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Off-site meeting at the Centennial Civic CenterHosted by the City Manager President Hank "rang" the bell five minutes late, as he took two trips from his car bringing in bagels and "birthday" treats made by Jeanne for Hank and Cathy. Hank turned the meeting over to Jacque, one of our newest members and City Manager. Jacque went through a brief history of our city and how the new building we were meeting in came about. Centennial is the largest incorporation in the history of the US and has very strange boundaries. With over 103,000 in population, the west boundary is Broadway, on the east, just short of E-470, the south about Arapahoe Rd and on the north, approximately Orchard. It was born out of necessity, as Greenwood Village and Aurora were gobbling up all the commercial in the area and refusing to take heavy residential areas. The city is now heavy with residential and office buildings, which are a break-even tax-wise. In 2007, town meetings were held, the largest with over 1000 attendees, and a vision of the community was established. One of the priorities was establishing a "city center" and also seeing if the City was doing what they said they would when chartered 8 years ago, which mainly to have a lean efficient government. Mike Conner, the assistant City Manager then took over and covered the details regarding the new building. The old City offices were in a leased space and the lease expired 12/31/08. The existing building was built in 2000 as the Safeway Credit Union. It then turned into Westerra (sp?) Credit Union. Through a chance conversation at a youth soccer match, the City found out that the building and its 5 acres were for sale. The cash purchase closed on 4/10/08 for 3.77 million. It included the acreage and all furniture. The surrounding area, 11 acres for some kind of park and 3.84 areas for future development were also purchased and the total for the entire deal was 6.7 million. 1.4 million was spent on the entire remodel, including the planning and design. In the basement, the City courtroom and City Council room, along with other offices were built. Much care was taken to use existing materials, recycled carpet and environmentally sound paint and other materials. Gary Wilson, City Long Range Planner then took over and went into details about the surrounding area. Public meetings will be used to determine how the "park" will look. An outside design company is handling the details. A possible grant from the State could enhance the "park." The main idea is a "gathering place." Jacque addressed several other projects going on in our City. Arapahoe is being reconstructed between Holly and Colorado Blvd. It should be finished in 8 months and is a federally funded project that is behind schedule. Another project is the widening of the intersection of Arapahoe and University Blvd. to accommodate the new Streets of Southglenn. Before Jacque took the Club (15 members, nice job!!) on a tour of the building, Randy showed the gorgeous cards Greg and his company produced for the Care committee. The Board approved the design and purchase of the cards. Randy also reminded new members of the Fireside at the Pote home Thursday, 7 p.m. Kent will run the hour long get-together, with input from Charlie. Much thanks to Jacque and her fellow employees for a wonderful and informative meeting!!
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King Soopers Coupons! Don’t forget to see Kent Ostedgaard for your King Soopers coupons! The club makes 4% on every dollar we spend. Coupons are available in $25 units & are sold at face value. Nearby Club Locations for Makeup's: Tuesday’s: Wednesday’s: Wednesday 's: Thursday’s: 24 Hours: www.rotary5450.org/eclub |
Please join us Tuesday mornings at 7:10 AM at the Embassy Suites Denver-South Arapahoe Road, 10250 East Costilla Avenue, Englewood, CO 80112 |
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