AURORA | The city named the finalists for the new Colfax Downtown Development Authority board with interviews scheduled for this week and next.
From 33 eligible candidates, 12 people were selected for interviews. The finalists are Thoa Nguyen, Johnny Watson, Matthew Horne, Priscilla Montoya, Alemayehu Eshete, Amanda Blaurock, Matthew Rogers, Natasha Sztevanovity, Razz Cortes-Maceda, Cynthia Moreno Romero, Katie Goldman and Heather Adams.
The Colfax development authority is a special district that will be overseen by an appointed board with the ability to levy taxes with the goal of revitalizing the area. Voters approved the Colfax development authority last November after years of conversation about how to renew the East Colfax area.
To be eligible for the board, candidates must live, own property or have a business in the boundaries of the development authority. The DDA covers a section of East Colfax Avenue from Yosemite Street on the west end and Peoria Street on the east, as well as north to East 16th Avenue and south to East 14th Avenue.
Of the finalists, at least five are local business owners. Nguyen owns Bánh & Butter Cafe; Sztevanovity owns Society 303; Moreno Romero owns Ollin Cafetzin; Goldman owns La Victoria Healing Kitchen; and Adams is the owner of Vanishing West Ciders.
Many are also community leaders, including Watson, who is a former city council member. Montoya is the executive director of Downtown Aurora Visual Arts and Blaurock is a founder of the Village Exchange Center.
Interviews are scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday and 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 5 at the Aurora Municipal Center. The interviews are open to the public and feedback can be shared by emailing DDA@auroragov.org.
After the interviews, the city council will appoint six candidates to the board in May or June, according to city officials. They will join Councilmember Alli Jackson to make up the seven-person Colfax DDA board.
The new board’s first major responsibility will be to refine and adopt the Colfax Community Vision and Action Plan as the authority’s legally required plan of development, with final approval by city council, city officials said earlier this year. The draft plan was shaped by extensive community engagement with more than 870 attendees at 24 public events and input collected from more than 100 residents, business owners, property owners and organizations.
City officials say the authority and its board will work in tandem with a proposed nonprofit Community Development Corporation that would pursue additional funding streams and support a broader set of initiatives in and around the corridor. Together, these entities are intended to help improve public spaces, support small businesses and foster economic growth while preserving neighborhood character.
Thank you to everyone that stepped up for their community.
Expectations are high. Please manage them with complete transparency and candor.
City Council: The citywide retail tax base is among the weakest in Colorado. Stop hiding from this fact. There is tremendous upside opportunity to improve. This DDA can contribute but it’s far from sufficient to turn around Aurora’s retail/dining economy.
There’s $45 million per year in additional sales tax just sitting on the table awaiting strategic action by Council.
There’s over $8 million per year collected in Aurora for cultural facilities and right now, over 90% is subsidizing other town’s economies.
Stop protecting the Denver SCFD Ponzi scheme and take action to exit so we can invest our tax in truly revitalizing our city.