There is a new mayor in town in Edgewater, but he is no stranger to this vibrant, historic, innovative and growing community.
John Beltrone has been active in the civics of Edgewater since 2017. He and his wife Hannah bought their house in Edgewater in 2015 and quickly made the town their home. In those five short years they have gotten married, welcomed their daughter Charleigh who is now three and most recently, in September a baby girl named Matilda.
Despite the challenges of being a new dad and husband, John has jumped into civil service in Edgewater with both feet. Contrary to what some may think, the mayor of a town typically has another career. John also works at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden.
As luck would have it, a co-worker of John’s also lives in Edgewater. Back in 2016, the two of them got to talking about the fact that there were plans for a brand-new civic center in Edgewater. They discussed how they would love to see the building be built with the environment and sustainability in mind. Next thing you know, John found himself advocating for that very idea.
Shortly thereafter, in 2017 John ran for city council with the hopes of creating a sustainability board. Through the many paths paved by his predecessors and input from colleagues as well as the Edgewater and surrounding communities, he has done just that and so much more.
What was once a small group of Edgewater residents, the sustainability board is now a permanent function of the Edgewater City Council.
“Edgewater has always been an early adopter of environmental policies. The sustainability board is a great way to nurture those ideals into implementation and fruition.”
This board has worked together to create a new direction for the future of Edgewater that is sure to spill over to the surrounding areas.
“We have 200 residents signed up for the town’s curbside composting service that has only been active for two years. The new civic center is an embodiment of sustainability… city building codes have been updated to reflect the most current standards and beyond. And the most obvious project right now is the ongoing work being done to make the city more walkable through safety and convenience features tailored to those not driving cars.”
The aforementioned and other accomplishments are the very reasons that John decided to take his involvement in the town that he loves to the next level and run for mayor. In this new role, John hopes to find a way to maintain the history and diversity of the city while still implementing elements of change and progress.
Like many communities in Jefferson county, the issues of homelessness, education, infrastructure and affordable housing are heavy on everyone’s agenda. John sees the potential for Edgewater to make very real and tangible progress in all of those areas.
“In Edgewater, we have this amazing ability to make changes come to life quickly due to the resources compiled over the last 10 years.”
Edgewater has a unique revenue system in place where there are no city property taxes. Therefore, they rely solely on sales tax for revenue. Due to the foresight of the leaders of the city over the last 10 years, the once-struggling city has reaped the benefits of the legalization of marijuana.
Through the partnership with the leaders of neighboring communities, the residents of the community and the expertise of the city manager of Edgewater, John plans to build upon those before him and those already working so hard for the city.
“We will continue to streamline the pipelines in place. We aren’t going to be a government body that talks and talks about ideas… and then make plans for months and months without actually implementing things.”
In the coming year, John looks forward to “continuing to see what the sustainability board can bring to the city, completing the city’s Comprehensive Plan Refresh and to nurture the opportunities to create a stronger connection between the three schools and the community.”
