Dear Neighbor,

As your mayor, I have tried to promote the City of Wheat Ridge as a forward-thinking city which is ripe for investment and redevelopment along major commercial corridors.

Working with many citizens, the Mayor's Office, City Council and city staff, the city has created many new citizen academies (Civic Academy, Citizens Police Academy), processes and initiatives to keep our city from becoming stagnant. Wheat Ridge has involved many citizens in all layers of these new processes. As a result, the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy and Wheat Ridge 2020 were created.

Wheat Ridge must welcome and support its newcomers and stakeholders as we move ahead in the 21st century. There is nothing wrong with re-inventing ourselves to maintain and improve our quality of life. Wheat Ridge does have many positive infrastructure projects in the pipeline that will benefit our city for years to come. Many of these projects will be discussed further in the coming months and may be on the November 2008 ballot.

The City of Wheat Ridge is dedicated to making our city one of the safest and most attractive communities along the Front Range. We need to invest in vital infrastructure and quality of life projects that will help make Wheat Ridge an even better place to live. Among those improvements we are considering are:

• Local drainage and flood control
• Improvements in two stretches of 38th Avenue
• Expansion of the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center

We would pay for these much-needed and long-neglected projects with bonds. Bonding allows the city to complete these projects in a more timely and efficient manner. Rather than lump these projects into one ballot question, the City Council has carefully considered each challenge by its benefit and cost and then allocated specific revenue-generation options for funding. The projects were reviewed and ranked by the citizen Drainage, Infrastructure, Roads and Trails (D.I.R.T.) Task Force, which was appointed by the Mayor's Office in 2007.

With regards to 38th Ave. west of Kipling St. to Youngfield St., there are sub-standard or no sidewalks, pedestrians walk in the sand or mud and drainage is sub-standard. We need to reconstruct this street, similar to 38th Ave. from Cody to Kipling St., with curb, gutter and sidewalk, bury unsightly utility lines and install proper storm sewers. Pedestrian and/or horse paths are also being considered based on citizen input.

At the other end of 38th Avenue, improvements in "streetscape" have been made from Sheridan Blvd. to Harlan St. This area was a "pilot program" that has been well received by most of the residents and businesses of Wheat Ridge. This area is considered Wheat Ridge's "Main Street" and one of the most "high traffic" areas of the city for businesses, residents and visitors. We are recommending to complete the pedestrian and streetscape improvements from Harlan St. west to Wadsworth Blvd.

The Wheat Ridge Recreation Center has been one of our best success stories. Built 10 years ago, it is now bursting at the seams with programs and facilities usage and cannot meet our city's growing needs. The proposed expansion plans may be reviewed online at www.ci.wheatridge.co.us under "Parks and Recreation."

I encourage you to find out more about these projects and how they will benefit you and your family. For more information, you can e-mail Patrick Goff, the Deputy City Manager, at pgoff@ci.wheatridge.co.us or call him at 303-235-2805.

If you have questions on any of these important issues, please contact me at 303-235-2800 or e-mail at jerryditullio@comcast.net