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WEEKLY BRIEFS City of Arvada internal news April 17, 2023 The City team hosted the first Bulky Item Drop-Off Event of 2023 The first Bulky Item Drop-Off Event of the year was Saturday, April 15. The event was a huge success, serving 1,400 vehicles, filling 89 dumpsters, and safely disposing of over 500 mattresses! This is the first of three events that will take place this year. The next two events will be held on June 10 and August 19, each at the North Area Athletic Complex (NAAC). These events are offered to all Arvada residents as a part of the minimum services of our Waste and Recycling Program. A huge thank you to all of our team members who helped make this event a great success! Learn more about Bulky Item Drop-Off events on the City’s website. Don’t forget to complete the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Survey by this Friday, April 21 Earlier this year, the City of Arvada hired MGT, a national public sector consulting firm, to conduct an internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to review current attitudes, practices and policies and then develop a DEI Action Plan. The Action Plan will provide a prioritized set of steps for the City to take to advance strategic DEI initiatives. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Your input is incredibly valuable in understanding what is going well and where there is room to grow, which is why the project team is excited to move forward with the launch of the DEI Survey. This survey will provide all staff the opportunity to share input on this important work. Please complete the DEI Survey by Friday, April 21. Your responses will remain anonymous. Individual responses will not be shared with any individual in the City. All responses will be aggregated for the overall analysis and used only for the DEI Assessment. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Juan Osuna at [EMAIL REDACTED] or Linda Haley, project owner, at [EMAIL REDACTED]. We appreciate your continued support on this city-wide initiative. Your input will help us to achieve our goal of creating a diverse, equitable, accessible and inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. Employee Committee Corner: Get ready for our upcoming photography contest! Dust off those lenses and get ready to capture the natural beauty of our great city! The Employee Committee is hosting a photo contest for all City of Arvada employees starting in May. To enter, you must be a current City of Arvada employee (full-time, part-time, or temporary). All photos must have been taken in Arvada within the last three years, and there is a limit of three entries per employee. The Committee will vote on the best photos and the top photos will then be displayed prominently at City Hall and could be used for various City publications. There will also be gift cards awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners. Stay tuned to the Weekly Briefs for the sign up link, contest dates and more details in the near future! About the Employee Committee Employee Committee representatives meet in order to plan and coordinate events as well as collect departmental updates to bring back to their respective teams. Check out the links below to see who your representative is, view the upcoming list of potential City events and browse Employee Committee meeting minutes: ● Find My Rep! Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- ● 2023 Events Schedule* *Please note: this is a working document and all events are subject to change. ● Meeting Minutes Please contact your Employee Committee at [EMAIL REDACTED] if you have questions. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month The City of Arvada Employee Committee Outreach Team is supporting Ralston House Child Advocacy Center this April by planting a pinwheel garden outside of City Hall along Ralston Road. The garden and its location are designed to serve as a beacon of hope for children and youth in our community. If this is a cause that touches your heart, join your colleagues by making a donation toward the City of Arvada pinwheel garden today through paypal, deliver cash donations in exchange for pinwheels from Administrative Court Clerk Tracy Harbo ([EMAIL REDACTED]), and/or invite a representative from Ralston House to attend a team meeting to accept donations. You can also view the City’s pinwheel garden at this location. Thank you, City of Arvada employees, for supporting this very important cause. Additional fundraisers in support of Ralston House can be found at www.ralstonhouse.org/events. The Olde Town Water Tower will be illuminated green on April 22 for Earth Day Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Organizational Service Effectiveness Work System Accessibility tips for everyone: content and design basics (including when composing emails) ● Use plain language and short sentences. Avoid jargon. ● Font: Use appropriate size and type of font (12-point Sans Serif is a good choice). Avoid decorative fonts. ● Emphasis: Use bold for emphasis, not italics, all caps or underlining. ● Bullets: Use plain bullets or numbers. Not icons. ● Contrast: Keep color contrast high (dark ink on white or very pale background). ● Images: Avoid putting text over images. Use alt text when appropriate. ● Hyperlinks: Use words that clearly describe the purpose of the link rather than URLs. ○ DO: Visit the Jobs webpage for more information about available positions. ○ DON'T: Visit for more information about available positions. ArvadaCO.gov update This week, the website team attended training with CivicPlus, the ArvacaCO.gov platform host. The three-day training included instruction on all aspects of the back and front ends of the new content management system. If you regularly provide content for the website, your work system communications contact will be working with you in the upcoming weeks to review and optimize content on the new website. The new website is scheduled to launch June 1. If you have questions, contact your work system contact: ● Dave Snelling: Public Safety, [EMAIL REDACTED] and Chase Amos, [EMAIL REDACTED] ● Katie Patterson: Infrastructure, [EMAIL REDACTED] ● Kevin Luy: Clerk’s Office, [EMAIL REDACTED] ● Liz Johnson: CED/AEDA, [EMAIL REDACTED] ● Sean Star: VCN, [EMAIL REDACTED] ● Cindy Javelet: OSE, [EMAIL REDACTED] Bring Your Child To Work Day is April 27 Do you have a child in your life? Want to give them the opportunity to see what you do during a workday and help them explore what is possible for their future? Consider bringing your child to work on April 27! The City is not formally organizing any Bring Your Child to Work Day events, but we encourage our City team members to ask their managers for approval if you would like to bring your child to work on this day. Visit Inside Arvada to access the waiver you need to sign to participate! Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Neighborhood Grants The Neighborhood Grant Program opened on Saturday, April 8. This program is a great opportunity to plan creative and collaborative experiences for your neighborhood. Applications are due by Sunday, May 7. The Block Party Trailer reservation system will open on Wednesday, April 26. Be sure to apply early as reservations often fill up quickly! If you live in Arvada, please share this information with your neighbors and those new to your neighborhood. For more information about the City’s Neighbors Connected program, watch this video and visit the City's website. Please contact Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator Brady Porterfield-Finn at [EMAIL REDACTED] with any questions. Fidelity Phone appointments are available next week Sam Casad from Fidelity will be holding 30 minute phone appointments this month on Tuesday, April 25 and Wednesday, April 26. Any participant from ANY of our City retirement plans can sign up for one of these appointments. All appointments are FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Please use the links below to access sign up sheets for these appointments. Each link has several 30-minute appointment times you can reserve. When you sign up, please provide your name and a phone number for Sam to call you. On the sign up sheet, you will also see 5 additional alternate spots listed as well. These alternates will only be contacted if Sam has extra time during the day, or if he cannot reach someone who had signed up. He will call those people in the order they are signed up. Tuesday, April 25 phone appointments Wednesday, April 26 phone appointments If you are unable to get a phone appointment, you can also speak to a Fidelity rep by phone by calling customer service at 1-[PHONE REDACTED], or by accessing the numerous financial resources available by logging into your account through Fidelity NetBenefits. Community Household Donation Drive: Items still needed The Housing Team is hosting a Community Household Donation Drive to assist families transitioning out of homelessness with setting up their households with basic supplies. Household items, such as pots/pans, cups and cleaning supplies, will be accepted through Friday, April 28, Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations: ● City Hall/Police Headquarters (main entrance off 59th and Ammons Street) ● Lake Arbor Community Station (8110 Vance Drive) Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- ● West Woods (6644 Kendrick Drive) ● Whisper Creek (14360 W. 89th Drive) For a full list of items accepted and other details, visit the website or contact Alexa Ursetta at [PHONE REDACTED] or [EMAIL REDACTED]. Here’s how to view internal job postings All internal job opportunities are posted on our internal job link and on Inside Arvada under the “Employee Resources” tab. Arvada University Update Register in advance on the Arvada University Learning Calendar. Contact Noelle Oberg ([EMAIL REDACTED]) with questions. Session/topic Date Time and/or resource link Type of Training Cloverleaf - Learn helpful tips! April 21 from 9 to 10 a.m. Register here Virtual Training DEI: Surfacing and Addressing Bias in the Workplace May 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register here In-person 7 Habits of Highly Effective People May 22 from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m. Register here In-person 7 Habits of Highly Effective People June 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register here In-person Vibrant Community & Neighborhoods Work System Arvada’s newest park named Little Raven Park On Monday, the Arvada City Council passed a resolution to name Arvada’s newest park “Little Raven Park.” The park is located just north of the Van Bibber Creek Trail and southeast of the Ward Road and W. 58th Avenue intersection. Park amenities include a multi-use play field, a shade pavilion with picnic tables, new playground equipment, native vegetation and open space, direct access to the Van Bibber Creek Trail and more. The idea to name the park in honor of Arapaho Chief Little Raven, who was known as a Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- peacemaker between native peoples of Colorado and white settlers during the 1800s, was proposed by a member of the community who lives near the park through a community engagement project conducted earlier this year by the Arvada Park Advisory Committee. Learn more about the park naming project on the City’s website. Thanks for coming to the Kite Festival! The Arvada Festivals Commission hosted the 18th annual Arvada Kite Festival this past Sunday at Stenger Sports Complex. A huge thanks to everyone who made this event such a huge success this year! We were fortunate to have some great weather as the community came together to celebrate the start of spring in a truly unique way. Check out this photo gallery of the Kite Festival from the Denver Post! Next up for the Festivals Commission is High Tea for Seniors on May 6, followed by Arvada On Tap on June 24. Early bird tickets for Arvada On Tap are on sale now! Majestic View Nature Center’s City Nature Challenge Spring is here and that means it’s time for the City Nature Challenge, a friendly competition among cities worldwide to see who can document the most plants and wildlife. If you’re interested in learning how to document Arvada’s biodiversity we invite you to attend the free iNaturalist training at Majestic View Nature Center on Friday, April 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. You’ll learn how to use the app, how to submit your results and then have a chance to go out into the park to practice documenting species. Then, from April 28 through May 1, you can get out in your neighborhood and document as many plants and animals as you can. Last year the Denver-Metro area documented 3,000 species, and our goal is to document 5,000 this year! Register for the free training online. Join the Majestic View Nature Center’s April 22 Earth Day Celebration! Looking for something fun to do with friends and family this weekend? Join us to celebrate Earth Day! We’ll kick the morning off with stewardship projects around the park from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Participants will be entered in a raffle to win a rain barrel and the first 30 participants will receive a food truck token. After the projects, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., everyone is invited to stay for food, crafts, booths, and more! Check out our website for more information. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Infrastructure Meyers Pool Pre-Construction Open House Last week, the City partnered with Apex and JeffCo Public Schools to host a pre-construction community meeting at Meyers Pool. The planning team, along with the designers and construction contractors, were on site to speak with interested community members. Information about the design of the new facility and the timeline for construction, including a virtual walk through of the new facility, were available. Thank you to the many team members who helped make this event a success! Visit the Meyers Pool project webpage for more information and updates. Water Operations RRCC Career Day The Water Operations Division organized a career day at Red Rocks Community College on April 13. The goal of the effort was to help with near constant need for new and skilled individuals in the water industry. By widening the net and focusing on a student population that are looking toward a future career but may not know what that is yet, we can offer water operations as a viable and fulfilling option. Sam Yeager, Clint Duckworth, Isaac Valenzuela, Abe Munoz and Diego Ulibarri represented each of the crews that make up the Water Ops. With a display made up of digging equipment, various sections of water main, meters and a display hydrant the crew interacted with roughly twenty different faculty and students. Overall, it was a solid first effort for the Water Operations team to create a relationship with Red Rocks and to get out into the community. Email your news to