (hereafter referred to as the Program) ?– this to be completed by no later than July 15, 2004;

And let it be resolved: That all prior activities performed by the Committee are recognized as having no validity, authority, representation or effectiveness as sanctioned by the Association;

And let it further be resolved: That the Association is barred from participating in similar activities of this nature as defined by the Program for a period of 15 years;

And let it finally be resolved: That this resolution cannot be revoked or overturned from this vote forward by the Association or its Board.

Respectfully submitted July 12, 2004.?”

An exact vote on the resolution could not be verified but approximate numbers were 130 for and 5 against. Resolution passed.

Under New Business, Barb Johnson announced that on Monday, June 7, 2004 Officer Damon Vaz, our neighborhood PAR officer, was awarded an Eagle for his dedication and outstanding service in the Aurora Police Department. This award goes to only one officer in the entire Police Department. There was an ovation for Officer Vaz. At this time, Lynn Bradley announced that we could give our congratulations to Officer Vaz at the Neighborhood Watch Meeting to be held at Tierra Park on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.

Under Old Business, Barb Johnson announced that we were the recipients of a $100 Micro Grant from the City of Aurora for neighborhood newsletter production. Although the grant had been written for $475, over 30 neighborhoods applied totaling over $13,000. However, there was only $4,705 available to all neighborhoods so it was the limitation of funds, not the grant request itself, that resulted in the small amount of funds being approved. Photos taken by the Neighborhood Services Department during the landscape renewal at the Ethiopian Evangelical Church were circulated. Barb also announced that both micro grants and mini grants could possibly be reduced or eliminated from the city budget in the upcoming year. Grants are obtained from the Federal government and announced when the city has received approval. We must wait until the city makes the announcement of the availability of funds before we can submit a request for a grant. It was suggested that our next grant be geared towards (1) another trash receptacle at Tierra Park and/or (2) receptacles for animal waste.

Also under Old Business, Barb updated news from the Neighborhood Development Committee. Gander Mountain has passed preliminary approval by the city?’s Planning Commission and will begin work on the facilities some time in the fall. An application to change all signs along the Abilene corridor from Iliff north to Mississippi was received and a status of ?“no position?” was returned to the city?’s planning department. The signs change is in an effort to give continuity to the corridor and the appearance that it is one long shopping area and not many, smaller, independent shopping areas. It was mentioned that the work at the old Target building is proceeding and that Burlington Coat Factory will be occupying one of the larger areas of that building.

Discussion continued about the neighborhood?’s ability to force neighbors to conform to city code with regard to trees, weeds, and trash. It was pointed out that each neighbor having a concern needs to contact Code Enforcement at the city (at the Access Aurora phone number). All calls came be made anonymously. Russ Perron pointed out that neighbors need to make an attempt to talk to their neighbor first about their concerns before contacting the city and use the city as a last resort.

Questions were raised about why we could not have the same type of wood fence that the Chaddsford/ Crestridge/Woodrim neighborhood that borders the south side of Iliff. As it was answered earlier in the evening by Margee Cannon, the city will only allow the wood fences to be replaced with masonry. In addition, we do not have mandatory neighborhood fees that would raise enough money for a fence replacement. The Chaddsford neighborhood received their new fence at no cost as a concession to allowing the new restaurants to occupy the area in the southeast corner of Blackhawk and Iliff.

Discussion about the newsletter delivery and how delivery could be improved generated several suggestions including (1) proposing a small fee for those people who would prefer that their newsletter be mailed; (2) would people read a newsletter that was mailed or simply throw it away and (3) could we impose a subscription rate and mail all newsletters. Since our grant proposal to pay for the postal deposit was denied, it would take quite a bit of advertising to pay for the mailing. Unfortunately, the more advertising placements, the higher the postal rate, as we would move out of non-for-profit status. No decision was made at this time and will continue to be researched.

The question of day care operations in the neighborhood was brought up. Russ indicated that Little People?’s Landing, located in our neighborhood, had been closed. Another party has purchased the house and will re-open the facilities.

The meeting was closed with comments from Russ Perron on our community participation. He said that if we had as many people at every meeting as we had tonight, we would have an awesome neighborhood association. The suggestion that a drive to get more people to come to meetings, such as asking your neighbors, should be considered. Russ wants to look at some new approaches to neighborhood involvement and improvement.

Meeting adjourned at 9:05.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara J. Johnson

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Ward IV Town Meetings
Please see the "Ward IV Town Meetings" link that is in the Community Pages section on our website for this information.

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Important Telephone Numbers
Please see the "Important Telephone Numbers" link in the Community Pages section of our website for the phone numbers.

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Neighborhood Watch

At our July 12, 2004 Neighborhood Association Meeting, Officer Vaz was applauded loud and long for the Eagle Award that bestowed upon him by the City of Aurora. We are very fortunate to have such a caring professional working with us to make our neighborhood a safe place to live.

Approximately 80 people showed up at the last Neighborhood Watch Meeting on July 27, 2004 to hear Officer Vaz and learn more about how they can be a part of a strong community. Thanks go to Lynn Bradley for organizing this meeting at Tierra Park. Her hard work and caring about the community we live in is the finest example of volunteer service.

+++++++

Ok Neighborhood Watch Groups. You want to take a huge chunk out of crime in your neighborhoods? Read on. Don't sit on it. Act on it.

As your PAR officer I must tell you that I get an inordinate amount of calls regarding rental properties and the tenants that occupy them. What I find from my perspective is that renters usually do not care about their actions at the house, or in the neighborhood, or on the block they live. Simply because they are not stakeholders, and usually do not plan on living there to long. There transient! So they speed up and down your cul-de-sac?’s, party like it?’s 1999, create a 24 hr. illegal pharmacy (Crack or Meth House), move there entire family including Aunts, Uncles distant cousins and what not, and the Landlords or property managers don't care what?’s going on as long as they get the money.

So what you wind up having is some house that is always a nuisance. Well what can you do to fix this problem? Did you know that these problems could go away if only the Landlord or property manager knew what the PAR officer knew? Such as how to properly screen a potential tenant. So many landlords tell me they do background checks, only for me to find drugs, or felonies in there criminal history. If they even have a lease agreement, it's very generic and gives the landlord virtually no power to do anything when problems arise. Did you know that I have over 25 Crime Prevention tips that I could give to Landlords of rental properties that would help them recognize a red flag when it smacks them in the face. This may sound surprising to you. Did you know that I have never met a Landlord/owner of a rental house that had a Crime Free addendum in their lease agreement? With just that blurb in their lease agreement, Landlords across Aurora could empower themselves. But as long as their uninformed, undesirable tenants will keep showing up, and the landlords will still not have a clue, and the vicious cycle will continue. In addition the City of Aurora house a Nuisance policy that holds landlords accountable. We have a Drug/Crime Free Housing Ordinance which allows the City to seize houses where drug activity can be proven.

I will offer this information to any Landlord who owns a home in Area 20. Because I recognize that this is a problem that doesn't need to be a problem. If we can do it for apartment complexes with over 500 tenants, we can do it for you. Most neighbors of a rental home know the owner of the house. If not the owner, they know the property management company. If they don't know those things you at least know the address of the rental. I can look up who the owner is. I would encourage anyone living next to a rental to have the owner of such property contact me so that I can give them the vital tools they need to know.

Please contact me with Landlords names and rental property addresses. Or give them my name and contact info. Print them a copy of this memo. Here is a list of what they (Landlords) think they know how to do, but don't really. I will train them in these areas. And yes it's free. If you live in Area 20 and own a home somewhere else, I cannot help you as the problem is out of my area and or jurisdiction.

Officer Damon Vaz, Aurora Police Department, 23911 E. Arapahoe Rd., 303-627-3173, dvaz@auroragov.org


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Yard of the Month
And the winner is... the home of Scott and Maria Crosby at 2172 S. Fairplay St.

Please notice the sign displayed in their beautifully landscaped and colorful yard highlighted by flowers surrounding a bronze sculpture of children.

Due to the large number of honorable mention winners, they will not be listed on-line. Please reference your hard-copy of the newsletter.

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