Dear Editor,

I am a citizen volunteer on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Our mission is to meet monthly, evaluate projects, and make recommendations to council on how to spend the money in “our” budget ” Parkland Dedication fees and the Conservation Trust Fund. Every proposal for this money is supposed to be evaluated based on need, cost, and compatibility with our master plan.

Twice, this process has been discarded and the commission ignored by certain members of the current council. Money has been raided from the Parkland Dedication fees ” without our knowledge, nor our opinion sought ” to pay for pet projects of staff and council:

– $152,000 taken to purchase the Rose property (the riverfront bypass corridor touted in re-election ads).

– $23,800 for the golf course feasibility study.

We were told of these appropriations months after the money had been spent.

When appointed, I was an enthusiastic citizen volunteer, eager to give back to the community which had so warmly embraced me during my Olympic career. I am now disappointed to learn that, even in small-town politics, some people refuse to play by the rules. The many hours of personal time and child-care dollars I have spent to attend meetings now seem wasted.

Do not support the incumbency of councilors who treat their citizen boards with such disrespect.

Looking forward to serving councilors O’Donnell and Beckwith,

Jeanne Golay

Glenwood Springs