Complex property deal involving Lakewood, Jeffco Schools and a nonprofit group has landed in court

A cash-strapped school district that s looking to unload a shuttered elementary school A nonprofit human services agency that s in need of a bigger home as it serves more than households a year And a judge who s telling Colorado s fifth-largest city not to make any moves on the whole situation a complex deal that would allow the agency to move into the school until she can determine whether everything is on the up and up That s the strange nexus at which Lakewood Jeffco General Schools and The Action Center have revealed themselves after their proposed real estate deal was challenged in court by a former Lakewood city councilwoman who thinks the whole arrangement is taking place in secret Regime should have to do this in a way that s transparent and above board and includes the residents in this kind of decision-making declared Anita Springsteen who s also an attorney I think it s unethical I think it s wrong The deal on the table calls for Lakewood to purchase Emory Elementary which closed three years ago because of declining enrollment from Jeffco Constituents Schools for million At the same time the city would buy The Action Center s existing facility on West th Avenue for million The Action Center in turn would buy Emory from the city for million when the organization which for more than a half-century has provided free clothing and food family services and financial assistance to those in need moves to its new home in the former school on South Teller Street The core dilemma Springsteen says is that Lakewood did not properly announce two September executive sessions during which officers discussed details of the deal in private In a lawsuit she accused the city of violating Colorado s open meetings law which requires governments to state in advance and in as much detail as accomplishable what will be discussed behind closed doors without compromising the purpose for the executive session Jefferson County District Judge Meegan Miloud had enough questions last week about how Lakewood gave general notice of its executive sessions that she imposed a temporary restraining order on the City Council forbidding it from voting on three ordinances that would authorize the deal to move forward The council had been scheduled to consider the measures Monday night Miloud stated the city s executive session notices on the council s September agendas were so vague that the constituents has no way of identifying or discerning what is being negotiated or what property is being assessed On Tuesday morning the judge conducted a hearing on the matter but did not make a ruling She called another hearing for next Monday and commented in a new order that her injunction remains in effect The fast-moving situation has Lakewood playing defense A special council meeting that had been set for Wednesday night to once again put the ordinances up for a council vote will now have to be rescheduled city spokeswoman Stacie Oulton declared Lakewood she contended has been open throughout the process The general process has included updates from the city manager during residents City Council meetings and the city has followed the residents notification process for these agenda items she described The Denver Post in an email this week Additionally the proposed end user of the property the Action Center has had several constituents locality meetings about its proposal Anita Springsteen a lawyer and former Lakewood city councilwoman is leading a challenge to a complex land deal between the City of Lakewood Jeffco Populace Schools and The Action Center that would bring a homeless services center to the former Emory Elementary School in Lakewood on Oct She posed for a portrait outside the former school Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post Questions about meetings domain value Jeff Roberts the executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition explained it was atypical for a judge via a temporary restraining order to preempt a city council from casting a vote But circumstance law he noted makes it clear that governing bodies in Colorado must provide as much detail as doable when they announce closed-door sessions short of disclosing or jeopardizing strategies and positions that are crucial in real estate negotiations In general an announcement that doesn t give any indication of the topic is not enough information for the citizens Roberts noted In majority cases and that s why it s in the law you must tell the population what the executive session is about That standard he revealed was upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals in when it ruled that the Basalt Town Council violated the state s open meetings law several times in by not properly announcing the topic of private deliberations it would be having regarding a former town manager In the Lakewood school matter the alleged open meetings violations are not the only thing that bothers Springsteen She objects to the structure of the proposed real estate transaction saying it would be a sweetheart deal for The Action Center and a waste of money for taxpayers They are stealing money out of our pockets reported Springsteen who served on City Council from to Lakewood she commented would be underpaying for the -acre Emory Elementary School parcel overpaying for The Action Center s current facility and basically giving the school property away to the nonprofit For the city to not intend to own the property but to buy it on behalf of a nongovernmental organization when did we become an agent for other agencies Springsteen noted According to the Jefferson County assessor s site The Action Center s buildings on West th Avenue have a total value of about million while the city has proposed purchasing them for double that The assessor s office lists Emory Elementary as having a total value of up to million Springsteen reported she is flummoxed by the Jeffco school district s willingness to sell the elementary school to Lakewood for a third of that valuation What bothers me majority is the way Jeffco schools is handling this she stated The district didn t even have a school reserve officer at Evergreen High School because of budgetary issues She was referring to when a -year-old learner critically wounded two fellow students at the foothills high school last month There was no SRO at the school at the time of the shooting Evergreen High School s principal explained reporters the district had deprioritized SROs for its mountain schools leading up to the shooting The school district is looking at a million budget hole for the coming year A spokesperson for Jeffco schools revealed a decision on whether to sell Emory Elementary to Lakewood hadn t been made yet That vote by the district s school board is expected Nov Raven Price picks out food at The Action Center s food bank in Lakewood on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post We need to bring this into our society Pam Brier the CEO of The Action Center declared property values don t tell the full story There are various instances locally and nationally of municipalities helping to endorsement the affordable acquisition of properties for organizations like The Action Center who are serving such a critical need in our area she disclosed and ultimately saving taxpayer money by helping to meet people s basic requirements Her organization Brier noted serves households a day It provides a free grocery and clothing area financial assistance free meals family coaching skills classes and workforce assistance to people who are down on their luck As masses dollars dwindle our work is more crucial than ever she announced Without organizations like The Action Center to provide food clothing and other critical backing individuals and families fall into dilemma needing assistance that will cost taxpayers and cities so much more Oulton the Lakewood city spokeswoman stated it was not exceptional for cities and counties across metro Denver to provide financial sponsorship in a variety of solutions to nonprofits that serve their communities Additionally Jeffco Inhabitants Schools has clearly communicated to the city that the district views the value of this project in more than the dollars involved because the district s priority has been to see former schools used in a way that will continue providing services and endorsement to Jeffco Community Schools students and their families Oulton disclosed Diana Losacco a -year resident of Lakewood who lives about a mile from the Emory site was one of more than three dozen people who urged the city to pursue the purchase and sale of the school to The Action Center on the Lakewood Speaks website Raven Price and her -year-old son Gabriel Luna head home with a wagon full of food they selected from The Action Center s food bank in Lakewood on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post Related Articles Lakewood s controversial parkland measure grinds residential projects even small ones to a halt Schools targeted for closure in Denver Jeffco have disproportionately high numbers of students of color records shows Jeffco Citizens Schools will close schools in Denver s suburbs due to declining enrollment This will provide opportunities to people to become self-sufficient which will provide critical financial savings for our district Losacco informed The Post in an interview We need to bring this into our group It demands to be in a neighborhood But not her neighborhood noted Katherine Byrne Byrne has owned Stockton Pet Hospital on South Wadsworth Boulevard for six years The business which was founded in sits just a insufficient hundred feet west of Emory Elementary There are enough challenges with assaults shots fired and drug dealing in the vicinity especially along the nearby bike path Byrne noted Because The Action Center won t be providing overnight shelter space at its new location for people who are homeless she worries about where people using the organization s services might go once the doors close And she wonders why the city didn t look at wealthier areas of Lakewood for feasible sites to relocate The Action Center It s just a ridiculous unsavory plan to put this center in the middle of a neighborhood that didn t know it was coming Byrne stated Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter