Yellow Scene Article Response

 

The concern?

No Access On Andrews Coalition (NAOA) was formed in December of 2022 by concerned members of the Sharpe Farms neighborhood. The safety and integrity of our neighborhood and those that call it home are at stake. Presently, Sharpe Farms residents have only one access point into and out of Sharpe Farms. This access point is onto Highway 52 at Flying Circle Boulevard. Should there be a wildfire or other emergency in Sharpe Farms, or an accident at Highway 52 and Flying Circle Blvd, Sharpe Farms residents can be stuck in the neighborhood or can’t get home. It has happened previously and it’s a matter of time that it will happen again.

 

Anyone who travels Highway 52 knows that accidents are an almost daily reality. Out of the 7 sections of Highway 52, from Keenseburg to the Boulder Diagonal, the Dacono/Frederick/Erie segments see the most use and accidents. Those of us in Sharpe Farms know the reality of watching large commercial and agricultural vehicles blow through the intersection after the light has turned green for us to move into the intersection. We diligently train up our new drivers with extra caution as they leave our neighborhood.

 

On October 10, 2022, Sharpe Farms residents found City of Dacono Land Use Matters signage on the West side of the neighborhood…face down and in the dirt. Residents should have been notified by the City of Dacono, other than just Land Use Matters signage, but instead, the City relied on the developer to send out notification: Some residents received notice while others didn’t. When I asked the former City Manager, AJ Eukert, if the City wanted residents to be in the know, visually see signage and attend meetings his response was, “Are you being serious with that question right now?” (I had this conversation with Mr. Eurkert on December 1, 2022.) It was the October 10th meeting that myself and at least seven other residents attended to express our concerns surrounding how the safety and integrity of our neighborhood are at stake.

 

What’s the Big Deal?

As residents of Sharpe Farms, increasing the amount of traffic through our neighborhood raises many concerns, the greatest of these are safety and the integrity of our neighborhood. More vehicles means more wear and tear on the streets, increased vehicle strikes on parked cars, increased pollution including more trash, speeding, and the running of stop signs by impatient drivers. 

 

The proposed Ridge Lands Development consists of approximately 280 housing units. If each unit has two vehicles, and the average trips/home/day equal ten, that means traffic through Sharpe Farms will increase significantly on streets not meant to handle that volume of traffic. Construction vehicles, heavy equipment, snow plows, emergency vehicles, school buses, and delivery trucks will also be using these same residential streets, which are not designed to withstand that type of traffic volume or load capacity, to access Ridge Lands.

 

Arguments in favor of the plan to use Andrew Street fall short…they claim that Sharpe Farms, Mesa Lands, Ridge Lands and other developments will all be connected and therefore many access points into and out of these neighborhoods will provide ample access of movement. However, these developments may or may not come to fruition. There is no guarantee that all this land will actually be developed and connected. For those of us that have lived here for nearly 20 years with one egress/ingress, those are promises we aren’t willing to risk our safety, our childrens’ safety and the integrity of our neighborhood upon. 
 

Poor Reporting

The Yellow Scene Article has key pieces of information wrong including dates, street names, neighbor relationships and the mission of No Access On Andrews Coalition. Neither Coalition member was reached out to by Yellow Scene prior to the article addressing No Access On Andrews and a direct phone number is on this website. Our relationships did not start, nor will they stop, with No Access On Andrews or City of Dacono Politics. 

 

Our relationship and mission have been politicized and that is a prime example of how Yellow Scene operates using the art of Yellow Journalism: Journalism that exploits, distorts or exaggerates news to create sensationalism and which is of questionable accuracy and taste. The YS article also tied members of NAOA to members of City Council, which was completely false. 

 

It’s interesting, and should be taken note of by members of this community, that there has been no questioning of Mayor Adam Morehead and the Sweetgrass posse he formed in order to recall his own council members Thomas and Turini for following their own City Code which states, “The Council may appoint a City Manager to serve at the pleasure of the Council. The appointment or removal of the City Manager shall require at least four (4) affirmative votes,” Section 7.7 of the Home Rule Charter. It’s also interesting that the City Attorney, Kathleen Kelly, who should have been supporting and guiding Council through the recall proceedings, resigned the day after AJ Eukert was fired. As of the July 10, 2023 City Council meeting, however, she has been re-hired after Mayor Morehead personally reached out to invite her back. See City of Dacono Channel on YouTube July 10, 2023 @ 26:50 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZt1hwU8BDU&t=1232s). 

 

CDOT Recognition of Highway 52 Coalition

As the main administrator of all Colorado Highway safety issues and improvement projects, CDOT recognizes the importance of the Highway 52 Coalition and the impact it will have on maintaining the integrity of Highway 52 from Keenesburg to the Boulder Diagonal. The townships on Highway 52 are Keenseburg, Hudson, Ft. Lupton, Frederick, Dacono, Erie and Boulder. They all share the burden of growing and maintaining Highway 52 but the smaller townships simply cannot invest what the larger ones can. CDOTs involvement in making improvements to Highway 52 is a necessity so it makes sense that the City of Dacono and developers wanting access to Highway 52 go to CDOT for approval of additional egress/ingress points. 

 

Summary

There are hidden agendas being pushed within the City of Dacono…maybe not where you are hearing and reading that they actually are. To stay informed YOU need to attend/watch meetings and not rely on others to do so for you. The only way to know if something is true is to set it alongside that which you KNOW to be true by fully participating and using your critical thinking skills.