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Wednesday letters: 480 Donegan, airport, CRFR thanks, zombie gas wells, Hal Sundin, Take a Minute

Whose interests?

To Charlie Willman, Jonathan Godes, Shelley Kaup and Steve Davis: You were elected to represent our best interests. Are you not aware of the lack of infrastructure we have for the residents who are already here? Whose interests are you representing? Certainly not those of your constituents. I am worried sick about the people in West Glenwood next time there is a fire and they will be unable to escape due to the gridlock.

The owner of the pasture certainly has a right to develop it, but it went through a Planning and Zoning process, and it was denied. You think you know better? Why do we have P&Z if you don’t bother listening to them? Why should we reelect you if you don’t bother listening to us?



Kudos to Tony Hershey, Paula Stepp and Ingrid Wussow for doing the right thing.

Joan Isenberg



Glenwood Springs

Not ‘unruly,’ just committed

I was so taken back, surprised and stunned when reading the article in the Post Independent regarding the City Council meeting on Nov. 4.

I attended that City Council meeting, and it was, I must admit, the first time I have ever been accused of being unruly or threatening or described as “rabble” (according to the dictionary = the lower classes; the common people).

I’m surprised after covering and listening to our comments to City Council these past four to six months, the Post couldn’t recognize the fear, frustration and panic in every speaker’s voice and tone.

Instead of the fervor and intensity of those speaking, our messages were mistaken as being “unruly,” “boisterous” and “threatening.”

I’ve heard others in our town accuse our residents of being “cry babies” and acting with a “NIMBY” attitude.

I’m sorry after all this time that’s what some heard, for that’s never been our intent.

Lots of sorrow I’ll admit, but I have no regrets for attending council meetings, signing petitions, writing letters and making phone calls. I do mourn, however, the four City Council members’ decision in favor of the annexation. I feel those who agreed to the annexation reflect the division in our country and unwillingness to sit down with and listen to those “on the front lines” in regards to our concerns and fears.

As Margaret Mead said; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Jamie Darien

Glenwood Springs

Support those who’ve lost children

Recently there has been a wave of unexpected deaths among our younger community that prompts me to write this letter of awareness. I lead the Chapter for The Compassionate Friends of the Roaring Fork Valley, which serves families from Silt to Eagle and Glenwood to Aspen.

When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated. We offer support to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. The Compassionate Friends come from all walks of life, yet we need not walk alone. None of us chose this path; however, the friendships that result from the common thread of losing a child become so meaningful to those who need the support from others experiencing a similar loss. Our group has lost loved ones to suicide, drug overdose, health issues such as cancer and the flu, SIDS and car accidents. Each tragedy is unique, yet we provide a place of comfort and understanding where participants are not judged and all emotions and concerns are kept confidential.

Some of us have lost more than one child, and the time frame since our losses ranges from three months to 35 years. It’s not a life event any of us ever expect to experience. We welcome new friends who feel the initial shock of their loss is truly unbearable. This support group is not for everyone; I personally have a handful of friends/acquaintances who have lost a child in the last five years that have never attended one meeting, and I now have new friends that attend every single time we gather.

We meet the first Tuesday of each month at The Orchard in Carbondale at 6:30 pm. Meetings generally run an hour and a half or however long members need to stay. We are not a sad group but are a group of people with hope to find a better way of coping with our losses. We find time to laugh, breathe and mostly honor our loved ones.

Vivian Williams

Aspen

Airport debacle

I was the Glenwood Airport manager for about 17 years, and in 2018 I parted ways due to the city’s political misadventures and their total lack of transparency. Everyone knows one thing — the city does not want the airport.

I could never get a reasonable explanation as to “why.” I assume they don’t want the liability, they have a better use for the land, and possibly an underlying need for the money that the sale of that property will bring, plus I doubt if anyone that works in City Hall knows anything about aviation.

There are dozens of pilots and workers that depend on that airport as a means of livelihood and a genuine love of aviation. That airport delivers those things.

So, as a last ditch effort, they put the ballot up for votes. We all know what it says. Some of the money goes to South Bridge and some to the airport. It’s so obvious that they are manipulating the future of the airport based on that vote. The voters have struck it down, the city will take that as justification to close the airport because the voters did not support it. If a municipality floats a vote for a mill levy to bolster a school and the voters say no, do they demolish the school? How about if a mill levy to aid fire protection is voted down, do we get rid of the firehouses and fire engines? May I suggest we set up a vote to increase taxes to refurbish City Hall and apply the same logic.

Let’s get together and talk about getting the airport out of the hands of the city and to the people with the experience — the users and pilots. Rezone the property back into the hands of the county, which has lots of experience with its Garfield County Airport. The airport has more than enough reserve monies to continue without any tax help from the residents of the city. Without experienced people managing the facility, the probability of a lawsuit has increased. Aviation lawsuits can run as high as

$100 million to $400 million. If the facility is managed with experience, the risk is diminished considerably.

Dick Weinberg

Glenwood Springs

CRFR support thanks

Thank you to the communities of Rife, Silt, New Castle and surrounding areas for your continued support over the last year. We are grateful to have passed our mill levy increase to fund the fire department.

We will keep in mind the taxpayers we serve who recognized a healthy fire district is an asset to their communities and granted us their hard-earned tax dollars to allow us to build for the future. To show our appreciation, we will do so in a manner that meets our campaign promise of transparency and openness spending tax dollars while building and strengthening the services we provide.

Alan Lambert

board president, Colorado River Fire Rescue

Leif Sackett

fire chief, Colorado River Fire Rescue

Airport needs value engineering

I am writing as a past Transportation Commission member in support of the South Bridge project.

The current alignment for the project was selected by a long, involved public process. Keeping the alignment but removing the tunnel violates that whole process and re-introduces an option that was rejected by that process. Keeping the tunnel is not an add-on cost, it is the selected option. I appreciate the intent of removing the tunnel, but retaining the tunnel alignment is the wrong solution. Realign that short section of road around the airport.

The approach of value engineering this short section of the South Bridge connection is one that I heartily endorse. From the beginning the selection committee publicly held the twin goals of reducing cost and maintaining a fully operational airport. The airport has safety and economic benefits to the community and region well beyond the simplistic counting of the number of pilots using it. If you proceed with value engineering, sooner or later you will have to include the engineering company in the design. Involving them sooner may yield better results than waiting until later.

You have another resource that is being underutilized: members of the Airport Commission. Gregg Rippy and Steve Shute have decades of engineering and construction experience relevant to the project. Listen to them.

This project has huge benefits for residents of Garfield County beyond the limits of Glenwood Springs, not just as an emergency exit but as an advantageous transportation link. It will decrease upvalley mileage and trip times by approximately 15 minutes and reduce pressure on the 27th street roundabout, bridge and stoplight — not insignificant benefits for using those links. Financial participation by Garfield County would seem to be appropriate.

I want to thank you for the time, effort and thought that you devote to this and other matters. These are not the easiest times to be plotting the course for the community, but it is a crucial endeavor.

All the best,

Dave Alcott

Glenwood Springs

Beware zombie gas wells

Halloween just wrapped up, and it was great to see kids in the neighborhood on the lookout for zombies, ghosts and ghouls while trick-or-treating. But I was just alerted to zombies of another sort, perhaps even more dangerous than the undead: zombie oil and gas wells and just how many of them there are in Colorado.

If you go to the website WellWellWellColorado.com, you can see how many unproductive and even abandoned wells exist in Colorado. These wells should have been plugged and the sites cleaned up, but Colorado doesn’t require companies to do so. It’s enough to make your skin crawl.

Fortunately, the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission has a chance to change these regulations for the first time in years. We have to stop this ghoulish behavior on the part of oil and gas companies. I ask the commission to put these zombie wells to rest for good and change regulations to clean up our air and environment immediately.

Mary Carman

Clifton

Look inward, Hal

Hal Sundin has an accurate portrayal of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler, but he’s blanked out about the current conditions affecting this country.

Without a litany of current items, suffice it to quote Jimmy Falla: “A lot of people hate Trump because they don’t have to look inward about what they hate about themselves.”

Otherwise, Hal Sundin is a good man.

Fred Stewart

Grand Junction

Just between us

The “average” distance between our valley communities is 10 miles.

If we are five minutes late, pushing on the gas won’t magically transport us to our destination. To “make up time,” these conditions would need to be met:

• No enforcement

• No other cars ahead of us

• All green traffic lights

• A speed of over 90 mph

Take a minute, think about it, take the pressure off with a phone call to your destination, leave sooner next time.

Take A Minute/Slow Down in Town

Diane Reynolds, committee member

Glenwood Springs

 

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