Our Town
A Publication for the Town of Bennett Vol. 7, No. 2 March/April 2004
TOWN OF BENNETT TO HOLD A MUNICIPAL ELECTION The Town of Bennett regular municipal election will be held on April 6, 2004. At this election, eligible persons registered to vote as of March 8, 2004, will have the opportunity to vote for mayor and trustees members. Qualified voters must have resided within the Town‟s limits as of March 8, 2004, and be properly registered with the county clerk where they reside, either the Arapahoe County Clerk or the Adams County Clerk. Voter registration material is available at the Bennett Town Hall. The designated polling place is the Bennett Town Hall, 355 4th Street, Bennett. There are one (1) mayor‟s seat and four (4) trustee‟s seats up for election, two (2) four-year terms, and two (2) two-year terms (completing a four-year term). Candidates elected at the April 6, 2004, election will be sworn in at the April 13, 2004, Town Board meeting. The term commences under the agenda item titled New Business. Bennett is a Statutory Town with a Mayor/Board of Trustees form of government. The Town Board is a seven-member Board. The Mayor receives $50 per month and Trustees receive a salary of $25 per month. All municipal elections are nonpartisan and nomination is accomplished by petition. In the event a Board of Trustee‟s seat is vacated during the first two years of a four-year term, the term of the appointed Trustee member shall expire at the next regular election, and a Trustee member shall be elected to complete the final two years of the original term. The Bennett Town Board meets in regular meetings in the Town Hall boardroom on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m. Work study sessions, when scheduled, are generally held on alternate Tuesdays. If you have questions regarding the election process, please contact the Town Clerk at 303-644-3249. CANDIDATE FORUM NIGHT The I-70 Scout will be sponsoring a Candidate Forum Night for the public to meet all the Bennett Town Board candidates. Nominees will be given a five-minute time period to introduce themselves and state their objectives for their candidacy. Then the floor will be opened for public questions and answers from the potential Board members. William Murphy, of the I-70 Scout, will moderate the evening. Refreshments
will be provided. The event will be held on Friday, March 26th at the Bennett Community Center, 1100 W Colfax Ave. from 7:00-9:00 p.m. ATTENTION LOCAL BUSINESSES Due to several inquiries from the public, the Town of Bennett has prepared a “bid” sheet for purchase of office/janitorial supplies. Any interested business, party, or individual selling these items are invited to pickup the bid supply list for submittal proposals to the Treasurer‟s office. All questions and inquiries are to be directed to the bookkeeper, Merry Wolter, at 303-644-3249. YOU ASKED, WE ANSWERED Due to numerous requests listed with the Town of Bennett survey regarding the Bennett MarketPlace project, i.e. King Soopers, the Town Planner has provided the following article: UPDATE ON KING SOOPERS On January 14, 2003, the Bennett Town Board of Trustees approved the Final Development Plan for the development of the Bennett MarketPlace Shopping Center, which is located at the northwest corner of Highway 79 and I-70 and anchored by a King Soopers store. Associated with that approval, the Town Board also approved a significant economic development incentive package to assist in the construction of the public infrastructure that is necessary to serve the shopping center and the general area. Regarding the timing of the development “The Word on the Street” is that King Soopers, the anchor for the shopping center, will not be able to move forward with building and opening their store until 2005. Apparently, the King Soopers group recently purchased four local Cub Food stores and a Cub Food distribution center, all of which have required a significant allocation of resources. This, combined with the major grocery workers strike in California, and the desire to open approximately 15 new stores in Colorado over the next two years, has delayed the opening date of their new store in Bennett until next year. However, the property for the shopping center and the King Soopers store was recently purchased at a cost of over one million dollars. So once the developers of Bennett MarketPlace are ready to move forward the land will be available. The “Official Word” from King Soopers is that they are excited to be a part of the Bennett MarketPlace Shopping Center and look forward to opening as soon as possible.
PET OWNERS
By Anita Kopriva
Many of our pet owners were unaware of our annual licensing requirements of dogs and cats within the city limits. I would like to thank the large turnout of responsible pet owners for getting your animals properly licensed for the 2004 calendar year. You may not be aware that allowing your pet to relieve itself on another‟s property is a violation of Ordinance 339, Section H. As pet owners, you are responsible to exercise proper care that this does not happen. You should prevent your pet from becoming a public nuisance in regards to health hazards, offensive odors, or otherwise unsanitary conditions. Just before weekly trash day, let‟s remember to remove all pet waste to avoid offensive odors. Remember to take a plastic bag for proper disposal of waste when taking your pets out for a neighborhood walk. Exercise care when allowing your pet unsupervised free time to avoid any disturbances to neighboring properties. A little courtesy in this matter goes a long way to avoid a summons into Bennett Municipal Court. CODE ENFORCEMENT
By Harriet Stewart
could possibly be responsible for the accident. It‟s courteous to walk on the sidewalk, curb, etc. and not in the middle of the street where vehicles travel. Let me take this opportunity to let everyone know that there really are laws and regulations that the “pedestrian” has to follow. The possibility of accidents involving pedestrians has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions. Here are a few guidelines from the Model Traffic Codes of Colorado. Code 803: Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway. No pedestrian shall cross a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic control devices; and, when authorized to cross diagonally, pedestrians shall cross only in accordance with the official traffic control devices pertaining to such crossing movements. Code 805: No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any private vehicle, “roadway” means that portion of the road normally used by moving motor vehicle traffic. Pedestrians shall only be picked up where there is adequate road space for vehicles to pull off and not endanger and impede the flow of traffic. Drivers to exercise due care: Notwithstanding any of this Model Traffic Code 807, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any obviously confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway. There are fines and court costs that are imposed for numerous violations that pertain to the above. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 303-644-3249. Everyone should follow the rules and regulations of the road. ADAMS COUNTY LIBRARY UPDATE The New Year means some structural changes within the network of libraries that serve Adams County, including the Bennett branch library. On January 1st, the Adams County Board of County Commissioners declared the Adams County Library System an independent library district. This means the library will operate independently of the county as its own political subdivision. A newly appointed 5-member board will govern the library district. As a district, the library can buy land, enter into contracts, and make key decisions about operations, policy, and the future. The move comes after extensive research, including the findings of a professional library consultant. Both the County Commissioners and Library Director Mike Sawyer, feel
I NEED YOUR HELP! I frequently receive telephone calls and letters from concerned citizens who would like me to inspect a potential violation. Unfortunately, I am not always in the office to take a call and pertinent information is not always provided. Please, leave a first name and daytime telephone number in all correspondences for Code Enforcement. This will enable me to call back for specific information that may be needed, and also to inform the caller/writer of the results of the inspection. All calls are kept confidential. Below, please find the 2003 statistical breakdown on code violations. I hope this “puts to rest” concerns over singling out specific individuals. 2,200 Approximate Residents 30% of the population has received Code Violations: Total Number Of Inspections: 3,664 Total Number Of Homes In Code Violation: 672 Breakdown Weeds 219 Junk, Rubbish, and Debris 120 Inoperable Vehicles 61 Recreation Vehicles 66 Watering Violations 65 Snow Removal 51 Combination Of Two Or More Violations 90 *Inoperable vehicles that are parked in the street fall under the jurisdiction of the Adams County Sheriff‟s Office. PEDESTRIANS
By Jill Certain
For your safety, it is always better to walk against traffic. You‟ll be able to see what is coming towards you when walking. If you are walking in the middle of the street, these various situations could happen (1) the vehicle may get into an accident swerving to avoid hitting you (2) you may injure yourself while trying to get out of the way of the vehicle. You
converting to a district will help move the library forward to meet the future needs of Adams County. The funding source will remain the same for the library district, a 1.386 mill on the service area‟s property tax. That averages out to about 13 dollars per resident, which is the lowest funding statewide for the population category the Adams County Library District serves. Sawyer says the hope is that taxpayers will be more willing to support an independent district that is focusing solely on library business. For now, library users at the Bennett branch can expect services and hours to remain the same. In other news at the Bennett branch library, two new book clubs for teens started in February. One is being held at the Bennett High School, in the library the „third Tuesday of every month‟ at 3:20 p.m. At Strasburg High School a similar book club will meet in the school library, also at 3:20 p.m. the „third Wednesday of every month‟. Teens are asked to preregister for the book clubs at their school libraries. Popular mystery author, Margaret Coel, will make a special presentation at the Bennett branch library on May 13th at 6:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public. ADAMS COUNTY HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL ROUNDUP
Tri-County Health Department Contact: Justin Laboe (720) 322-1541
antifreeze, fertilizer, and garden products that are still in their original containers. Sharing these products helps the environment, since the products get used up, rather than becoming part of landfill trash. The Drop-and-Swap also helps reduce the Roundup‟s disposal costs. The Roundups cannot accept waste from businesses, radioactive waste, smoke detectors, oil drums, asbestos, explosives stronger than fireworks, or any compressed gases other than propane. The Household Chemical Roundups are sponsored by Adams County; the cities of Brighton, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Thornton, and Northglenn; Suncor Energy; and TriCounty Health Department. Individuals and groups interested in helping with any of these events should contact Justin Laboe at (720) 322-1541. For more information, call the 24-hour Household Chemical Roundup infoline at (303) 846-6249. Recorded information is available in both English and Spanish. For other Adams County household hazardous waste collection programs, call: Aurora, (303) 739-7372; or Westminster, 1-800-449-7587.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU! The Adams County Sheriff‟s Plains Section deputies and victim advocates would like to thank the following: Arapahoe County Sheriff‟s Office, State Patrol, and local Businesses, Community Organizations and Individuals for your continued support this Holiday Season. The Plains Christmas Family Sponsorship Project assisted 32 families this year. Thank you all for giving of your time and caring for those in your community. Christmas was made very special for these families because of your continued generosity.
In 2003 1,500 Adams County residents participated in Adams County‟s Household Chemical Roundups, safely disposing of more than 77 tons of hazardous materials. This included 5,400 pounds of pesticides, 72 pounds of mercury-containing devices, 5,785 gallons of hazardous liquids, and nearly 50 tons of paint. If not for the Roundups, this waste might have ended up in creeks and rivers or disposed of illegally on other people‟s property. In 2004 there will be three separate Roundups in Adams County: May 1, Hyland Hills Water World, 88th and Pecos in Federal Heights August 21, Adams County Regional Park and Fairgrounds, 9755 Henderson Road (West of Hwy 85 on 124th Ave. September 18, Super K-Mart on 104th and Marion in Thornton Paint products, motor oil, antifreeze, vehicle batteries, house and garden chemicals, scrap metal, fire extinguishers, fireworks, ammunitions, mercury, propane, and tires will be accepted. Tires need to be off of the rims, but even the rims will be accepted for scrap metal recycling. People do not even have to get out of their vehicles as they drive through the Roundup, since volunteers help unload the materials. The events are offered free-of-charge, except for tires, for which there is a $1 per tire charge. Only passenger vehicle and pickup truck tires will be accepted. Donations will also be accepted to help offset the high costs of hazardous waste disposal. There will also be a FREE Drop-and-Swap area where people can take household cleaners, paint products, car wax,
TAEKWONDO Lessons for kids and adults! Exercise-with a purpose! Get in shape while having fun! Here is your chance to learn self-defense, self-control, and self-confidence while learning the ancient art form of Taekwondo. (A discipline designed to teach values as well as self-defense) You and your family will learn from a nationally certified instructor accredited by the American Taekwondo Association (A.T.A.), the world‟s largest martial arts organization with over 200,000 members worldwide. Classes are at the Bennett Community center on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It‟s a fun way for the whole family to get in shape together. For more information contact Instructor Mark Reynolds, 3rd degree Black Belt at (303) 751-8489. Ask about the FREE 2-WEEK TRIAL and the FAMILY DISCOUNT PLAN.
“WELCOME” PACKETS The Town of Bennett volunteers put together folders for new residents that contain information about Bennett. We welcome flyers from your business or organization. Please supply us with at least 100 copies of your flyers and/or coupons. These folders are in all new homes and are also available to new residents who come into Town Hall.
MEETING SCHEDULES
2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. Planning & Zoning 3rd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Municipal Court 4th Wednesday of the month, unless otherwise posted, at 7:00 p.m. All meetings are held at Town Hall, 355 4th St., unless otherwise posted. The public is always welcome. For further information, please call (303) 644-3249. Town Board
BENNETT FOOD BANK NEEDS The Town of Bennett Food Bank is now open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at the Bennett Community Center, 1100 W. Colfax Avenue. Grace Mountain Baptist Church is operating the Food Bank. It is open to anyone in need of its services. Please call the church with any questions at (303) 644-4164. The Bennett Food Bank is especially in need of the following items: canned items, baby food, toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, shampoo, Kleenex, cereal, lotion, drinks (coffee, tea, Kool-Aid), pasta, tuna or other canned meats. Cash donations can be delivered or mailed to Bennett Town Hall, and non-perishable food donations can also be taken to Town Hall. If you would like to donate perishable foods, please call the church at the number above, or Bennett Town Hall at (303) 644-3249. We will make arrangements for the church to pick up your donation. Thank you for all of your help.
This newsletter is a volunteer publication with the goal of addressing the public interest of Bennett residents. It welcomes club news, questions, announcements, and suggestions. Your feedback is important and useful for the development of future newsletters. Contact the Town Hall at (303) 644-3249. Many thanks for volunteer services from Irene Blacker, Alice Bollinger, Eileen Church, Nancy Fitch, Jane Ganzkow, Ruby Johnson, Peg Mancuso, Debra Martinez, and Pat Raborn.
TOWN OF BENNETT 355 4TH STREET
BENNETT CO 80102-7806
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POSTAL PATRON BENNETT CO 80102