When Matt Jones moved to the Papeton neighborhood in 2021 he found out that a woman named Evelyn used to own his house. She had lived in the home her whole life, had been a nurse, rode horses with the rodeo, and had been very involved in the neighborhood. The more Matt learned about her and the history of his house, the more connected he felt to his new place. He’d always loved history, so he kept digging, beyond Evelyn and into the past of Papeton. One connection led to another and after a couple years he found himself distributing 500 flyers and knocking on doors, inviting folks to a meeting that eventually led to the formation of the Papeton Neighborhood Organization last May (of which Matt is the President of the Board).

One of the doors he knocked on was that of Susan Dinapoli. Susan has lived in Papeton since the 1980’s and moved there because of her draw to all things mid-century modern. Her house was built in that time period and has never been updated or remodeled. It was the original sales office for the model homes in the area. Susan went to Matt’s meeting and would soon become the Vice President of the Board.

Matt says that seeing other neighborhoods forming associations is what inspired him to do so. Some neighbors were skeptical about organizing at first and didn’t want an HOA but eventually came around to the idea of a formal group. The neighborhood had organized events in the past, like a 2-day yard sale, but people were eager for more social interaction and regular connection. A Halloween trick-or-treat event for kids in October was met with success, and the group is already talking about a host of ideas for 2026 including neighborhood park improvements, monthly neighborhood socials, a neighborhood yard sale, floodway clean-ups, and a native garden bed.

One of the big successes that came out of organizing was creating an opportunity for the neighborhood to talk about the closed and run-down Portal Pool in Portal Park (the pool was built atop a mine and was shut down years ago when it began to crack and cave in). The neighborhood organization asked for a meeting with City officials and their City Council member, Nancy Henjum, and in September of last year, over 100 neighbors showed up at Edison Elementary to ask questions and advocate for the park and the pool. Initiating the conversation around desires for fixing and reopening the pool led to a $700,000 grant to the City from the Colorado Department of Reclamation and Mining Safety to examine and mitigate mine subsidence in Portal Park. At a follow-up meeting on January 8th, City Council member Nancy Henjum, the Parks Department, the Urban Renewal Authority, the Pioneers Museum, and the Fire Department all presented to neighbors on updates and opportunities for the neighborhood. Neighbors have been encouraged by the process with the City and are working together to reactivate the parks in Papeton and advocate for safety, maintenance, and infrastructure improvements.

The desire for more social connection is driving the activity of the neighborhood organization, and people are excited and eager to get to work. Matt says that “connection is like water, and people are dehydrated from a lack of community.” Matt and Susan envision a neighborhood with neighbors who know each other, care enough to check in, and want to be involved. Where people talk and hang out and aren’t strangers. This is what the Papeton Neighborhood Organization is working for.

If you live in Papeton, the regular community meeting is on the third Wednesday of every month at local Storybook Brewing, at 6 pm. They would love to have you swing by. To sign up for the Papeton Newsletter, click here.

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