As we wrap up a busy summer and start an equally exciting fall, I wanted to make sure everyone in our community knows the best ways to stay on top of all that is happening in our city. At the beginning of every month, we send an e-newsletter called Mayor’s Matters to a group of interested subscribers. We include brief articles that link to more information on the city website, What’sUpWheatRidge.com, or to websites hosted by our community partners including Foothills Animal Shelter, Localworks and the Jefferson County Public Health Department. If you’d like to subscribe, visit: https://bit.ly/WRMayorsMatters
In addition, community members can subscribe to traffic and emergency alerts on the city website under the “Notify Me” section or by using the City of Wheat Ridge mobile app. These alerts will be especially helpful once construction begins on the Wadsworth Improvements this October.
The printed quarterly Connections newsletter is mailed to households throughout Wheat Ridge based on a list provided by the Jeffco Transcript. If you don’t get these in your mailbox, print editions are also available to be picked up at City Hall and an electronic version is posted to the city website. Watch for the Fall/Winter edition to arrive in mid-November.
Social media – Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor – is another way the city shares information about what’s happening: bit.ly/FBCityWR and Twitter.com/CityWheatRidge.
The Wheat Ridge Police Department uses Twitter, Facebook and NextDoor to post updates about incidents, traffic alerts, crime prevention tips and safety information: bit.ly/FBWRPD and Twitter.com/WheatRidgePD WRPD also has an Instagram account which provides a little lighter perspective and insight into the daily lives of officers, detectives and civilian personnel: IG @wheatridgepolice
Last year the city also introduced What’sUpWheatRidge and WheatRidgeSpeaks.org as two more ways to engage the community, especially when we were all social distancing or staying safely at home and out of reach of the pandemic. What’sUpWheatRidge lists specific projects including the Lutheran Legacy Master Planning Process, Wadsworth Improvements, Sustainable Wheat Ridge, Let’s Talk, the All-America City Award, Wheat Ridge Creates and – coming soon – WRPD’s shift to a Relationship Based Policing philosophy. This platform offers a way to provide input and engage in conversations with the city. There are polls, idea sections, timelines for projects, maps where you can pin ideas or locations of concerns. Community members can ask questions of the experts who are leading a specific project.
The other new website is WheatRidgeSpeaks.org, which provides a way for community members to offer input for upcoming city council as well as planning commission meetings. Using WheatRidgeSpeaks.org participants can see the staff and applicant presentations; review materials like site plans, staff reports, and ordinances and resolutions scheduled for upcoming meetings; ask questions of city staff; submit comments to the planning commission and city council for the public record; and sign up to receive updates about cases of interest. The platform is open for comment until noon on Mondays.
Don’t forget, one of the best fall events in Wheat Ridge takes place on Sept. 12 at the Ridge at 38, on The Green. The Localworks Criterium will include a family ride again this year at 2:20 p.m. on the same course used by the pros, so bring the family and enjoy a brew and a snack while you watch the races. Hope to see you there and make sure you stay in touch and informed about everything happening in our great city.
Contact Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker at 303-235-2800 or bstarker@ci.wheatridge.co.us.
