VCR supporters manipulating local spending estimates

Unfortunately, my critic Don Van Devander misconstrued several points in his Jan. 23 letter to the editor that now need clarification.

Mr. Van Devander asserts that 74 cents of every dollar spent by people living in Carbondale is spent out of town. That is patently incorrect. The spending study that Van Devander cites looked at spending throughout the entire 81623 ZIP code, including that of thousands of people in developments around El Jebel and Missouri Heights. It is not realistic to expect folks who live closer to Basalt than Carbondale to drive here to do their shopping.

Rich Schierburg, the Denver-area developer of the Village at Crystal River, and some of his supporters have been quite manipulative with this spending figure. As a resident of Carbondale who must live with this development if it gets built, I expect a more honest accounting of sales figures from the Say Yes side.

Second, Mr. Van Devander suggests Locals for Smarter Growth are philosophically against free trade and competition. If the developer was actually operating on free market principals, VCR might not be facing such broad opposition.

But Mr. Schierburg is not looking to compete in a free market. Rather, he requires a subsidy from all of us who buy groceries in town in order to build his project. This is unfair to the other property developers who have built here without such support, as well as to the hard-working families that will have to subsidize this developer hundreds of dollars each year out of their food budgets.

And finally, his comparison of the Bonfire and Village Smithy with the drive-thru/fast-food restaurant envisioned at the VCR is way off base. McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell or whatever multinational corporation moves in will be able to use its pricing power and marketing to soak up local spending, to the detriment of many local restaurants that provide affordable and healthier alternatives.

There are many reasons to vote no on VCR. Please find the one that works for you and mark “no” on your ballot.

Allyn Harvey

Carbondale

Get info on VCR straight from the developer

Jim Calaway and Rich Schierburg will discuss the proposed Village at Crystal River at The Orchard (Church of Carbondale) coffee lounge center at 6 p.m. tonight.

If you would like to hear why Mr. Calaway has committed his support and learn the facts about what Mr. Schierburg envisions for the center, please come. You will be able to hear responses to your questions about the project.

Both of these gentlemen are known for their integrity. Jim and Connie Calaway have contributed so much to our valley and our community and need no introduction. Mr. Schierburg has not become the president of the National Jewish Hospital Foundation and the chairperson of the Catholic Charities Affordable Housing program in Colorado by “robbing widows and orphans,” as some have portrayed him.

Come and share your questions and better understand why they believe this project is an important beginning for vastly improving our entry on Highway 133 and providing services to our community.

Bill Lamont

Carbondale

PIF means paying for the privilege of shopping

I live on Missouri Heights. I have a choice about where I shop for groceries. I am almost equidistant from El Jebel with its super-sized City Market and Carbondale with its smaller store.

Most days, I turn towards Carbondale. Why?

First, I choose to spend my money in Carbondale to support the town and the great reasons for living here.

Second, the El Jebel City Market is impersonal, has hideous parking, and is often so crowded that whatever benefits I might get from having an excess of shopping choices is nullified.

Third, both grocery stores are owned by Kroger. The prices are the same, the primary groceries are the same, and I don't think Kroger really cares which one I support as long as I shop.

Why should Carbondale pin its future hopes and dreams on up-sizing our grocery store while adding 1 percent to every purchase?

When I drive into Carbondale from Highway 82, I don't see a town that is “closed for business.” Instead, I see a diverse collection of businesses overshadowed by the beauty of Mount Sopris. I see a place that is unique.

El Jebel and Glenwood Springs are both graced by malls at their entrances. Carbondale is uniquely mall-free. That says a lot about our community and is one of the reasons I live here.

My primary reason for urging a “no” vote on the Village at Crystal River is, however, the PIF. The PIF would, essentially, make me pay for the privilege of shopping in the community that I call home.

Development should pay its own way. If anything has the potential for driving sales tax dollars out of town, this would do it.

With many apologies to Joyce Kilmer:

I think that I shall never see

A roundabout that is lovely.

A mall whose entrance mouth is prest

Against a roundabout's sweet breast.

A fast food joint and so much more

Let's not support those chain-owned stores;

A tax that costs us all our days,

To fill our carts with groceries;

Poems are made by fools like me,

But please vote no and shop PIF-free.

Susy Ellison

Carbondale

VCR opponents are not anti-growth

It has been suggested that members of Locals for Smarter Growth, the community group opposed to the Village at Crystal River development in Carbondale, are just nay-sayers, people who will oppose any development, any growth of any kind, any idea, just to say no and cause problems.

As a member of the Locals, I'd like people to know that we are actually the opposite of this mistaken conclusion.

In this particular election we are voting “no,” but overall we are a group of people who come from a very growth-positive perspective, as long as that growth is smart (just like our name says).

Each person within the Locals probably has her or his own idea on what that land would best be used for. But this election is about the proposed development, so that is what we have been focusing on.

If you are having a hard time envisioning alternatives to the VCR, please seek out members of the Locals and ask, what is your vision?

The vision I am most excited about is a mixed-use development, including food production (the more food we grow in the valley, the more affordable local and organic becomes), a naturally built hotel and conference center, highlighting sustainable building practices (we have several internationally known natural builders living right here in town), and open space (yes, there is value in not building anything).

I believe that by building state-of-the-art facilities that will actually create new jobs and draw people into Carbondale, while showcasing local talent and a commitment to smart growth, Carbondale will be recognized as a town that values community, environmental stewardship and innovation — the American Dream, as I see it.

Developments like the VCR are part of a dying paradigm, which needs to be put out of its misery. It's time for it to die and let new, smart, conscientious growth take over. Please vote “no” on the VCR.

Zuleika Pevec

Carbondale

VCR: Say no to the culture of fear

Whenever there's an election, no matter for what, I notice supporters of issues tend to rely on what I now call the “culture of fear.”

I saw that during the campaigns supporting Question 3E, Re-1's bid for a mill levy. The bottom line of supporters was basically, “If we don't put more money in our schools, our kids will fail,” etc.

But with less money you're forced to make smarter decisions.

When I listen to those espousing the virtues of the VCR project, I believe we could fall again into the “fear” trap.

I agree with the idea of keeping the town as rural as possible and, when we currently have so many residential and commercial properties for sale and rent, not bringing unnecessary development. That might only lead to blight, which we'd later have to deal with.

Another economic reality no one seems to mention is that more development also brings a larger burden on the town, which will have to provide more services, so the revenue from the VCR might end up being a wash.

I agree Carbondale needs some improvements on the Highway 133 corridor, but those could come with the town improvements tax we extended in the 2010 election. If we need a roundabout, it should be at Main and 133. If public money will pay for a road improvement, it should be done where the town needs it, not where the developer does.

The worst eyesore coming in into Carbondale is the electrical substation, and that will not be enhanced by this project.

If the VCR doesn't get built, we'll be OK. I believe we are all capable of being creative with what we have and, instead of looking at growth the same way most cities and towns in the U.S. do, we can choose other ways to create what we need without compromising the core values that make Carbondale a very special place.

Maybe City Market will renovate its store anyway. Let them do it like they did in Aspen.

Don't let fear guide your vote.

Veronica Whitney

Carbondale

A free America can resist tyranny

Buoyed by Melanie Sturm's Jan. 19 column in The Aspen Times, “Free-enterprise critics are intellectually challenged,” this local tea party organizer decided to join in her courageous charge by challenging the left's frenzied, irrational focus on the ills of America's free market system.

What about ills to the free-market? History's display of the mad rush to eliminate freedom in any form, replacing it with its own default-to-tyranny, is an ever-present threat to all mankind.

Kim Jung Il, for instance, has gone to the grave with others like him in the “Who's Who of Tyrants” registry. Each has preferred any “ism” other than capitalism, which alone stands for freedom. A reasonable historical perspective should provide any observer ample evidence of the unalienable probability of loss of life, liberty and hope of the pursuit of happiness under any of the conjoined isms's notorious and destructive sweep through history.

A basic understanding of our free market system, championed and supported by a miraculously conceived Constitution, tells us that tyranny suffers for lack of power here in America — at least thus far. With only 5 percent of the world's population ever having enjoyed freedoms that we Americans cherish, how could any rational person resist its promise?

That's why your local, state and national tea party is going strong, even with incessant, unwarranted criticism toward our group, the free-market system and our Constitution. (We're in good company, however). Our path is sure, as we know the game of despots such as Stalin, whose ultimate disdain for Russia's revolutionaries resulted in his eliminating them for their efforts, then calling them “useful idiots.”

I, along with Ms. Sturm, simply ask Americans to think again while we're still free to do so.

Betty Scranton

Glenwood Springs

Marble Charter gets a second chance to crow

Sound the alarms, hoist the flag, and yell it from the mountaintop: excellence in education is thriving at the Marble Charter School.

The why and how are not as apparent as who and where at this two-time winner of the John Irwin Schools of Excellence Award.

The “who” are the small but mighty school community in which students and teachers have an authentic mutual respect for one another and for learning. The learning culture extends beyond the classroom, creating a strong learning environment at home and in the community.

The “how” is found in the collaborative learning atmosphere in the classroom, the small class size, and the high expectations for students to do their best. Challenged by mixed grades and abilities, teachers work hard to meet students where they are, which contributes to the why so many excel at Marble Charter.

The teaching staff and director Debra Winston's commitment to the concept of unlimited possibilities creates a school where teachers and students strive to learn with outstanding results.

Heather D. Miller

Basalt

Glenwood Green housing doesn't seem affordable

I was fortunate to sit in on the Jan. 19 Glenwood Springs City Council meeting. I was there to give a presentation. Three and a half hours later, still waiting, I was caught up in the approval process for the Glenwood Green affordable housing proposal that our city fathers are now considering to be built at Glenwood Meadows.

My thoughts:

• $14 million is the total cost divided by 60 units equals $233,333 per unit, which is not affordable to anyone and requires a large subsidy from the city and elsewhere to make it truly affordable housing.

• How can it be referred to as Glenwood Green if there is no park?

• The design is uninspired, would be appropriate for Aurora and to my knowledge is not designed to energy efficient standards. To have it truly be affordable housing, it should be affordable after it is moved into with low utility monthly costs.

• As for the request that the city adopt the cost of maintenance and repair of the driveway serving the developer's project, don't the citizens of Glenwood Springs have enough problems on their hands trying to mitigate settling problems on the notorious alluvial fan that is Glenwood Meadows?

The need for low cost housing is not as pressing as it has been in better economic times. Affordable housing will be needed in the future, but I think that the Glenwood Green project, as it stands now, is not the one. Glenwood Springs needs affordable housing that is less costly, more energy efficient and well designed.

We have some time to get this right and I applaud the City Council for its diligence and foresight. Next time, however, I think I will watch it on TV.

Mary Noone

Glenwood Springs