Jon Banks: Looking to help steer Glenwood Springs in a positive direction

Editor’s note: This letter first ran in the Monday, March 10 edition. It’s running a second time to reflect that we erroneously ran Ward 5 candidate Steve Smith’s letter twice earlier (Friday, Feb. 14 and Monday, Feb. 17).

My name is Jon Banks, and I’m asking for your vote. You know me as a leader of the “Keep Glenwood Glenwood” campaign. Those results were so positive and encouraging that I’ve decided to run for City Council in Ward 5.

Glenwood Springs is a wonderful place, and I’ve been lucky to call it home for 30 years. I feel blessed that my daughter Diana was able to grow up in this incredible community. I’m your neighbor here in Park West; I had a career doing technical work for radio and TV stations.

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What makes Glenwood special is the quality of life we all share. I’ll work to protect and preserve this way of life for future generations – and keep Glenwood a place where people act like neighbors with trust, kindness, and consideration for one another.

My position is: If something makes life better for the people of Glenwood Springs, let’s do it … if not, we need to be very cautious.

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I worked to preserve the airport for firefighting and medical evacuation, and to keep our promise to George Sumers, who gave the land to the city.

I brought more than 30 people together in the “Keep Glenwood Glenwood” movement. We gave citizens a voice on important growth decisions that affect our quality of life.

Growth and development aren’t bad, and they will happen. But we should make Glenwood Springs better, not just bigger. We are stewards of Glenwood’s future. We must respect the heritage of the people who live here while balancing the needs of intelligent growth.

Transparency, accountability, and honesty are vital to good government. If you trust me with your vote, I promise that I will listen. I will work to preserve our small-town, mountain-town way of life, and I will be guided by one principle:

Does what we do make life better for the people who live in Glenwood Springs?

Jon Banks, Glenwood Springs

Steve Smith is the right choice for Glenwood Springs City Council

Steve Smith, a resident of Glenwood Springs, has spent most of his 36 years being proactive on issues that have faced Glenwood Springs. He’s actively worked on river protection (founding member of the River Commission), bus services (served on the Transportation Commission), and is a trails advocate. He is thoughtful, thorough, and a great listener.

He is well-versed in the issues that face Ward 5 (south Glenwood Springs). His citywide priorities include diversifying transportation, fixing the streets, housing, protecting our climate and natural environment, and enhancing public safety.

If you haven’t talked with Steve about the details of those various priorities, call him. He will listen. One of his goals is to “engage with civility, goodwill, and humor.”

I strongly encourage you to vote for Steve Smith for the Ward 5 City Council position.

Marlene Manown, Glenwood Springs

Jon Banks puts Glenwood Springs first

I have lived in the Glenwood Park area for 35 years and gone through all the traffic impacts in my area, from the building of the new Grand Avenue Bridge to the 27th Street underpass.

We once had a chance to relocate Highway 82 through town. Yes, it would have been along a 1.8-mile stretch along the Roaring Fork River designed to protect the environment. But Grand Avenue wouldn’t be choked with traffic today.

Where was Jon Banks’ opponent in that fight? I did not see in Jon’s opponent’s résumé that he backed the airport supporters who kept our airport from becoming a subdivision.

In my opinion, a good member of council has to set aside their own personal agenda and politics and make decisions based on what is best for the city and its citizens. You cannot in one breath say you are protecting the rivers but support the idea of building affordable housing in the confluence area (Old Sewer Plant).

Jon Banks’ agenda is what is best for the city of Glenwood Springs and South Glenwood. Where was Banks’ opponent during the “Keep Glenwood Glenwood” campaign that kept the city from selling and developing city-owned land without a vote?

We do not need another council member who puts their personal agenda and politics ahead of what is best for Glenwood’s citizens. When I was on council, citizens could not figure out what my personal political affiliation was, and I was proud of that.

Don “Hooner” Gillespie

Hurd must act to restore public lands staffing and funding

Representative Hurd,

The Ridgway Ouray Community Council (ROCC), Ouray County’s largest citizen organization, urges Representative Jeff Hurd to demand immediate action with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to reverse staffing cuts and restore funding to the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These underfunded agencies are already struggling, and the loss of personnel will severely impact public lands, local economies, and conservation efforts.

Ouray County depends on outdoor recreation—hiking, four-wheeling, backcountry skiing, camping, hunting, fishing, and more. Without agency staff to manage these lands, long-term damage will drive away visitors, cripple businesses, and harm our way of life. These cuts also mean job losses for USFS, BLM, and USFWS employees—our neighbors and vital community members—leaving them without income, healthcare, and stability to care for themselves and their families.

The loss of trained wildland firefighters increases wildfire risks, endangering lives and property. Local agriculture will suffer as ranchers lose access to reliable public grazing rights and invasive species control programs vital for land health and livestock sustainability.

These staffing cuts directly threaten Ouray County’s economy, which relies heavily on outdoor recreation and land stewardship. The economic consequences will be devastating for local businesses, workers, and families. We need Representative Hurd to advocate forcefully for reinstating agency staff and restoring funding.

Public lands are the backbone of our economy and environment, and those who steward them deserve fair treatment. Our community’s future depends on it.

Sincerely,
On behalf of the Ridgway Ouray Community Council (ROCC)

Congress must uphold the rule of law

A fundamental American principle is the rule of law. Impoundment occurs when the Executive Branch (the president) withholds federal funds obligated by Congress.

The Trump administration, led by Elon Musk, is breaking the law by dismantling agencies within the U.S. government that were approved and funded by Congress. Congress currently has a Republican majority. Why not go through Congress and do all of this legally?

Why is the Trump administration using slash-and-burn techniques to cut government services when it could be done legally by going through Congress? These cuts to agencies and government workers are hurting Americans.

Valerie E. Gilliam, Carbondale

Prioritizing community benefits over development

Congratulations to the City Council of Glenwood for denying the new Safeway building developer’s request for a tax incentive. As the Glenwood Post reports, the new business tenants are offering more of what already exists. This means less income for the existing businesses. The claim is that this development will create “about 60 full-time and part-time jobs…”

Fine, and where are these new employees going to live? Rifle? Parachute? Retail clerks are fine jobs but not high-paying. The new owner is not likely to build employee housing on the site. They could add a second floor of residential. New employees ultimately require forms of public assistance. The tax dollars from retail sales are used in part for supporting the citizens. The city is already raising the sales tax rate to pay for street and utility expenses.

The owner says: “We’re excited to bring new energy and jobs to Glenwood Springs.” But Glenwood has plenty of “energy and jobs.” I wonder why this project even received a building permit. There is nothing positive for the city. I have come to believe that a proposal for development in any community should first be considered on whether it benefits the existing members of the community. Unfortunately, the default action is to accommodate every developer. They take their profit and leave. The community has to provide the roads, utilities, health care, fire protection, police, and a myriad of other services.

The old Safeway is a blank slate. It has a great location, and the back is right on the bike trail with views of the river. Employee housing comes to mind. Daycare center. Park and ride. City offices. A park. There is a new trend to use big open buildings for vertical farming. Some are mostly automated. The quantity of produce far exceeds land-based farming, and the operation is year-round.

In any case, if the current roof remains, cover it with solar panels. Reduce the use of natural gas for heating.

I believe there is a strong need for modification of city codes to create more beneficial uses.

Patrick Hunter, Carbondale

Open letter to the Garfield County commissioners: Mike Samson, Tom Jankovsky, and Perry Will

I am deeply disappointed in your unanimous decision today (March 10) to appoint Tony Hershey to the Garfield County Public Library Board. There were three other candidates who were extremely qualified.

Your choice to appoint Tony in spite of his known history of being disruptive, disrespectful, and even abusive to other board members, staff, consultants, and members of the public who disagree with him seems to say that you are in favor of destabilizing our library board.

As a citizen who reached out to each of you to communicate my wish that you choose a candidate who would be a unifying and stabilizing force on the board, I feel misled and wildly frustrated.

You have energized me to encourage my fellow citizens to take note that our Board of County Commissioners made a deliberate decision today, in opposition to copious amounts of public input, to destabilize our public library board and make the jobs of our dedicated library staff harder.

While we may not have a mechanism for removing library board members who are unfit or abusive, we do have a mechanism for removing County Commissioners who work against the public’s best interest. It’s called election day. If any of you cared at all about securing my vote in your next run for public office, today you made that hill steeper.

Fellow citizens, if you want to join the efforts to protect our libraries from censorship and our librarians from abuse, I encourage you to reach out. I am on Facebook Messenger as Dawn Dexter, and I can connect you to the citizens group who have been working tirelessly to do just that.

Dawn Dexter, New Castle

Deficit reduction requires more than cutting federal salaries

Bryan Whiting’s recent article on government overspending was, as always, well-written and thought-provoking. However, by focusing only on cutting federal staff and salaries, he’s missing the big picture in a couple of significant ways.

In 2024, the U.S. government had a deficit of $1.8 trillion. However, only 4% of the original budget ($270 billion) actually went to federal staff and salaries (Congressional Budget Office). All of the staff and salary cuts currently planned will not generate the savings or long-term change needed for meaningful deficit reduction.

If citizens need to endure some hardship to address the national debt, as Bryan suggested, let’s get serious and go big—and let everyone share the burden, not just federal workers. The current congressional proposal for a $4.5 trillion tax cut would be a good place to start. This is a huge drain on revenue and is greatly skewed toward the wealthy (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy). We all could “endure some hardship” by eliminating this new tax cut instead of slashing veterans’ benefits, Medicaid, medical research, etc., to pay for that tax cut.

There are plenty of other opportunities to shrink government spending. These include cutting the $100 billion spent annually on corporate welfare (Hoover Institution). Does Big Oil really need a $20 billion-a-year handout? The hundreds of billions spent on private government contracts should also be closely evaluated, including those such as Musk’s Rocket Self-Destruct Program. And if you really want to address the deficit, there is no better place to start than the bloated budget of the Department of Defense, which, at $850 billion a year, is 14% of the entire U.S. budget (U.S. Treasury Department). Interestingly, this wasteful largesse has never had any meaningful oversight. All of these items should receive the same level of scrutiny as other programs currently subject to the DOGE Chainsaw.

Yes, the country needs to seriously address the budget deficit. But let’s get real and consider all of the contributors to that deficit if reducing it is really the goal.

Cliff Colia, Glenwood Springs