Denver City Council is set to vote on contracts related to a controversial drainage project at the golf course. The work involves a stormwater drainage project and course redesign.
The proposed contracts are on the agenda for Monday, August 14, after the vote was delayed by a week. Councilman Rafael Espinoza requested the delay and sent a letter to Mayor Michael Hancock Friday morning asking him to deny the contracts.
In addition to the video interview by Channel 9, this article also contains a ethics complaint against CW Stacie Gilmore and videos of the LUDI committee and the discussion for a postponement of the contracts surrounding the Park demolition.
Currently, the land is restricted by city zoning to use as a golf course or open space, Brantley said. That means that any private developer would have to go through a fairly complex and risky process to get anything else done.
The city, meanwhile, already has a legal relationship with Clayton because of the way the Clayton Trust is structured. The city originally acted as the trustee for the assets left behind when George Clayton died in 1899. The golf course previously was agricultural and dairy land, and the government later managed it as a city golf course starting in 1932.
On June 5, 2017, the Denver District Court heard arguments regarding the City’s assertion that 220 documents (7,400 pages) should be protected by the “deliberative process” privilege—which stems from the “executive privilege”.
The Court ruled that the 7400 pages should not be handed over to the Plaintiffs
(those suing the city to protect CPGC) in the CPGC lawsuit. The City has repeatedly claimed in public and under oath, that they are committed to transparency and have nothing to hide. However, in court, the Attorneys for the City claimed that disclosure of the 7400 pages of emails and documents would somehow chill future candid discussion among city leaders and staff.
These documents are maintained for historical purposes Clayton Agency Agreement 2000 Release of Easement 2000 Conservation Easement 1997 Additional Related Documents Maintained Only As Records PHGC deed recorded 12-1-2000 [PDF corrected] Commercial Sale Dec 2000 Bill Of Sale Commercial Property Commercial Property Commercial Property Documents obtained after June 20 2017 Park Hill Golf Course June 2017 Presentation Clayton – PHGC …Continue reading →
From the Denverite, a new report on the Audit of Denver Parks and Recs
“Additionally, DPR should be evaluating its fees more often to see if they are adequately offsetting the cost of maintaining the park, the audit said.”
DPR says that they already have a system for customer satisfaction for the major permits, but plan to expand the system to all permit types by the end of the year.
Judge Daniel M. Taubman wrote that “competent evidence in the record supports the City Council’s rezoning decision such that the neighbors have failed to rebut the presumption of integrity, honesty and impartiality in favor of the City Council’s decision.”
Kerwin has cited Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman’s frequent e-mail correspondence with Metropolitan lobbyist Sean Maley before the vote. But Taubman’s opinion echoed the earlier district court ruling in noting that Susman asserted her impartiality several times and ultimately voted against the rezoning.
This week, Kerwin said in response to the latest ruling: “The developer and its lobbyists controlled this rezoning process, and city officials admitted in court that the Planning Board and City Council do not consider traffic and parking problems when evaluating a proposed rezoning.”