FAQs about the Community Name

What are the proposed names?

SUN is collecting the suggestions from the community. They are posted on their website. Click here. 

Where do you submit suggestions?

StapletonUnitedNeighbors@gmail.com

How the MCA got to the decision to remove the name (when was it voted on, who voted, etc.) ?

The MCA Staff and Delegates were working on this issue since early June and decided to put out their position statement to remove the name on Sunday, June 14, 2020.

How will the name change be funded?

The MCA will remove the name from all visible surfaces and will utilize our current budget to update all logos and signage. The staff uniforms will be replaced as needed and the summer staff uniforms have been updated already. These are items that are covered under normal expenses at this time. 

Why did the MCA hold an election last year of it was not going to abide by it?

While a majority of eligible voters were in favor of retaining the name, voter turnout was 34% meaning that more than half of the community - 66%--didn't return a ballot. Per the community bylaws, the vote was only open to property owners. We know there are hundreds of rental units in the community and the voices of al those families were not heard during the 2019 vote. To say a "majority of residents" voted to keep the name is not true. In reality, a third of eligible property owners voted to keep the name - a third does not make a majority.

What was the legal basis for the election?

Declaration 1.4 allows Delegates to recommend a one time name change to the board without a vote of the community. The option to remove this action was in the 2019 Community Vote, but only received 17% of the necessary 51% votes for it to be removed. This is what allows the delegates the ability to make a recommendation without a vote of the community.

What are the exact clauses in the by-laws and community declaration that allow the MCA to change the name without a vote by the residents/members?

It is located in the Declaration section 1.4.

Will any proposal to change the Stapleton name be put to a community vote?

Yes. SUN is currently working on the method of narrowing down the community suggestions and then putting it out to a vote by the community.

The community shouldn't cower to outside groups. 

Discussions about the name change initiative began before any social media posts calling for protests in the community if the name wasn't changed. SUN, the MCA Staff & Delegates and Councilman Herndon were in discussions well before the documents were posted.

How will this impact business in the community? 

Based on the understanding of last year's referendum discussion, businesses will not be required to change their name - the same goes for sub-associations that bear the name. Business owners and HOA members will have the ability to retain or remove the name based on their own beliefs. 

Who made the decision to tell Councilman Herndon about our vote before we even knew about it?

Councilman Herndon was talking with the MCA before the statement was made public.

 Who was truly driving this decision?

The MCA Delegates drove this decision.

Why was this press release sent out with such urgency?

SUN's meeting scheduled for Tuesday in which delegates are invited to participate in their new name selection process. ( The few new names selected will be put to a community vote after more community input, etc.)

The overwhelming amount of negative calls/emails the MCA was getting from the community members that support the name change (Keven was getting one every twenty seconds on average.)

Saturday's threat of protestors marching through Stapleton in a week. (Although several of us didn't take the threat seriously & the threat walked back anyway.)

Momentum from the BLM movement (NASCAR banning confederate flags, confederate statues being taken down in several cities, US army stating that they were open to changing some of the army base names, etc.)

Conversations with Chris Herndon who said he would make a recommendation to the city council to change the identifier to Stapleton to a newly selected name (he released his statement on Twitter Sunday, which also said that Brookfield Properties has agreed to take down all of their Stapleton signage.)

Why are renters not included in the vote of 2019?

Per the MCA Declaration, only property owners are allowed to vote per Colorado law. Only an informal poll can be taken of the renting population. This is one reason the MCA believes it is best to have SUN run this Renaming Campaign