There’s something to be said about a “Good thing worth waiting for” or “Patience is a virtue” and “Good things come to those that wait.” These days “the long game” has been on my mind for many reasons.
The growth of Wheat Ridge has been slow and steady. From the amazing recreation center on Kipling that took three attempts before voters approved the bonds to finance it. Establishing a Main Street on 38th Avenue and even a decade-long conversation on short-term rentals. Wheat Ridge has in fact changed. It has improved and modernized, with every step scrutinized, evaluated and painfully debated.
But contrary to some, we have barely moved the needle when it comes to population. Fluctuating between 30,000 and 32,000 since 1969.
While conspiracy theorists believe that the city has an agenda of moving the masses to Wheat Ridge, City Manager Patrick Goff and his staff are not driving busloads of people in the middle of the night and offloading them in our neighborhoods.
Simply explained, parents raise a family in their 1965 ranch, the kids go off to college or their first job, and most want to come back and live in Wheat Ridge. So they look to buy or rent condos, townhomes or small homes. Parents live out their lives in their own homes until their last days. That’s when a new family moves in and begins the cycle all over. Same number of people, but with a need for more homes. While 72 percent of Wheat Ridge citizens would have read all about it in last month’s Neighborhood Gazette, there are those that sit in their homes and choose to make up their own realities.
Affordable housing was a prominent topic at a recent council meeting with many citizens calling in to share their displeasure at Jeffco Housing’s suggestion of building low-cost housing in Wheat Ridge. Call it Section 8, low income, or public housing, the message was loud and clear that Monday night. But the fact remains and so does the need. The city assures us that conversations with any neighborhood will happen prior to any commitment or planning for such development.
2022 will prove to be a busy year for city council. The issue of taking away your right to choose your waste company is once again being considered. Maybe it would be better for council to focus on the small schools in Wheat Ridge that are once again in danger of being closed due to Jeffco Board of Education budget cuts.
Feels like 2022 came out of the gate in full force. All the patience everyone had for each other went out the window and has been replaced by lack of tolerance and tons of horn blowing. Life is about the long game. The patience of a smile, the joy of laughter and the closeness of a kiss. If not today then maybe tomorrow. It’s called the long game.
As always, thanks for reading.
Contact Neighborhood Gazette Publisher Guy Nahmiach at 303-999-5789 or WRGazette@gmail.com.
