April 7, 2025 • 31 mins
Shawn Lewis never imagined a small-town train would bring tears to his eyes. But when the historic Belleview Park train in Englewood, Colorado welcomed its first wheelchair rider after accessibility renovations, the city manager witnessed firsthand the profound impact of universal design. This moment encapsulates the heart of Lewis's approach to community building—creating spaces where everyone belongs.
Drawing from experiences from his childhood in rural Texas, Lewis shares his journey to becoming a city manager who champions both physical accessibility and human connection. His insights reveal Englewood's unique character as a first-tier suburb balancing the needs of established seniors with the third-highest concentration of millennials in Colorado.
Beyond discussing infrastructure challenges, Lewis illuminates how cities develop their own distinctive cultures and vibes. He explains how Englewood funds critical accessibility improvements through innovative mechanisms like their concrete utility fee, allowing systematic upgrades to sidewalks and public spaces.
Whether you're interested in accessibility, community development, or leadership, this conversation offers valuable insights into how smaller cities can leverage their intimate scale to create places where everyone can dance as if nobody's looking.
For more information, transcriptions and behind-the-scene photos, visit https://craighospital.org/unstoppable
Craig Hospital is a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in neurorehabilitation and research for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). Located in Englewood, Colorado, Craig Hospital is a 350,000-square-foot, 93-bed, private, not-for-profit center of excellence providing a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient neurorehabilitation. https://craighospital.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jandel Allen-Davis (00:02):
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I'm Dr Jandell Allen Davis, ceoand President of Craig Hospital
(00:26):
, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation, when fear doesn't
stifle innovation.
(00:50):
The topic of placemaking andcity planning and community
development is one that, even ifwe're not necessarily aware of,
we are living it.
We are in it as members ofcommunities and society.
I was actually thinking thismorning in the lead up to having
the opportunity to spend timewith the city manager of
Inglewood, sean Lewis, who weare going to get to chat with in
(01:12):
a bit.
The theme of this podcast iscultures and what makes strong
cultures and great cultures, andas I was getting ready to come
to work this morning, I thoughtyou know how does that translate
for cities or for towns and thetruth is that towns and cities
have a vibe, they have a culture, they have a sort of way that
they're branded or feel isimportant and probably creates
(01:34):
the opportunity to leverage allthe same leadership skills and
passions and talents andcapacities that we do within the
buildings that actually occupythose towns and cities and
(01:54):
communities.
So we're going to spend sometime today with Shawn Lewis who,
as I said, is the city managerof Englewood, colorado, which is
where Craig Hospital is.
Manager of Englewood Colorado,which is where Craig Hospital is
, and we've developed over manyyears such a great partnership
with you, sean, and the city.
A lot of that work, which isled by Diane Reinhardt, who is
our vice president for hospitalservices and community impact,
(02:18):
and she's having some impact outthere working with great
partners like you.
So welcome and thanks for beinghere with us today.
Shawn Lewis (02:25):
Thank you so much.
Welcome and thanks for beinghere with us today.
Thank you so much and thanksfor being a huge part of
Inglewood's amazing community.
Jandel Allen-Davis (02:35):
It's a cool community.
I love this space, this place.
Why don't we just start withthe good old softball question
of just tell me about you, tellour listeners about you, your
background and what led you towant to become a city manager,
let alone how you became one?
Shawn Lewis (02:47):
Yeah, I grew up with two parents who were
involved in public service, somy mom was a school teacher, my
dad, when I was in junior high,ran for sheriff of our county,
which also included the roles oftax assessor, tax collector and
chief appraiser, because it wasa very small rural county in
(03:07):
Texas.
And so I think you know publicservice kind of came naturally
from that standpoint.
When I got into college andwent to graduate school for
public policy, you know you'rein this program and you're all
supposed to end up being thepresident and I explored lots of
different areas of government.
You could have kind of a trackin federal, state or local
(03:30):
government.
And I realized after aninternship in state government
that if state government felt alittle separated from the people
, that federal government mustfeel really separated from the
direct impact, feel reallyseparated from the direct impact
.
And so did an internship withthe city of Thousand Oaks,
california, and just loved theability to impact people on a
(03:53):
day to day basis and so thatkind of solidified my decision
to be in city government and Ihave to say I've always kind of
liked being in charge.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:03):
So I said what's the?
Shawn Lewis (04:04):
you know what are some of the opportunities and
the avenues for really makingthe most difference in a
position of leadership withincity governments, and that was
the city manager role, and so Istarted my career in a small
community in Abilene, texas.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:22):
Oh my, gosh, we have to talk about that.
Shawn Lewis (04:24):
Yeah yeah, not so small anymore and then kind of
moved around, did a lot ofdowntown revitalization work,
served as a planner, served as adirector of development
services and a director ofeconomic development and
eventually came out here to beassistant city manager in
Longmont before becoming citymanager in Inglewood.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:44):
I's amazing.
I just loved it.
That's amazing.
Well, first of all, Abilene,military brat.
Shawn Lewis (04:49):
Yes.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:50):
I was in Abilene.
We were in Abilene on Dias AirForce Base when I was in third
and fourth grade.
Oh really.
Shawn Lewis (04:56):
That goes to the way back.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:58):
Yeah, I suspect that the city, because
that was the 60s, I'm assuming,the city has changed quite a bit
and actually it adds aninteresting dimension to what
you do, having military presencein the town as well.
So you find yourself in thiswonderful, small and, I'd say,
vibrant and growing communitycalled Englewood.
(05:20):
You know, folks may not knowmuch about Englewood, either
historically or just sort ofwhat it's like, but describe it
suburbs around us.
Shawn Lewis (05:28):
We were actually a first tier suburb.
You know our more recenthistory in the 50s and the 60s,
when Denver began growing andgrowing outwards and the suburbs
(05:52):
you know started kind offorming in.
These small little historictowns like Inglewood suddenly
became, you know, large growingsuburbs, and so the 50s was the
era that we really saw thelargest growth.
So many of our houses are fromthat era.
They're small when people couldraise a family in a two-bedroom
, one-bath home.
(06:13):
So that's what we have A lot ofour housing stock.
Is that A great industrial basehere, much more so than most
communities?
We have a lot of manufacturingstill in Englewood.
We're very proud of that.
And during COVID and thepandemic, when revenues were so
down, especially sales tax formany cities, englewood was
(06:33):
actually quite stable.
We were one of the onlycommunities that didn't have
layoffs or even furlough days,because that industrial
manufacturing base was reallypropping us up, as well as our
hospital community.
Thank you Craig, thank youSwedish.
And so we have a veryeconomically diverse community,
but we don't have the highs thatother communities have when the
(06:55):
economy is really good.
You know we're doing fine, butwe're not like some of the other
suburbs that are very retailheavy.
We have, you know, small highs,but we have small lows too, and
so it creates a very stablecommunity.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:11):
Yeah, it's a small business town is what it
strikes me as and also onebeautifully that you can see
each other and be seen by eachother.
One of my favorite places is togo over to the Breakfast Queen
for breakfast, and I'm a local,I'm a regular in there, they
know me.
And that's not necessarily thecase in bigger places and it's
(07:31):
not necessarily to bash them oranything, but there's something
beautiful about small places.
I could also and it'sinteresting you mentioned the
highs and the lows.
When economies are booming,you're not going to boom as much
, and yet revenue is one of thedrivers of being able to do the
things you want to do in acommunity, and that's tax
(07:51):
revenue of different kinds, forsure.
So what are the big challengesthat you face as a city manager?
I've obviously pointed out one,but what does?
that one then actually impact.
Shawn Lewis (08:03):
I would say our biggest challenge is balancing
competing priorities in thecommunity, competing groups of
residents.
The Denver Post.
Recently there was an articlein the Denver Post that called
Inglewoods and this may beoffensive to some, but the
newlyweds and the almost deads,oh my gosh.
Yes, and it was a quote from adeveloper.
(08:27):
While that is certainly not thecase, we do have the dynamic of
very, a very young population,the third highest concentration
of millennials in the state, buta very stable senior population
that has been here for 30, 40,50 years.
Jandel Allen-Davis (08:41):
Who were the newlyweds?
Shawn Lewis (08:43):
at one point, they absolutely were the newlyweds,
and so we really sometimes feelthat push pull that comes from,
you know, people wanting thingsto change and wanting things to
get better and others thatreally want things to stay the
same or kind of go back to theway things were, and so I would
say those competing priorities.
But on a more granular basis,we have to really, as you said,
(09:07):
are a small business community,so making sure that we stay
business friendly, making surethat we're staying connected to
our business community, many ofwhich owners, employees and
entrepreneurs may not even livein Englewood, but they are a
huge, huge, importantconstituency of the city of
Englewood and we want to makesure that they feel welcome,
(09:28):
successful and have thoseopportunities to grow and
succeed.
Jandel Allen-Davis (09:31):
Yeah, well, you know, speaking of the whole
topic of competing prioritiesand, I'd say, the intersection
of those priorities and thefiscal or financial or budgetary
ability to do things, you know,obviously at Craig Hospital,
one of our biggest areas offocus or concern has to do with
what happens and what'savailable and how easy is it to
(09:55):
actually move about wherevercommunity you may come from
across the United States.
And so this whole topic ofaccessibility on any of a number
of planes is important.
And talk about how you viewthat, how the city views that,
especially given that we are oneof the big anchor institutions,
as they're called, as ahospital here in Englewood, the
(10:16):
big anchor institutions, asthey're called, as a hospital
here in Englewood.
Shawn Lewis (10:18):
I would say Englewood has been a place where
I have really been educated andinformed, much more so than in
my previous jobs, even being aplanning director and a director
of development services.
I've been educated about theimportance and the absolute
necessity for us to focus onaccess for all, and it was I'm
(10:40):
embarrassed to say, but it washere in Englewood that I learned
about universal design, and Iactually credit Craig for that
because, diane that youmentioned previously, your vice
president here at Craig, she hasbeen a huge part of helping us
set up our downtown developmentauthority.
She has educated us on theconcept of ADA plus and
(11:01):
universal design and, you know,given me an opportunity to dig
into you know some of thoseconcepts, but you know it's not
just Craig.
It's when we look at ourpopulation and I think Craig may
be a driver for this, but weactually have 13% of people that
are disabled within, you know,one square mile of our downtown
(11:22):
and that is a larger percentagethan many communities have, and
so we know that that is a very,very important part of our
community that we want to makesure has access readily.
Jandel Allen-Davis (11:36):
Just for those who may not know, ada is
the Americans with DisabilitiesAct, and plus is that ADA is
necessary but hardly sufficientto really create the kind of
accessibility that allows peopleto live and thrive in
communities.
So this is what can we dobeyond that?
Hence the plus that we build ontop of that, and then universal
(11:59):
design.
What's that?
Shawn Lewis (12:01):
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It means there are noboundaries.
There are no.
It is so accessible withouthaving to do anything extra.
(12:22):
If you are on a walker, youdon't have to.
You know, raise your walker upto get over the curb.
The curb seamlessly goes in.
Interestingly now, adastandards do require that anyway
, at least on corners.
So we're in the process ofreplacing hundreds of curbs and
(12:42):
corners to comply with that.
But we were really trying to dothat even before the standard
came into effect.
But it's really removing allbarriers for mobility and
accessibility for anyone, nomatter their ability.
Jandel Allen-Davis (12:56):
Yeah, and that includes not just mobility,
but visual and hearing and evensensory just for folks.
And the other thing thatsurprised me is because I too,
like you, didn't know much aboutthis until nearly six years ago
when I came to Craig.
I also think about the wholesensory, neural side of things.
I read recently that inclusiveor universal design means that
(13:20):
we've created spaces and placesthat any and everybody can use
Exactly Anybody, any and yet itcomes with a cost, because I had
, again, didn't really know muchabout this, but I've wondered
for years what's the idealmodified home that our patients
and families would go back tothat would really meet their
(13:42):
needs optimally.
And in talking to developers,it's actually cheaper to build
it right, and I'll call it thatthe first time.
Modifications are far moreexpensive.
So that's got to be a challengewhen you're in a city, in the
city planning and developmentspace and trying to sort of
reach whatever.
Is that ADA plus?
(14:02):
So what are the challenges oftrying to either retrofit or
even in new construction or newinfrastructure builds?
Think about universal design.
Shawn Lewis (14:15):
You know, it's amazing to think about how
humans are such creatures ofhabit and it's very hard to
break us out of something thatwe're used to right, and so I
think that actually the biggestchallenge is kind of just the
psychological hurdle of, oh,this is different.
And so I think it's justgetting people to think
(14:35):
differently about construction.
And then, certainly from agovernment perspective, I think
you know helping your electedofficials and your community
members understand the benefitsof this type of design and that,
yes, there may be an upfrontcost to simply changing you know
(14:56):
the system or training our youknow construction workers or you
know training you know thepeople that help build houses on
how to do things.
But really, what does that dofor your community?
I mean, what are the?
You know what are thetrade-offs?
It's a very low cost, in myopinion, compared to the benefit
of making sure that you knowour housing stock is accessible
(15:19):
to everyone and that people canage in place, that people can
enjoy their homes, even ifthey're, you know, disabled or,
you know, ability challenged.
Jandel Allen-Davis (15:30):
Yeah, when we were preparing for this
interview, you mentioned feelingbehind in terms of this space.
Can you elaborate on what youmean by that and how's it
motivating you in your work?
Shawn Lewis (15:43):
Yeah, I think Englewood, like a lot of inner
first tier suburbs.
Englewood, like a lot of firsttier suburbs, are those suburbs
that were built, the first kindof suburbs to start being built
around a major metro area, andbecause of that we have older
housing stock, we have olderinfrastructure.
We were not built in an erathat existed, in which ADA, the
(16:07):
Americans with Disabilities Actexisted, and so we were not
accessible from that standpoint.
We were not using buildingcodes that took into
consideration differentabilities, physical abilities,
and so we have some work to do.
Right, that takes money, andInglewood is a little bit unique
from, at least from a sidewalkperspective, that we created
(16:31):
back in the 90s, a concreteutility, and that was because
the Americans with DisabilitiesAct was staring us in the face.
We knew we had to comply.
We did not have accessibleinfrastructure, pedestrian
infrastructure, and so we wentto the voters and they, I think,
pretty overwhelmingly gave usthe ability to put a fee on your
(16:54):
property tax bill, andsomething like 96% of Englewood
residents pay for it, and we nowhave a fund that we can make
these changes, and so everysummer, in about June, you'll
see our contractors come out andstart replacing curb cuts,
(17:14):
placing sidewalk sections thatmaybe have, you know, just risen
because of a tree root, butespecially the ramps that we are
rebuilding because they don'tcomply with current ADA
standards.
We've caught up quickly, atleast on the pedestrian side,
but I think we have so far to goin areas like our parks, where,
(17:38):
you know, parks are suchthey're the ultimate public
realm right where everyoneshould feel welcome and be able
to use those.
But when you look at parks inan older city that hasn't
necessarily revamped their parksystem, you see parks that do
not I mean, you would never beable to, you know, take a child
in a wheelchair and let themplay on the equipment.
(18:00):
And so upgrading that equipmentand upgrading the surfaces on
which playgrounds are built andupgrading, you know, the paths
that are found in many parks areabsolutely critical.
One of the proudest momentsthat I had on this and I'm
getting a little emotional justthinking about it we have had a
train that was built by theEnglewood Lions Club back in I
(18:23):
think it was the 40s or 50s kindof in that boom time of
Englewood, and it has still beenin operation.
Jandel Allen-Davis (18:30):
The little train.
Shawn Lewis (18:31):
The little train in Bellevue Park.
Jandel Allen-Davis (18:33):
I think that is precious.
Shawn Lewis (18:35):
Thousands and thousands of kids have, you know
, ride.
That is precious and we want tomake it as accessible for all
as we can.
And about three weeks ago, whenwe had the opening, within a
(18:56):
week, we had our firstwheelchair rider on the train.
Oh my gosh and just the look onhis face when he was right
there on that train was justmade it all worth it.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:09):
Okay, this is my first tears of the day.
Wow, what a sweet story.
Shawn Lewis (19:13):
Yeah.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:14):
How active is the disability community and
sort of city government?
Shawn Lewis (19:19):
I have to say we could be better in terms of more
direct outreach to thatcommunity.
But you know we do have thislarger population than many
cities, a larger percentage ofthe population that is in that
category.
We do have our DowntownDevelopment Authority.
I think has been as probablyforward thinking as any of our
(19:43):
boards and commissions or othercity departments and offices in
really trying to be intentionalabout that Because of this
population that's reallycentered in the downtown area.
One of our advisory boardmembers is a wheelchair user.
We have Diane, your vicepresident.
You heard Craig on the board ofdirectors.
(20:04):
That really is pushing that.
We also have a businesscommunity that's very interested
in this.
I want to call out the very bestadvocate from the business
community, tiffany Fixer fromBrewability, and that is a new
brewery in downtown Englewood.
I say new, it's now five, fouror five years old.
(20:25):
Their mission is to hire and bea place where people with
intellectual and developmentaldisabilities can thrive.
And they live out that missionnot just in being that place,
that one place in downtownInglewood on Broadway, but also
in pushing others to do betterand pushing the city to do
(20:47):
better.
And so I have had manyconversations with Ms Fixtor
about the need to, you know,have wheelchair plug-ins outside
, in our breezeways, in ourdowntown and where pedestrians
are gathering.
We need plug-ins thataccommodate, you know, electric
wheelchairs.
We need better access on ourramps and our crosswalks.
(21:08):
We need lighted and soundactivated crosswalks that serve
people with all levels ofdisability.
We need more Braille in oursignage.
One of the things that we'verecently done in terms of
placemaking is put up historicsignage and we decided we're
(21:28):
going to put all of these inBraille.
They're pedestrian scaledsignage that are in our
sidewalks and tell the story ofvarious cool historic places,
and we put those in Braille.
Jandel Allen-Davis (21:38):
Wow, that is such a good story.
They say that diversity isbeing invited to the dance,
equity is being asked to danceand inclusivity is dancing as if
nobody's looking.
I love that or belonging is likedancing as if nobody's looking,
(21:59):
and that's what I think youknow sort of the ideal is in
terms of just thinking aboutbuilding cities that people love
and can feel super connected tois that there is a place for me
here and I can dance as ifnobody's looking.
But how do you think about,through city planning, the
(22:20):
creation of public spaces thatpeople love?
Shawn Lewis (22:24):
I love the concept of you know, being welcoming,
and I think that being welcomeand feeling included creates a
sense of belonging that actuallymakes us want to live in a
place, that actually makes uswant to visit a place.
If we feel welcomed, if we feelincluded, if we feel like we can
(22:47):
fully engage and participate,then we're going to feel like we
belong and that belonging is atthe center of good communities.
And so I think that one thingthat I'm loving about Englewood
is the ability to, to your point, to go into a restaurant and
(23:08):
feel like someone knows you andthat you know you're a regular.
Because our houses are small andbecause we have less open space
between houses, like somecommunities, our zoning creates
very small lots.
You're close to your neighborsand you get to know your
neighbors and we're creatingprograms and opportunities to
(23:28):
bring neighbors together withbackyard movie kits and with
block party trailers and withgrants to do little community
neighborhood beautificationprojects together, and we're
doing all of that to try tocreate that sense of belonging.
So when we look at cityplanning and we look at the
physical infrastructure which iswhat we've focused on mostly,
(23:56):
which is what we've focused onmostly we really are trying to
say maybe it actually starts atthe more human-to-human level
that when people understand thatmaking our neighborhood more
walkable and more accessible foreveryone means that we know our
neighbors better, that we makethem feel like they belong, that
we ourselves belong more, andso we're really trying to do our
(24:18):
best to connect people to oneanother, because that knowledge
of the other, if you will,breaks down barriers and creates
that sense of belonging thatyou know.
It's just the birthplace of goodcommunities, I think.
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:35):
How would you assess, in your mind you
think, how resilient Englewoodcommunities are, especially with
this 13% I think that was thenumber you said of folks who are
differently abled live?
How?
Shawn Lewis (24:48):
would you?
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:48):
assess that.
Shawn Lewis (24:50):
You're speaking my language and I've seen this
firsthand too.
When I was in Longmont asassistant city manager, we had
the floods of 2013.
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:59):
See, I got chills.
Shawn Lewis (25:00):
Yeah, and the you know, our town was split in half
by the St Vrain River and wehad, you know, people who had
lost their homes and people whohad lost everything in their
homes and people who had losteverything in their homes and we
found that, you know, relativeto some other communities that
didn't have that communityconnection, that didn't where,
(25:20):
you know, it was harder to getto know your neighbors or for
some reason you didn't have theopportunity because of physical
or social kind of determinantsthat they didn't.
But Longmont looked out for eachother and Englewood has that, I
(25:43):
think.
In spades, One of the thingsduring COVID that we first did
was create for people that werehomebound, so particularly
elderly and disabled, and weused census data to identify
neighborhoods that had higherpopulations, again mostly in the
downtown area, and we sentpostcards to say we're going to
have a twice a week call, Zoomcall with you that we want you
to engage in, we want tounderstand needs, we want to
(26:06):
connect you to people and wealready had a program called
Snow Buddies in which if youneed help because we're in
Colorado shoveling your snow,because you're elderly or
disabled, that we will partneryou with someone who will come
do that for you.
And so we use those folks thathad already signed up for those
that Snow Buddy program to thentake food or pick up medicine
(26:28):
for people who you know werealso people that were, you know,
at high risk for contractingCOVID, and so, yeah, you've got
to have that understanding ofyour neighbors, and it doesn't
have to be programmatic, right,I'm describing a program because
I'm a government person, butthe fact is, what we're also
trying to do is make this moreorganic with these programs that
(26:52):
give people an excuse to gettogether.
Jandel Allen-Davis (26:54):
Collisions yes.
Shawn Lewis (26:56):
We waived all the fees for closing off your block
in front of your house andinviting all your neighbors.
We give you the flyers to hangon your neighbor's doors.
We give you grants for the foodthat you you know up to $500.
Yeah, we really are trying tobe intentional about giving you
an excuse to get together withyour neighbors, because that's
(27:18):
what creates resiliency, and inyou know you're you couldn't be
more correct that you can hardenall the infrastructure you can,
but if people aren't willing togo and help other people, your
community is not going to bounceback from.
That's going to take so muchlonger, and this is kind of a
whole discussion on governmenttoo and the role of government.
(27:40):
But the fact is it all startsat the person level.
I mean, government is not goingto be able to save us from a
lot of these challenges.
We have to help each other andwe have to come together and
think of ourselves as acommunity.
Jandel Allen-Davis (28:00):
Oh my gosh.
So the energy just shifted inthis room at nine o'clock in the
morning on a Friday at the endof the week.
Shawn Lewis (28:03):
You came alive as you talked that way, I feel like
it's just been this like what'swrong?
What's?
Why is this not working?
How is this not happening?
And it took me.
You know, I actually took COVID.
It took a little bit of theflood.
I learned a little bit of itback in 2013 from the Colorado
floods.
But, COVID, just to say we haveto have belonging, we have to
(28:26):
have knowing each other.
We've even started in ourorganizational culture in the
city of Englewood a three-termconcept that drives everything
we do on culture, known matterincluded.
So we've got to know each otherat a deep level.
Not I'm going to get into yourbusiness kind of knowing, but we
(28:48):
know about you because we careabout you and that's at all
levels and it doesn't matter thelevels.
Forget the levels.
Know each other, no matter thelevels, and make sure people
feel valued and that they matter.
And so show that caring,concern and show people that you
(29:09):
care about what they bring andwhat they have to offer and then
include them in everything.
And so I don't know.
It's kind of just like been amantra of mine since coming here
, because of seeing so manyyears of maybe government
bureaucrats just hitting theirhead against a wall, thinking
(29:29):
why is this not taking when itwas always about human
connection, and how can wefoster that human connection and
create a place that's sowelcoming and inclusive that
everyone feels like they dobelong to it?
Jandel Allen-Davis (29:43):
And they want to keep it good and make it
better.
There's an article by the wayaround mattering, the importance
of mattering, and that it's notthe value you bring, but that
you are of value Exactly.
We'd be so much less withoutyou.
We somehow are the less withoutyou.
That was beautiful.
Shawn Lewis (30:04):
Yeah.
Jandel Allen-Davis (30:04):
Well, I want to thank you for spending time
with us.
What I think you've beautifullyencapsulated here is that
what's possible in smallercommunities that is not
impossible in larger but it sureis a huger challenge
(30:33):
communities within yourneighborhoods being connected to
each other and caring enoughabout them to try to prevent
harm and try to build a realsense of harmony in a community.
So thank you for that and thankyou for what you do to make
Englewood such a livable,wonderful place to come and work
every day.
Shawn Lewis (30:48):
Thank you and thank you to Craig for you know
pushing us to be better in theseareas and y'all have been such
a leader in this area and it'sjust great to have you and Diane
and all of the rest of yourstaff really helping to make
sure that we are being a placewhere everyone is welcome.
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I'm Dr Jandell Allen Davis, ceoand President of Craig Hospital
(00:26):
, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation, when fear doesn't
stifle innovation.
(00:50):
The topic of placemaking andcity planning and community
development is one that, even ifwe're not necessarily aware of,
we are living it.
We are in it as members ofcommunities and society.
I was actually thinking thismorning in the lead up to having
the opportunity to spend timewith the city manager of
Inglewood, sean Lewis, who weare going to get to chat with in
(01:12):
a bit.
The theme of this podcast iscultures and what makes strong
cultures and great cultures, andas I was getting ready to come
to work this morning, I thoughtyou know how does that translate
for cities or for towns and thetruth is that towns and cities
have a vibe, they have a culture, they have a sort of way that
they're branded or feel isimportant and probably creates
(01:34):
the opportunity to leverage allthe same leadership skills and
passions and talents andcapacities that we do within the
buildings that actually occupythose towns and cities and
(01:54):
communities.
So we're going to spend sometime today with Shawn Lewis who,
as I said, is the city managerof Englewood, colorado, which is
where Craig Hospital is.
Manager of Englewood Colorado,which is where Craig Hospital is
, and we've developed over manyyears such a great partnership
with you, sean, and the city.
A lot of that work, which isled by Diane Reinhardt, who is
our vice president for hospitalservices and community impact,
(02:18):
and she's having some impact outthere working with great
partners like you.
So welcome and thanks for beinghere with us today.
Shawn Lewis (02:25):
Thank you so much.
Welcome and thanks for beinghere with us today.
Thank you so much and thanksfor being a huge part of
Inglewood's amazing community.
Jandel Allen-Davis (02:35):
It's a cool community.
I love this space, this place.
Why don't we just start withthe good old softball question
of just tell me about you, tellour listeners about you, your
background and what led you towant to become a city manager,
let alone how you became one?
Shawn Lewis (02:47):
Yeah, I grew up with two parents who were
involved in public service, somy mom was a school teacher, my
dad, when I was in junior high,ran for sheriff of our county,
which also included the roles oftax assessor, tax collector and
chief appraiser, because it wasa very small rural county in
(03:07):
Texas.
And so I think you know publicservice kind of came naturally
from that standpoint.
When I got into college andwent to graduate school for
public policy, you know you'rein this program and you're all
supposed to end up being thepresident and I explored lots of
different areas of government.
You could have kind of a trackin federal, state or local
(03:30):
government.
And I realized after aninternship in state government
that if state government felt alittle separated from the people
, that federal government mustfeel really separated from the
direct impact, feel reallyseparated from the direct impact
.
And so did an internship withthe city of Thousand Oaks,
california, and just loved theability to impact people on a
(03:53):
day to day basis and so thatkind of solidified my decision
to be in city government and Ihave to say I've always kind of
liked being in charge.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:03):
So I said what's the?
Shawn Lewis (04:04):
you know what are some of the opportunities and
the avenues for really makingthe most difference in a
position of leadership withincity governments, and that was
the city manager role, and so Istarted my career in a small
community in Abilene, texas.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:22):
Oh my, gosh, we have to talk about that.
Shawn Lewis (04:24):
Yeah yeah, not so small anymore and then kind of
moved around, did a lot ofdowntown revitalization work,
served as a planner, served as adirector of development
services and a director ofeconomic development and
eventually came out here to beassistant city manager in
Longmont before becoming citymanager in Inglewood.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:44):
I's amazing.
I just loved it.
That's amazing.
Well, first of all, Abilene,military brat.
Shawn Lewis (04:49):
Yes.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:50):
I was in Abilene.
We were in Abilene on Dias AirForce Base when I was in third
and fourth grade.
Oh really.
Shawn Lewis (04:56):
That goes to the way back.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:58):
Yeah, I suspect that the city, because
that was the 60s, I'm assuming,the city has changed quite a bit
and actually it adds aninteresting dimension to what
you do, having military presencein the town as well.
So you find yourself in thiswonderful, small and, I'd say,
vibrant and growing communitycalled Englewood.
(05:20):
You know, folks may not knowmuch about Englewood, either
historically or just sort ofwhat it's like, but describe it
suburbs around us.
Shawn Lewis (05:28):
We were actually a first tier suburb.
You know our more recenthistory in the 50s and the 60s,
when Denver began growing andgrowing outwards and the suburbs
(05:52):
you know started kind offorming in.
These small little historictowns like Inglewood suddenly
became, you know, large growingsuburbs, and so the 50s was the
era that we really saw thelargest growth.
So many of our houses are fromthat era.
They're small when people couldraise a family in a two-bedroom
, one-bath home.
(06:13):
So that's what we have A lot ofour housing stock.
Is that A great industrial basehere, much more so than most
communities?
We have a lot of manufacturingstill in Englewood.
We're very proud of that.
And during COVID and thepandemic, when revenues were so
down, especially sales tax formany cities, englewood was
(06:33):
actually quite stable.
We were one of the onlycommunities that didn't have
layoffs or even furlough days,because that industrial
manufacturing base was reallypropping us up, as well as our
hospital community.
Thank you Craig, thank youSwedish.
And so we have a veryeconomically diverse community,
but we don't have the highs thatother communities have when the
(06:55):
economy is really good.
You know we're doing fine, butwe're not like some of the other
suburbs that are very retailheavy.
We have, you know, small highs,but we have small lows too, and
so it creates a very stablecommunity.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:11):
Yeah, it's a small business town is what it
strikes me as and also onebeautifully that you can see
each other and be seen by eachother.
One of my favorite places is togo over to the Breakfast Queen
for breakfast, and I'm a local,I'm a regular in there, they
know me.
And that's not necessarily thecase in bigger places and it's
(07:31):
not necessarily to bash them oranything, but there's something
beautiful about small places.
I could also and it'sinteresting you mentioned the
highs and the lows.
When economies are booming,you're not going to boom as much
, and yet revenue is one of thedrivers of being able to do the
things you want to do in acommunity, and that's tax
(07:51):
revenue of different kinds, forsure.
So what are the big challengesthat you face as a city manager?
I've obviously pointed out one,but what does?
that one then actually impact.
Shawn Lewis (08:03):
I would say our biggest challenge is balancing
competing priorities in thecommunity, competing groups of
residents.
The Denver Post.
Recently there was an articlein the Denver Post that called
Inglewoods and this may beoffensive to some, but the
newlyweds and the almost deads,oh my gosh.
Yes, and it was a quote from adeveloper.
(08:27):
While that is certainly not thecase, we do have the dynamic of
very, a very young population,the third highest concentration
of millennials in the state, buta very stable senior population
that has been here for 30, 40,50 years.
Jandel Allen-Davis (08:41):
Who were the newlyweds?
Shawn Lewis (08:43):
at one point, they absolutely were the newlyweds,
and so we really sometimes feelthat push pull that comes from,
you know, people wanting thingsto change and wanting things to
get better and others thatreally want things to stay the
same or kind of go back to theway things were, and so I would
say those competing priorities.
But on a more granular basis,we have to really, as you said,
(09:07):
are a small business community,so making sure that we stay
business friendly, making surethat we're staying connected to
our business community, many ofwhich owners, employees and
entrepreneurs may not even livein Englewood, but they are a
huge, huge, importantconstituency of the city of
Englewood and we want to makesure that they feel welcome,
(09:28):
successful and have thoseopportunities to grow and
succeed.
Jandel Allen-Davis (09:31):
Yeah, well, you know, speaking of the whole
topic of competing prioritiesand, I'd say, the intersection
of those priorities and thefiscal or financial or budgetary
ability to do things, you know,obviously at Craig Hospital,
one of our biggest areas offocus or concern has to do with
what happens and what'savailable and how easy is it to
(09:55):
actually move about wherevercommunity you may come from
across the United States.
And so this whole topic ofaccessibility on any of a number
of planes is important.
And talk about how you viewthat, how the city views that,
especially given that we are oneof the big anchor institutions,
as they're called, as ahospital here in Englewood, the
(10:16):
big anchor institutions, asthey're called, as a hospital
here in Englewood.
Shawn Lewis (10:18):
I would say Englewood has been a place where
I have really been educated andinformed, much more so than in
my previous jobs, even being aplanning director and a director
of development services.
I've been educated about theimportance and the absolute
necessity for us to focus onaccess for all, and it was I'm
(10:40):
embarrassed to say, but it washere in Englewood that I learned
about universal design, and Iactually credit Craig for that
because, diane that youmentioned previously, your vice
president here at Craig, she hasbeen a huge part of helping us
set up our downtown developmentauthority.
She has educated us on theconcept of ADA plus and
(11:01):
universal design and, you know,given me an opportunity to dig
into you know some of thoseconcepts, but you know it's not
just Craig.
It's when we look at ourpopulation and I think Craig may
be a driver for this, but weactually have 13% of people that
are disabled within, you know,one square mile of our downtown
(11:22):
and that is a larger percentagethan many communities have, and
so we know that that is a very,very important part of our
community that we want to makesure has access readily.
Jandel Allen-Davis (11:36):
Just for those who may not know, ada is
the Americans with DisabilitiesAct, and plus is that ADA is
necessary but hardly sufficientto really create the kind of
accessibility that allows peopleto live and thrive in
communities.
So this is what can we dobeyond that?
Hence the plus that we build ontop of that, and then universal
(11:59):
design.
What's that?
Shawn Lewis (12:01):
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It means there are noboundaries.
There are no.
It is so accessible withouthaving to do anything extra.
(12:22):
If you are on a walker, youdon't have to.
You know, raise your walker upto get over the curb.
The curb seamlessly goes in.
Interestingly now, adastandards do require that anyway
, at least on corners.
So we're in the process ofreplacing hundreds of curbs and
(12:42):
corners to comply with that.
But we were really trying to dothat even before the standard
came into effect.
But it's really removing allbarriers for mobility and
accessibility for anyone, nomatter their ability.
Jandel Allen-Davis (12:56):
Yeah, and that includes not just mobility,
but visual and hearing and evensensory just for folks.
And the other thing thatsurprised me is because I too,
like you, didn't know much aboutthis until nearly six years ago
when I came to Craig.
I also think about the wholesensory, neural side of things.
I read recently that inclusiveor universal design means that
(13:20):
we've created spaces and placesthat any and everybody can use
Exactly Anybody, any and yet itcomes with a cost, because I had
, again, didn't really know muchabout this, but I've wondered
for years what's the idealmodified home that our patients
and families would go back tothat would really meet their
(13:42):
needs optimally.
And in talking to developers,it's actually cheaper to build
it right, and I'll call it thatthe first time.
Modifications are far moreexpensive.
So that's got to be a challengewhen you're in a city, in the
city planning and developmentspace and trying to sort of
reach whatever.
Is that ADA plus?
(14:02):
So what are the challenges oftrying to either retrofit or
even in new construction or newinfrastructure builds?
Think about universal design.
Shawn Lewis (14:15):
You know, it's amazing to think about how
humans are such creatures ofhabit and it's very hard to
break us out of something thatwe're used to right, and so I
think that actually the biggestchallenge is kind of just the
psychological hurdle of, oh,this is different.
And so I think it's justgetting people to think
(14:35):
differently about construction.
And then, certainly from agovernment perspective, I think
you know helping your electedofficials and your community
members understand the benefitsof this type of design and that,
yes, there may be an upfrontcost to simply changing you know
(14:56):
the system or training our youknow construction workers or you
know training you know thepeople that help build houses on
how to do things.
But really, what does that dofor your community?
I mean, what are the?
You know what are thetrade-offs?
It's a very low cost, in myopinion, compared to the benefit
of making sure that you knowour housing stock is accessible
(15:19):
to everyone and that people canage in place, that people can
enjoy their homes, even ifthey're, you know, disabled or,
you know, ability challenged.
Jandel Allen-Davis (15:30):
Yeah, when we were preparing for this
interview, you mentioned feelingbehind in terms of this space.
Can you elaborate on what youmean by that and how's it
motivating you in your work?
Shawn Lewis (15:43):
Yeah, I think Englewood, like a lot of inner
first tier suburbs.
Englewood, like a lot of firsttier suburbs, are those suburbs
that were built, the first kindof suburbs to start being built
around a major metro area, andbecause of that we have older
housing stock, we have olderinfrastructure.
We were not built in an erathat existed, in which ADA, the
(16:07):
Americans with Disabilities Actexisted, and so we were not
accessible from that standpoint.
We were not using buildingcodes that took into
consideration differentabilities, physical abilities,
and so we have some work to do.
Right, that takes money, andInglewood is a little bit unique
from, at least from a sidewalkperspective, that we created
(16:31):
back in the 90s, a concreteutility, and that was because
the Americans with DisabilitiesAct was staring us in the face.
We knew we had to comply.
We did not have accessibleinfrastructure, pedestrian
infrastructure, and so we wentto the voters and they, I think,
pretty overwhelmingly gave usthe ability to put a fee on your
(16:54):
property tax bill, andsomething like 96% of Englewood
residents pay for it, and we nowhave a fund that we can make
these changes, and so everysummer, in about June, you'll
see our contractors come out andstart replacing curb cuts,
(17:14):
placing sidewalk sections thatmaybe have, you know, just risen
because of a tree root, butespecially the ramps that we are
rebuilding because they don'tcomply with current ADA
standards.
We've caught up quickly, atleast on the pedestrian side,
but I think we have so far to goin areas like our parks, where,
(17:38):
you know, parks are suchthey're the ultimate public
realm right where everyoneshould feel welcome and be able
to use those.
But when you look at parks inan older city that hasn't
necessarily revamped their parksystem, you see parks that do
not I mean, you would never beable to, you know, take a child
in a wheelchair and let themplay on the equipment.
(18:00):
And so upgrading that equipmentand upgrading the surfaces on
which playgrounds are built andupgrading, you know, the paths
that are found in many parks areabsolutely critical.
One of the proudest momentsthat I had on this and I'm
getting a little emotional justthinking about it we have had a
train that was built by theEnglewood Lions Club back in I
(18:23):
think it was the 40s or 50s kindof in that boom time of
Englewood, and it has still beenin operation.
Jandel Allen-Davis (18:30):
The little train.
Shawn Lewis (18:31):
The little train in Bellevue Park.
Jandel Allen-Davis (18:33):
I think that is precious.
Shawn Lewis (18:35):
Thousands and thousands of kids have, you know
, ride.
That is precious and we want tomake it as accessible for all
as we can.
And about three weeks ago, whenwe had the opening, within a
(18:56):
week, we had our firstwheelchair rider on the train.
Oh my gosh and just the look onhis face when he was right
there on that train was justmade it all worth it.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:09):
Okay, this is my first tears of the day.
Wow, what a sweet story.
Shawn Lewis (19:13):
Yeah.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:14):
How active is the disability community and
sort of city government?
Shawn Lewis (19:19):
I have to say we could be better in terms of more
direct outreach to thatcommunity.
But you know we do have thislarger population than many
cities, a larger percentage ofthe population that is in that
category.
We do have our DowntownDevelopment Authority.
I think has been as probablyforward thinking as any of our
(19:43):
boards and commissions or othercity departments and offices in
really trying to be intentionalabout that Because of this
population that's reallycentered in the downtown area.
One of our advisory boardmembers is a wheelchair user.
We have Diane, your vicepresident.
You heard Craig on the board ofdirectors.
(20:04):
That really is pushing that.
We also have a businesscommunity that's very interested
in this.
I want to call out the very bestadvocate from the business
community, tiffany Fixer fromBrewability, and that is a new
brewery in downtown Englewood.
I say new, it's now five, fouror five years old.
(20:25):
Their mission is to hire and bea place where people with
intellectual and developmentaldisabilities can thrive.
And they live out that missionnot just in being that place,
that one place in downtownInglewood on Broadway, but also
in pushing others to do betterand pushing the city to do
(20:47):
better.
And so I have had manyconversations with Ms Fixtor
about the need to, you know,have wheelchair plug-ins outside
, in our breezeways, in ourdowntown and where pedestrians
are gathering.
We need plug-ins thataccommodate, you know, electric
wheelchairs.
We need better access on ourramps and our crosswalks.
(21:08):
We need lighted and soundactivated crosswalks that serve
people with all levels ofdisability.
We need more Braille in oursignage.
One of the things that we'verecently done in terms of
placemaking is put up historicsignage and we decided we're
(21:28):
going to put all of these inBraille.
They're pedestrian scaledsignage that are in our
sidewalks and tell the story ofvarious cool historic places,
and we put those in Braille.
Jandel Allen-Davis (21:38):
Wow, that is such a good story.
They say that diversity isbeing invited to the dance,
equity is being asked to danceand inclusivity is dancing as if
nobody's looking.
I love that or belonging is likedancing as if nobody's looking,
(21:59):
and that's what I think youknow sort of the ideal is in
terms of just thinking aboutbuilding cities that people love
and can feel super connected tois that there is a place for me
here and I can dance as ifnobody's looking.
But how do you think about,through city planning, the
(22:20):
creation of public spaces thatpeople love?
Shawn Lewis (22:24):
I love the concept of you know, being welcoming,
and I think that being welcomeand feeling included creates a
sense of belonging that actuallymakes us want to live in a
place, that actually makes uswant to visit a place.
If we feel welcomed, if we feelincluded, if we feel like we can
(22:47):
fully engage and participate,then we're going to feel like we
belong and that belonging is atthe center of good communities.
And so I think that one thingthat I'm loving about Englewood
is the ability to, to your point, to go into a restaurant and
(23:08):
feel like someone knows you andthat you know you're a regular.
Because our houses are small andbecause we have less open space
between houses, like somecommunities, our zoning creates
very small lots.
You're close to your neighborsand you get to know your
neighbors and we're creatingprograms and opportunities to
(23:28):
bring neighbors together withbackyard movie kits and with
block party trailers and withgrants to do little community
neighborhood beautificationprojects together, and we're
doing all of that to try tocreate that sense of belonging.
So when we look at cityplanning and we look at the
physical infrastructure which iswhat we've focused on mostly,
(23:56):
which is what we've focused onmostly we really are trying to
say maybe it actually starts atthe more human-to-human level
that when people understand thatmaking our neighborhood more
walkable and more accessible foreveryone means that we know our
neighbors better, that we makethem feel like they belong, that
we ourselves belong more, andso we're really trying to do our
(24:18):
best to connect people to oneanother, because that knowledge
of the other, if you will,breaks down barriers and creates
that sense of belonging thatyou know.
It's just the birthplace of goodcommunities, I think.
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:35):
How would you assess, in your mind you
think, how resilient Englewoodcommunities are, especially with
this 13% I think that was thenumber you said of folks who are
differently abled live?
How?
Shawn Lewis (24:48):
would you?
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:48):
assess that.
Shawn Lewis (24:50):
You're speaking my language and I've seen this
firsthand too.
When I was in Longmont asassistant city manager, we had
the floods of 2013.
Jandel Allen-Davis (24:59):
See, I got chills.
Shawn Lewis (25:00):
Yeah, and the you know, our town was split in half
by the St Vrain River and wehad, you know, people who had
lost their homes and people whohad lost everything in their
homes and people who had losteverything in their homes and we
found that, you know, relativeto some other communities that
didn't have that communityconnection, that didn't where,
(25:20):
you know, it was harder to getto know your neighbors or for
some reason you didn't have theopportunity because of physical
or social kind of determinantsthat they didn't.
But Longmont looked out for eachother and Englewood has that, I
(25:43):
think.
In spades, One of the thingsduring COVID that we first did
was create for people that werehomebound, so particularly
elderly and disabled, and weused census data to identify
neighborhoods that had higherpopulations, again mostly in the
downtown area, and we sentpostcards to say we're going to
have a twice a week call, Zoomcall with you that we want you
to engage in, we want tounderstand needs, we want to
(26:06):
connect you to people and wealready had a program called
Snow Buddies in which if youneed help because we're in
Colorado shoveling your snow,because you're elderly or
disabled, that we will partneryou with someone who will come
do that for you.
And so we use those folks thathad already signed up for those
that Snow Buddy program to thentake food or pick up medicine
(26:28):
for people who you know werealso people that were, you know,
at high risk for contractingCOVID, and so, yeah, you've got
to have that understanding ofyour neighbors, and it doesn't
have to be programmatic, right,I'm describing a program because
I'm a government person, butthe fact is, what we're also
trying to do is make this moreorganic with these programs that
(26:52):
give people an excuse to gettogether.
Jandel Allen-Davis (26:54):
Collisions yes.
Shawn Lewis (26:56):
We waived all the fees for closing off your block
in front of your house andinviting all your neighbors.
We give you the flyers to hangon your neighbor's doors.
We give you grants for the foodthat you you know up to $500.
Yeah, we really are trying tobe intentional about giving you
an excuse to get together withyour neighbors, because that's
(27:18):
what creates resiliency, and inyou know you're you couldn't be
more correct that you can hardenall the infrastructure you can,
but if people aren't willing togo and help other people, your
community is not going to bounceback from.
That's going to take so muchlonger, and this is kind of a
whole discussion on governmenttoo and the role of government.
(27:40):
But the fact is it all startsat the person level.
I mean, government is not goingto be able to save us from a
lot of these challenges.
We have to help each other andwe have to come together and
think of ourselves as acommunity.
Jandel Allen-Davis (28:00):
Oh my gosh.
So the energy just shifted inthis room at nine o'clock in the
morning on a Friday at the endof the week.
Shawn Lewis (28:03):
You came alive as you talked that way, I feel like
it's just been this like what'swrong?
What's?
Why is this not working?
How is this not happening?
And it took me.
You know, I actually took COVID.
It took a little bit of theflood.
I learned a little bit of itback in 2013 from the Colorado
floods.
But, COVID, just to say we haveto have belonging, we have to
(28:26):
have knowing each other.
We've even started in ourorganizational culture in the
city of Englewood a three-termconcept that drives everything
we do on culture, known matterincluded.
So we've got to know each otherat a deep level.
Not I'm going to get into yourbusiness kind of knowing, but we
(28:48):
know about you because we careabout you and that's at all
levels and it doesn't matter thelevels.
Forget the levels.
Know each other, no matter thelevels, and make sure people
feel valued and that they matter.
And so show that caring,concern and show people that you
(29:09):
care about what they bring andwhat they have to offer and then
include them in everything.
And so I don't know.
It's kind of just like been amantra of mine since coming here
, because of seeing so manyyears of maybe government
bureaucrats just hitting theirhead against a wall, thinking
(29:29):
why is this not taking when itwas always about human
connection, and how can wefoster that human connection and
create a place that's sowelcoming and inclusive that
everyone feels like they dobelong to it?
Jandel Allen-Davis (29:43):
And they want to keep it good and make it
better.
There's an article by the wayaround mattering, the importance
of mattering, and that it's notthe value you bring, but that
you are of value Exactly.
We'd be so much less withoutyou.
We somehow are the less withoutyou.
That was beautiful.
Shawn Lewis (30:04):
Yeah.
Jandel Allen-Davis (30:04):
Well, I want to thank you for spending time
with us.
What I think you've beautifullyencapsulated here is that
what's possible in smallercommunities that is not
impossible in larger but it sureis a huger challenge
(30:33):
communities within yourneighborhoods being connected to
each other and caring enoughabout them to try to prevent
harm and try to build a realsense of harmony in a community.
So thank you for that and thankyou for what you do to make
Englewood such a livable,wonderful place to come and work
every day.
Shawn Lewis (30:48):
Thank you and thank you to Craig for you know
pushing us to be better in theseareas and y'all have been such
a leader in this area and it'sjust great to have you and Diane
and all of the rest of yourstaff really helping to make
sure that we are being a placewhere everyone is welcome.
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