Cross post from CBS news, reporting by Karen Morfitt
“Council members want to hear from the public and say this is just a first step. The vote simply symbolizes a willingness to “be a good neighbor,” to the city of Denver, one councilman said.”
A video report featuring Karen Morgan from the LakewoodInformer.
Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a contributor. Click here to take a survey on the issue.
City Council passed up another opportunity for an open discussion on a homeless policy for Lakewood. Instead, on January 22 Council approved a “supplemental appropriation” to the budget which will implement the strategy they decided on internally. Accepting this grant for a Navigation Center represents a multi-year fiscal obligation about how to serve the unhoused and Lakewood has not so much as set a committee or a study session to talk about best practices. Final vote to accept the grant will happen on second reading.
City staff have let you know they received a grant. Council has taken no other public vote but brief mentions throughout the year indicated something was being researched by staff, not Council. It seems reasonable that if the city is researching something for a year, that maybe the public be brought into that conversation at some point before the final vote.
The public may want to contribute or may be interested to see how Council will represent them on questions such as:
Definition: Navigation Center is “This is a centralized location that provides residents easy access to a variety of supportive services to help with basic needs, medical and behavioral services and housing resources for residents without stable housing. The facility serves as a “one stop shop” for anyone in need of resources and provides a day shelter to our unhoused residents.” – Lakewood.org
There are many options to solve this problem and Lakewood seems to assume it has the answer with the most public support. Lakewood also assumes it knows the problem when even the problem is controversial.
For example, the Director of RecoveryWorks, James Ginsberg, says this is absolutely an economic problem. His non-profit, RecoveryWorks, will be running the Navigation Center. He says that people just need a place to stay, housing first. Housing first is a “low barrier” strategy that does not require people to address their problems to receive help. He says that although you want people to be able to be responsible for their own payments, “around 90% of the unhoused have suffered trauma.”
Experts from cities with longer histories of homelessness disagree and say homelessness is mostly an open-air drug use problem.
“Homeless is a propaganda word” because it also describes the open-drug scene. Because when you say homeless you think it’s a housing problem and people who only have housing problems are the easiest populations to help. The overwhelming problem with the homeless is street addition and untreated mental health crises. – Michael Shellenberger
Is Lakewood ignoring the lessons learned by other cities? Perhaps. But what are the options?
“How do we protect our society while at the same time showing compassion to those sick and struggling…. We can’t ignore or arrest our way out” –Dr. Jennifer Clark during KOMO News Documentary.
One option found in Rhode Island was to strictly enforce all laws, with a specialized, voluntary, medical treatment program in jail to impose physical stability. This approach has pros and cons.
Aurora (Colorado) just found another option, which was a work-first shelter, including sobriety testing for guests. They too reject the Denver “housing first” model that Lakewood embraces.
Lakewood may have the right answer, but did residents know this discussion was held since it wasn’t public? Do they know what values their City Council member was standing for? How can residents vote for public officials with no public discussion on policy?
If you have been listening very carefully to City Council meetings over the last year, you would have heard several mentions that a Navigation Center was being researched by staff. But even as of August 2023 it was unclear to the public and Jefferson County what was going on. What role did City Council play?
There will be discussion and a public vote on second reading to receive the grant, presumably February 12, 2024.
Please contact us if you are interested in being a contributor. Take a survey on the issue here.
Updated to show questions, 25 Jan 2024
The homeless and migrant situation is an ongoing concern for everyone. People want to help but disagree on what that help looks like. From tough love to complete care, what do you think?
Let’s start the discussion at the beginning by answering a few basic questions. What would you like to see and how would you vote with your wallet?
Please take the survey below and we will share the results next week.
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7687498/What-is-Your-homeless-policy
Thank you for your time. Any suggestions for future surveys are welcome by email!
Cross-post from BusinessDen.com, Justin Wingerter January 19, 2024
Construction on a $60 million apartment complex along Wadsworth Boulevard “has come to a standstill due to infighting” and been “all but abandoned,” its lender alleges.
Aspen Heights Partners, a Texas developer, broke ground in 2020 on a 352-unit apartment project at 1225 Wadsworth in Lakewood, with plans to finish it by the end of 2022. Amenities were to include a heated pool, dog park, bike repair shop and golf simulator.
Get a subscription to continue reading this story….
Fixing the bridge lights for RTD on the 6th Avenue overpass is an $800,000 budget item for Lakewood… to fix RTD property. The large line item caught the attention of Council Member Olver at the time. How did this get to be in the budget with no prior public discussion?
Why isn’t RTD paying for their own repairs?
A series of open-records requests reveal not a single communication in 2023 between RTD and any city official discussing the details of how the project came to be. Not who would pay or for what, not what they think the problem is, or why RTD cannot pay for it…. Nothing.
As seen in the highlighted screenshot below, open-records requests revealed an email between the RTD point of contact and Council Member Shahrezaei. Shahrezaei responded that she would speak over the phone. Phone conversations increase communication but cannot be provided through open records requests.
As the Council representative to DRCOG, Councilor Shahrezaei is in frequent contact with regional boards like RTD.
The city shared that this project was submitted to the budget by the Public Works Department during the 2024 budget process. No communications came up between staff and RTD on this topic but the city says they have been in discussion about the project for years.
According to the city, this budget item aligns with City Council Goal 3, “Beautiful and Sustainable City.” Normally, setting goals is admirable but this statement reveals the public policy disparity with the City Council setting goals.
These bridge lights will be beautiful – if they can stay lit. Unsubstantiated sources suggest that the lights cannot remain functional through the train vibrations that displace electrical wiring.
In the bigger picture, there was public outcry in 2023 for a different bridge. Public wanted to keep the use of a pedestrian bridge in Ravines Open Space park. 290 residents signed a petition to keep a bridge that will now be lost. For the price of the lights that are RTD property, the city could have kept the city beautiful a different way. Now those park users will have an unusable pipe-hanger while RTD gets bridge lights that will, certainly, be enjoyed by all.
Footnote: then-Counselor Janssen did not receive any answers to her questions before Council voted to approve this budget.
Cross-post from KYGO.com, By Shawn Patrick on January 18, 2024
Bandimere Speedway in Morrison has seen it’s last drag race, and will eventually have a new home, but the site will still likely have strong ties to the automotive world.
Officials from California-based Copart, a car auction firm, said they are in the process of buying Bandimere Speedway and hope to turn the majority of the property into storage for cars awaiting auction.
Correction to https://lakewoodinformer.com/2023/12/29/lakewood-to-propose-a-homeless-shelter-in-public-school-building/
An unnamed, closed Jefferson County school may act as a new location for the Jeffco Action Center rather than as a shelter. The Action Center offers hardship services and is valuable resource for many unhoused. The move would also increase housing for the homeless. Plans are not final, but discussions have been started. More details have not been brought before Council yet.
Per City Manager Hodgson, December 18 City Council meeting, “We recently worked with RecoveryWorks… and opened the first phase of the Navigation Center. Now we are talking about a partnership with the Action Center to move them [Action Center – not Navigation Center] to one of the schools that’s been closed…. then Lakewood would have a presence in the existing two buildings of the Action Center to complete the navigation concept and allow to for more housing for our homeless population….”
Despite cities across America seeking to reduce the flow of migrants, Lakewood is moving ahead to officially welcome more. On January 8, 2024, Lakewood City Council voted unanimously to move as quickly as possible to figure out how to help with Denver migrants (Note: Councilor Olver absent). A separate motion was passed for a study session on increasing service of the extreme weather shelter for the homeless, acknowledging that this will serve the migrant community as well.
Unless the recommended actions impact the municipal code, further actions could be taken as soon as February 12. For example, mention was made of Lakewood being a “good neighbor”. Denver is seeking to make “good neighbor” agreements with surrounding cities to agree to take their migrant population. Lakewood’s former Mayor, Adam Paul, plays a key role in these agreements with Denver.
These are unusually speedy decisions for Lakewood City Council. Generally, Council Requests for Legislative Action generate discussion and get deferred to another committee. It’s rare to have to direct action scheduled at all, let alone so quickly. Residents supporting Save Belmar Park have been asking City Council to take action for months with no results. One City Council Legislative Request was denied by the Council majority because no action was possible until new objectives were set at the annual retreat. In this case, the Council has not set ANY objectives for the year and it already has major policy decisions scheduled to be made in the February 12 meeting. The quick passage shows Council can act, direct staff, and schedule study sessions, when it wants to.
As a result of these motions, the February 12 meeting will include a study session at 5:30 pm on increasing shelter options. During the Executive Report in regular meeting on the same night, Lakewood City Manager Hodgson will relate what immediate actions can be taken to help migrants, and what actions may need further study.
Council Members expressed their belief that the majority of Lakewood residents would support both of these measures. Councilor Mayott-Guerrero said she believes “…progress is possible now in a way that it wasn’t even three years ago.”
Lakewood city staff report they can find no proclamation that Lakewood is a sanctuary city. However, Jefferson County is a sanctuary, so an official offer to help or house people, would increase the migrant population, as seen in other cities like Denver.
Do you feel like we are losing Lakewood? Have you tried talking to City Council but don’t feel heard? Are you concerned about these issues:
Reserve your spot: email [email protected]
or first come first serve
Putting someone in jail for a low-level municipal offense is an unsatisfactory answer for people who believe jail is ineffective or harsh. Since jail is often the mandated penalty, Lakewood may take the “compassionate” route and dismiss the case if the alleged offender visits Community Outreach Court. The de facto penalty is then talking to housing and job providers, which isn’t a penalty but a helping hand. The result is dismissing all warrants for Failure To Appear in court, and often dismissing the original charge as well.
Charges that are often dismissed:
Lakewood is working to reach out to the homeless community to bring them to Outreach Court. Lakewood homeless navigators and community members spread the word that if you come to court your warrants will be forgiven and your original case may be dismissed.
Having a law that everyone knows will be dismissed is not an effective deterrent. In one case, an offender admitted to ongoing trespassing but because she talked to resource providers, thereby fulfilling the terms of the original trespass case, everything was dismissed.
Jail may be viewed as unreasonably harsh for unhoused individuals because they could lose their meager possessions with one overnight stay. There are arguments that jail is ineffective for anyone and low-level offenses are not worthy of jail. Another argument is that if you are trespassing (for example) because you are homeless, are you really committing a crime or being punished because you are homeless?
Being homeless is not a crime but dismissing these “crimes of homelessness” has consequences such as:
There is opportunity for discussion here.
Whether penalized with jail or having the case dismissed, the court is not responsible for an individuals housing. However, that is a role the court is taking on by acting as resource coordinator. The Court continues to work for grants for homeless and housing.
Community Outreach Court is presided over by Municipal Judge Nicole Bozarth, who was the only candidate for Municipal Judge on the 2023 ballot. She was previously appointed to the position in June 2022.
Reader Recommended Business: a SAFE HOME Gas Fireplace Service
