Estes Park is blessed with many people willing to give their time to a variety of worthy causes by becoming volunteers. We can look at those cleaning up the highways, volunteering in the National Park (thousands), churches, hospice, Ducky Derby, Red Cross, the arts and numerous other venues of which there are too many to mention.
If one thinks about it, how would we even recognize our community if there were no volunteers? How many events would be cancelled? How would our parks look? It is rather a scary thought.
In the true sense of the word, hundreds of people give their time and energy toward service to others and they should be commended. So, from the Estesparkian, thank you.
There is another group that is special and goes by the name Volunteer. That would be the fire department. The brag is that there is only one person on the payroll, that being the Chief. These folks give hundreds of hours as volunteers and provide very capable and prompt service. Special thanks goes out to them for all of their hard work and the hours and hours of training that it takes. We should remember this when we see a vote for the fire district.
But first we need to gather a bit more information. Speaking with dozens of people from other towns, we’re told that these volunteers, at least in other towns, aren’t volunteering without pay. They say that in their town, the volunteer fireman get paid for every call, but are called volunteers because they aren’t technically on the payroll. This is a curious turn of events if it is true here in Estes Park. That would mean that each call out of the district is being paid for by local tax payers and not the County. Each call to the non- tax paying Y is paid for by the locals. Does that seem fair? Maybe someone can comment here with that information and educate us all. Isn’t it important that we all know these things?
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Summit
Where are we going as a community what is the direction the captains of our boat are taking us? Have you ever wondered how Estes Park became a retirement community? I researched it, we became a retirement community by accident it was never a plan, it just happened. How did a state highway happen to go right through the middle of town, it just did. How did all those condos pop up lining all the scenic byways, it wasn’t planned, developers built them - presto we are a community of seasonal retires. A reasonably planned community strives for a balance of economic, race, age, and religious diversity; we are not any of that. For such a small pond, this valley has so many captains of so many small boats. Are they leading or are they just spending money because they have it? Just who are the community leaders anyway?
Are our elected officials protecting a system rather than tax payer rights? The Estesparkian thinks so. Which of the foxes is guarding the hen house? A common answer is the officials that you elect, but that pat answer is wrong. The other miss conception is somehow, somewhere there is an oversight body like the attorney general or a district judge or some mysterious unit to oversee your elected officials - if you think that - you are wrong. The town attorney Greg White, lets get real, the town administrator, don’t make me laugh, the Peter Principle is at work there.
All the various elected boards and commissions in our valley are off doing their own thing, when do you demand they start pulling in the same direction? We seem to be subsidizing an awful lot of duplication, inefficient, and wasteful enterprises that go no where except back to the tax payer for more subsidies. The nexus to all the elected boards is you the sole source of all the funding.
Are the developers building all those high density condos having an unhealthy influence on staff and town trustees assuring their profitability at our collective loss of quality of life? The Estesparkian believes so. Our elected officials come with baggage a propensity to reflect themselves and their prejudices upon the task, motel owning trustees that began spending your public money to subsidize their motel marketing budgets, is a prime example.
Not only what individual prejudices may exist but who influences the individual elected officials thought process. Who behind the scenes influences councils, boards, commissions, and what is that influence, they discuss issues with someone out there who is it? Is it personal gain verses community good? With so many elected officials on so many boards spending our money how are we suppose to keep up with it all, there aren’t enough hours in the day. We need to consolidate all theses boards down to the absolute minimum through home rule, the politics of this little town is way out of hand.
The reality being the citizens of your community every individual living in the Valley is responsible for the operation of the community; you are the boss that elected officials work for, not some mysterious bodies somewhere up the line. Sadly, you haven’t been up to the task, you elect someone on a thin vale of a desire to serve and then allow that elected official free rein to pull the wool over your eyes. The operation and running of our communities business is our responsibility. We as citizens of the Valley have the responsibility to be a tough demanding boss. We are responsible for all the money loss and stolen from the school district, we are responsible for what happens in the hospital, we are responsible for the parks district. We are responsible, not the trustees or commissioners, or any elected official. We as a citizen of the Valley are the bottom line; you cannot elect some one to a board and then close your eyes. You own the business.
You are responsible for all the overbuilt high density condo developments heavy traffic and mass of tourists congesting the streets, do not curse the visitors or whine to the Estesparkian about how negative our view is, look in the mirror and curse yourself.
School District - they spend your money
Town of Estes Park - they spend your money
Hospital District - they spend your money
Library District - they spend your money
Parks and Recreation District - they spend your money
Upper Thompson Sanitation District - they spend your money
Estes Park Sanitation District - they spend your money
Are we really satisfied with what is going on behind the closed doors of town hall or the hospital district or the school district or the recreation district?
Two sewer plants – two crews – two boards – two collection systems – two facilities, just treating the areas human waste is wasteful and inefficient.
A golf coarse is not a social service it is a business why can’t golf make money as a business in the Estes Valley?
A swimming pool is a business, why can’t the swimming pool make money?
Will a communal theater make money and pull its own weight; does the convention center stand on its own as an enterprise?
The CVB doesn’t generate enough funding to pay the light bills on the new building. The town will tell you all the tourist traffic and cash flow in this town is due to their advertising efforts, which is shear lunacy and nonsense.
Mass transit will never generate a dime, and is tantamount to shoving twenty dollar bills into a shredder as fast as you can load them, all day long.
Shouldn’t we as a community demand a definitive answer to the Town / Chamber legal wrestling match? What if the town did act outside their authorities as a statutory town in creating the CVB? What then? Your elected leaders have nurtured this decade’s long never ending feud with the business community, you ever wonder why? Your elected officials may very well have wandered into a mine field with no way out, when will you demand leadership from your elected officials to solve this conundrum?
My point here is not to keep pounding my head on the town hall door but to put my finger on who is responsible. We elect all these boards and all that leadership but who is being leader? When does the hospital board sit down at a common table with the town board and the school board and the parks and recreation district, library district, and at least discuss the playing field, boundaries, commonalities, or duplication of efforts, they do not communicate in fact they feud.. We fund all these activities, we elect all these officials but where are they going where are they taking us? I do know this though; you and I will still be responsible for paying the bills.
Every successful owner of a company demands productivity and accountability of its employees that is the job of being owner. If a business owner trusts the employees to be productive without oversight, guidelines, limitations or consequences than that business will be horribly inefficient. If your employees are telling you everything is fine “trust me” just keep pouring money at us, don’t make us accountable to any silly rules, you have a problem. If your employees give you alibis or a constant stream of excuses or various versions of the blame game you have a problem and it is your responsibility to take charge. Not the town trustees not the board of education not the town attorney, after all they have your money, you gave it to them to spend and then you close your eyes. You will pay one way or the other for the inefficiencies of the political spider web that has evolved in this little valley, so many elected officials, so little accountability. You will continue to pay and they keep asking for more.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
A Hand Out Not A Hand Up
To think there will be 3 or 4 requests for loans from fellow Estesparkians come the fall. We will be asked to support one or more of the following:
1. Performance Center
2. Swimming Pool
3. School Auditorium
4. Fire District
We’ll sure have our plate full if we have to tackle all of these important issues. Let’s look at them singly.
1. Performance Center –
The arts groups in Estes Park, in their various forms, have about 200 performances throughout the year, perhaps more. A few years ago they tried to create a public/private relationship between the Stanley Hotel, the Town and the Arts group. The beneficiary of this plan was the Stanley Hotel and the Town. The Stanley got a re-modeled building with a new heating system thanks to the Town, and the Town got $600,000, thanks to the Arts Community. Public private partnerships don’t work, unless you are Forever Resorts, then you get a free convention center and lots of guaranteed bookings. Should this project move forward? We should ask ourselves how we personally benefit. Would we enjoy performances there? Will new groups of performers be attracted to a tiny little theater? How much will each of us pay and who will pay long term.
2. Swimming Pool – This is a current venue that is used by students and seniors, an important year-round activity center for all of us. Those families that use the pool have raised considerable money that seems to disappear. Is that just more of the Towns shenanigans? Or is it Park & Rec? Why do we continually have budget crises in a Town this size with a budget of over $33,000,000?
3. School Auditorium- In a school system that is declining in student enrollment, is on the recovery from recent failures from a criminal superintendent and a crooked office worker (both convicted), and a huge turnover in staff year after year, does it really seem the most important thing is to have an auditorium?
4. Fire District – Ho Humm. No, No, No! Home Rule first, then maybe a fire district where we can bill they Y and everyone else that benefits. The first thing they would do is build a station near the Y, even though they don’t pay for anything. Ill advised, not the right political structure, NO, NO, NO!
In the second place, what is the deal with promotions for each of these handouts? There aren’t any. No one will support something they don’t know about. This Town is famous for creating failed programs and plans and the Estesparkian predicts that each of these plans will go down in flames.
Third, these are programs that seem to be hand-outs, not hand-ups. A successful program should be one in which the beneficiary gains some advantage. They should be able to increase revenue, provide more services and sustain themselves over the long term. Not be a profit center, but have a very controlled plan that doesn’t require constant hand-outs from their members or from the Town. The problem is that in this Town the money gets morphed from one project back into the Town general fund so they can increase their ridiculous staff and pay more and more benefits. This leads the voters to one logical conclusion, one that they practice time and time again. They vote no.
1. Performance Center
2. Swimming Pool
3. School Auditorium
4. Fire District
We’ll sure have our plate full if we have to tackle all of these important issues. Let’s look at them singly.
1. Performance Center –
The arts groups in Estes Park, in their various forms, have about 200 performances throughout the year, perhaps more. A few years ago they tried to create a public/private relationship between the Stanley Hotel, the Town and the Arts group. The beneficiary of this plan was the Stanley Hotel and the Town. The Stanley got a re-modeled building with a new heating system thanks to the Town, and the Town got $600,000, thanks to the Arts Community. Public private partnerships don’t work, unless you are Forever Resorts, then you get a free convention center and lots of guaranteed bookings. Should this project move forward? We should ask ourselves how we personally benefit. Would we enjoy performances there? Will new groups of performers be attracted to a tiny little theater? How much will each of us pay and who will pay long term.
2. Swimming Pool – This is a current venue that is used by students and seniors, an important year-round activity center for all of us. Those families that use the pool have raised considerable money that seems to disappear. Is that just more of the Towns shenanigans? Or is it Park & Rec? Why do we continually have budget crises in a Town this size with a budget of over $33,000,000?
3. School Auditorium- In a school system that is declining in student enrollment, is on the recovery from recent failures from a criminal superintendent and a crooked office worker (both convicted), and a huge turnover in staff year after year, does it really seem the most important thing is to have an auditorium?
4. Fire District – Ho Humm. No, No, No! Home Rule first, then maybe a fire district where we can bill they Y and everyone else that benefits. The first thing they would do is build a station near the Y, even though they don’t pay for anything. Ill advised, not the right political structure, NO, NO, NO!
In the second place, what is the deal with promotions for each of these handouts? There aren’t any. No one will support something they don’t know about. This Town is famous for creating failed programs and plans and the Estesparkian predicts that each of these plans will go down in flames.
Third, these are programs that seem to be hand-outs, not hand-ups. A successful program should be one in which the beneficiary gains some advantage. They should be able to increase revenue, provide more services and sustain themselves over the long term. Not be a profit center, but have a very controlled plan that doesn’t require constant hand-outs from their members or from the Town. The problem is that in this Town the money gets morphed from one project back into the Town general fund so they can increase their ridiculous staff and pay more and more benefits. This leads the voters to one logical conclusion, one that they practice time and time again. They vote no.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
TRENDZ IN THE PARK
The Estes Parkian is regularly bitten for being negative and a grenade lobber. Negative hooks we proudly do not deny, because we accurately lob our ripe eggs at town hall and thumb our noes in the face of all the righteous enablers. Knowing the negative as we so enthusiastically promote it, makes us something of an expert, wouldn’t you agree?
Holly get down dirty dirt dog - am I the only one in this town that read the town hall marketing departments lame attempt at a Denver Post news release?
The article the town’s lyricist Susan Blackhurst penned for the Denver Post concerning our new store - Trendz. Some one should teach that girl how to pen a proper positive and promotional piece for general consumption. Her stuff read like the local political fodder she composes for the Trail.
Sue, babe, the rest of the world doesn’t care about your town departments local political ambitions or your opinion concerning the direction of the business community, it was only the openning of one store for crying out loud - in a town where dozens come in and out every year. If the intent was to point out the positive direction of Trendz initial merchandizing effort it was totally lost when you went negative about the family businesses that went broke and the rubber tomahawk and tee shirt stores. Does anyone have quick figures of what percent of tee shirt and tomahawk sales pays Susie's salary and has done so for years?
We need professionals marketing for the business community, not the wife of a trustee and two old farts - gee cuzz - their locals with a historic perspective.
Tendz is a very well merchandized “gift shop” and beautiful new store front - how about a picture of Trendz?
Please do we always have to feature Peter Marsh’s Church Shops in every photo the town publishes, web cams and town news letters as well? If you do not know, Peter is the Towns advertising and propaganda guru, living on the public dole. King of branding, bs and chief of the historical perspective dooda. I would bet one of his primary duties has been to monitor this blog site, huh Peter? The Church Shopps are best know amongst the retail crowd as the home of the one season stores, opening a store in the Church Shopps is like pouring your hard earned dollars down a rat hole.
Trendz it isn’t.
Holly get down dirty dirt dog - am I the only one in this town that read the town hall marketing departments lame attempt at a Denver Post news release?
The article the town’s lyricist Susan Blackhurst penned for the Denver Post concerning our new store - Trendz. Some one should teach that girl how to pen a proper positive and promotional piece for general consumption. Her stuff read like the local political fodder she composes for the Trail.
Sue, babe, the rest of the world doesn’t care about your town departments local political ambitions or your opinion concerning the direction of the business community, it was only the openning of one store for crying out loud - in a town where dozens come in and out every year. If the intent was to point out the positive direction of Trendz initial merchandizing effort it was totally lost when you went negative about the family businesses that went broke and the rubber tomahawk and tee shirt stores. Does anyone have quick figures of what percent of tee shirt and tomahawk sales pays Susie's salary and has done so for years?
We need professionals marketing for the business community, not the wife of a trustee and two old farts - gee cuzz - their locals with a historic perspective.
Tendz is a very well merchandized “gift shop” and beautiful new store front - how about a picture of Trendz?
Please do we always have to feature Peter Marsh’s Church Shops in every photo the town publishes, web cams and town news letters as well? If you do not know, Peter is the Towns advertising and propaganda guru, living on the public dole. King of branding, bs and chief of the historical perspective dooda. I would bet one of his primary duties has been to monitor this blog site, huh Peter? The Church Shopps are best know amongst the retail crowd as the home of the one season stores, opening a store in the Church Shopps is like pouring your hard earned dollars down a rat hole.
Trendz it isn’t.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Open
This being the mid point of our only business season, time for business to sound off, we would like to hear from you.
How are things going:
New trends:
Making money:
Everything is going well:
Complaints or cudos:
Shopper shuttle:
Parking:
Etc.:
How are things going:
New trends:
Making money:
Everything is going well:
Complaints or cudos:
Shopper shuttle:
Parking:
Etc.:
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Missed Me - Missed Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me
This fall will be very interesting politically, everybody has projects, they need more money, don’t we all.
Checking my score card I see the town behind two initiatives in November, one for a fire district and the other for a performing arts complex.
Then there is the school district initiative they need money to up grade the schools.
I can’t believe we have heard the last from the parks and recreation district, the swimming hole needs more money to operate and if they do not get a hand out from town hall the pool will close.
Somebody out there please explain to me why it is the responsibility of the town trustees to bail out the Parks and Recreation District and the School District to keep the swimming pool open. This is a lot like the Convention Center; tens of thousands of dollars per month go to operating and maintaining this facility as well, nice deal for the Holiday Inn and Forever Resorts. How many other motel owners get this kind of on going public subsidy?
Why would the citizens of Estes Park want to raise their property taxes to build the Arts community their own private club house? They should do what other arts communities around the country have done, raise the money to build a substantial project privately, and then go to the public sector for assistance in acquiring a spot and brokering breaks on taxes or utilities. A cooperative arrangement with the school district on a multiple use facility seems like a more practical and logical approach. How about a Town – School District – Arts Council, cooperative project?
Here’s a brain storm, move town hall and library into the soon to be abandoned elementary school where local citizens could easily access the facility and then turn the current town hall and library into a mega arts complex?
Senate bill 169 expired during this last session (the bill intended to modify the urban renewal authorities “blight” powers) and Will Smith exalted that he has a future. Hold your horses Will, if you paid attention our State law makers politically focused on immigration laws to the exclusion of all else. The bill will most assuredly be reintroduced when our law makers reconvene, rocky road a head buddy. Keep your eyes focused on EPURA’s new and improved plans for the West corridor of The Downtown business district. A new plan is in the works (we do have an approved plan but this has been ignored for twenty years) if you are a business owner or property owner you would be well served to attend all meeting concerning this new scam. What is agreed on publicly never flies, town staff has their own agenda, probably something like the EPURA acquiring the Church Shops?
Checking my score card I see the town behind two initiatives in November, one for a fire district and the other for a performing arts complex.
Then there is the school district initiative they need money to up grade the schools.
I can’t believe we have heard the last from the parks and recreation district, the swimming hole needs more money to operate and if they do not get a hand out from town hall the pool will close.
Somebody out there please explain to me why it is the responsibility of the town trustees to bail out the Parks and Recreation District and the School District to keep the swimming pool open. This is a lot like the Convention Center; tens of thousands of dollars per month go to operating and maintaining this facility as well, nice deal for the Holiday Inn and Forever Resorts. How many other motel owners get this kind of on going public subsidy?
Why would the citizens of Estes Park want to raise their property taxes to build the Arts community their own private club house? They should do what other arts communities around the country have done, raise the money to build a substantial project privately, and then go to the public sector for assistance in acquiring a spot and brokering breaks on taxes or utilities. A cooperative arrangement with the school district on a multiple use facility seems like a more practical and logical approach. How about a Town – School District – Arts Council, cooperative project?
Here’s a brain storm, move town hall and library into the soon to be abandoned elementary school where local citizens could easily access the facility and then turn the current town hall and library into a mega arts complex?
Senate bill 169 expired during this last session (the bill intended to modify the urban renewal authorities “blight” powers) and Will Smith exalted that he has a future. Hold your horses Will, if you paid attention our State law makers politically focused on immigration laws to the exclusion of all else. The bill will most assuredly be reintroduced when our law makers reconvene, rocky road a head buddy. Keep your eyes focused on EPURA’s new and improved plans for the West corridor of The Downtown business district. A new plan is in the works (we do have an approved plan but this has been ignored for twenty years) if you are a business owner or property owner you would be well served to attend all meeting concerning this new scam. What is agreed on publicly never flies, town staff has their own agenda, probably something like the EPURA acquiring the Church Shops?
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Consider the Monkey
The tail of the trail, you can walk on them but you can’t ride your bike? You can rent a four wheeled human powered conveyance but you can’t ride your bike? A two wheeled battery powered Segway seems to be okay. The police have the new two wheeled marvels to zip around on but do not, for goodness sakes, ride your bike. There is no parking how are the local kids suppose to get to the library in the summer, rent a Segway?
Hummm, ride the bus, but do not ride your bike to town. We have an ugly parking, pollution and traffic problem and we ticket visitors for riding those dangerous deadly bikes on the trail system.
Hummm, traffic jammed back to Lyons but DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE OR YOU WILL GET A TICKET AND WE MEAN IT!
Did any of you out there see the Chinese fire drill at Elkhorn and Moraine when emergency vehicles, motor homes, pedestrians and shuttle bus all tried to occupy the intersection at the same time? It’s not funny someone is going to get killed and we as a community are responsible.
What idiot comes up with this goofy stuff? We remove the cross walks and create jaywalking tourists and then the former cross walk guards run around ticketing the jaywalkers. I’m not making this stuff up, honestly.
Consider the monkey, the higher they climb the tree the only thing visible is their rear end.
Hummm, ride the bus, but do not ride your bike to town. We have an ugly parking, pollution and traffic problem and we ticket visitors for riding those dangerous deadly bikes on the trail system.
Hummm, traffic jammed back to Lyons but DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE OR YOU WILL GET A TICKET AND WE MEAN IT!
Did any of you out there see the Chinese fire drill at Elkhorn and Moraine when emergency vehicles, motor homes, pedestrians and shuttle bus all tried to occupy the intersection at the same time? It’s not funny someone is going to get killed and we as a community are responsible.
What idiot comes up with this goofy stuff? We remove the cross walks and create jaywalking tourists and then the former cross walk guards run around ticketing the jaywalkers. I’m not making this stuff up, honestly.
Consider the monkey, the higher they climb the tree the only thing visible is their rear end.