COALITION TO SAVE CIVIC CENTER PARK RECORDS

On July 11, 2007, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper presented a museum-in-the-park proposal at a meeting the Colorado History Museum. The proposal included locating the new Colorado History Museum in Civic Center Park. Members of Capitol Hill United Neighborhood (CHUN) met on July 31, 2007 with Mayor Hickenlooper and other city officials to discuss this new location for the museum requesting an "open and transparent" process. Later meetings were held with Governor Owens asking for a recommendation by the end of October 2007 so that the matter could go to the Colorado State Legislature by January 2008 for funding considerations. Brad Cameron filed a formal "Open Records" request to the Colorado Historical Society on August 31, 2007.

Opposed to the Civic Center Park location, Brad Cameron, Annette Woodward, Randy Swan and Michael Henry of Capitol Hill United Neighborhood among others joined with Cathy Donahue (former District 10 City Councilperson) in September 2007 to form a group to attend meetings and obtain records from the city. On September 17, 2007, Capitol Hill United Neighborhood hosted a meeting with seventy attendees. Twenty-six attendees voted to remove Civic Center Park from consideration, twenty-two voted to consider the site and seven abstained.

On September 23, 2007, Randy Swan, Annette Woodward (Capitol Hill United Neighborhood President) and Brad Cameron informally formed the Coalition to Save Civic Center Park, an independent movement ultimately supported by citizens across Denver. Cathy Donahue (former City Council member) and George Cerrone (retired Assistant City Attorney and close friend of Cathy Donahue) joined the group along with other interested Denver citizens including Nancy L. Widmann, Don and Carolyn Etter, Larry Ambrose and Gertie Grant. The Coalition sent email to City Councilpersons and scheduled meetings to discuss the proposed museum location. On October 2, 2007, Denver's Channel 8 recorded one of the meetings hosted by the City and Colorado History Museum. Rocky Mountain News published an editorial opposed to the museum-in-the-park proposal on October 6, 2007.

After further city meetings, on October 18, 2007, the Capitol Hill United Neighborhood board of directors voted to oppose the proposal. October 19, 2007, Denver's municipal cable Channel 8 televised a monthly television show, Issues and Options, focused on the issue . Further meetings about the proposal accompanied by opinion pieces in The Denver Post led to a decision to file a petition with the city to start an initiative. Meetings and discussions culminated in a December 2007 counterproposal from Mayor Hickenlooper and Jeanne Robb of the Denver City Council to build a "mirror image" to the Carnegie building consisting of a one story "glass box." The Coalition to Save Civic Center Park remained opposed to constructing a museum building in Civic Center Park. On January 4, 2008, Brad Cameron, Annette Woodward and attorney Greg Smith began the process to form a nonprofit corporation. After incorporation, the Coalition to Save Civic Center Park started the initiative process for a ballot related to the matter presented to the public in the Denver citywide election.

On January 31, 2008, the board of the Colorado Historical Society voted to withdraw the museum-in-the-park proposal. On February 12, 2008 the Society announced that it would relocate to the property bounded by 12th avenue on the south, Broadway on the west and Lincoln on the east.