[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 35 (Friday, February 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S2590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    TRIBUTE TO MAYOR KATHLEEN NOVAK

 Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I am joined by my 
distinguished colleague, Mr. Bennet from Colorado.
  Next week, several thousand city and town leaders from across the 
country will visit us in Washington, DC, to discuss the major issues of 
the day. They will be gathered under the auspices of the National 
League of Cities, NLC, whose president is one of our distinguished 
mayors--Northglenn, CO, Mayor Kathleen Novak.
  Senator Bennet and I will have the honor of meeting with Mayor Novak 
and a group of other Colorado municipal leaders working through NLC and 
the Colorado Municipal League.
  I want to take this opportunity to recognize Mayor Kathleen Novak. 
Mayor Novak was elected to Northglenn's City Council on July 11, 1991, 
after years of serving the community. She was elected mayor in November 
2001 and then reelected in November 2005, serving two 4-year terms.
  It was Mayor Novak's interest in planning for the city's future that 
led the city council to develop goals and adopt a strategic plan to 
help guide the city into the future. Each year, the Northglenn City 
Council identifies critical issues that can impact and shape 
Northglenn's future and develops an action agenda to prioritize and 
address these pressing issues. This has allowed the city to make 
tremendous progress on many fronts throughout the mayor's term in 
elected office.
  Over the years, Novak helped continue to provide the top-notch 
services that residents have grown to appreciate while balancing the 
community's transportation and infrastructure needs through upgrades to 
the city's infrastructure and facilities. While Mayor Novak was in 
office, Northglenn built a new wastewater treatment facility and a new 
maintenance and operations facility and self-funded the 112th Avenue 
Overpass to make traveling from east to west easier for the city's 
residents. Northglenn was the first city in Colorado to promote water 
conservation efforts such as instituting a lottery system whereby city 
residents could secure free high-efficiency water features for their 
homes. Through these efforts, the city expects to save 20-25 acre-feet 
of water annually and thereby save the city and its citizens money from 
the conserved water.
  Northglenn also applies biosolids from water treatment to fertilize 
farms in Weld County. Through such applications, the city grew, 
harvested, and sold 2,500 tons of crops. Since recycling conserves 
precious natural resources, over the past 9 years, the city has been 
heating two shop buildings with used motor oil that residents have 
placed at the curb for recycling.
  In 2008, Mayor Novak's interest in reconnecting government to all age 
groups led the city to be the first in the State to be named a Playful 
City USA by KABOOM, as unique offerings of play continued to take shape 
in Northglenn. Early in Novak's tenure, Northglenn received America's 
Crown Community Award by American City and County Magazine for the 
rehabilitation and redesign of Webster Lake and E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial 
Park. The park included an innovative concept of providing unique 
opportunities of play for all--Northglenn's Sensory Playground. The 
playground offers children with a range of disabilities the opportunity 
to experience play and exceeds the Americans with Disabilities Act 
requirement of 50 percent accessibility by providing nearly 100 percent 
accessibility for people who use wheelchairs.
  Most recently, the renovation of the Croke Reservoir Nature Area 
earned the city the 2009 Colorado American Public Works Association 
Award for Engineering and Construction Management for medium-sized 
communities. The project included stabilization of the eastern 
shoreline, removal of sediment to improve fishery and wildlife habitat, 
and improvements to stormwater detention in the area.
  Throughout her service, Mayor Kathleen Novak has worked hard to 
ensure that the city of Northglenn maintains its high quality of life. 
Last December, in recognition of her efforts, Mayor Novak was 
unanimously elected by her national peers to serve as the president of 
the National League of Cities, the voice of municipal government in 
this country. Senator Bennet and I thank Mayor Novak for her leadership 
and dedication to Northglenn, CO, and to the Nation.

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