John Baudeck is an elected official; he was entrusted with the oversight of the Estes Park Town Government, on my behalf as an Estes Parkian. This is our evaluation of his job performance:
We pull no punches concerning our dislike of John Baudeck’s management style. Once John’s stint as ruler of Estes Park is complete he needs to get on with his retirement; he should pick up some other hobby like, wood working or fishing. The community has had enough of his Gestapo tactics. Screwing with this community has been a retirement hobby for John - setting this community back twenty years. Stay away from the schools John. Politically you are a liability; a brief scrutiny of Hizzoner’s record is in order. These are specifics about John’s “leadership” qualities, weaknesses, etc., that indicate larger, endemic flaws.
During John’s spell as mayor, the town has been sued, rightly so, for breaking laws and lost more times than ENRON. For simple things like, the open records act - commonly known as the Sunshine Law, adopting bullet ordinances, simply ignoring the State Constitution, and adopting new town policy as administrative actions - verses legislative functions. Your mayor is the last community eyes on ordinances; policies, and town operations - he must be accountable for the proper and legal operation of our community. Endemic problems: Inability to prioritize, lack of knowledge of Town operations, lack of perspective, lack of accountability to the community, propensity to hide the truth and substitute a false and self serving version. Believes he serves the visitor and or town staff, not the Estes Park Citizen, avoids contact with the voting public.
The police department couldn’t keep John out of the private police files; and the town has private details of business cash flow on each individual Estes Park business, from the Colorado State Department of Revenue. First National Bank, through the town administrator, has direct access to that information - thanks to John and Randy. Endemic problems: Lack of basic ethics, lack of accountability to Estes Park Citizens, bully mentality, lack of basic leadership principles.
By employing dirty and questionable political tactics, the town government under John’s guidance, created deep conflicts within the Estes Valley Community that will take years to heal. Including, but not limited to, in town verses out of town citizens, in town verses out of town businesses, retail businesses verses accommodation businesses, town government verses the businesses community, non profit business verses retail business in the downtown business district, town government verses the school district, town government verses the Estes Park Chamber of Commerce. Endemic Problems: Total lack of understanding of the role of a community leader, total lack of knowledge of the role of a town mayor, the Gestapo tactics of a police bully from Illinois are inappropriate for a small Colorado mountain resort. A leader creates unity, cooperation, and an atmosphere of positive confidence, John created division as a protracted and calculated tactic.
The town received a grant from Home Land Security that was spent on exercise equipment, opening this community to national ridicule. The community came under additional national ridicule for its irresponsible stewardship; becoming an icon for how not to be a gateway community to environmentally sensitive national parks. The mayor and staff laughed it off, and maintained a business as usual coarse toward uncontrolled condo development. Endemic problem: Ties to developers influence fundamental decision making, lack of accountability to the citizens of the community, propensity to politically manipulate and lie (the mayor told the community, he personally called the editor of the magazine and said the editor apologized, that was a lie – the lie was verified), lack of leadership and community vision concurrent to the sensitive environmental location of the community.
After all the disclosure of financial mismanagement by Richard Kastendieck and First National Bank, the school district put its banking services out to bid. When First National Bank did not win the bid, Mayor John Baudeck, the mayor of Estes Park, protested to the school superintendent on behalf of First National Bank - in an attempt to overturn the competitive bid process utilized by the school district, as they attempted to protect the public’s money. The town never utilizes the competitive bid process; the state does not require statutory governing bodies to do so. Endemic problem: Lack of knowledge of the limits of the elected mayoral position, lack of financial responsible oversight of community funds, lack of credibility, lack of proper perspective of responsibilities, lack of understanding the role of a community leader.
John Baudeck declared himself to be the Chamber of Commerce, and systematically spent sales tax money to dismember the Chamber of Commerce - displacing the Chamber with a town funded department. Endemic problems: Lack of leadership (allowed Jeff Barker, David Habecker, and staff to lead him around by the nose), lack of basic knowledge of the functions of a town government, the propensity to lie to the citizens of Estes Park, the lack of integrity, disregard for the laws of the State of Colorado. Lack of knowledge of the function and rights of private business or the proper role of government, he attempted to institute government controlled business in Estes Park.
Recently, John Baudeck spearheaded an attempt to divert $500,000.00 of school district funds into the town coffers. Community infrastructure maintenance is clearly a town venue, and the school district bond, approved by the voters, had very specific intended applications - Town infrastructure maintenance wasn’t the intended purpose. The Town government, under the direction of John Baudeck, attempted to siphon off those bond monies to make improvements to town infrastructure, in the vicinity of the school campus. Deferring that large amount would have been a clear violation of the public trust. The $500,000.00 dollars needed to improve the roads and sidewalks around the school, if memory serves, is approximately the amount John spent on Hermit Park, miles outside town limits - that currently is closed to the public. Evidently it was more important to John to buy land for Larimer County, than it was to improve roads and sidewalks around our schools. Endemic problem: Lack of the ability to prioritize, lack of accountability, lack of community oversight, lack of basic knowledge and perspective of community government functions, lack of financial accountability.
John Baudeck has several law suits hanging over his head as mayor; that he has legally stalled, avoiding the inevitable until his term expires, leaving the next mayor with the bag of worms - a lot like what Scott Webermeier and Richard Kastendieck did to the school district. Endemic problem: Politically and ethically challenged, “Alls fair in politics” mentality - inappropriate for a small resort community in Colorado, lack of honesty, bully tactics, lack of accountability, exposed the community to enormous liability law suits.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy 1925-1968:
We pull no punches concerning our dislike of John Baudeck’s management style. Once John’s stint as ruler of Estes Park is complete he needs to get on with his retirement; he should pick up some other hobby like, wood working or fishing. The community has had enough of his Gestapo tactics. Screwing with this community has been a retirement hobby for John - setting this community back twenty years. Stay away from the schools John. Politically you are a liability; a brief scrutiny of Hizzoner’s record is in order. These are specifics about John’s “leadership” qualities, weaknesses, etc., that indicate larger, endemic flaws.
During John’s spell as mayor, the town has been sued, rightly so, for breaking laws and lost more times than ENRON. For simple things like, the open records act - commonly known as the Sunshine Law, adopting bullet ordinances, simply ignoring the State Constitution, and adopting new town policy as administrative actions - verses legislative functions. Your mayor is the last community eyes on ordinances; policies, and town operations - he must be accountable for the proper and legal operation of our community. Endemic problems: Inability to prioritize, lack of knowledge of Town operations, lack of perspective, lack of accountability to the community, propensity to hide the truth and substitute a false and self serving version. Believes he serves the visitor and or town staff, not the Estes Park Citizen, avoids contact with the voting public.
The police department couldn’t keep John out of the private police files; and the town has private details of business cash flow on each individual Estes Park business, from the Colorado State Department of Revenue. First National Bank, through the town administrator, has direct access to that information - thanks to John and Randy. Endemic problems: Lack of basic ethics, lack of accountability to Estes Park Citizens, bully mentality, lack of basic leadership principles.
By employing dirty and questionable political tactics, the town government under John’s guidance, created deep conflicts within the Estes Valley Community that will take years to heal. Including, but not limited to, in town verses out of town citizens, in town verses out of town businesses, retail businesses verses accommodation businesses, town government verses the businesses community, non profit business verses retail business in the downtown business district, town government verses the school district, town government verses the Estes Park Chamber of Commerce. Endemic Problems: Total lack of understanding of the role of a community leader, total lack of knowledge of the role of a town mayor, the Gestapo tactics of a police bully from Illinois are inappropriate for a small Colorado mountain resort. A leader creates unity, cooperation, and an atmosphere of positive confidence, John created division as a protracted and calculated tactic.
The town received a grant from Home Land Security that was spent on exercise equipment, opening this community to national ridicule. The community came under additional national ridicule for its irresponsible stewardship; becoming an icon for how not to be a gateway community to environmentally sensitive national parks. The mayor and staff laughed it off, and maintained a business as usual coarse toward uncontrolled condo development. Endemic problem: Ties to developers influence fundamental decision making, lack of accountability to the citizens of the community, propensity to politically manipulate and lie (the mayor told the community, he personally called the editor of the magazine and said the editor apologized, that was a lie – the lie was verified), lack of leadership and community vision concurrent to the sensitive environmental location of the community.
After all the disclosure of financial mismanagement by Richard Kastendieck and First National Bank, the school district put its banking services out to bid. When First National Bank did not win the bid, Mayor John Baudeck, the mayor of Estes Park, protested to the school superintendent on behalf of First National Bank - in an attempt to overturn the competitive bid process utilized by the school district, as they attempted to protect the public’s money. The town never utilizes the competitive bid process; the state does not require statutory governing bodies to do so. Endemic problem: Lack of knowledge of the limits of the elected mayoral position, lack of financial responsible oversight of community funds, lack of credibility, lack of proper perspective of responsibilities, lack of understanding the role of a community leader.
John Baudeck declared himself to be the Chamber of Commerce, and systematically spent sales tax money to dismember the Chamber of Commerce - displacing the Chamber with a town funded department. Endemic problems: Lack of leadership (allowed Jeff Barker, David Habecker, and staff to lead him around by the nose), lack of basic knowledge of the functions of a town government, the propensity to lie to the citizens of Estes Park, the lack of integrity, disregard for the laws of the State of Colorado. Lack of knowledge of the function and rights of private business or the proper role of government, he attempted to institute government controlled business in Estes Park.
Recently, John Baudeck spearheaded an attempt to divert $500,000.00 of school district funds into the town coffers. Community infrastructure maintenance is clearly a town venue, and the school district bond, approved by the voters, had very specific intended applications - Town infrastructure maintenance wasn’t the intended purpose. The Town government, under the direction of John Baudeck, attempted to siphon off those bond monies to make improvements to town infrastructure, in the vicinity of the school campus. Deferring that large amount would have been a clear violation of the public trust. The $500,000.00 dollars needed to improve the roads and sidewalks around the school, if memory serves, is approximately the amount John spent on Hermit Park, miles outside town limits - that currently is closed to the public. Evidently it was more important to John to buy land for Larimer County, than it was to improve roads and sidewalks around our schools. Endemic problem: Lack of the ability to prioritize, lack of accountability, lack of community oversight, lack of basic knowledge and perspective of community government functions, lack of financial accountability.
John Baudeck has several law suits hanging over his head as mayor; that he has legally stalled, avoiding the inevitable until his term expires, leaving the next mayor with the bag of worms - a lot like what Scott Webermeier and Richard Kastendieck did to the school district. Endemic problem: Politically and ethically challenged, “Alls fair in politics” mentality - inappropriate for a small resort community in Colorado, lack of honesty, bully tactics, lack of accountability, exposed the community to enormous liability law suits.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy 1925-1968:
