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.
