Week of September 15, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 42
Parker approves sale of 6 downtown parcels Development agreement next BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
and help them, but have 20 other churches in Douglas County that each take one, then we have a community in a sense,” Polhemus said. “What we realized is the major need is not shelter, it’s relationships. If we can solve the relationship issue, then we can solve the shelter issue.” Since the expanded shelter network is in the early discussion stages, its unclear which churches
The Town of Parker is moving forward on developing six plots of land in its downtown after approving a sale agreement. The parcels are: The property adjacent to the Schoolhouse, 0.34 acres 19801 E. Mainstreet, a lot at the corner of Victorian Drive and East Mainstreet, 0.9 acres The two lots in front of the PACE Center, 1.4 acres East Main - the area west of Discovery Park and the library, 4.1 acres Pine Curve - the large lot where Mainstreet dead ends into Pine Drive, 24 acres A development plan, including the density and height of the projects, still needs to be approved for the sale to become final. “The real substance of this deal is going to be in the development agreement,” said assistant town attorney Jim Maloney. Confluence Companies, which also developed portions of downtown Castle Rock and Golden, will buy the properties for a total of about $16 million under the agreement. During the public hearing, residents and business owners gave their perspective on the project, with several in support and several asking the town council to proceed with caution. “These parcels will eventually be developed,” said Denise Haack, owner of Parker Law Group on Mainstreet. “Either this council acts to ensure the development of these parcels are thoughtfully laid out, protects property values and does not waste public resources or council votes to allow some future council to have a say in what our downtown looks like.” Representatives from the Downtown Business Alliance and Parker Arts spoke in favor of the sale agreement. Town council candidate Brandi Wilks also spoke in support of the decision, calling growth inevitable.
SEE SHELTERS, P9
SEE DOWNTOWN, P11
Live music was part of the “Unmasked” special event hosted in Castle Pines.
PHOTO BY THELMA GRIMES
‘Unmasked’ highlights mental-health struggles Olympian Missy Franklin shares story of highs and lows BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin talked about her road to recovering from mental-health struggles during a special event held in Castle Pines on Sept. 10. The event, titled “Unmasked,” was hosted by the City of Castle Pines and Mental Health Colorado. The unmasked theme for the night was aimed at removing the
stigma of mental health, encouraging more people to come out and get help when they are struggling. Throughout the evening, three women took turns on the microphone to talk about their struggles with mental health and declare that they are officially “unmasked.” One speaker talked about the shame she has suffered after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Another, who called herself Lexie, said in her teens she started feeling depressed and was struggling by the age of 13. However, she did not want to admit it — she did not want to burden her family. By the age of 17, Lexie said, she attempted suicide. Now, as an adult, Lexie said she is unmask-
ing and hopes to help fight against the stigma that comes with mental health. Denver resident, Nancy Alterman, said she and family members have suffered from depression and mental-health struggles for decades. In her official “unmasking,” Alterman said through family support, medication and finding other treatments, she continues to fight and work to get healthy. She said she has going from suffering from the three Es – exhaustion, expensive and embarrassing – to believing in the three Ps – purpose, passion and positivity. Franklin finished the evening by SEE HEALTH, P6
Douglas County discusses shelter proposal Pastor of The Rock church outlines program idea BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Douglas County is considering hiring a facilitator to flesh out an idea to make the existing winter shelter network into a more expansive year-round program. At the Sept. 8 meeting of the
Douglas County Homeless Initiative, Pastor Mike Polhemus of The Rock church in Castle Rock told the group he was hoping to get help outlining the details of a yearround church shelter network. He said he envisions multiple churches making up the network with one or two families or individuals housed at each location to avoid having a large homeless community. “We want to have one (unit), where we can bring in one person