JOURNAL 08/20/06:

I'm starting late this morning, and leaving early, so it may just be high
points (low ones, too, probably), today.

1) City Council
    A new member will be appointed Tuesday, and it will be Jim Gelwicks,
Jonathan Houck or Marla Larson. All three did very well in their interviews
last week, so the city should be in good hands no matter which of the three
is chosen.

    Lots of other action this week, including yet another public hearing for
yet another liquor license for yet another restaurant, this time the
Ensenada Baja Grill. Civic Economics must not have been kidding when that
firm reported that this community liked to spend its money on food and
drink.

2) City Planning Commission
    The big projects never end for this group: while still in the throes of
the master plan (with the land development code to follow), the commission
is faced with the prospect of a huge annexation to the east. Up immediately:
the public hearing for the preliminary plan for Van Tuyl Village, the Erich
Ferchau et al. project between Vulcan Street and Highway 135. The
preliminary differs somewhat from the sketch plan presented a few weeks ago,
and includes a rezoning request to allow more R3 (multi-family) dwellings.

This hearing, which may be the last official point for any public input,
takes place in council chambers Wednesday at 7 p.m. The planning
commission's options with this or any other project are: a) recommend that
council approve the project; b) recommend that council reject the proposal;
or c) remand the project back to the applicants for further work. If you had
concerns about the way the traffic study was conducted (and when), this
would be the time to voice those concerns.

3) County Planning Commission
    The project that drew the most public interest this past week was Mark
Lucas' proposal to build units toward the end of Fairway Lane in Dos Rios.
Of interest to the county planning commission was that while the city of
Gunnison was invited on two different opportunities to weigh in on this
project, which is inside the three-mile boundary, no one came forth.

A portion of the discussion also centered on who might have to pay for road
maintenance, a discussion that is likely to continue as county projects come
forward. The county's budget for road maintenance stays the same or even
declines slightly (out of economic necessity), while demand for services is
spiraling up. The thinking on the Lucas project is to deed the roads to the
county, but that developers, and then homeowners, would have to pay a fee to
subsidize this expenditure.

4) Jail Campaign
    The committee is working on a brochure that will be sent to voters,
pushing for a "yes" vote. It details the reasoning behind the project, but
the committee is still struggling with a way to convey lots of financing
information in short bullet points. Most members of the committee believe
that the initiative is tied to dolalr amounts of assessed valuation, rather
than a stipulation of the number of mils. That way, the amount residents and
businesses owe will be tied to the assessed (not market) valuation of
property, with fairly finite limits on the amount property owners will be
out of pocket.

5) RE-1J
    The board has two new members: Richard Karas and Teri Wenzlaff. The
retreat for the new board takes place today and tomorrow.

Jaclyn Stapert-Evenson is planning to offer a class in participatory
democracy through WSC's extended studies, for the spring semester. Anyone
who is contemplating running for a public office would be advised to sign
up. Her specific goal is to have at least two candidates for each seat in
the November 2007 school board election, but such a class would also be of
benefit to city council contenders, or anyone interested in making sure our
government remains "of the people, by the people."

6) Farmers' Market

It was the most successful week yet, for both the GVCA and the market as a
whole. The excellent coverage provided by the Times certainly raised
awareness of our booth, with several new gardeners stopping by to offer
produce donations. Purchasers of the donations have been extremely generous
as well, with one gentleman purchasing a single zucchini for $20. This week,
the Food Pantry will receive $329 from us.

Karen, who is to be commended (along with the world's greatest barker,
Butch) for the success of our project, is hoping in January to offer a
seminar for local gardeners that would include setting aside portions of
their gardens for market donations.

We did, once again, discuss the need for a public restroom somewhere
downtown, but as long as the Oddfellows continue to say no, there really
isn't any other good option. But the market is keenly aware of this need,
since it has no facility of its own to offer.

7) Then We Ran Out of Time

So we don't have anything solid to report on the huge number of items that
got left by the wayside on our agenda. We did remark on Wal-Martpalooza, a
free concert offered in the Wal-Mart parking lot last Wednesday that did
involve the local store's associates cheering for a "super Wal-Mart," and
we're sending Narcissa out to do recon on a possible school supply donation.
We're also realizing we need to put some fund-raising strategies of our own
in place if we want to continue doing good deeds along these lines.

But we didn't get very far along any of these lines, because we were all
tired and hungry. So we left, as I am going to do, now that I am once again
late for work.

TL