General Membership Meeting
May 16, 2007
MINUTES
1. Ron McKinney, Director of Salvation Army's Red Shield Center talked about their plans for renovation and expansion. They are planning on renovating the current building, and landscaping along 29th and High streets. They are also going to build a new gym on the NE corner of 29th & High where there is currently a basketball court. The new gym will be 28-30 feet high and have sloping roofs in attempt to make it fit in with the surrounding neighborhood. The handball court will be replaced by an educational facility. The parking on High Street, north of 29th, will be changed to straight in parking to increase the number of parking spaces. It will be two and a half years until project is complete. Call Ron at 303-295-2107 with any questions.
2. Officer Mike Jimenez introduced himself. He is the new Community Resource Officer for District 2. He distributed Whittier crime statistics. Overall crime is down 40% for the first quarter of 2007, compared to last year. He said that we should soon be seeing more foot and bike patrols in the neighborhood. There is a curfew for people under the age of 18 of 11:00PM on weeknights and midnight on weekends. Mike's desk number is 720-913-1065 and mobile is 720-490-3290.
3. Cari Stegall talked about a proposed new charter middle school located in Five Points. If approved, it would open in August 2008 with 6th graders only. Eventually it would be 6th-8th graders. The name of the school will be Five Points Academy. Any child can apply. If there are more applications than slots, there will be a lottery.
4. Jennifer Reynolds talked about the Community Re-Entry Project which will open June 4th at 3030 Downing. It will be a service organization to help misdemeanor offenders get back on their feet. The overall goal is to reduce the recidivism rate in Denver. They will be having a good and clothing drive soon. There will be a computer lab in the building that the community can use when it's not being used for classes.
5. Brief Announcements: Carla Madison, District 8 City Council Candidate, introduced herself.