Pb - Cover Up

The following article was copied from the Estes Park Trail Gazette, as it appeared in the Estes Park Trail Gazette January 2009.

Town Water Has No Lead or Copper In Its Source Water or Distribution Lines.

ESTES PARK, Colo. — Customers of the Town of Estes Park water system recently received educational information regarding the potential health risk of lead in drinking water. Town officials say it is important for Estes Park residents to understand that there is no lead in the source water used for treatment, and there is no lead in the water being supplied to customers through the Town distribution system. The Town of Estes Park water system consists of pipes lined with concrete or steel, which contain no lead or copper.
Officials say in Estes Park’s specific circumstance, the source of lead in the water is lead solder used in household plumbing. Due to the corrosivity of water, over time metals used in household piping are leached into water on the customer’s premises. Estes Park’s source water (snow melt) is extremely pure with high oxygen content. Officials say this low-alkaline/high oxygen water is highly corrosive.
The EPA believes the potential for lead contamination in drinking water relates directly to the year a home was built. For more information on this determination, visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/memo_nov23-2004.html attachment A (Tier1). Lead solder was banned nationwide in 1986. Homes built after that date should not be at risk. Homes constructed prior to 1980 are considered at low risk because any lead exposed to corrosive water has already been dissolved.
As a result, the EPA requires the Town of Estes Park to collect sample water from residences built between 1980 to1986. The few homes in the community which have tested above the lead action level were built in this time frame. In addition, the water tested was a “first draw” sample collected after the water had sat un-used over night maximizing the metals concentrations.
The notification, which was mailed in late 2008, was mandated by the EPA and was initiated because a few homes in the area tested above the “action level” for lead concentrations. However, exceeding the EPA’s action level is not a drinking water violation, nor does it mean that the water is unsafe to drink.
The Lead and Copper Rule is the only regulation in the Safe Drinking Water Act, which employs this action level concept. The action level for lead is 15 parts per billion and is intended as an early warning that public water systems may need to optimize their corrosion control efforts. It also provides at-risk individuals, primarily infants and pregnant women, the opportunity to consider protective action.
When the original Lead and Copper Rule was implemented by the state in 1992, the Town of Estes Park began adding a corrosion inhibitor. An adjustment to this treatment process is needed periodically as pipes feeding off of the Town of Estes Park’s water distribution system age. Because of the addition of a corrosion inhibitor, Town of Estes Park water customers can expect the life of their household pipes to be extended considerably.



The Estes Parkian Consulted With

CDC
Water Quality Control Commission
EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
AWWA – American Water Works Association
Water Quality Laboratory – State of Colorado
The State of Colorado
The Denver Water Board
Larimer County Health Department
Two Private Water Quality Laboratories
Seven Front Range Municipalities
Seven Colorado Mountain Resort Communities
The City of Alamosa

Dangerous and Irresponsible Actions and Misinformation

Why would the Estes Park Town Trustees inform us in December, they fed us lead laced water last summer?

When did Estes Park elected officials decide that a little lead is okay for our thousands of visitors and residents? As far as the Estes Parkian is concerned, a little lead is not okay! The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) doesn’t think a little lead is okay either.

If the water the town distributed last summer was harmful to at risk individuals (as the Trail Gazette article implies) like children, pregnant mothers, medical patients and people with chronic health issues, why did the Town of Estes Park Trustees remain silent and unconcerned at the time these precious people were at risk, last summer?

EPA mandated testing for Lead/Copper is conducted in July, why are we hearing about the negative results in December? Why didn’t your elected officials and town staff follow the guidelines, intended to protect public health set forth by the EPA?

How do we warn all those thousands of people we invite here on vacation? Our target demographic is “families with children from the Midwest”; the town trustees placed those children at risk. A “town department” chooses and spends millions of our rare sales tax dollars marketing to this demographic. A “town department” is responsible for water quality. Who created the Estes Park administrative policy, that marketing is a higher community priority in Estes Park than public health?

Does “take action” mean, “take action” that allows consumers the opportunity to avoid drinking lead laced water at the time of the health risk, or “take action” when it’s politically convenient for the Town Trustees? Obviously, to Estes Park elected officials, “take action” means take the action that is the most politically self serving and convenient for them; playing on the meaning of words, legal shell games, crafty articles hidden on the back pages of the Estes Park Trail Gazette, printed months after the fact. The bottom line, the Estes Park Trustees still fed you lead and ignored EPA recommendations.

We received the flier in the mail, we read the article in the newspaper, presumably all seven of the town’s elected representatives were informed at the same time we were. None of our seven representatives seemed surprised, shocked or curious enough to mention this issue in a public meeting. Not one elected official asked for a public explanation from staff. Can we infer from their deafening silence that this is a common practice; keeping quiet and protecting their own health and their families health, leaving the rest of us to drink tainted water or fish in streams tainted by raw sewage?

Did the Town Trustees create an administrative policy that runs counter to federal law? Why can’t we even take a good clean cool drink of water in the Estes Valley, without some lead laced drama?

Did the Town Trustees create an administrative policy, that it is acceptable to hide health issues at the peak of the tourist season?

Did the Town Trustees notify the Hospital last summer, when the lead was discovered?

Did the Town Trustees notify the Community Day Care Centers, when the lead was discovered?

Did the Town Trustees notify the Retirement and Assisted Living Center, when the lead was discovered?

Did the Town Trustees inform Spanish Speakers?

What did the Town Trustees do to protect our visitors?

How many infants and pregnant ladies were in town last summer?

Why is lead in toys from China offensive, but lead for children served by the Estes Park Water System okay with your Town Trustees and the Trail Gazette?

The Town Trustees risked the health of vulnerable citizens (infants and pregnant ladies) last summer, and the Town Trustees and the Trail Gazette seem good with that.

A peanut company right now is going out of business, for ignoring negative test results and passing along a tainted product, because it was convenient.

The “educational” material supplied six months after the fact, implies that corrosion control is all about your pipe longevity. Corrosion control and Lead/Copper laws were created, because lead is a serious health risk. Do not believe the erroneous information made by the authors of the newspaper article that all the lead has leached out of your pipelines. This statement printed in the Estes Park Trail Gazette is irresponsible, and it prompts you to ignore a dangerous situation. After all, if all the lead has leached out, why were the results of the test showing positive for lead? According to the EPA some water fixtures being sold and installed 2009, still contain alloys of copper and lead.

How long did this situation persist? The town was mandated by federal law to act within sixty days, to the negative testing results they received last summer. Our research indicated that the solubility issue possibly persisted from May to October 2008, nearly six months. To better understand the scale, the Town’s solubility issue concerned millions of gallons of water - over an extended period of time - for the water to be unstable enough to dissolve lead at a variety of taps, possibly valley wide.

Today the EPA considers no level of lead to be actually safe

This is absolutely and undeniably a “point source issue” a “water chemistry issue”…the point source in our opinion being the towns water treatment facilities. The article titled “Town water has no lead or copper in its source water or distribution lines” is dangerous, irresponsible, and crafted with intent to confuse consumers with a false positive and hide the real truth. Robbing you and thousands of visitors of the information to make an informed decision, making you just unlucky, did you buy a home or stay in a cabin or motel room that leached lead?

There is no lead coming out of the Town of Estes Parks two Water Treatment Plants, BUT…the “Town” failed to stabilize drinking water that in turn dissolved the lead in your pipes…is the whole truth!

Technically it concerns the “Langlier Saturation Index” about fundamental water chemistry and professional water treatment. Shouldn’t town officials be concerned with protecting the health of the consumer; not tricky phrasing to cloud incompetence, bad judgment, and rationalizations skirting EPA requirements to notify and educate? Someone in town hall should have taken the leadership roll, taken the responsibility at the time to inform and educate, sadly no one did the responsible adult thing required of leaders.

Three trustees; Richard Homeier, Eric Blackhurst and John Ericson sit on the Utilities Committee, they run that department. Someone created an administrative policy or manufactured an interpretation, that EPA mandated action levels, education, and reporting laws for Lead/ Copper contamination, are optional in Estes Park. According to the author of the newspaper article, Town Trustee policy is the Estes Park consumer shoulders the “blame” for the lead that appeared in the town’s drinking water. The intent behind EPA Water Quality Standards is the protection of public health; your health and the health of the thousands of people who chose to vacation here. Who protects us from our elected officials deceptive practices and incompetence?

From our perspective there are only two possible explanations for what happened last summer

The trustees knew about the violation, agreed as a group behind the scenes to dummy up, and conspired to hide and spin doctor tainted water. When and where are the Trustees meeting to decide these things? The Town Trustees spend millions of our sales tax dollars through a town department, buying ads and selling responses to motel owners (running a tourist enterprise). In our opinion, the trustees hid health risk information, which could have affected marketing numbers, devaluing the product they sell. At the time of the tainted water, last summer, Trustee Eric Blackhurst was in charge of the utility department, and lobbing full time for the Marketing District to save his wife’s lucrative job with the town. We believe the information was withheld to protect marketing numbers; marketing motel rooms to tourists, and trustees’ personal profit, has become a higher priority than public health.

Or

Town staff hid the situation from the trustees and utility commission members - covered their incompetence and the facts of the circumstances.

After All A Little Poison Is Still Poison

Harmfulness of Lead (Effects)

Lead is a toxin. Short-term exposure to high doses can make you seriously ill. Long term overexposure can cause numerous health problems, including:

Blood disorders including anemia

Damage to your nervous system and brain

Kidney disease

Lead is “the greatest environmental threat to the nation’s children.” (U.S. Public Health Service)

Reproductive impairments in men and women

Lead overexposure can also cause birth defects, mental retardation, behavioral disorders and death in fetuses and young children.

Lead kills wildlife (such as birds ingesting lead shot)

Three million U.S. children (10-15% of preschoolers) have lead levels high enough to impair their neurologic development (reading disorders, attention deficits). Chronic exposure to low levels of lead is tied to low birth weight, impaired mental development and hearing loss.


Today the EPA considers no level of lead to be actually safe.

20%-50% of total lead in children is attributable to drinking water (EPA, CDC).

Lead at 500 ppm in soil or solid waste qualifies the substance as "hazardous waste".

“Action level” means take action now, educate now. According to the EPA “action levels” were created for Lead/Copper because of the toxic nature of lead, and to eliminate uninformed political judgments. For example: political rationalizations like the one the Estes Park Trustees made, informing everyone after the tourists leave. The intent behind an “action level” is to notify consumers of a serious situation, so consumers may take action to avoid the contamination. The threat is serious enough concerning Lead/Copper the EPA has adopted “action levels” to alert the consumer before people start dropping, it is a preventative action. The EPA made it simple for local authorities; if lead is detected the authority must alert the consumers, take measures at the treatment plant and institute a flushing program now! But…I guess if you did that in the middle of the peak tourist season…the tourists would leave or once the word got out cancel their arrangements and go to an alternate destination, lead free.

Point Source Issue

What the Town Trustees and the Trail Gazette didn’t tell you in their article are: the EPA has determined the burden of proof concerning the safety of a purveyor’s product is the purveyors; this burden of proof is not to be born by the public, as the Town Trustee’s action implies. According to the EPA, where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty should not be used as an excuse for postponing measures to prevent environmental or health degradation.

The Estes Park Town Trustees elected to wait six months or more before taking “action” and then played word games in the local press, rolling the dice with public health. This is the kind of senseless - mindless act that destroys all believability and credibility with local elected officials. Why are we just finding out about lead in the drinking water in December, when the town erred last summer? Who crafted that Estes Park Town policy? Who decided that EPA determined solubility and Lead/Copper is not worth discussion? Why isn’t public health entitled to immediate action? Which Trustee decided they know better than the EPA? When it comes to the responsibility of public health, shouldn’t good judgment dictate precaution; not sitting on ones hands, holding ones breathe, waiting for the issue to pass?

Protecting public health shouldn’t be up to the discretion and opinions of political volunteers; especially those who habitually demonstrate tainted judgment, habitually fall prey to “group think” rationalizations, and prefer playing at tourist entertainment, than assuring competent oversight of essential services. If Estes Park elected officials cannot discern the difference between lawful and unlawful acts, and lack the courage to speak out during a community health issue, if their judgment is that clouded, they should be invited to resign in mass.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, has established very precise protocols in the event toxic contaminations occur in your drinking water, and lead is toxic. Treatment plants, such as those operated by the Town of Estes Park, were ordered in 1992 to install corrosion control treatment, and to conduct water quality parameter monitoring. This is an important point, because the town’s information flier and newspaper article was crafted to sound as though the problem was not theirs. The whole intent behind the public notification law is; in the event of a violation, the purveyor (Town of Estes Park) will inform the consumer, so they can run the water - flushing their pipes - before using the water. If the water stands stagnant in you lines for more than ten minutes - you need to flush for two more minutes - that’s in every faucet in your home. So why did the town notify us in December, when the pollution occurred last summer?

WE contacted the EPA and the State Water Quality Laboratory, we described the situation, after “your kidding” we were told it sounds like (and we quote), “something changed at your water treatment plant.”

LEAD IS COLORLESS, ODORLESS, TASTELESS, AND TOXIC: IF YOU HAVE LEAD IN YOUR WATER YOU MUST TELL PEOPLE “HEY PEOPLE THERE IS LEAD IN THE WATER” SO THEY CAN TAKE ACTIONS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR CHILDREN.

The ‘Estesparkian” in the past has demonstrated, on several occasions, the propensity of trustees to join the team, conspire with and appease “hired staff” including the fabrication of facts, and we have demonstrated how “town staff” in collusion with your elected officials blatantly ignore state law, to benefit personally. Now we believe you have the “trifecta”, as a matter of political convenience and trustee policy, this unholy alliance withheld information about the quality of your drinking water until months after the fact, and allowed the citizens of Estes Park, thousands of people in unincorporated Larimer County, and thousands of unsuspecting vacationers to consume lead laced water.

This has ugly implications concerning public trust and professional credibility. When you pour a glass of water and hand it to a child is it safe? Will your elected leaders do the difficult things, the unpopular things to keep that child safe? The unavoidable answer is sadly…NO…not in Estes Park.

Solutions and Prevention

Water is the “universal solvent”, by adjusting and monitoring basic parameters at the water treatment plant, the chemistry can be simply altered, so that the water will not corrode and dissolve lead. The testing procedure is called the “Langlier Saturation Index”; it is a common and fundamental tool in water treatment. It is impossible and impractical to test for lead in every home and motel room every day, the simple and practical solution is to adjust the water chemistry at the treatment plant, so the water will not dissolve lead.

The Langlier Saturation Index being the fundamental monitoring standard in the water treatment industry (AWWA), it is essential to determine the scaling or corrosion properties of drinking water, as it enters the distribution network. A shift in the saturation index at the treatment plant should have clued the “town staff” into some sort of action immediately, to prevent corrosion issues in the distribution network. This is important for you as a consumer to understand, because a few simple routine tests at the treatment plant level are the preventative measures.

Information from all the treatment plants we contacted around Colorado: the appropriate tests are run once per hour and the saturation index determined once per hour, assuring that the water they distribute does not dissolve lead. Glacial snow melt is notoriously aggressive, that is a matter of water chemistry, and a fundamental of water treatment in Colorado (after all - water is the universal solvent). If the treatment plant staff vigilantly attends to water stability and a testing regiment, the water they distribute will not dissolve lead. In other words, it is a point source issue. Professionalism at the treatment plant is the solution, not excuse making after the fact.

The Root Source Of The Problem in Estes Park Is Political

This is about the “lead in your drinking water”, but it reveals so very much more. It’s about trust, choosing priorities, and the condition of the infrastructure of the community. The lack of accountability, transparency, leadership and apathy have moved problems forward; ignoring major issues in preference of sexy projects like entertainment, nonprofit coddling, and free bus rides for tourists. The pollution issue we think originated at the Glacier Creek Water Treatment plant, this facility is referred to as a “peaking facility” turned on and used in the summer high use months as demand dictates, and notoriously decades out dated. The facility was modified in about 1992 to post treat Estes Park’s drinking water for solubility issues, specifically to prevent the lead issue that surfaced again last summer.

The assertion by the author of the Trail Gazette article, that the town’s distribution system is devoid of lead, is a ridiculous and a dangerous assumption; in fact in our opinion “town staff” is hard pressed to even locate major portions of the water distribution system, which in some cases is one hundred years old. As a matter of routine, town staff must contract with outside professionals to locate pipes. For most of those one hundred years, in the Estes Park Valley, local contractors (often friends and relatives) installed whatever components they wanted - anyway they wanted - unencumbered by oversight. Much of what was installed exists outside Town limits, and town staff has no clue about what type of material was buried, to claim the distribution system is concrete and steel is foolish, as the standard for years was Ductile iron. We fear this still goes on today, as ordinances and oversight rules are selectively enforced, if at all, in the Estes Valley. The truth is, ordinances and oversight rules are selectively enforced, based on staff generated political views. Ignoring laws, rules, and ordinances is standard practice; there is no rhyme or reason connected to the enforcement or even the recognition of the rule of law in the Estes Valley. Without rules and competent adult oversight, this is what you get, drinking water that dissolves the lead out of your pipes for you to drink, and artfully crafted articles pinned by a Trustee’s wife telling you “all is well”.

Of course, there is lead in your drinking water, what did you expect? Of course, the Town Trustees knowingly break the law. Of course, the Town would have the local press print an article that is worded to defer the blame to you. Of course, the local press didn’t investigate the issue; they just blindly print what they are told, even if that information is false and dangerous to your health. Of course, the responsibility is absolutely the Town Trustees. Of course, it affects all of the people who travel here, stay in motel rooms, eat the food and drink the water.

The lead “action levels” were achieved in enough homes that the Town Trustees were responsible by law to educate you; using direct mail and the local news media to protect you when the danger exists, not six months after the fact!

The Town Trustees, as elected representatives of the people of Estes Park, should have one mission and that is to prevent health issues like lead in your drinking water. We do not pay “town staff” millions to make excuses; faking solutions for issues like lead in your drinking water, but to prevent issues like lead in your drinking water. There is a big difference between prevention and solutions. A mistake is one thing, but purposeful deception through silence, during a potentially serious health issue, is something else entirely. Taking from you (and thousands of tourists) the choice to drink the water or not. Public health is not a political guessing game, and certainly not the Estes Park Trustees decision to make.

You would have been protected (last summer) if - you would have run the water two minutes before you drank the water (last summer) - is not educational, it is grounds to recall your elected officials, in mass.

If you ran a poll, you would discover most tourists would prefer lead free drinking water - to a free bus ride.

Every motel room in the Estes Valley should have a sign on the bathroom mirror:

“DANGER LEAD IN THE WATER - RUN THE TAP TWO FULL MINUTES BEFORE YOU DRINK THE WATER - NEVER CONSUME THE HOT WATER.”

In Summary

During the summer of 2008, a series of preventable events occurred, that culminated in the appearance of lead in Estes Park drinking water at the height of the tourist season, every motel room was full of people from around the World. The fact the lead was in the water was hidden until December 2008. We see this as a blatant disregard for the health of the public, a dangerous flaw in judgment, and a serious lack of integrity on behalf of all seven of our elected officials. Nobody stepped up to do the right thing; staff, elected officials, or the local press. Spinning blame and misrepresenting the facts are not the actions of responsible adults, elected as our representative oversight.

Estes Park politicians are promoting “Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Designation” as being beneficial to Estes Park citizens, there has never been an explanation of why this is beneficial.

In 2008 alone, elected officials in the Estes Valley were responsible for more environmental senselessness than any other community in Colorado.

Two significant raw sewage discharges directly into the Big Thompson drainage
Two drinking water quality violations - requiring public notifications
Traffic gridlock and bottle necks – admittedly created by the town
Noxious air pollution – unmonitored – untested - uncontrolled - ignored
Unsightly development and ill conceived land use policies - that brought about negative national scrutiny

This lead issue is not the first - this is not an isolated incident – this is a pattern of abuse, a deeply troubling and reoccurring theme. We are the closest municipality to the “proposed wilderness” and your elected representatives have proven to be the most irresponsible stewards to visitors and citizens imaginable.

The “Estes Parkian”

NEXT !

Short and sweet cut through the drama and mystery - save the act of professional discovery.

The Marketing district will enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the town and hand the marketing district tax money to the town to manage. The motel owners have been collecting an illegal add on “Improvement Tax” to their customers bill for years and passed it on to the town through the back door.

That is the Readers Digest version.

You all will receive the sloppy drawn out political we studied the situation and this is the best value version, from the Mayors hand picked toadies.

FOLLOW UP

Filling in some loose ends and up date of the Boulder Home Rule Charter vote.

We brought to your attention town staff administrators and the City Council in Boulder, Colorado proposed to alter the “The City of Boulder Home Rule Charter”, allowing the City Council to go into executive session to conduct City business.

In a community renowned as one of the most liberal communities in the USA, it seems the citizens of Boulder do enjoy the idea of a transparent government. The citizens overwhelmingly voted against allowing secret sessions conducted by the City Council for the purpose of negotiating away community assets in private. They may be liberal, but they refuse to be stupid.

So what will we do when all the businesses downtown leave?

Seventy five percent of all sales tax funding to Estes Park’s general fund comes from retail sales…the small business sector is the hardest hit throughout the country. Not only are the empty spaces, closed doors and “For Sale” signs a visual negative to the visitor , but we continue to ignore the downward spiral we have found ourselves in for the past 10 years. Trust us when we say, there will be no rescue package from the government for Estes Park!

Unlike our local inhabitants the rest of the world understands competition, value added marketing and improved services, “visit us because we have activities, distinctive cuisine, and cultural experiences found no where else." Other resort communities (not really Estes Park competitors, calling them competition does a great disservice to them) are moving forward, dynamically.

We did some of our own looking around, pay attention Estes Park, this is a learning moment, as you fall even further behind.

Here are some highlights from around the various Colorado resorts for this coming winter 2008/2009.

Many of the investments around Colorado are created to generate a buzz and excitement among skiers and drive potential new guests and visitation, said Ralf Garrison, a market analyst who runs the Mountain Travel Research Program. When additional terrain or new lift service is involved in the skier's world, more is better," he said. "Those who know about that take full advantage of it, and that is one of the major drives."

A slowing economy has led to tough competition to lure skiers. That can push some of the changes at resorts each season.

"Nimble is really important because the market is changing fast," Garrison said.
The 26 resorts that made up Colorado Ski Country USA last season reported 12.53 million skier visits, slightly down from a record of nearly 12.57 million skier visits the previous season.
Visitors this season can expect to find plenty of new offerings:

Among the changes are Telluride's new Revelation Bowl and a wider Sleepy Hollow run at Monarch Mountain. Winter Park boasts a new $5.8 million open-air gondola from the free parking.

At Keystone, the River Run gondola is moving to the middle of River Run Village, and a mid-station was added.

Beaver Creek has a new children's ski school.

In Vail, construction at The Arrabelle at Vail Square and Vail Mountain Plaza is complete.

At Breckenridge, guests will find a renovated Peak 7 base with the Crystal Peak Lodge slated to open soon, a new ski school, a new restaurant and a gondola connecting the town and the mountain.

At Copper Mountain, the Woodward at Copper indoor sport training facility opens in January. It has trampolines and foam pits so snow riders can hone their skills with less risk of injury.

In Steamboat, nearly $30 million has gone into improvements since last year, with about $4 million of that being spent on upgrades for this season. The improvements include upgraded snowmaking equipment and pipelines, new grooming equipment, advanced life-support gear and a new retail outlet in downtown Steamboat.

Aspen Skiing Co., which operates Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk, is investing $35 million this season in improvements, including two new restaurants, a new $7 million lift, an Olympic-size halfpipe at Buttermilk, and an area of new glades at Aspen Highlands.

Snowmass is showing off new restaurants, ski-in/ski-out condos and a new conference space.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort is offering a new "Camp CB" for kids and on-mountain terrain expansion in Teocalli Bowl.

At Monarch Mountain more than $600,000 has been invested in a new reservation system, a new ski school and rental center, a new kid's terrain park, a widened Sleepy Hollow run and 200 additional acres of Sno-Cat area.

"A lot of these are not things people are demanding," said Rob Katz, chief executive of Broomfield-based Vail Resorts Inc., of the $100 to $115 million in on-mountain and hospitality improvements this season. "We as a company want to be ahead of the curve, whether that is with environment, hotels, lifts or technology."

Even downtown Denver has added a rail yard at Ruby Hill Park a softball/golf complex in the summer and snow boarding in the winter “in downtown Denver!”

Of coarse these are only ideas for a authentic alpine resort community, not a summer boardwalk that sleeps all winter. There are officially 26 Colorado Resort communities, Estes Park is not listed as one of them. Did you know it is more expensive to rent retail space in Estes Park than anywhere else in Colorado? When you compare cash flow to overhead Estes Park is very expensive per square foot.

A first step Estes Park must accomplish is a commitment to an identity other than an eyesore and blight to a nation park. Once you accomplish identifying who and what you are then you invite major investment into the community and create a year around attraction, not EPURA pity – pat face lifts with chump change while we all pretend we are doing something - will not cut it.

Maybe Forever Living Resorts will commit to Estes Park and build a boutique winter resort with their Billions instead of milking the CVB and EPURA through an old Holiday Inn.

CDOT construction is streamlining traffic flow through the community and retail looses more parking, one step forward three steps back.

LIKE SAND DOWN A RAT HOLE

Shall the Estes Park Local Marketing District be established pursuant to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County?

Should we vote Town Hall a 2% pillow tax?

FACT: It has been proven in the Courts of the State of Colorado; that a statutory town does not have the authority to be involved in the marketing of private enterprise or collect a tax to do so.

FACT: Estes Park remains a Statutory Community.

FACT: It is against the law for your town to be involved, that’s why the…”legislative tom foolery and super secrete town county intergovernmental agreement”. If it was lawful why did it take twelve years, three trips to the state legislature, one veto, and a five year law suit? In that same time frame…40 Home Ruled Communities created marketing districts, not as town departments, but as subsidies to the business community. Is there another Marketing District in the world organized like this? If the answer to that question is NO…YOU MUST VOTE NO.

Why are these referendums so poorly written, so devoid of detail?
.
What is the agreement with the County?

Who are those people appointed to the Marketing District?

If you do not know the details of the “agreement”…YOU MUST VOTE NO. Or brainlessly do as you’re told.

To trust Greg White and Tom Pickering with legal details like organizing a Marketing District would be lunacy and the act of a brainless newt. Check their record, look at the facts. To quote the towns’ attorney in 2004…“Trust me it’s legal, what do you think I do all day, I have conferred with colleagues and we are on firm legal ground.” Tested in Colorado Court the Town’s actions were found to be unlawful in every area! That brainless act cost this community thousands of our own dollars in legal fees. Based on credibility and past performance…YOU MUST VOTE NO.

This referendum is so poorly written on several levels, districts are all about the details and there are none here. No details…NO DISTRICT.

When creating a tax receiving district and a new tax, one should elect a group of individuals that are held accountable to receive that tax, like all the other districts in Colorado this should be an elected authority responsible to the voters that elected them. But not this marketing district, why? If you do not know…YOU MUST VOTE NO.

Who are responsible for the funds? One would elect a board for that purpose when creating a district to receive a tax. The fact is; town staff wrestled the advertising, marketing, sales, promotions, visitor’s services and the cash flow associated with those enterprises out of the hands of the business community, and into the hands of a town department. The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado determined that the trustees and its town department…”marketing/advertising/visitor services enterprise”…to be unlawful. If the voters create the marketing district and associated tax it will be on one side of a Legal Wall and the mechanisms to function will be on the other side of that Legal Wall. Who will fund all those salaries currently tucked into the town budget? Once trustee wives salaries are paid, how much money is left for real activity? How is all this intended to work? Tom Pickering and Greg White set this district up so no one is responsible, everything is deniable. The District Commissioners are titled “Marketing District Advisory Committee” whom will they be advising? If you do not know…YOU MUST VOTE NO.

Along with this entire existing group of mayor appointed boards, which board is “accountable” (for a better lack of terminology), if you’re a business man and you would like inputs? (1) The Advertising Advisory Board (2) The CVB Board (3) The Marketing Advisory Board (4) The Community Development Committee (5) Larimer County or (6) The Town Trustees? Which are accountable to you? If you do not know…YOU MUST VOTE NO! (Okay, I will answer this one for you Brainless Estes, they are accountable to NO ONE LOCALLY, you are a Statutory Town, ha ha jokes on you Brainless Estes.)

The truth is…once created…you are one intergovernmental agreement away from handing the money to the Trustees…to fund all those salaries. Not more advertising or marketing the brand, at best it will be a wash. Why else would Scotty W., Cory B., and Kathy P. be appointed? Come on! These people have a history of incompetence and political corruption. Look to the appointed EPURA commission as an example. Over twenty five years…out of the 50 million dollars diverted, the town received 32 million for salaries….and EPURA only spent 18 million on improvements. Go for it Brainless Estes!

IF what is being called ”Marketing – Branding – Sales” now currently being paid for with sale tax money is wildly effective and we simply need to expand a successful effort, I would be the first to say “why not a pillow tax?” Try as I might, I could not find a single unit of measure that would indicate what the town does is effectual. Visitation to RMNP is down every year for the past Ten Years! Down also are sales and associated sales taxes! The sad fact is…we have twice the square footage of retail producing less wealth for the community! Eighty five percent of the businesses in this community fail every five years…that’s approx. 900 businesses in ten years!!!..( OK, IF Susan Blackhurst's marketing doen't work - Eric Blackhurst will sell your business for you it's all GOOD). Included amongst those failures would be Susan Blackhurst’s marketing business, and Peter Marsh’s business. Most of the people employed by the Town in this department, or appointed to these commissions… were part of the failed “Chamber of Commerce”…having squandered those assets they have turned their attention to squandering sales tax money. Over the past ten years, this department has spent 2.8 million dollars per year…that would be roughly 28 million dollars on what? Declining numbers in every category!!! Say it ain’t so Brainless Joe. Facts are facts…except to Brainless Estes.


Is raising taxes the answer…especially in the middle of an economic down turn? Timing is everything and the timing here is God awful! Is raising your prices the answer…given the reality of the times? It’s only taxing the tourist? How insensitive is that to the national economic peril, especially when your customer is a middle class family of four living in the Midwest? All of this so called “vision” coming from a “trustee group”…that gave themselves raises and expanded the benefits package for themselves and their wives… directing sales tax dollars down valley was so very brainless.

Pay higher room rates in Estes Park this next summer. What is the ceiling on a room rate when you do not ad value to the visit (do not forget your forests are dying all around you)!!! And you call the “Estes Parkian” insensitive and a grenade lobber and opinions without facts, well if you use EP as a measure…your trustees are half wit mumbling idiots. NO BRAIN…NO PAIN!

If you cannot show me the value added to your customer for the increase in room rates …YOU MUST VOTE NO!

Every report coming out of Town Hall concerning the budget and sales tax collection, is crafted to appear as things are great and on track! How is that possible, the national economy is in a shambles, visitation is down, sales are down and small business is suffering the most? Town Hall is not affected??? If you believe Town Hall doesn’t need the money and their budget is on track, hiring relatives is alright, and deceiving your constituency is okay, and breaking state law is acceptable…well…Eric has some prime property for You!

Please consider, if you raise your rates 2%...what is the value added for your customer? What if your sales go down because your rates went up? It’s a tax…there will be no guarantees for performance! What will be new…is there a big idea...big whoopee direction marketing plan? If you do not know the plan…YOU MUST VOTE NO!

What will prevent the town staff from raising fees for leads again this year? Nothing…NO BRAIN…NO PAIN!

The local brain trust claims this tax is a no brainer, because they don’t expect you to think about it.

The Estes Parkian says vote NO. Why? well for many very important reasons…if you’re a business man it will be a wash - the money now being spent will be returned to the general fund…you will probably be seeing less money for advertising/marketing - not more. You will be raising your prices in the middle of a recession, with no value added for the end customer. Last but…not least…your advertising/marketing program is a “Political Town Department” it is not good business - it is a small town political popularity club…ineffective, inefficient, archaic, static and very dated. More money will not turn a frog into a prince!!! More money will be just more sand down the rat hole!!!

One last note, if you need to dump that business, Eric will list it for ya!

VIA CON DIOS

The Estes Parkian

ASKING ESTES PARK

With the shear volume of tax increases on the November ballot and given the state of the local, state and national economy what measures do you realistically see passing? Is it time for more tax or time for better governmennt?

Valley of Discontent

Here is a question for all you Valley folk.

What’s the problem with annexation?

We are all we have and there are so precious few of us, why aren’t we one community? Why can’t the Chuck’ s and the Bill’s and the Eric’s you elect leader bring this valley together? Last fall when they ran for office there was all the “lets get along” rhetoric and then poof down the rabbit hole. (Well Eric, forget Eric he has only one agenda and that’s keeping the meal ticket employed.)

Why hasn’t the Valley annexed into one community? Why all the division and polarity, why isn’t this one community and eliminate the “equalization” problems once and for all?

Who doesn’t want who?

The Estes Valley Planning Commission: The Estes Valley Planning Commission is a joint Town/County commission that reviews development proposals and subdivision proposals within the Estes Valley, both inside and outside the Town of Estes Park.

You live in the county but must abide by town ordinance, you live in the town but pay for unincorporated Larimer County services, who comes up with this nonsense? The counter claim by people living in the unincorporated no mans land; we shop in Estes Park there for we contribute through sales tax. You’re buying taffy and tee shirts in what kind of quantities I ask? You shop at Sam’s like everyone else so stop that line its worthless, I shop in Cherry Creek but I don’t get a vote there now do I? It’s the businessmen that are self financed and selling to the tourists and collect sales tax that are shouldering the financial load in this Valley, not the trustees, not the developers but the people in the tourist trade and everyone pisses in their punch bowl and to claim that you buy some milk from time to time and are owed service is a gut punch to those businessmen that keep you property taxes in check. Oh sure, the boys you elect take credit but they don’t do spit except spend, spend, spend the sales taxes someone else earns, earns, earns.


Is it the people outside town limits that don’ want any part of our town government but they want the services without contributing to the economy. Or is it the town who doesn’t want the extra responsibilities?

So we end up with dozens of intergovernmental agreements, creating a no mans land of plausible deniability and perpetual polarization.

The town needed some land to build affordable housing huts now didn’t they, so they annexed in a little for that but not much. Look, we do not want you in our town but we want our low income high density spittoon washers living in your neighborhood not ours!

No more taxing districts/intergovernmental commissioner political mouths to feed. No more taxes until the people we elect get together with a plan to unify this Valley and make it one town. More districts created through intergovernmental agreements will only serve to continue to divide us even more.

You people in this Valley, conjure up some seriously silly shit!

OUR ROOTS

This is not the first time the topic of executive session and the Estes Park abuses of secret closed government have been detailed here at the Estes Parkian.

Our neighbor Boulder (a home rule charter community) is in the midst of a community discussion on the subject of executive sessions. The Boulder home rule charter does not allow for executive sessions and the community has traditionally enjoyed an open and transparent government. The current crop of city council and staff desire executive sessions pleading the same logics we hear in Estes Park all the time. A charter amendment has been suggested that would allow executive sessions in Boulder City Government. This question will be put to the Boulder voters this fall and we suggest following the arguments and out comes closely.

We would encourage the City of Boulder citizenry to examine the menu of abuse and constant storm of legal issues that can be traced directly to shrouded government activities and decision making here in Estes Park. In our opinion there is no need for executive sessions in town government, ever. In Estes Park the citizens have not outlined what level of transparency is desired through the chartering process, so over time the abuse has become standard operating procedure. Anything and everything becomes a negotiation with Estes Park Trustees, which in turn becomes secret for our own good, like playing poker, hide your cards from the people, an interesting and twisted interpretation of state law.

Town trustees are elected to do town business in the public eye. When businesses is done in executive session, all manner of abuses and creativity that would make Huey P. Long proud, can happen when a town employee is in the back room negotiating exclusivity contracts with preferred contractors. Gee, what could go wrong?

In this small town when the same characters keep showing up around the mud puddle making the same impassioned cries of “coincidence” and “prove it” and “show us some fact” and “its legal we’re a statutory town”, have long ago proven hollow. Do we hire friends and relatives, are there exclusivity contracts with commission appointees, trustees and district directors or not? It is a simple yes or no question and the answer is yes we do, it is embarrassing the cavalier attitude that we are willing to except. When your local business is dependent upon “no compete” city work one gets very defensive when the Estes Parkian questions your "no compete" feed bag.


The perceived benefit to the public as described by town staff are issues related to the purchase of property and confidential issues related to negotiations. It has been described by town administrators in Estes Park as playing poker and your opponent knows your hand. Sounds reasonable but legitimate confidential topics mandating secrecy are imposable to define. The world becomes your political oyster when the public must prove a negative concerning a public issue negotiated in private. How many land deals are we talking about here? Buy jamming a bag over the head of the public isn’t everything legal? The political control by town staff over the community is concerning. An elected official in Estes Park claimed recently that unless we hand our local buddies sweetheart deals in private negotiations no one would invest in Estes Park, as an explanation concerning the Lot 4 shenanigans.

The towns attorney can in fact operate without restraint, any issue can be negotiated any law can be broken and bought off in private with public money.

The town’s attorney has used executive sessions to strategize his way out of more lost law suits and ill conceived schemes than you can imagine. Schemes designed to bypass the electorate. Schemes by a broke down government rotten with inefficiencies. Check the record our town government cannot operate with out cheating on the law and brokering intergovernmental agreements just to function. If you have the legal authority why must you operate through other agencies and mayoral appointed commissions and stinky political mischief and changing a word here and a word there in state law leading to more and endless law suits?

Who defines the conditions and topics for executive sessions? Who defines appropriate or inappropriate topics?

The Towns attorney, who over the past twenty years has authored some very poor legal advice, if the town attorney is allowed to cloak his incompetence in private who’s the wiser, wouldn’t it be appropriate to play out in public the ramifications of poor decision making and often poorly conceived advice and direction? What would decision making in Estes Park look like if your elected trustees would be required to play out the law suits they motivate in the public eye? Executive sessions and cloaked government leads to abuses and deceptive practices. There is nothing like secrets to create distrust in the public eye. We do not benefit, look at all the law suits and citizens initiated ordinances. There seems to be a storm brewing, the serfs are tired of it.

Do officials stray from the announced topic while in executive sessions? How do we know, because executive sessions are confidential and secret?

What is the voting record, who voted NO and who voted YES in executive session, how does an elected official represent me if his record is private concerning important community issues?

When is it determined and who determines what topics are too sensitive for the public eye? And in conjunction are all the elected officials’ duplicitous in advance as to what those topics are? That sequence of determining what topic is public or is not public is never accomplished in public meetings, consequently sequencing has only two possible logics: 1 ) trustees are meeting in private to determine that strategy, or 2 ) staff is determining for the trustees what business is public or private and how to conduct public business, becoming the authors of the public standard, not our elected officials!

The determination of what is a community executive action and what is an administrative maintenance function has been clouded beyond recognition by town staff making any practical governmental protocols useless here in Estes Park, the rule of law being usurped by personal opinions and a self serving staff. Trust us we are secretly working in the best interest of the public is a precarious position. This isn’t the CIA and speed isn’t the issue look at all the law suits the town faces and will face in the future, our town government has slowed to a stop, due in large part to executive sessions gone mad. Stop all the law suits let us continue abusing the law is no argument for bad government! The phrase “trust me” has no place in essential services. The town was recently found guilty of breaking state law in a protracted legal struggle, town staff had two pieces of state legislation altered than claimed the findings of the court moot, negotiated a private settlement prior to sentencing leaving a plethora of community legal questions unanswered littering the back room negotiations floor. That is not responsible government that’s crap politics and this community looses in the long run.

When elected officials begin making strategic decisions in clandestine meetings, gatherings or communications it is unlawful, but that is what is happening because the decision to go into executive session is scheduled in advance and posted on the agenda. Who determines when a topic is appropriate for executive session? The trustees always vote with 100% consensus to enter executive session, it is never discussed if a particular topic should be played out in the public eye. The trustees just get up and leave the room, end of discussion! End of democracy!

Staff is determining what pubic business is, not our elected officials. That is a horse of a completely different color indeed because it is the inherent and exclusive purpose of our elected trustees to over see staff and essential services, not the reverse. We should be entertaining visitors instead of staffing the fire department came from somewhere it came from someone, who, when, where? Executive session!

Finely the question of trustees straying off of the announced topic in executive sessions is fair game for criticism, it obviously happens as the rule. It would be unlawful to do so but that ship sailed years ago backstabbing this community in the process. The town lost a legal battle concerning statutory communities and advertising and marketing, no question. The obvious local solution as applied by dozens of communities in Colorado over the years would have been a Home Rule Charter and local electoral legislative oversight of town hall. Some where in executive sessions, in secrete, state legislators were approached wording agreed upon strategies arranged and state law altered, on two pieces of legislation. The two state legislators that introduced the bill claimed that the law changes were made as a result of a community mandate. The trustees were in on it I saw picture of them at the state capital. How did I miss that community discussion? The one where this community discussed changing state law instead of creating a town charter, who made that decision and what was the trustee vote?

Is it in the best interest of Estes Park to keep strategizing in secret and altering state law or govern our selves locally?

If a range of topics are discussed in executive session any trustee that is in disagreement of any of the off the subjectdiscussions would be obliged to remain moot as executive sessions are confidential, the majority could place the minority in a bind. Executive sessions are secret and records of those proceedings are not public, if trustees strayed from the announced topic or are colluding behind our backs it would take a trustee to file suit against the other trustees to end the abuse. Our trustees are not a principled body they have demonstrated time and time again the propensity to openly break the laws of the State of Colorado in exercises of contempt and demonstrations of control. If this group were constantly being tested in the court of law and prevailing I would be a chained dog barking at shadows but the facts are the town looses legal challenge after legal challenge, time after time.

I would encourage Boulder to maintain their historic transparent government and securely nail down the lid to Pandora’s Box. The benefits are microscopic compared to the loss of your democracy.

Examine the Estes Park record, , , never mind that’s a secret.