June 2020

Hi everyone – I hope you are all doing well.  Here’s my mid-month update for things going on in and around Superior for June 2020.  Read on for updates on the opening of Superior playgrounds, 88th street reconstruction, traffic data, and more…

Black Lives Matter

Note: this is a statement I read during the board member reports at the June 8, 2020 Town Board meeting. A video of that meeting is available on the Town’s website, and my remarks on this topic begin at 8:33.

Black Lives Matter.  Our country has a history of racism and systemic racism continues to exist.  While we acknowledge that the Town of Superior is not particularly racially diverse, that does not excuse or allow us to be silent or complacent in the face of racial injustice.  

We must speak out.  We must educate ourselves and teach our children.  And we must work to end institutionalized racism wherever we encounter it. 

Superior must be committed to making our community more inclusive and welcoming of all people.  To that end, we have invited the Boulder County Sheriff to our next Board Meeting on June 22, where we can begin that conversation and discuss how the police can keep our communities safe, while respecting the fact that Black Lives Matter.  I encourage you all to participate in that meeting and to write to the Town Board with your thoughts, comments, and suggestions on what we can do to improve our community for all people.  We are listening.  Thank you.  

Pools & Playgrounds

Superior has a new policy if you want to visit our pools (which opened on June 8) this summer.  To access the pools, Superior residents must first sign up for a digital pool ID card and then register for a specific 1 ½ hour time slot during which you plan to visit the pool.  This reservation system allows us to limit the number of users at the pools, while allowing time for cleaning/sanitizing between time slots. I’m really proud of our Town Staff for coming up with a solution for safely accessing our pools consistent with COVID-19 social distancing and related guidelines.      

The Town Manager announced at the June 8th Town Board meeting that playgrounds will re-open to the public on June 15 (update: it’s now been moved up to June 13).  We ask that you limit the numbers of children using the playgrounds to no more than 10 at a time.  We also ask that you help your children maintain appropriate distancing from others at all times.  While the Town intends to regularly clean the playground surfaces, please understand that the Town cannot monitor each user and will be unable to guarantee that its playgrounds are free from the virus.  More information will be released soon.

88th Street

88th Street remains closed for the summer — through August 2020.  The project which will fully reconstruct 88th Street, add bikes lines, sidewalks, a multi-use trail, and will be completed in August, before the BVSD school year starts. The project remains on schedule and we appreciate your patience during the closure.  

For more information about this project, I wrote about it in February, March, April, and May. 

Why won’t the Board talk to us about pending development applications?

As an elected representative, I always want to be available to my constituents.  That desire to be accessible to residents is periodically frustrated, however, when the Town Board is asked to  consider a land use application for a real estate development in town.  That is because when we consider a land use application, the Town Board sits in a “quasi-judicial” capacity — essentially, we are to act as if we are judges in a court of law.  We must consider the application impartially and apply the facts that are presented in a public hearing to the law to arrive at an ultimate decision as to whether or not to approve or deny the land use application.  This is a requirement by State Law and is not unique to Superior.

The development application process takes time and involves significant back-and-forth with Town Staff, before an application is formally submitted.  At the same time, residents learn of the development proposal and understandably have concerns, desire more information, or want to speak about the proposal with members of the Town Board.  

So while we are elected representatives, in this capacity, we wear our “judge hats” and must ensure that the process is fair.  We must protect due process rights of the public and the applicant.  We cannot prejudge the application.  We can only apply the facts that are introduced during the public hearing.  We cannot engage in “ex parte” communications (communications that are outside of the formal public hearing), because doing so could create an appearance of impropriety, which might undermine confidence in the fundamental fairness of the proceedings.  

This process — while unnatural and frustrating at times — necessarily ensures that the due process rights of the land use applicant, as well as the public, are protected.

Transportation & Safety Committee – Crash Data & “20 is Plenty”

At its June 1, the Transportation and Safety Committee heard an annual report and a historical report on accidents that occurred between 2011 and 2019.  

As detailed in the annual report, total crashes decreased by 14% in 2019, but most of this decrease occurred on private streets or parking lots. Crashes on public streets increased by 7%.  This increase was attributable to an increase of 7 crashes on SH 128. Crashes resulting in injuries decreased by 27% and remain a small proportion of total accidents.  

During the nine-year period, 2011-19, there was one pedestrian/vehicle crash, 3 crashes involving bicycles, four crashes involving deer or elk, three DUI crashes, and two fatal crashes (both on SH 128). There hasn’t been a fatality on Town maintained streets during the last ten years.  Crash data is available on pages 1-10 of the packet.  

The TSC also discussed the “Twenty is Plenty” program.  The TSC previously discussed the program in June 2018.  Since then several communities around the country have lowered their speed limits on local roads as a strategy to reduce the risk of fatal and serious pedestrian/vehicle crashes. The City of Boulder recently approved a speed limit reduction on local residential streets from 25 mph to 20 mph.  Town Staff staff presented the TSC with a map showing which streets would be affected, an implementation cost of about $25,000 and a suggested list of public outreach activities.  The Committee agreed to pursue this program and directed staff to start strategizing the public outreach program.  After that outreach program has concluded, the Town Board will consider an ordinance change.  I recommend attending the TSC meetings as they are tackling many important issues.

Virtual “Lowdowns”

Would you like to meet with me one-on-one to discuss anything related to the Town of Superior?  If so, consider signing up for a “Virtual” Lowdown with Trustee Lacis. We’ll set up a Zoom Meeting.  Please shoot me an email at markl@superiorcolorado.gov to secure your slot. 

Get Involved — Run for Trustee, Volunteer, Sign Up for Notifications

This November, three Trustee positions will be up for election.  Trustees Kevin Ryan, Sandie Hammerly, and myself, were first elected in November 2016 and our four-year term is set to expire.  We are all eligible to run for re-election.

If you’re interested in serving your community, now is the time to do something about it.  Do you want to be a Trustee?  To qualify as a candidate for Trustee, you must be a citizen of the United States of America, be eighteen (18) years of age or older on the date of the election, be registered to vote and have resided within the Town limits of Superior for at least the twelve months immediately prior to the date of the election. To obtain candidate petitions, call the Town Clerk at 303-499-3675 extension 112 or email phyllish@superiorcolorado.gov.

Maybe you’re not interested in running for office, but still would like to get involved.  You should consider one of our advisory committees.  Serving on our advisory committees is a great way to learn more about our Town, while giving back to the community.  If you have questions, or are interested in serving, please contact Karen Snortland, Committee Coordinator at karens@superiorcolorado.gov and she will guide you through the application process.  

We currently have the following openings on our advisory committees:

• Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) – 2
• Cultural Arts and Public Spaces Advisory Committee (CAPS) – 2
• Historical Commission – 1
• Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) – 2
• Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Advisory Committee (PROSTAC) – 1
• Planning Commision – 2

If you’d just like to learn more about what is going on in the community, visit the Town’s website for ways to stay connected.  There, you can sign up for  text or email notifications.

Last, but not least, to ensure you get updates from me, please follow my facebook page and sign up for blog updates from www.marklacis.com.