Participatory Budgeting
Denver’s first Participatory Budgeting Program is open for voting and residents are encouraged to head online to rank their top projects and help decide how to spend $2 million of infrastructure funds.
In the first year of the program, the city piloted both a regional approach to participatory budgeting and a more general, citywide process. The $2 million available for projects is divided across four ballot areas:
- A citywide ballot for all areas in the city with a budget of $1 million for residents who live or go to school in Denver
- A far northeast Denver ballot with a maximum budget of $400,000 for residents living in Montbello or Green Valley Ranch/Gateway
- An east Denver ballot with a budget of $300,000 for residents who live or go to school in East Colfax, Montclair, Hale, or South Park Hill
- An east central Denver ballot with a budget of $300,000 for residents who live or go to school in City Park, City Park West, Congress Park, Cheesman Park, Capitol Hill, or North Capitol Hill
Residents will rank up to five projects per ballot, and the city will construct as many of the top selections as possible within each area’s available budget.
The voting phase comes after a summer of public engagement where 1,100 residents submit hundreds of ideas for consideration in the pilot program. Over the last two months, a group of community members, called Budget Delegates, ranked ideas, identified priorities, and built out specific proposals—complete with locations, descriptions, and cost estimates. PB ballots are ready for voters and, with no voting restrictions for age or immigration status, the electorate for the program will look different and more diverse than formal elections.
Get involved today at www.denvergov.org/DenverPB! Ballots will remain open through November 20, 2022.
Severe Weather Sheltering
As the weather starts to get colder, Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) wants to make sure that everyone has information about the severe weather emergency shelter plans and how to access shelter during a severe weather event. They put together a handout, with a lot of information on how to access shelters in Denver.
We encourage you to share this document widely. In the event that overnight shelter expansion is necessary and activated, HOST will notify impacted partners with as much advance notice as possible.
In addition, please know that outreach workers, park rangers, safety personnel, and police actively reach out to unsheltered individuals to let them know when severe weather is expected, so they can assist them in finding shelter if needed. Outreach teams prioritize connecting people to shelter during severe weather. For outreach teams, the “front door” entry points to shelter remain the same even with any shelter expansions, so it does not change where people are directed.
Quality Hill Update: Pilot Dog Park
Thank you to those that participated in the August 2022 survey about the pilot dog park at Quality Hill Park. After the initial three-month pilot that kicked off at the end of July 2022, Denver Parks and Recreation has decided to extend the pilot dog park by an additional 6 months (until May 1, 2023) to further evaluate the placement of a permanent dog park in this location. The extension will allow Denver Parks and Recreation to evaluate the pilot dog park by observing the following: maintenance conditions through the upcoming seasonal changes, changes in impact to nearby residents based on recent adjustment in hours and good neighbor signage, and if dog park visitors use the park in a way that is respectful and compatible with the urban neighborhood context.
Based on the community survey results and conversations with adjacent neighbors, there has been a change in park hours enacted at Quality Hill Park to reduce negative noise impacts for nearby residences. The dog park is open from 8:00am to 8:00pm, with the entrance gate being locked outside of those hours. As a friendly reminder, entering the park outside of those hours will result in a fine.
Finally, District 10 has heard mostly positive reviews about the Quality Hill pop-up dog park, but one potential way to mitigate the negative impacts to neighbors is to consider additional dog parks in District 10. Either way, if you support or oppose adding more dog parks to District 10, please email us at district10@denvergov.org so we can advocate for you!
For more information, please visit here.
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