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Letters

Dear Editor,

My name is Mark Whalen and I am seeking the voters’ support for re-election to the Carbondale Board of Trustees. I would like to start by offering my sincere thanks to everyone who voted in last year’s special election, and to all who have supported me in office since 1998.

Your comments and interactions have been invaluable to me during these past years and have helped me to continue to serve in this enjoyable but sometimes difficult position.



Today, as a community, we have many challenges ahead of us. I feel the most important is creating clarity and consensus on our vision and direction for the future of Carbondale.

This process will require individuals willing to listen, be open-minded, honest, and respectful. Individuals not so entrenched in specifics, but persons more willing to work as a team and foster an atmosphere of cooperation.



I feel with my experience and working relationships I can continue to help move us forward in this positive direction.

As I look back over the years that I have served as your trustee, I would like to say how fortunate I feel to be a member of this community of positive and caring people, where one can freely share their different ideas in an open manner.

I thank you for the challenges we have overcome together as a town, and I ask for the opportunity to serve you for another four years. Please remember to vote on April 6.

Mark Whalen

Carbondale

Dear Editor,

A letter in this column left the impression that the town of Silt balanced its general fund by using some of its $4.5 million bond. As our records and independent audits attest, this is false.

The town bonded through its Water/Wastewater Enterprise for the purpose of constructing our First Street interceptor line and the new wastewater treatment facility. In fact, construction costs for both of these infrastructure improvements were more than $4.5 million. To complete these projects, the town used Water/Wastewater Enterprise fund reserves and bond funds, as we had anticipated.

Anyone familiar with municipal fund accounting knows that there are strict requirements as to how municipalities can spend money from each fund. We are not allowed to use bond funds for any purpose other than the purpose for which we bonded. To do so would violate not only municipal fund accounting principle, but bonding requirements as well. The town of Silt will not jeopardize its bond rating.

The town of Silt balanced its general fund by cutting costs directly from the general fund. These cuts included layoffs. The cuts totaled nearly $200,000, and we used neither bond funds nor water/wastewater funds to achieve our goal.

To avoid misinformation, I would encourage anyone to obtain copies of our audits and current financial statements and to learn about basic municipal fund accounting.

Richard Aluise,

town administrator,

Silt

Dear Editor,

With high school spring sports in full swing and middle school track and field beginning Monday, April 5, area interscholastic coaches are hoping to have a great season with our student athletes.

We understand that many of the kids have varied interests and would like to participate in more than one sport.

With Daylight Savings Time here, we are asking the club coaches in the Roaring Fork Valley to please schedule practice times later in the evenings to allow these young people to participate in interscholastic sports and not have to make a choice between the activities.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Blake Risner

Glenwood Springs


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