Hey neighbors,

Mother's Day is Sunday and after Tuesday's freak May snowstorm dropped up to a foot near the foothills, the weather is finally cooperating. Saturday 77° mostly sunny. Sunday 70° sunny and calm. The cleanest weekend window in weeks. Issue #5 already mapped out Saturday's slate, but two more things landed: Aspen Grove's indoor Mother's Day market is open both weekend days, and Feed the City Littleton runs at the Chili's on Kipling first thing Saturday. That brings May 9 to seven things on the same day.

The bigger story is Tuesday. Council is hearing a staff proposal that would raise sanitary sewer 25% per year for two years and stormwater 60% per year for two years. Read that twice. Details below.

Sewer up 25%, stormwater up 60%, both for two years running. Council Tuesday 5/12, 6:30 PM. Staff is bringing the first half of the utility rate study to the May 12 study session. The proposal: sanitary sewer 25% per year in 2027 and 2028, then 3% per year through 2035. Stormwater 60% per year in 2027 and 2028, then 5% per year through 2035. The capital case behind the numbers: $264 million in sewer needs over 10 years (about $180M of that is South Platte Renew's share), $73 million in stormwater. Last rate study was 2020. Two public meetings come July through September (one virtual, one in-person). Council finalizes during the 2027 budget cycle. New rates effective January 2027. The study session is in Council Chamber. Source: Littleton legistar, item 26-097.

AdventHealth Littleton launched a Forensic Nurse Examiner Program on April 29. It's a 24/7 trauma-informed exam program for sexual-assault and other violence survivors. Forensic nursing units are sparse between Littleton and Colorado Springs, so this matters locally. Lorna Leader, an assistant nurse manager and herself a survivor, leads the team. AdventHealth timed the launch to Denim Day. Access runs through their emergency department.

TrailMark vote update: still in draft, and the HOA's tone has shifted. Two weeks after the April 27 Planning Commission hearing, the Action and Result columns on legistar still read "Not available" as of Thursday. The TrailMark HOA's May 4 blog post calls the hearing "another roadblock." HOA president Ken Colaizzi says commissioners were "adamant about keeping the lot zoned commercial" and "dismissed and ignored" public comment. A TrailMark resident named Donna delivered a petition with 450+ TrailMark signatures supporting 27 residential homes. Colaizzi emailed Mayor Schlachter and Councilwoman Peters May 3. Community meeting Monday May 11, 6 PM at Falcon Bluffs Middle School. Council date for the resolutions has not yet been posted.

Friday May 8. Avenue Q opens at Town Hall Arts Center, 7:30 PM. Runs Thu/Fri/Sat 7:30 and Sun 2 PM matinee through June 7. Tickets $38-$53. The content advisory I ran last week (puppets, language, the works) still stands. Bemis Public Library hosts drop-in office hours with a city council member, 10 AM to noon, Study Room A, recurring every Friday.

Saturday May 9. Southwest Plaza Farmers Market 8 AM to 2 PM (week 2 of the season). Grace Farm & Gardens grand opening at 12475 W. Belleview Ave (hours not posted online yet, watch their page). Aspen Grove Mother's Day Market 10 AM to 5 PM, indoor at unit #713 (former Kirklands), 7301 S Santa Fe Dr. Mid Mod Mile Scavenger Hunt 10 AM to 2 PM, check-in at Arapahoe County Plaza, smartphone-based, cash prizes. Feed the City Littleton (Tango Charities) 8:30 to 10:30 AM at the Chili's, 8454 S Kipling. Pokémon GO Lechonk Community Day 1:45 to 5 PM. Hot Rod Cruise 3 PM at Woodlawn Shopping Center. Bemis Paws to Read with therapy dogs at 11 AM, 11:30, and noon.

Sunday May 10, Mother's Day. Be nice. SSPRD Mother's Day Brunch at Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel, 9 AM to 2 PM. Aspen Grove market still on. Avenue Q matinee 2 PM.

Monday May 11. TrailMark community meeting at Falcon Bluffs Middle School, 6 PM. Waterton Canyon weekday access fully resumes.

Tuesday May 12. Council study session 6:30 PM, Council Chamber. Three items: sewer/stormwater rate study, charter-review ballot questions, joint study session with the South Metro Housing Options board. Bemis Right to Read Book Club takes on The Handmaid's Tale, 6:30 PM, Conference Room.

Wednesday May 13. Foothills P&R Sledding Hill Park Open House, 6 to 7:30 PM at Peak Community & Wellness Center, 6612 S Ward St. Bemis Teen Arcade (N64 Classics), 5:30 PM. Pokémon GO Raid Hour at Clement Park skate park, 5:50 PM.

Saturday May 16. Two things going at 2 PM, you'll have to pick. Railroad Depot 150th Birthday at 5790 S Prince St (free, cake, historic coloring books). Or Bemis hosts "Frida Kahlo: Queen of the Selfie" with Museo de las Américas in the Large Meeting Room. Both run the same hour. Bemis Teen Laser Tag at 4:45 PM, grades 6-12 with permission form. Avenue Q runs both a 2 PM matinee and a 7:30 PM evening show.

Wednesday May 20. Bemis Evening Book Club takes on Pelican Girls by Julia Malye, 6:30 PM. Teen Art Lab "Bigger Bubble" at 5:30 PM.

The Littleton Business Chamber has a new executive director. Trista Borrego started April 1. Korri Lundock, who built the chamber from 5 founding members to 300 over her tenure, stepped down on health grounds and becomes board president June 1. Lundock collected the chamber's "Woman of the Year" award in April. Quiet handoff at one of the steadier institutions in town.

Waterton Canyon: weekday closure ends today. This weekend (5/9-10) and weekday access from Monday onward are open. Denver Water hasn't posted any new closure window past 5/8.

NEW: Clear Creek Canyon's CCR Trailhead to Tunnel 1 segment closes Monday 5/11 through Friday 5/22 for trailhead and parking-lot improvements. If you head up to Clear Creek for climbing or paddling, plan around it.

Standing closures unchanged from last week: Black Bear Trail (raptor nesting through July 31) and Hildebrand Ranch's Two Brands NE segment (M-Th 8:30 AM to 4 PM through spring).

Stage 1 fire restrictions still in effect. No Red Flag Warnings in the 5/8-5/14 window as of Wednesday evening. NWS Boulder has issued 37 Red Flag Warnings on the Front Range so far this year, against 15 at this point last year. Wind and dry are the pattern. Recheck before any open-flame plans.

C-470 Ken Caryl Avenue to Wadsworth resurfacing is on. Asphalt Specialties started Monday 5/4. Daytime single-turn-lane closures at the C-470/Wadsworth off-ramp 7 AM to 5 PM through Friday 5/15. Then crews shift to overnight resurfacing 8 PM to 6 AM Sunday-Thursday starting May 17. Project covers MP 9.74 to 14.16. Completion fall 2026. Hotline 303-943-1534.

Pier 7 (the SB Santa Fe to EB C-470 flyover): CDOT's project page hasn't been updated since February 18. Phase 2 plans were "still being finalized" then. The lane closure on the WB C-470 off-ramp to NB Santa Fe stays in place either way. CDOT hasn't officially confirmed the additional 5/8-5/11 ramp closures circulating in neighborhood Facebook groups. Check cotrip.org Friday morning before you commit to that route.

Drought / Stage 1 surcharge: no change. Same 2-days-a-week schedule and same May-usage / June-bill timing as last week.

Manning / 1st Street Farms vote: scheduled for City Council June 2. No new public action since Issue #5.

Charter Review goes to council Tuesday 5/12 alongside the rate study. Council narrowed 11 sections to 6 staff-forwarded for potential 2026 ballot questions.

Two clean data points this week. 5021 S Robb St and 5026 S Robb St, both 3-bed/3-bath 2022 paired-product builds on the Solterra/Dakota Ridge edge of 80127, closed the same day, April 30, $18,000 apart. 5021 sold for $560,000. 5026 sold for $542,022. Around $275 to $310 per square foot. Identical product, same street, same week. That's how a tight market is supposed to look.

Up the price band, 11434 W Roxbury Dr (Ute Meadows, 4 bed / 4 bath, 3,086 sqft, built 1984) sold April 28 for $720,000. Established neighborhood, mid-range price, no apparent drama. Listed by The Steller Group.

Friday (today): sunny, high 69°. Light wind. Saturday: mostly sunny, 77°, gusts to 25 mph. Sunday (Mother's Day): sunny, 70°, calm. Clean weekend for outdoor anything. Monday: sunny, 88°. The summer-flip starts. Tuesday: 84°, sunny. Wednesday: sunny, 88°. Thursday: 85°, mostly sunny, slight chance of showers and thunder. No active alerts.

Bemis is hosting drop-in office hours with a Littleton City Council member every Friday, 10 AM to noon, Study Room A. This is new and quiet. If you've got a question or a sewer-rate concern, it's a low-friction way to put it in front of someone who actually votes on it. No appointment to book. Walk in.

A few quick housekeeping notes before I let you go.

The Faith in the Foothills church directory I've been teasing slips one more issue. It runs in #7. The recommendations are in, the last verification is a street address, and a one-week wait is a fair trade for getting it right.

Hogback Post grew 141% over the last four weeks. Most of that came from word of mouth. So I built a referral program to say thanks.

Two tiers at launch. Refer one neighbor and you get the Foothills Cheat Sheet, a one-page PDF covering the best 80127 trails, coffee shops, and locals-only tips. Refer three and I'll mail you a Hogback Post 80127 sticker for your water bottle or laptop. Pins and local gift cards come later this summer.

Your personal link: {{rp_refer_url_no_params}}

Hit reply with sewer-rate thoughts or TrailMark thoughts. I read everything.

Joey

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