Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer and the District 5 Office will organize their first community cleanup day in twelve of our City-owned parks and open spaces in District 5 this fall on Sunday, October 11 from 8:30am – 11-am.  Councilwoman Sawyer noted the idea for organizing the clean up day is rooted in choosing to “take a more positive, solution-oriented approach” to Denver’s anticipated economic shortfall in the coming year and impending budget reductions in many city agencies, including Parks and Recreation.  The first sign of the impact this will have on our neighborhood came this summer with the removal of the trash bins along the 6th Avenue Parkway, which the District 5 Office has strongly advocated for their return.  Councilwoman Sawyer further noted, “Denver is anticipating an economic shortfall in 2021 and all City agencies will be slashing their operating budgets. That means that unfortunately, this reduction in services is with us for the foreseeable future. As a community, we have two choices: we can lament the loss of trash cans and refuse to adjust our habits in recognition of these difficult times, or we can be grateful that we have access to such beautiful land in the middle of our city and come together to maintain this space as a community until our City is back to its solid financial footing.”

The City Council District 5 Office will provide goodie bags for all the volunteers with masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, trash bags, water, etc. Lead Volunteers will be in charge of gathering waivers and organizing volunteers and tasks at their respective parks.  Please contact Sara in the District 5 Office with any questions at [email protected].

Please sign up on the Signup Genius at: https://bit.ly/d5fall20parks, and pass along the link and information to your friends and neighbors. Thank you for your participation and help in keeping our parks clean!

There are several parks and open spaces on the list for this Oct 11 cleanup day, including the 6th Avenue Parkway and Burns Park, a Hilltop park recently featured in our E-Newsletter.