WEEK OF JANUARY 9, 2025
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 37
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Wellspring nonprofit begins moving tenants into Unity on Park apartments
How to engage with Douglas County’s local governments and elected boards BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
While Colorado’s open meetings law does not require local governments or elected bodies to seek public engagement on their decisions, most officials consider feedback part of good governance. In Douglas County, all of the local municipalities designate time to hear from the public during meetings through general comment periods that allow people to speak about things not on the meeting agenda, and designated comment periods specific to agenda items. Typically, elected officials don’t respond directly to public comments, but they can be factored into decision making and officials can follow up on them. Public comments also help reporters, including those at Colorado Community Media, learn about community members’ concerns and ideas. Though all of the municipalities and elected boards accept comments through email, the procedures for commenting during a meeting differ between places and can be tricky to navigate. To help people participate in local government, The Douglas County News-Press created a guide to the basics of local public comment policies. (All of the meeting schedules are subject to change for holidays, weather or other reasons.)
Wellspring Community, a nonprofit that provides services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is moving in tenants to its recently opened apartment building in Castle Rock, called Unity on Park. The project converted the former La Quinta Inn on Park Street into 42 COURTESY OF WELLSPRING COMMUNITY affordable apartments with 20 reserved for adults with disabilities. BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Douglas County nonprofit Wellspring Community is in the process of moving tenants into its recently completed conversion of the former La Quinta Inn in Castle Rock to affordable apartments. The apartment building, called Unity on Park, provides affordable housing for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD), with half of the units reserved for tenants with disabilities. There are 22 studios and 20 onebedroom units, and 66 parking spaces. All of the housing units will be restricted to people making 30-80% of the area
median income. Nicole DeVries, the executive director of Wellspring, which provides services to people with IDD, said the project addresses an unmet demand for independent living options in Douglas County. DeVries said more than 20,000 adults with IDD in Colorado live with a caregiver who is over the age of 60. “This is the first community of its kind in Douglas County,” DeVries said. “This is the first step, but it just scratches the surface of meeting the needs, not just in Douglas County, but statewide.” Unity on Park provides an independent living option while still offering 24/7 on-site staff to assist residents with daily tasks. DeVries said staff mostly
helps with building life skills. “They help with learning to cook and to clean, getting groceries, getting to doctor appointments, getting to and from work, doing laundry, managing a budget, managing their schedule,” DeVries said. “It’s all the stuff anyone of us had to learn how to do when we first lived on our own or lived outside of our parents’ house, but they just get extra assistance and support.” The project received support from the state, the Douglas County commissioners and the Castle Rock Town Council. The state contributed a $4 million grant, while the county purchased the
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Douglas County Board of Commissioners
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners has business meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Public comments can be made on specific agenda items and the board can hear general public comments on items not on the agenda at the end of the
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