Two moms who run an organization serving disabled children have provoked the ire of Golden officials who referred to the organization as “pretty belligerent” and “a thorn in our side” in emails regarding the moms’ presence at a city arts festival.

Susan Baldacci and Laurie Zitoli run The Gift of Grace, a group that began in 2018 to honor Zitoli’s daughter, Grace, a young woman with Down syndrome who died in 2017. The Gift of Grace — a registered nonprofit with the state of Colorado, but not a 501(c) tax-exempt organization — raises money each year to host holiday parties for children with special needs and provide money for kids with disabilities to participate in extracurricular activities.

For several years, The Gift of Grace has set up a table outside the Golden Fine Arts Festival and collected donations in exchange for homemade baked goods, water and soda, Baldacci said. The group does not sell items because it doesn’t have a permit. Instead, Baldacci and Zitoli explain their mission to passersby and accept donations for goods.

Tensions between The Gift of Grace and the city of Golden have been brewing over that lack of a vendor’s permit. The Golden Fine Arts Festival is this weekend, and Baldacci is preparing for drama.

A few years ago, the city sent a health inspector to try to shut the table down, but they were allowed to continue because they weren’t selling anything, Baldacci said.

Through a public records request, Baldacci received emails from the city showing officials talking about the group’s presence. She provided those emails to The Denver Post.

In a February message entitled “rogue vendor,” Diane Tiberi, Golden’s special events coordinator, told city auditor Alan Haynes that she was trying to be proactive this year in handling The Gift of Grace, which she described as “a thorn in our side for quite a few years.”

In a statement to The Post, Meredith Ritchie, Golden’s communications director, said The Gift of Grace does not have a valid vendor permit for the festival, something that is required for all vendors or those requesting donations in the city.

“We are a community that needs to abide by code to ensure equitable opportunities for both nonprofits and private entities as we host many special events and activities that make Golden an attractive place to vend,” Ritchie said in the statement.

A single booth at the arts festival costs nearly $500, which Baldacci said is about half of what the group usually makes raising money outside the event.

The emails show auditor Haynes suggesting the city “catch them in the act” and ticket the organization, which Tiberi described as “pretty belligerent” and “combatant,” adding that the group’s members are loud and shout about having cheaper water.

“They have a problem with us because we’re not paying to be in the festival,” Baldacci said.“We acknowledge we’re piggybacking off it, but it’s a Golden event. Golden likes to think of itself as a small town with small-town values and this is the complete opposite of that. Can’t we just get along and figure something out?”

In February, Haynes sent The Gift of Grace an email notifying the organization that it has been vending or asking for donations without a proper license or permission.

“If you are found to be vending and/or asking for donations without proper authority you will receive a ticket with a court summons and asked to leave the City,” the email said.

Baldacci said she asked to have a sit-down with Tiberi to find a solution, but Tiberi responded that she would only meet with Baldacci if a code enforcement officer and member of the chamber accompanied her — which Baldacci felt was “ridiculous” and overcomplicated.

Ritchie told The Post that Baldacci was offered the opportunity to meet with the city and code enforcement but declined.

“We’re just two moms trying to do something for kids with disabilities,” Baldacci said. “We are not hurting anyone. We are helping the disability community.”

A resident gave The Gift of Grace permission to set up on their private lawn near the festival this weekend, Balducci said. She hopes the group will be able to raise enough money to throw its annual Christmas and Halloween parties for kids with disabilities.

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Originally Published: August 7, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.