|
Pilot Recycling Drop-Off Site @ Site of Future Central Denver Rec Center
Saturday, March 5, 2011, multi-family residents in Capitol Hill and District 10 will have a new opportunity to recycle. This site, located at Colfax and Josephine, is slated to be open from Saturday, March 5 through December 31, 2011. This interim use is made possible by a Keep America Beautiful grant and funding from my office. Waste Management of Colorado will provide the container and the hauling and, with the Greenprint Denver Office and Denver’s Solid Waste Management, has provided insight, guidance, and support. We’ve been working over a year to make this opportunity a real possibility, so now we’ll see how it benefits the community and learn more about our recycling needs.
Volunteers Needed!
We are working to secure more funding to keep the site up and running but WE NEED volunteers to ensure the site remains open. Volunteers will serve to provide open and close the recycling bin, to make sure the area around the bin is clean and to notify my office when the bin is full and needs to be emptied. Interested? Please call my office at 720-337-7710.
Hours of Operation
March 5, 2011 – December 31, 2011
Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Acceptable Items to Recycle at the Site
- Corrugated Cardboard
- Magazines and Catalogs
- Newspaper
- Steel and Tin Cans; Empty Aerosol Cans
- Paperboard
- Paper Bags
- Junk Mail
- Glass Bottles and Jars
- Office Paper; Shredded Paper in Sealed Paper Bags
- Phone Books
- Rigid Plastics (labeled #1 - #7)
- Aluminum Cans, Foil and Pie Plates
Non-Acceptable Items
- No Plastic Lids or Caps
- No Paper Milk or Juice Cartons
- No Ceramics, Drinking Glass or Vases, Light Bulbs, Mirrors or Window Glass
- No Plastic Bags Wrappers, Shrink Wrap, Toys, or Lawn Furniture
- No Tissue Paper, Napkins or Paper Towels
- No Styrofoam of Any Kind Including Cups, Plates, Trays, Packaging Peanuts and Blocks
- No Appliances or Electronics
- No Furniture or Household Goods
- No Hazardous Waste Such as Batteries, Automotive Fluids, Paint or Empty Containers that Held Hazardous Waste Materials
- No Medical Waste
- No Pressurized Containers Such as Propane Canisters
- No Wire Fencing or Scrap Metal
- No Yard Debris Such as Wood, Leaves or Grass Clippings
- No Hardcover or Paperback Books
- No Tires
Users are reminded to please not place items for recycling in plastic bags; and make sure all bottles, cans and containers are empty before recycling them.
Recycle Drop-Off Site users should not leave items outside the recycling bin or whiles the site is closed. This is considered public dumping, and is against the law. Please note that violation of these rules will result in the removal of the recycling bin.
Interim Dog Park and Community Gardens on Site of Future Central Denver Rec Center
The “Interim Dog Park at Josephine Gardens” opened on Saturday October 23, 2010 with much fanfare, including the Denver Municipal Band, and many, many dogs. Denver Parks and Rec is also working with Denver Urban gardens to design and build an urban community garden space on site which will open next spring. We think we will be able to have an E-go car there also and maybe a recycling drop-off eventually.
Denver voters passed a bond initiative for Parks in November 2007, which included $11 million in funding for land acquisition and design ONLY for a future recreation center in central Denver. Construction of the recreation center was always planned as a future effort.
Numerous sites were evaluated and two were presented to central Denver residents at a meeting in fall 2009 with the site at Colfax and Josephine eventually being identified as the most feasible and popular after several public meetings. The City delivered on its commitment by securing a site after the formal public involvement process and has recently completed conceptual design. As a result of the economic downturn, the City was able to acquire land, and design and implement interim uses for less than $7 million, far less than the $11 million originally provisioned for this purpose. The site was purchased from the women who had owned it for many, many years –when it was leased to Safeway and then to The Church in the City. The City is now able to set aside the remainder of funds towards construction of a future recreation center at an approximate cost of $25 million.
During the last week of April, Parks and Recreation and I hosted a community meeting to provide an update on the Site Analysis and planning process for the Central Denver Rec Center. The $11 million bond allocation was for acquisition of a site and site planning. More money will need to be raised to build the Rec center.
The presentation also included information about the Memorandum of Understanding with DPS to include their teachers’ parking lot in the site analysis as long as replacement parking for teachers could be accommodated somewhere on the site and to build a competition pool as well as meeting space that could be used for classrooms. Architect Chris Kastelic then presented visual representations of a possible layout and program for the Rec center, including two pools, a gym, child care, office, meeting rooms, and an exercise facility. His analysis also included visuals of how mixed-used development towards the Colfax edge of the site might be done. The full site analysis will be posted on the Parks & Rec section of www.denvergov.org soon.
At the conclusion of his presentation, a panel from Parks & Rec and the Bond team as well as myself answered questions and listen to comments. Here’s some of what we heard.
- Connections are important. Higher density will provide more connections and walkability.
- It’s a good idea to do mixed-use development on part of the site.
- Will Denver buy the filling station on the site?
- Answer: We are working with the owner of the filling station to see what partnership might be possible.
- This is a terrific site for the Rec center. Morey Middle School students take the buses along the corridor. In the meantime, the interim uses (dog park, community gardens) are great.
- School/City cooperation is good. How will it work with East?
- Councilwoman Robb described that DPS will be doing a master plan for East this summer, looking at future enrollment, programs, and facility uses. So that timing is good. That should complement the planning for this site.
- If the Rec Center is going to be shared with DPS, DPS should make its fields more accessible to the public.
- The City should be charging for uses currently on the site.
- What’s the process for moving forward? How will City Council be involved?
- Answer: Gordon Robertson said that Parks & Rec is looking for partners in the foundation community and for their ideas and funding.
- Councilwoman Robb stated that any options for buying the site (contracts) will go through Council. Agreements with foundations and operational partners would go through Council. Also Council could appropriate funds or put bonding on the ballot. We will have a little bonding capacity in 2015, more in 2017, and a significant amount in 2019.
The History Behind the New Central Denver Recreation Center at Colfax and York
The November 2007 bond issue allocated $11 million for land acquisition and design services for a new recreation center to serve the central Denver area. On December 14, 2009 Denver City Council voted to authorize expenditure of $6 million to purchase the former Church in the City site at Colfax and York for a future central Denver Recreation Center. The remaining $5 million will be used for design of the new Recreation Center and saved until future funds become available for construction. Video of the City Council meeting and discussion.
We struggled to find a large enough site that could be purchased, that had proximity to a park for outdoor recreation, that offered opportunities for partnerships with other private or public entities, and that was accessible especially to those who have no other recreational alternatives. I, for one, was determined to present a choice to Central Denver residents. Fortunately and unfortunately, proposed private development on the “Church in the City” site became unfeasible after the economic downturn at the end of 2008. By the end of summer 2009, the City’s real estate department had done a remarkable job of securing an option to purchase the property.
As soon as that happened, we were ready to present two alternatives to Central Denver residents - a covered pool and first phase center in Congress Park or purchase of the land and design for a center at Colfax and Josephine. An overwhelming majority of those who attended the September 2009 public meeting at the Botanic Gardens favored the Colfax site. To view the powerpoint presentation, a list of public comments and questions, site plan options for Congress Park and Church in the City, and other site evaluations, please click here. I want to thank each and every person that attended the public meetings, called, or wrote a letter or email expressing their thoughts on the location and I want you to know that I took them into great consideration during my decision making.
So imagine a great rec center! Although we don’t currently have enough money to build a recreation center, we have plenty of time and creative talent to help us plan a great place. We could partner in small or large ways with Denver Public Schools/East High School. We could work with St. Charles Town Company, who currently owns the gas station on the corner, to create a mixed-use development and town center. We will look for non-profit partners to help us provide recreational services. This opportunity will be worth the wait and worth the time spent in planning. A Central Denver Recreation Center offers a new paradigm for recreation centers in our City.
What do YOU Think about a Central Denver Recreation Center?
I wanted feedback on the issues that were discussed at the central Denver recreation Center public meeting in April 2008. Here are some of the results from my survey.
Do you currently regularly participate in indoor recreational activities?
78% Yes
22% No
If you were to use the proposed central recreation center, what would be your preferred mode of transportation? Please select one (1).
43.8% Walking
30.3% Bicycle
19.1% Car
6.7% Bus or other public transportation
Please select your preference:
44.8% I don't have a preference
41.4% Locate the Central Denver Recreation Center in an Existing Park or City Property
13.7% Purchase Property with the Allocated Funds for the Central Denver Recreation Center
What are the TOP FIVE (5) priority indoor activities or programs that you would like to see included in a centrally located recreation center?
The top five responses were:
Large Fitness Center
Group Exercise Studio (wood floor)
Gymnasium (1, 2, or 3 courts)
Indoor 10 lane 25 Yard Lap Pool
Indoor Combo Leisure/6 Lane 25 Yard Lap Pool
|
|
|
|
|
Maps of Central Denver Recreation Center Need
A 2006 Recreation Needs Assessment Survey showed there to be a gap in recreation center service for central Denver.
To view maps of the central Denver need click here and for a more centralized map click here.
|