Erie Mayor Reveals Lowe's is Interested

Imagine: Erie revealed that Lowe's is looking at them as well. Plus, the economic cannibalism concern re: Lafayette's ACE Hardware is a valid concern too. Erie's news outweighs ACE concerns; vote Yes on A!

Superior Town Manager Announcement Looming

The Superior Board of Trustees interviewed the candidates for Town Manager over the weekend and a new top dog will soon be named in East County. The finalists' backgrounds were briefly outlined in a Daily Camera article. Prediction: Abelson - local cred and proven collaboration skills; a great combo for Superior/Louisville issues.

Annexation Misinformation and Some New Topics

Okay, I know the annexation issue is getting old, but I have to bring up a concern that others have told me is no longer a real issue: the misrepresentation of the environmental qualities of the parcel in question. Specifically, its description as a wetlands, which is false. In a letters to the editor in the Daily Camera on Monday, Dani Meyers says "perhaps since a wetlands will be paved over" while advocating for a "No" vote.

The impacts of the proposed development based on proximity to wetlands is worth debating. However the continuous reference to the annexation leading to direct destruction of wetlands is not limited to Ms. Meyers and I want to use this forum to spread the word about this incorrect assertion.

To Dreamer's request, here's a snapshot of issues in Lafayette to start new debates: the Visitability discussion to require residential construction convenient for elderly and disabled potential occupants (never mind current market demand - this is a touchy issue in a PC way); how the Youth Advisory Committee will move forward; how the city's community (affordable housing) program is serving Lafayette residents; the approx 300 residential units that will be going into 95th and Baseline; the single-hauler trash contract; whether something will ever happen in the Lafayette Tech Center (or with Cheese Importers); how the $1 million grant to the fire dept is spent (how will ambulance service be paid post-grant?) and just what will replace the McDonald's on South Boulder Rd? And plenty more... tell me your favorite!

Erie Mayor Wants To Know What You're Thinking

The following is from Erie Mayor Andrew Moore. Last week he sent out this survey to those on his email distribution list. I want to provide an additonal forum for Erie residents to learn about his survey. Residents of other towns may find the questions intriguing as well, and wonder when their Mayor will ask such questions.

Hi All,
Over the last three years I've sent many updates via "MooreInfo" doing my
best to provide proactive transparent information to you about Erie. This mechanism has provided for a good conduit of two-way communication as many of you replied and given views, opinions, clarifications and suggestions on future topics. The input has been invaluable as it helped ensure the Board of Trustees has had a good sense of the overall community feelings. With many of the big challenges in Erie planned, funded, and in some cases completed (Rec/Sr Center, Library, Trail System, Establishing our Borders, Long Term Commercial Revenue Plan, Traffic Safety) it is time to look forward to the next focus areas.

The Board and Planning Commission will be jointly meeting for an all day retreat in early Feb to do just that.I would like to take your views into that meeting. To do that I'm asking for 5 minutes of your valuable time to complete the survey at the link below. The information will be used to understand what you believe is most important for your local elected officials to understand as we move forward in 2007. I want to thank you in advance for your input and thoughts on Erie.The survey can be found here: http://www.mooreinfo.us/SurveyJanuary2007.html

Best Regards,
Andrew
303.482.3037

Comment Free For All Now Available!

Hello Readers - I have received many comments behind the scenes re: the comment moderation time delays. I agree that this keeps the conversation flow somewhat stilted, so I have removed the moderation requirement. This means your comments should appear almost immediately after you submit.

My concerns have been twofold - one, it is likely spam emails that have nothing to do with this site's content and advertise the usual Viagra, African lottery, etc. garbage can just appear. I'll work to keep that stuff off the page. More importantly, I'm concerned with vulgarity or false attribution of comments. So, if you're a regular reader/commenter, please keep an eye out for anything with your name attached an let me know immediately if your name has been used inappropriately.

That's it, have at it!

Update: This immediate posting feature means I need to re-code the Recent Comments function, so they're not listing as they were before. Be sure to scroll down and check the comments under topics of interest, such as the note from Erie Mayor Andrew Moore re: the Erie Review's editorial.

Lowe's in the Mail

My support for the annexation is well known, however I must comment on the nice card I received in the mail from Lowe's. To Kerry Bensman's point, how do we know much tax revenue they will produce? Even as a supporter, Lowe's blanket assertion of $1 million sounds fantastic and baseless at the same time. I'm willing to believe their contribution will be closer to that than not, however I'm going on gut feelings. Plus, a sales-tax generator is better for the city in the long run as opposed to a development weighted more towards residential units. So the amount isn't what I'm focused on.

Note: The most recent three comments on the annexation post below were all released by me at the same time; Kerry's comments to Alex do not take into account Alex's comments from this morning. (To avoid the delayed approval, don't forget direct access is avalable - email me!)

Read more about the annexation in the Lafayette News.

Erie Review Gets All Over Mayor Moore

Read the house editorial in the Erie Review about Mayor Andrew Moore's email newsletter regarding the town's reaction to the snowstorms. They really take him to task for minimizing, deferring and propagandizing the events to avoid pointing out how badly the town handled the weather.

Seems like a ton of vitriol for a snowstorm response. Especially when you read an editorial two weeks earlier thanking the various people in east county in general for doing a great job during the storm. Is there anyone still fuming about snow removal efforts? Is this what people prioritize for judgement of elected officials' competence? Seems like a good way to be disappointed.

Vote Yes For Lafayete.com

The Lafayette annexation supporters have a website with information I recommend you check out www.voteyesforlafayette.com. This should provide more fodder for discussion. Be sure to check below, as more comments continue to come in on that topic. And just to be sure everyone is aware of some of the other concerns raised by opponents, read last week's Lafayette News re: the posting of open space info on the Lafayette city's website.

To keep it close to the top of the blog, here is the latest comment Lafayette Councilor Kerry Bensman added which has attracted some debate:

KERRY BENSMAN said...
I was ill in bed the night of the annexation
public hearings and just recently reviewed the video tape of the proceedings.So
here are some questions readers may like to weigh in on:

1. What is the economic benefit of a Lowe's store here in Lafayette and
when will that occur?(This is a trick question by the way.)

2. What is the difference between what is now called the Thomas Open Space
(once the planned site of 110 single family homes) and the Waneka site?

3. What is the impact on E. Baseline Road of both the new Wal-Mart and a
Lowe's tore? (Once again a trick question since Wal-mart's traffic study didn't
include it and won't open until August and there is yet to be a development plan
from Lowe's)

4. As Councilor Cameron proposed during the public hearing, how could sales
tax revenue from Lowe's mitigate traffic on E. Baseline? (Once again an
interesting question given No. 1 above.)

5. Why would the Town of Erie work with Lafayette on the Highway 7 by-pass
if it perceives Lafayette as adding more traffic to Hwy 7 east of 287?

Dan may want to post this as a separate discussion. After folks weigh in,
I'll give you my opinion just for your information.

Bravo Superior!

The Superior Board of Trustees voted last night to pay $75,000 a year for two years towards the Louisville library and create a task force to consider joint recreational services in the future.

I'd been taken to task by a few Superior residents for my chiding in the Yellow Scene and on this blog. I applaud the Trustees for making this neighborly decision. It's still short what Louisville said the true expense is, but it's something. Hopefully the decision will be regarded favorably and not as a grudging donation. It's up to Superior to continue to proactively nurture this issue.

Questions on the Lafayette Annexation

Be sure to scroll down and look at the latest comment posted by Lafayette City Councilor Kerry Bensman re: the annexation. (Here's the link to that post in another window.)

Lafayette News Link re: Annexation

Here's a link to the article in the Lafayette News Alex refers to below in the comments re: Lafayette Annexation Issue Accusations.

Superior May Fund Library Use Tonight

The Superior Board of Trustees will revisit their snub of Louisville tonight at their regular meeting. When the Board flat-out rejected any funding plan in December, Louisville's City Council asked for them to come up with something by this past week or Louisville would look to charge Superior residents for their use of Louisville's library.

What do you think? Will Superior edit their budget to chip in towards Louisville's library? I guess they will not. Besides, it may actually be more fair for individual Superior residents to pay for their use than the whole town paying for it. This is what the Superior Board seems to have heard from their constituents.

Some background in the Louisville Times.

Lafayette Annexation Issue Accusations

Today's Daily Camera has an article regarding information on the city's website that appears to be de facto pro-annexation propaganda - an assertion made by anti-annexation members of Preserve Lafayette's Eastern Edge (PLEE).

News stories put out by the city staff highlighting the amount of open space already owned by Lafayette have made PLEE wonder what gives. The info wasn't posted by the Parks, Open Space and Golf staff, but by city administrators. The implication is that connections between the city's economic development arm and the nebulous forces of development are conspiring to influence the election. Check some of the quotes in the article.

I don't know how info is chosen for the city's website, however the bottom line is that the info is correct, and anti-annexation forces should righteously rebut with their own solid rationale as to why that information doesn't matter, if that is their assertion.

Louisville's Identity Questioned

At an roundtable discussion Thursday re: Louisville's retail economy, one of the panelists, Scott Crosbie of Crosbie Real Estate Group in Denver, was quoted as saying "When I think of Louisville, there's no identity. I think of a nice place to live on the border of Boulder, and maybe that's where you guys can step it up and market the city." Read more.

Well, that's a slap at Money Magazine's 2005 #5 Best Place to Live In America.

In today's' Daily Camera, Louisville resident Ty Gee has a letter to the editor concerned with the potential loss of identity to old town with the recently approved Revitalization Plan.

Louisville's City Council (link to official language) also approved an economic incentive program (article) Tuesday evening to address flagging commercial development and retention.

Lafayette's self-perception is being debated because of the annexation issue, and Louisville is facing their own debate over who they are. Longmont finished a community-wide visioning process early last year.

So much introspection going on in East County! Hopefully this will mean more people volunteer for Boards and Commissions because they feel strongly about the direction their towns are taking.

Boulder County Considers Granting Itself Indefinite Building Moratoriums

I hope that title grabbed your attention. The County Planning Commissioners voted unanimously this week to recommend the County Commissioners give themselves the power to halt any development that, although allowed under the rules as they are currently on the books, the Commissioners may choose to change in the future.

By "maintaining land use status quo" the Commissioners could then deny any new construction after it is presented even though it fits the current regulations. They can essentially cherry pick any development that comes along and say, "uh, that doesn't look quite right to us. How about you do nothing until we change the rules to outlaw your suggestion". It's outrageous that the Planning Commission would be that arrogant. And anyway, the Commissioners can already do this sort of put-you-off-while-they-think-about-it for six months under the current code. At least that has a decision timeline built in. This new idea would make moratoriums indefinite.

This is on top of the other de facto outlawing of certain size homes they're considering. Read my thoughts and others' comments on that under The Commissioners' Rationale. The self-granting of such sweeping authority ticks me off on principle.

Read more in the Longmont Times-Call.

Longmont Loses Two Economic Leaders

Within the past couple weeks, the heads of the Longmont Area Visitors Association and the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce have left. LAVA Director Beth Witzak was tossed by that organization's advisory Board and Kathy Millisor, president and CEO of the Chamber resigned on Tuesday. Read more in the Times-Call here and here.

Millisor had been encouraged by Witzak to pursue the Chamber job back in 2005. The timing of Millisor's resignation, abrupt and without detail, makes me wonder if she perceived Witzak's firing as too unjust to ignore. And while the Chamber deals with that unexpected leadership change, the Times-Call notes today that the upstart, 2-yr-old Longmont Small Business Association expects its annual Summit to have "dramatically higher participation" than last year as that organization grows. Their summit is Saturday, 9:00 - 2:00 at the Radisson and features a keynote from Michael Shuman, an author of the anti-big-box book "The Small-Mart Revolution".

It's a good sign in general when the economic organizations in a town show the raw impacts of competition and market forces. They'll all be stronger for it.

Lafayette Annexation Support

My upcoming Yellow Scene article will be a pro-annexation piece re: the upcoming special election in Lafayette. In a first regarding my articles, a heads up was given to the opposition, who asked for equal space. I don't know exactly what was written or by whom, however the February issue will have both sides. Read the ballot language here.

Thank you to those who disagree with me (you know who you are) who spoke to me about their concerns. I mentioned some of these points in the article and my take on them.

Bottom line: in my opinion the parcel in question is not environmentally superior to others already identified in/around Lafayette for preservation/acquisition and the opportunity cost of denial is too high. Without specific economic impacts articulated I still see the proposed development as better than other proposals likely to come in its place later on. Speculation? Sure. However, I'll take the chance the revenue from a Lowe's will be useful to the city (read: open space funding) over watching the revenue go to a neighbor. Regional growth impacts will affect Lafayette either way.

For more details, look for the article in a couple weeks. In the meantime, here's an excerpt:

This basic question brings to bear the uncomfortable reality of dependence Colorado’s communities have on sales- and use-tax revenues. The short answer: yes, Lowe’s is “needed”. It is needed in the Machiavellian sense that Lafayette has the power to accept an offer to build a revenue generator that could otherwise locate just outside its borders in Erie or Broomfield. This annexation is an economic opportunity in the harsh competitive reality Colorado communities must face.

Interested in Posting?

While I've had several behind-the-scenes email conversations from these posts, I really appreciate the comments posted by the readers. There have been a few issues that created some good debate. On that note, I want to invite you to post to the blog directly. In this way, I wouldn't have to approve of your posting. Plus, your post would be a headline like this one, not simply listed in the comments section.

Here's how that would work: contact me at budanddakota@yahoo.com. If you're willing to let me know who you are (although I don't care if you uses an online identity) and give me your email address, I can send an invite link to you. After you create a Blogger name and password (that's all it takes) you will have access to create a post when you want.

This whole plan works on the honor system; let me know if you're interested.

Lafayette Needs More Than Cheese Support

If Cheese Importers really does come to Lafayette, there's a hope that the city's $2 million+ investment in the plan will finally be repaid. Read the enthusiastic hopes from surrounding businesses from the Daily Camera. Here's what's lesser know, and why everyone in Lafayette should be cheering for (and shopping at) those neighboring businesses as much as at Cheese Importers: the city's investment will be paid from sales tax revenues in the business district that exceed a baseline created back with the original Cheese Importers deal. (See remarks about the updated deal here.) The rosy projections and plans from a few years ago have not panned out just yet.

Blogger Issues

This morning the "Recent Comments" function just disappeared; I'm investigating. In the meantime, please scroll to the recent topics and look at the comments for some interesting new additions from readers.

Erie Tackles the Snow Publicly

The Erie Board of Trustees took the heat from citizens Tuesday night regarding snow removal. As Mayor Andrew Moore described last week, staff had to answer a lot of questions about their response to the storms. Residents of course came out with their over the top disgust and condemnation of the town's ability - or lack thereof - to prioritize the 25 feet of road at the end of their particular driveway.

Trustee Tom Van Lone said staff "faced a no-win situation given the frequency and ferocity of the storms." Read more in the Daily Camera. He offered to head a committee to explore ways to improve the town's response to massive snowstorms.

There were front-loaders scraping my back street cul-de-sac in Lafayette last night at 8:30 PM. The 10-ft pile of snow and foot-deep potholes in the snow are just a reminder we live in COlorado. Life goes on, people...

Lafayette Police Remove Names of the Accused

The Daily Camera reports today about the Lafayette Police Department's decision to remove people's names from an online Police Blotter, as at least one person charged - but not convicted - complained about the practice.

As a writer I'm grateful for the amount of info I can find online with some concentrated search techniques. However, this decision to remove names is the right thing to do. On those TV shows with people being arrested, the reason some of their faces are fuzzed out is because they end up not being convicted, so you can't show their face. Online information should be the same way.

Lafayette police Cmdr. Rick Bashor is quoted: "We try to work with the press to try to get information to the community. ... But we kind of overlooked one small portion, and that's the ripple effect of that information being on the Web and some of it never seems to go away."

Save the online spotlight for the convicts, not the accused.

Martin Luther King Jr March in Lafayette

The city of Lafayette and Project YES invite the community to a peace march and rally in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday. The second annual event will start at City Hall. Participants will then march north down South Public Road to Pioneer Elementary School, where there will be reenactments of some of King's most famous speeches by Norma Johnson; a youth "speak out" and musical entertainment.

I've always liked this quote of Dr. King's:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"What matters" is often different for each of us, however if it really matters deeply to me, I want to persuade others to understand the matter as I do, and learn why they may see the matter differently.

Know Any Great Teenagers?

The Boulder County Commissioners are seeking nominations for the 2007 Metropolitan Mayors' and Commissioners' Youth Awards, which recognizes those between the ages of 13 and 19 who have met and overcome personal challenges and created positive change in a difficult environment.

Nominations are due Friday and applications can be obtained online or call 303-441-1618 or email bmartig@co.boulder.co.us.

Boulder County joins eight other Denver metropolitan area counties in seeking nominations for this tribute to outstanding youth, now in its 20th year. The Commissioners will honor all local nominees at a reception in early March. Four winners from Boulder County will be selected and recognized with the other metro honorees at a banquet on May 13 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Chat with Louisville Mayor Chuck Jan 17

Chat with the Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk has another open forum coming up - his next "Chat with Chuck" session is Wednesday, January 17 at the new Louisville Library, 2nd Floor Meeting Room at 951 Spruce Street, 4:00 - 5:30 PM.

The city advertises this as a way for citizens to ask him questions about any City program or project. This informal conversational setting is a great service offered by the Mayor.

Erie Continues to Get Drilled

Erie's oil wells are likely to multiply in 2007, and the residents there will probably not be able able to do anything about it. The oil drilling I commented about back before Thanksgiving continues, with more on the way. The Town's attorney will update the Board of Trustees tomorrow night on the town's legal capabilities to control the drilling, which amounts to almost nothing.

State laws control the aspects of drilling, and EnCana (the oil company - click on "Jonah" to see local land they own) owns the mineral rights. They are simply allowed in, with noise and access issues only minimally regulated. Read about it more in the Daily Camera.

Louisville on the Snow Info Rebound

Top of the page in RED on Louisville's website lists contact numbers for snow removal questions. Erie's Mayoral snow response still tops them all (see below).

A Victory For "Small Town" Lafayette

Two days ago on my way to a Lafayette Open Space Advisory Committee meeting (I'm a member) I noticed the McDonald's was all dark. Curious follower of businesses that I am, I turned in for a look. Driving by, it was obvious it was closed down. Today in the Daily Camera McDonalds spokesman Carolyn Gust describes the store as not "fitting in", according to the company's strategic plan. It will not be re-opening.

If closing an iconic and ubiquitous business in Lafayette fits McDonald's vision, "small town" advocates in Lafayette must be jumping for joy. One less corporate interloper sucking away customers from the locally-owned dining establishments.

I hadn't been in that McDonald's for months (not a big fast food eater anymore) and don't feel its closing is any huge loss. Gust says the area is already served by other McDonald's. The owners of the Baseline/Hwy 287 McDonalds must be psyched to be the only game in town for Big Mac fans.

Longmont on the Ball; Louisville Buried by Comparison

It's interesting to see which communities have considered the snowstorms an issue and to what level. Besides Erie and Lafayette (see below), here's Longmont's website info. All three have links to the info on their website's homepage. Great use of what a homepage is for - the most likely pertinent info for residents. It shows a philosophy of accountability and service, I think.

Superior's take on the storm on their website's homepage is to remind people of the ordinance requiring them to shovel their sidewalks, plus a notice on how to report potholes. I dug through Louisville's site to find their snow removal information, deep in the Public Works section.

And Erie is the only community to have the Mayor make a personal announcement about what's being done and asking for staff to answer questions about it too.

More Snow Info - Lafayette

Thank you to Lafayette Councilor Chris Cameron for a heads up to the info re: Lafayette's snow removal. Find out the city's efforts on the Lafayette City website. Thank you Councilor!

Message From Erie Mayor Re: Snow Removal

Below is a memo from Erie Mayor Andrew Moore regarding his concern over snowplowing efforts by his town staff. Having driven the rutted and packed neighborhood roads this past week in Erie, he is to be commended for calling for a public accounting of capabilities. As far as I can tell he's the only East BoCo official to do so. Kudos to him!

FROM ERIE MAYOR ANDREW MOORE:
(Friday, January 5, 2007, 6:00 AM, I added the bolding)

Our residential streets have started the melt off causing deeper ruts and a more challenging situation. Our plows were out today testing the efficiency of plowing the slush that has formed above the ice. The plows were not very effective as the blades would catch the ice below the slush and bend under. Our crews are out working where they can and are placing sand on primary and secondary streets with focus being on school bus stops, intersections, hills, and curves. The crews will continue to deal with the ice and snow tomorrow and over the weekend if necessary. Similar situations are occurring all over the front range in residential areas. As an example I saw a UPS truck in Boulder using chains.

Although the weather event was exceptional I am not satisfied with the overall capability of our response. At the our Board of Trustee meeting next Tuesday (1/9) at 7:00 pm at Town Hall (645 Holbrook), I've asked for an assessment of the snow removal situation from our Town Manager and Director of Public Works. We will be transparent on what happened, what our capabilities are, and what our options/costs are to expand snow removal capacity in the future.Most appear to realize the that we received more snow in December than we have in a century, truly causing a unique situation. Maybe there is not much more that can be done without significant taxpayer cost.

Then again, I'm a believer most processes can be continually improved. If you would like to listen in on this discussion, please attend our Board meeting next Tuesday. In the meantime here is pertinent contact information:- Road Safety Issues: Public Works - 303-926-2880- Erie Police: 303.926.2800 (911 for emergencies)- Click Here For Snow Removal Maps and Policy. Please be safe, and courteous to others, as we work through this together.

Best Regards,
Andrew
303.482.3037

Labor of Love in Lafayette

Lafayette City Administrator Gary Klaphake calls the recent Cheese Importers deal requiring that company to open a store in the Coal Creek Shopping Center by September 1 part of a "labor of love" (Read more in the Daily Camera.) The Cheese Importers originally were supposed to open a shop in 2005 in the center on the south side of South Boulder Road where the Flatirons Church now stands. Where's the Cheese been?

This new deal deserves some interest as part of the original purchase agreement was designed to repay the city with sales tax revenues from the store, which never opened. The recent deal is meant to "force their hand" as Klaphake says.

Louisville Deflects Accountability

The majority of Louisville's City Council rejected their fellow Councilor Bob Muckle's Resolution on Tuesday night meant to add some more clarity to the way in which a huge Urban Renewal District would be managed. (My earlier posts and your comments are here.) Resolution 59 would have changed the oversight of the District to the City Council pending a citizen vote, and would have required more detailed financial analysis and projections than the majority of the Council found necessary.

On a lighter but citizen-friendly note, the Resolution would require the District's meeting to be held in the evening so more people could attend. Read more in the Daily Camera article.

Perhaps the Resolution's eight requirements suffered from and "all or nothing" mandate. But the gist of the Resolution would have added more accountability to the District.

Read the Resolution's language here.

Boulder County Open House on Green Building Requirements

Next Tuesday, January 9, from 5:00 - 7:30 PM, Boulder County Planning staff will host an open house to hear the public's thoughts re: potential changes to the Comprehensive Plan. These changes would restrict the size of homes and/or require certain building materials for homes built in unincorporated Boulder County.

I've made my opinion known on this issue, and here is what even the County staff lists as a "con" to the proposals:

"Adopting such a program will not make any difference in resource use unless land use policies are changed to allow for mixed use and cluster development".

It is unlikely the Commissioners are going to change growth controls to allow for such multi-unit dwellings. So the mandate of certain building materials is raw heavy-handed government regulation. If the Commissioners make the green building mandatory without the attendant density changes that make such a program truly impactful, it will be a hollow feel-good victory for their environmentalist supporters. Go to this meeting to press them for more pragmatic regulation.

The meeting will be at the Boulder County Parks and Open Space offices at 5201 St. Vrain Rd in Longmont. For more info, call Michelle Kresek 720-564-2623 or check online. Check the Staff recommendations for change here.

More WiFi Info

A bit more info on the regional WiFi project being pursued in the Boulder County Business Report.