Eye On Englewood

Link: http://www.englewoodcitizens.org

Englewood businesses (BID) have begged the City for better lighting in the parking lots along Broadway for at least four holiday seasons. Instead, the City installed decorative lighting on the street front of two city blocks two years ago. But all of Broadway's back lots remain dark during the prime shopping season.

When Santa sneaks down the chimney this Christmas, is this going to be a liability for Englewood as to crime and property insurance? Doug Cohn, Appeals Commissioner, believes so because the Grinch has been notified repeatedly and yet continues to neglect the safety and welfare of its citizens who refuse to buy their bizzle-binks in Whoville. Mister Grinch is a depressed, wicked-tempered grouch with a sour attitude who lives in a mountain cave near the north end of Whoville. He absolutely hates everything about Christmas because of the trash that accumulates around the entire town after Christmas Day. "For fifty-three years I've put up with this threat!"

But, wouldn't it simply be awful if one of Santa's elves evaporated without a trace in the back lot, while attempting to buy toys from Mr. Cohn's Bonnie Brae Hobbies store?

Some of the business owners remember when the EDDA was active (Englewood Downtown Development Authority). This was a joint venture between the officious City of Englewood and those doing real business on Broadway.

Nothing could be done within the city bureaucracy, however, and it was dissolved in 2002; But, the Grinch kept the $100,000 investment from the owners, rather than turning it over to them to start their new independent organization.

Perhaps the Grinch was punishing the nemesis business owners for pulling out of his cheating game. "You're a mean one, Mister Grinch!" Says, Thurl Ravenscroft. "You're foul, bad-mannered and sinister! And, that goes for your little dog, Max, too!" Though, City Council cared less what the citizens of Whoville thought of them. They absolutely refused to encourage Whoville business sales, even at Christmas. Sigh... Instead, they funneled the business owners' money to the new and improved City Center, and tightened the sign codes against the businesses on Broadway.

With or without the dressed up Grinch and his fraud of a reindeer-dog, the new Business Improvement District(BID)began working to market Broadway in 2006 with meager funds. The first years' fees went to pay off the attorney. But at a quarter til dawn, business owners took marketing into their own hands, and have begun to decorate the street with gigantic flower pots, welcome banners and bike art.

Part of the problem, says Cohn, is that the Grinch tried to take some of the Broadway parking lots and turn them into an arts center, so the Mister Grinch couldn't have cared less about lighting the shopping areas targeted for eminent domain. But scratching out the numbers couldn't save the proposed arts complex viability to bring in funds to the city, so Grinch released his grip over the business lots.

Yet, the lots remain dark. Especially in winter months, the businesses on Broadway seem foreboding when considering parking or shopping after five pm. One could imagine that the Grinch is actually trying to blight his own shopping mall!

Gene Turnbull explained that the lighting in Littleton's Old Town is owned by Public Service (Xcel) but Littleton pays to maintain the lighting and pays the utility bills. This may be feasible, but the Grinch of Englewood continues to provide only a perception of "help" while the Whoville battle goes on to get the Grinch to do anything.

Yet, at the November 9, 2010 City Council meeting, Grinch recommended that a lighted sign be installed at Broadway and Girard in the foreboding empty lot to point people away from the Businesses on Broadway (BOB is the newest private marketing campaign) and toward the light rail station and Civic Center. Mister Grinch's pet project apparently needs to be pointed out, at the expense once again of Businesses on Broadway.

It almost seems humorous in light of last year's drama when the Grinch's claims against business signage was shot down at the higher court level, that Gary would suggest for his own benefit a violation of the Englewood sign code. The sign he was suggesting was 28" and 40" wide, proposed by Mile High Outdoor Advertising.

In repeated efforts to solidify the Grinch's hold on Englewood shopping, the City has again brought up the green Santa's idea of too many trash businesses roaming the alleyways. They reason that if only one company pulls the trash sleigh, the Grinch could regulate how many Christmas and Hanukkah wrappings, boxes and packaging might find a way into the alleys, and how much they can charge for the extra trucks needed to pick up all this holiday trash.