GVCA Journal for 07/24/05
Summary:

Gosh, has it only been a month or two since I've sent my weekly journal?

Inspired, and still awake, I'll attempt to update folks regarding the GVCA's
rather desultory summer actions.

First, I finally checked our group e-mail box at Yahoo and found I'd missed
a few important things, mostly petitions for membership.

So I have either added or approved something like seven new members to this
e-list, including one who didn't give a name, which is against our standard
policy. If "Spirit Massage" would either e-mail me at toulouse@montrose.net
or reply to this e-mail (which will go to the entire group), I would really
appreciate it.

Sorry for the delay to those of you who requested access to this list -- I
just haven't done much of anything on time this summer.

I went looking, but couldn't find my reminder that I issue periodically,
which would be good with so many members. I don't even know where our
mission statement is, so I'm completely winging all of this.

The Gunnison Valley Community Alliance is a group that was born out of the
regarding a possible supersizing by Wal-Mart. We have evolved well beyond
that starting point and have a number of community-interest projects to our
credit and on our plate.  Our primary focus is on education, and providing
forums (or fora, depending on how serious you are about your Latin) for
information dissemination.

We hosted a city council candidate information session that was televised,
and we are now working on scheduling community information opportunities on
health care and insurance options.  We contributed some seed money to the
Gunison Farmers Market, and we hosted a benefit for the 9 Health Fair. We
attend all public city meetings, and try to get to some of the county's
meetings, particularly those that focus on planning.

The purpose of this e-list is to provide communication among our members and
those interested in what we're doing. We do require that all e-mails be
courteous, and that if you disagree with someone else's statements, you do
so respectfully.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's a quick overview. We do hold
regular meetings (a bit more irregular this summer) Sundays at 5 p.m. at 322
N. Wisconsin. Anyone is welcome to attend.

And then there's the part where I put out this weekly journal, so that
everyone can follow the actions we take at our meetings. Sometimes it's no
so weekly, and this summer it's non-existent. But I'm on the comeback trail,
I'm sure.

The format is that I provide a brief synopsis of all the items, and then
more detail down below for those who are interested. I've heard it can take
a long time to read my e-mails. Don't feel obligated to read every last
word, although I'm sure all the prose is death-defying.

This month's topics:

1) Health Insurance Issues and Options
    Terry Bonney attended one of our meetings and talked about her crusade
against the stranglehold Anthem has on health insurance in the valley. We
have expressed interest in helping acquire more information and seeking
other options.

2)  Farmers Market
    We provided an incorporation donation and a loan for insurance and
membersip in the Colorado Farmers Market to the newly-formed Gunnison
Farmers Market. Several GVCA members have also donated time to the GFM,
which just completed its third week of operation.

3) City Master Plan
    The city is still getting ready to prepare to get ready to discuss and
begin work on updating the city's master plan and Land Development Code.

4)  Meeting with HCCA
    Several of our members were invited to a meeting with the High Country
Citizens Alliance, and both groups got to put some names to faces.  We do
now have a couple of HCCA members on our e-list.

5)  Justice Center
    A request from a city resident who then did not attend our meeting has
us looking into this issue, which is likely to be a bond issue on the next
local ballot.

6)  Economic Recovery Act
    The GVCA on Monday should be added to the 225 state organizations who
are officially endorsing Referenda C and D on the statewide ballot this
November. The city plans to vote on an endorsement Tuesday.

7) County Comprehensive Plan
    The county planning commission will hold a public hearing Friday at 9
a.m. on the three-mile plan portion of it comp plan, which is in draft form.
It's the county's equivalent of a master plan. We have trouble attending
these meetings, which are held during the work day, but they're very
important.

8) WSC Impact Study
    A year in the making, the financial impact study conducted on behalf of
Western State College will finally be presented to the Board of Trustees in
early August and to a larger public a few weeks later.

Details:

Now for the gore and details:

1) Health Insurance Issues and Options
    As a result of our meeting with Terry Bonney, we are drafting a letter
to local health care providers to see what types and brands of insurance
each accepts. We have also made tentative plans to stage a forum with a
representative from a Roaring Fork Valley community health group to see if
that's an option.

    Terry's contention is that if more insurance companies are competing for
our business, premiums will go down and doctors will receive more money. She
said surgeons only receive $400 or $500 for a $2000 procedure when Anthem
pays the bill, and that's why it's hard to find surgeons who want to come
here.

The Crested Butte Chamber is getting ready to put together a package that
would allow members to be eligible for health care coverage. Individuals can
join the chambe for a full membership at $50 per year. No word yet on if the
coverage itself is affordable. The Gunnison chamber offers a similar program
for businesses, but when I looked into it, it was far less affordable than
Anthem individual policies, which are still out of reach for too many
residents.

We also conducted a preliminary survey of local insurance agencies to
determine who offers health care policies, and came away fairly
empty-handed. however, I did see an ad in last week's Times indicating that
Richard Almgren is now selling health insurance, in addition to Gary
Shondeck.

We have not pursued this or any other issue as aggressively as we might this
summer, so I don't have anything terribly concrete to report. And it's been
several weeks since Terry talked to us -- although we've had members in
communication with her since -- so I don't want to misquote her more than I
probably already have.

This is an issue we're very interested in staying on top of, and once
everyone's daughters quit getting married and summer events come to a close,
we might get back on track.

2)  Farmers Market
    After last year's organizers dropped the ball at the 11th hour, the GVCA
hosted a meeting to see if anyone was interested in staging a market this
summer. Several volunteers, including some GVCA members, came forward and
got the market going under its own power. It's early in the growing season,
so not much "farmer" in the market yet, but we do have one Paonia-area
produce vendor and a Gunnison Valley meat vendor, who may also sell potatoes
a bit later in the season. I bought my first Gunnison peas of the season
last week.

The market maintained last year's location but switched days, to Saturday.
It's not over full with vendors yet, but you can buy some great local
products such as bread, baked goods, flowers, some early veggies, Gunnison
hormone- and antibiotic-free grain- or grass-fed beef, walking sticks and
moccasins. You can learn about gardening from the master gardeners, and find
out about the Animal Welfare League's spay/neuter program and maybe even
meet some of the animals that need good homes.  Shop early and often,
Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

And, for those of you interested in a financial accounting, the market has
already been able to pay back our loan for membership fees and insurance. We
donated the $100 or so that it cost for the GFM to become incoporated as its
own entity.


3)  City Master Plan

    Last fall the city formed a steering committee and held several sessions
to collect citizen input on what residents want their city to look like.
Then it all got set by the wayside as the planning commission (and the GVCA)
devoted most of its waking hours to issues concerning big boxes. Fiscal
impact consultants said Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot are among the few
likely to take an interest in our town, although they did suggest trying to
attract Tractor Supply Company or some such that sounded like it would
compete against a number of locally-owned businesses.

But at any rate, the city is now thinking about getting back to the master
plan. Richard signed on for a tour offered to the city council and another
offered to the planning commission.  One of them -- I think it was the
council tour -- he thought was really excellent, and that the city should
offer it annually to interested citizens. He was also extremely
complimentary of our city staff, particularly Ken Coleman, who conducted
much of the tour. The tour included the city's water supplies and sewer, as
well as areas of interest/concern around town.

The planning commission on Wednesday will hold a public hering for a
subdivision in the problematical area west of Longs' trailer park (the row
behind A&W). Access is an issue, and the city would like to take a long
range, comprehensive approach to infrastructure for that entire west
Gunnison area. Developers may have their own ideas, so it will be something
to keep an eye on.


4)  Meeting with HCCA
    A last-minute hospitalization of a fellow Cattlemen's Days director sent
me to judging the Cattlemen's Days queen competition (congratulations to
Nicole Kunze, 2006 queen, Tashina Hildreth, attendant, and TeaLa Mears,
junior miss), so I missed this joint meeting of members of both our steering
group and the HCCA board.

HCCA's focus is definitely different from ours, but there may be points
where our paths cross that could result in some collaboration, and some of
our approaches may be similar. They recently hosted an educational forum on
mining issues, although a key player, U.S. Energy, failed to respond to
invitations to attend.

For any more details, you'd have to ask someone who actually attended the
meeting.


5) Justice Center
    A member of the community with concerns about the proposed new justice
center put it on our radar, although this person never showed up at a
meeting to air concerns. Butch Clark has been tracking this issue for many
years, but most of us appear to be newcomers.

However, it's going to end up on a countywide ballot, so we ought to get
informed.

The county commissioners are proposing an expansion in place at the current
courthouse/jail site. Ellen attended an information session hosted by the
county, attended by 25 area residents as well. Two hundred had received
letters of invitation.

Ellen said the commissioenrs and county staff had reasonable responses to
every question and concern. Sheriff Rick Murdie detailed many of the
problems surrounding the current jail. Several contagious prisoners have no
place for isolation, and there is no room to conduct any sort of program,
such as AA or religious services. It's obviously a more dire need than I was
aware of.

The GVCA has not really discussed taking any position on this issue or in
fact doing anything about it one way or the other, but I imagine it will
continue to come up in our conversations.


6) Economic Recovery Act
    We did, however, already opt for a stance on this political issue: we
are endorsing Referendum C and Referendum D, which will allow the state to
keep all tax money it collects for the next five years. Without it, this
state will be bankrupt. If you doubt me, ask Dave Owens, Republican member
of the Joint Budget Committee who saw this coming long before most people
did. Bob Ewegen of the Denver Post has devoted a lot of column space trying
to explain what happens without more tax revenue. At least 225 groups,
including the Republican governor and a lot of business leaders, have jumped
on the bandwagon.

And yet, 50 percent of the state's population is planning to vote against
the referenda.

Our small grassroots campaign will start with small ads asking voters if
they know where TABOR refunds really go. Nineteen special interest groups --
many of them good causes -- get the bulk of YOUR taxpayer refund. By the
time you get YOUR refund back, you've gotten something like 10 cents on the
dollar, or less, and your state goes slowly broke.

Somewhere there are yard signs available, for those who'd like to show their
support.

I think that's it for all my details. I'm sure I was too vague in some
places, and noth forthcoming in others. I'm a little rusty, but I'll try to
get back on track.

We are thinking we'll be able to skip a meeting this coming Sunday, but if
that changes, Richard will have an agenda for you.

Hope I didn't scare all you new readers away.

TL