Arvada Election 2017: Meet Dot Miller, City Councilmember-At-Large Candidate

ARVADA, CO -- Dot Miller is running for Arvada City Councilmember At-Large in a crowded field against four other candidates, Jordan Hohenstein, John Malito, Dave Palm and Jim Whitfield.

Dot Miller Candidate Questionnaire

Age: 42

Previous political experience: This is my first time running for office.

Previous community experience: I have been involved in Arvada for over a decade. I founded a non-profit called Jefferson County Business Education Alliance to help students become workforce ready. I co-founded a non-profit called Arvada Vitality Alliance, that helps raise funds to support non-profit organizations that serve Arvada. I serve on the Development Council for Family Tree, a non-profit that helps women in crisis. I have previously served on the Ralston House Board of Directors, the Foothills Animal Shelter Foundation Board of Directors, the Arvada Economic Development Association Board of Directors, the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, the Mapleton Education Foundation Board of Directors. I currently serve on the Arvada Colts Board of Directors, Blues & BBQ for Better Housing Board of Directors and the Colorado Society of Association Executives Board of Directors.

Occupation: CEO, The Solution

Education: Bachelor of Science in Education and Mathematics

Website: www.DotMillerforArvada.com

What are the three biggest advantages Arvada has today?

Arvada, with its 115,000 residents is a big city with a small town feel. When you arrive in Arvada from any direction, you know you have arrived in Arvada. Business owners remember your name and our residents serve on board and commissions that help better our community. Every resident has a park within a 10 minute walk of their home. We care. Second, our City has been incredibly fiscally responsible, having a surplus each year for one-time projects. We did not have to lay anyone off during the recession because we are a community made up of mostly small businesses, and not dependent on large mall retail sales that took such incredible hits during that time frame. Third, we are located 15 minutes from Denver, 30 minutes from the mountains, and have a commuter rail (hopefully soon) that takes our residents to where they need to be. It is easy to get anywhere you want to go.

What are Arvada’s three biggest challenges?

Three of the most important issues facing Arvada are growth and all its associated challenges, attainable housing and homelessness. Because of how many people will be affected, growth jumps to the top of that list. That is why I want to be part of the Strategic Plan that I mentioned above. Now is the time to shape the future of Arvada.

What’s the best way for Arvada to manage growth?

Long Range Planning. We need to look at a project long term… 10 and 15 years out. We need to consider that a street will be widened down the road before we build up to it, or put street lights at the intersections and abutting the roadway. We need to widen streets and planning intersections for development years before the development begins. We know now, as a community, what development plans are for future projects. We know driverless cars are coming now, we need to plan for that. We need to plan for hovercraft and other future transportation that could be a possibility. We need to plan for sustainability now.

What is your opinion on:

The proposed $8.3 million new convention center?

I think the Arvada Events should stay in the Arvada Center and we should not invest in an convention center in Arvada.

Are there areas where Arvada could be providing better service to residents? How?

We need to engage our community more. Once we do that we will be able to reach out and hear from them, all of them, to find out how they think we can better serve them.

One need I have heard as I knock on doors is that we need to look at our sidewalks and access to public transit (bus stops, commuter rail). We need to address sidewalks that need to be widened and set back from busy streets, like Wadsworth, in order for our residents to be able to safely get to bus stops and the commuter rail. I would also support a shuttle service throughout the City of Arvada that covers areas not yet covered by RTD.

What other issues do you feel will be important for the next Council to address? How should they be addressed?

Engaging the community is incredibly important. This is one of the biggest reasons I am running for City to Council. I had a seat at the table for six years when I was the Chamber of Commerce President here in Arvada. As soon as I left that position, and left the table, I was no longer “in the know”. In business, I facilitate Strategic Plan sessions for organizations. I would use that same approach with our community. I would like to create an Arvada App that sends push notifications to residents, allows us to conduct city-wide surveys, asks for input from residents, allows for creative ideas, lists community events, opportunities for residents to serve on boards and commissions. I would like to host quarterly meetings throughout the City that bring together stakeholders (our residents – yes completely open to the public, city staff, elected officials from City, County and State, police and fire) with four topics at each meeting. I would invite people to come with their greatest, most innovative and creative ideas, for how to solve problems and improve Arvada, making it the most incredible City in the world. I would put in big, bold print: THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT SESSION! We are not talking about why the problems exist or who is to blame. This is a community think tank session, every idea is welcome, to do great things for Arvada. Please join us!

Watch Arvada At-Large Council candidates at a candidate forum:

Image via Dot Miller