At our May 17 benefit, “An Evening for Sand Creek with Ken Salazar,” Gordon Robertson of Denver Parks and Recreation thanked Denver’s voters for approving the fall 2018 ballot initiative to provide additional funding to the city’s parks. An early beneficiary of this new funding stream is our Sand Creek Greenway. Robertson announced that $3.3 million would be used from this fund to complete design and engineering plans and then construction of a continuous paved surface through the Denver portion of our Sand Creek Greenway, and where possible, add an adjacent soft surface trail.
Design work is expected to begin later this year, with construction to begin late in 2020. The surface work is expected to be complete by the end of 2021.
Our organization will work with Denver Parks and Recreation on this plan, and though the trail surface will be “finished,” our work as the nonprofit partner is far from complete. We’ll continue to work on habitat restoration, trail amenities and public outreach and environmental education for our community, all in support of this great asset for the metro area, our Sand Creek Regional Greenway.
The May 17 benefit was highly successful, raising more than $20,000 to support our programming. Former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, spoke on the importance of public lands, and pledged his own financial support to our programs. Also speaking on behalf of our nonprofit mission were Lisha Burnett of Suncor, Jim Spaanstra (Faegre Baker Daniels LLC) and Kerry O’Connell (Mortenson) and our new city partner in Aurora, Kristin Memmott.
Special thanks to the evening’s Signature Sponsor, Suncor; our Stewardship Sponsors, Mortenson, Majestic Realty, Aurora Highlands; and our Program Sponsors, Brightview Landscaping, Stapleton MCA, City of Commerce City, Fiore and Sons, Bob and TJ LeGare, Michael Sheldon and Associates, and Geoff Horsall. Beverage donors included Ursula Brewery, Stem Ciders, Colorado Cider Company, Native Realty and the Zapata family. Silent auction donors included Bike Shop Girl Family Cyclery, Mark Mehringer, Denver Zoo, Denver Botanic Gardens and many others. All gifts and contributions are greatly appreciated.