mgladmin

Written by Kathy Gilstrap–longtime Meadowglen resident and close friend of Janie Smith

Our community lost a shining star this past week.

Over 35 years ago, Janie Smith, and her husband, Sid, moved into Meadowglen, and the neighborhood was never the same!  You may remember Sid, who haled from London, by his delightful British accent.  If you didn’t know Janie personally, you may have been warmly greeted by her and her little white Maltese dogs, as you walked past their house along the lake.

For years, Janie and Sid entertained neighbors and friends.  They loved hosting get togethers in their beautiful home, and welcomed the opportunity to share food, drink, great stories, and laughter with everyone in the community.

In turn, Janie got great enjoyment from participating in neighborhood BBQs, wine “tastings” and s’mores around fire pits, attending the holiday events at the clubhouse, and watching the numerous wildlife on the Meadowglen lake outside her window.

They were gracious people, and full of gratitude.  After Sid passed, Janie commented how she felt she couldn’t be too sad because God had blessed her with 35 years with her wonderful husband!

Janie didn’t have children of her own, however, Janie lovingly “adopted” her nieces, nephews, and many, many of the children, and young adults in Meadowglen.  She spent hours chatting with them, really showing interest in their lives, and activities.  She always had a birthday party to attend, a gift to drop off, or a card to write.  She made our young people feel worthwhile.

Janie and Sid met while working for British Airways.  For a while they made their home in gorgeous Tiburon, California.  However, when Janie’s dad asked Sid and Janie to take over the family business, Denver Sanitary, they willingly came to Colorado, and settled in their beloved Meadowglen, not far from Janie’s childhood home in north Denver.

Janie immediately got involved with the community, joining the Architectural Review Committee.   She volunteered hours, and decades, helping to develop, write, and implement concise, and thoughtful design standards for the community, thus ensuring Meadowglen maintained its impeccable beauty, and value, over the years!

Additionally, Janie was a spiritual anchor in the Arvada and Denver community, as a committed member of Spirit of Christ Catholic Church, a personal supporter of the Capuchin Franciscans Friars, and a fan and season ticket holder of the Broncos and Rockies.  She often donated her tickets to organizations for fund raising events.

Janie always had a smile on her face, and a heart full of gratitude.  When you were around her, she made you feel special.  She was a light in this world!

While you may not have known Janie personally, know that she was an integral part of creating (and maintaining) the wonderful, unique neighborhood in which we live.

Godspeed Janie, until we meet again.

You have likely heard that the City of Arvada will begin implementing an organized waste hauling system in July 2021. HOAs who are already under contract with a waste hauler are allowed to remain with that particular hauler. The BOD is opting to stay under contract with Waste Management, because the price break per resident is lower than what is being offered by Republic, the City’s selected trash hauler. Additionally, aside from some occasional slip-ups, Waste Management provides consistently solid services to Meadowglen. It is important to note that resident in HOAs who choose to remain with a hauler other than Republic will be required to pay a “minimum service fee” of 88 cents per month ($1.76 per water bill cycle). So expect to see that additional charge on your water bill beginning in September. This minimum service fee allows you to participate at no additional charge in TWO yard waste drop off events and TWO bulk item drop off events per year.

Proposed soft trail around the north and east sides of Pomona Lake​As previously reported, the City of Arvada Parks division has proposed installing a “soft” trail on the lake side of the concrete path. While this project is still on the roster, the parks crews are operating with skeleton crews as a precaution against the transmission of covid; therefore, projects are being delayed. We will keep you notified of updates. 

Slope improvements on the north slope of Pomona Lake​The City’s landscape architects continue to study the process for bank improvements. There are still feasibility and costs to understand and budget hurdles to contend with. The Beautification Committee and the BOD continue  to check in with the City to keep he project moving forward. If you have questions about the water level of Pomona Lake, the proposed soft trail or the north slope improvements, feel free to contact a BOD member or attend a board meeting via zoom.

The City of Arvada Parks Maintenance crew has notified the Board that beginning Wednesday, Nov. 4 (weather permitting), the City’s contractor will be performing concrete replacement on the trail along the east side of Pomona Lake and down Little Dry Creek Trail east to Pomona Drive. During the concrete replacement project, Little Dry Creek Trail will be closed to all pedestrian/bicycle traffic from Pomona Drive to the concrete bridge located at Estes St, and the trail along the east and north sides of the lake all the way to the clubhouse will be closed. This closure includes the cut-throughs between the trails and 81st Drive. Pedestrian/bicycle traffic will be detoured on the south to the sidewalk on W. 80th Avenue and to the north on the sidewalk along W. 81st Drive. The attached map shows the open trails depicted in green and closed trail sections depicted in red. Signs will be posted in advance. Construction is anticipated to take up to one week (weather permitting). Please avoid the construction areas during the project and until signs/barriers have been removed.

Please also stay tuned for an exciting announcement regarding upcoming improvements to the Pomona Lake north shore over the winter and spring.

If you have questions/concerns, contact me at arifeldman@meadowglen-hoa.com.

Yesterday the Colorado Department of Health amended “Safer at Home�? Order which states, “no personal parties over 10 people from two different households�? (link to amended order). The amended order also dictates the capacity for outdoor events. Many counties (Adams and Larimer) have also reverted back to Safer at Home Level 3: High risk, but Jefferson county still has us listed at Level 2: Concern. Under Safer at Home Level 2, we are allowed outdoor parties up to 175 people. Should Jefferson County change to Level 3 today, we will have to keep our numbers at any given time to 75 people. The Board spoke this morning and decided to proceed with the Halloween party following these guidelines. If we do move to Level 3 today, we will be keeping an eye on the numbers at the party and may ask for some people to disperse after partaking in festivities. We look forward to seeing you all tonight and having a great outdoor, socially distanced, masked-up event!

In an effort to keep leaves out of the landfill and off of City streets where they can block storm drains, free residential leaf recycling will be available the first three Saturdays in November (Nov. 7, 14 and 21), from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the following locations:

• Permagreen Organics (5520 Harlan St.)
• Stenger Soccer Complex (5675 Oak St., east entrance)

This event is for leaves only; no branches, woody brush or tree stumps will be accepted. No materials from commercial businesses, please. Due to COVID-19, leaves in plastic bags will need to be emptied by the resident. The City cannot offer assistance this year. For more information, visit arvada.org/leaf-recycling.

This has been a tough year to say the least, and I’ve heard from so many that a walk around the Lake was the highlight of your day. There have also been comments about how the lake isn’t what it used to be and that it is lacking not only the trees, but the fish and wildlife that used to be so commonly found. Well, we are lucky here in Meadowglen because we have a young local activist who took things into his own hands to make a difference and improve the community. Earlier this year, Meadowglen teenager Timothy Marette contacted Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) for ideas to clean up the lake and improve the fishing at Pomona Lake (located in the middle of Meadowglen). After a few passionate and “determined�? emails, a CPW aquatics crew completed a fish survey. It turns out that the carp which had taken over the lake had degraded the water quality by rooting in the lake bottom for food and destroyed the habitat that the fish, waterfowl, and amphibians used to enjoy here in Meadowglen. It was determined that if CPW removed the carp from the lake, the water quality and habitat would eventually improve and more catchable fish along with other desirable animals would return. Over the Summer CPW began the carp removal along the shoreline of Pomona Lake. Besides removing well over 60 carp, they also caught and released two 5+ pound bass, and catchable crappie and bluegill. CPW is also due to come back sometime this Fall to finish the survey in the middle of Pomona Lake. Way to go Timothy! Thank you for making the lake better for all anglers, walkers, and Meadowglen residents.

– Brett Schumer

Fall is upon us and it’s time to have some fun. Meadowglen is planning on having our annual Halloween event on October 24th.  Like everything so far in 2020, there will be some changes to our annual event.  We will be having a socially distanced, staggered gathering near the clubhouse parking lot. We will start at 4:00 pm for the younger kids (aged 0-5) and then welcome older kids beginning at 5:00 pm.  A Sign up Genius and more information to follow.

We will have age appropriate treat bags and crafts. There will be hay rides, s’mores, and a costume contest with prizes.  We will have fire pits to help warm us when the sun goes down.
If you would like to help out with the party or other social committee events – contact Linzi King @ linziking@meadowglen-hoa.com

COVID-19 really has complicated our world. Through the summer we have opted to keep the clubhouse closed for a number of reasons. First, the Stay-at-Home Order forced us to close the clubhouse. Then the Safer-at-Home ordered allowed small gatherings up to 10 people. And currently during the “Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors” we can allow up to 25% of the capacity of the facility, or 13 people. But an event with that small of a gathering can happen in someone’s home pretty comfortably.

At every Board meeting through the summer the Board has discussed re-opening the clubhouse for rental. In some sense, it’s a great amenity that we could be missing out on. On the flip side, just the capacity limits alone don’t really justify opening up the clubhouse. Overall, the Board feels that there would have to be so many stipulations (capacity, cleaning, monitoring) on having an event at the clubhouse that it just makes sense to keep it closed for now. As the situation develops we will be sure to communicate when regular reservations can resume, and we will continue to address it at each Board meeting.

Thank you for your understanding!

Hey Everyone!

We’re rounding the bend on the summer and everything is still going great! I have heard of a few people having issues with the reservation system so I put together this FAQ on how to make reservations, add guests, and properly cancel a reservation. Everyone should check it out because you may think you were cancelling appropriately before, but likely weren’t (hint: you have to cancel each member in your party separately).

In other news, at the August Board meeting we discussed allowing guests on the weekends. I looked at the usage log on the weekend and found that while the numbers are pretty consistent through the summer, we are still not entirely at capacity on the weekends which could allow for some flexibility. We are definitely hitting or nearing capacity of reservations during the 2-4 and 4-6 PM blocks on Saturdays and Sundays, but not during the other blocks during the day. With that in mind, effective 8/22 you may bring up to 4 guests during the 10 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm slots on the weekend. Again, your guests are your responsibility. Make sure they follow our normal and COVID rules or you may lose pool privileges.

As always, if you have an issue with the reservation system, or questions about the pool, just let me know.

Lastly, just a reminder to stay vigilant, wear your mask, be courteous, and be safe!

Cheers,
Ari
303-900-2746