journal100905

JOURNAL 10/09/05 Gosh it's been a long time! Have we all missed me?   YES Even though I've been silent, the GVCA has been quite active and involved. We are still taking on more agenda items than we have time to cover each week, and if any of you find yourselves wondering just what to do with all your spare time, I'm sure we can find a project for you to help with. First, just another quick reminder to keep Sydney Williams in your thoughts, if you would, and if you find yourself with any spare change in the aftermath of hurricanes and lots of good local causes, you might keep in mind her liver transplant fund at Gunnison Savings & Loan. Here are our current topics: 1) City Council     The budget process is beginning, and it looks as though this council is going to take a long look at several items which appear to have been automatically funded in the past. We are also on the hunt for a new city manager, with Ken Coleman, director of public works, installed as interim manager. 2) City Planning Commission     The commission has been reviewing several county referrals within the three-mile plan, but it sounds as though the county isn't really paying much attention to these thoughtful comments. The master plan process -- which really ought to concern all of us as residents of Gunnison -- is lurching along very slowly. 3) Annexation Possibility     In 2004, anticipating a request from Dick Bratton for the land east of town, the city budgeting money to look into annexing that property, Nor equest was forthcoming, but a land purchase may be closer to making this a reality. 4) County Planning Commission     We have at last found a volunteer to attend these frequently all-day meetings (thank you, Richard), and so we have a better eye on items such as the corridor plan and the affordable housing policy, although it's now called "essential" housing. 5) Referenda C and D     GVCA members have been among those most actively involved in the campaign to pass these two referenda, although there has been some recent dilution of support for D. What we are finding is that an appalling number of people who stand to be directly impacted really have no idea what these referenda are about. 6) Gunnison County Justice Center Forum     The League of Women Voters has organized a forum for this Friday, 7 p.m. at the Fred Fieldhouse (multipurpose building). With no one willing to step forward to speak in opposition to the county ballot initiative, this will now be an informational presentation by county officials and perhaps the architect, with the opportunity for questions from the audience. 7) Farmers' Market     Only one week left to buy local and nearly-local farm products, plants and baked goods! But the market has had a successful sophomore season, and plans are already underway for next summer. The GVCA will soon begin discussing staffing its own booth with donations from local gardeners, proceeds to go to the food bank. And, while not exactly in the same line, there have been rumblings out and about about the possibilities for a community garden. 8) Sustainable Communities Symposium     Staged by HCCA, this symposium a week and a half ago was attended by several GVCA members. Whether we want it to be or not, the world's oil supply is finite, and that directly impacts those of us who exist in a valley where almost everything is imported. 9) By-laws     The GVCA is working -- very slowly, because we keep pushing it to the five-minute, end-o'-meeting agenda -- on becoming a more formal organization. I don't have any more detail to offer now, but look for us soon to be calling a general membership meeting and defining more clearly what membership entails (it won't be onerous, we promise you that). 10) Western State/Community Cooperation     President Jay Helman and his staff are starting to take action on a thought to synthesize the college and the community and make use of "human capital" and other ideas espoused by the book "Rise of the Creative Class," which has been mentioned several times by GVCA members. 11) Rural Transportation Authority     I wasn't there, either in person or live via TV, so I don't have much information, but Scott Truex of the RTA told city council last week that the RTA is pursuing plans to provide hourly bus service between Gunnison and Crested Butte. I know many of our members went to the meeting rather gunning for the RTA, but came away very impressed by the professionalism and preparedness of the presentation. 12) Gunnison Valley Hospital     The administrator has left after about a year, and after many years in the black, the hospital is now in the red. Construction of a new orthopedic surgical clinic will draw away even more revenue. In an area where 22% of the population lives below the poverty line (according to a Hurricane Katrina forum comment made by sociologist Dan Cress) and where over a quarter of the population was uninsured three years ago (bet it's more now), this is a topic that should concern all of us. I have maybe 15 minutes left in my morning free time, and it's quite clear I'm not going to make it through my entire list with your details. So I'm just going to send this overview, so that you'll know that while I have failed you in my duties, the rest of the GVCA is hard at it. I will send my details along this week as time permits, headlined "Journal: Specific Topics" so that you'll know which ones you want to disregard and which might be of interest to you. TL DETAILS AS THEY ARE ADDED:1) City Council     The budget process is beginning, and it looks as though this council is going to take a long look at several items which appear to have been automatically funded in the past. We are also on the hunt for a new city manager, with Ken Coleman, director of public works, installed as interim manager. The council has held a couple of work sessions already on the budget, with many more planned in the next few months. Last week, they reviewed several items, including (and I forgot to bring home a copy of the list, so maybe Vikki could add to it if I've forgotten some of the major ones) the arts center, economic development corporation, the Animal Welfare League, the Chuckwagon Cook-off, Jubilee House, and the WSC program that brings high school counselors to town. The council cast a gimlet eye toward some of these requests, notably the chuckwagon cook-off, which has been around for several years. It is slated, this early in the process, to get some money, but not nearly the $10,000 it requested. On other items, such as the WSC program, it wondered if money couldn't somehow go more directly to the students, through work-study opportunities or some such. The GVCA has submitted a list of fiscal responsibilities we think the council should ask of any entity coming to it for money. The county already has such a sheet in place for community organizations (I just filled one out myself on behalf of the Gunnison Valley Journal). We would like to see the city ask its applicants to show how money has been spent in the past, what specifically it is budgeted for now, and what past results are. While the council itself didn't come across as terribly receptive to our suggestion, finance director Wendy Hansen was interested and acquired a copy of our suggestion paper. She did say it was probably too late in this budget cycle to implement such a requirement, but we'll be on the lookout for it next year. A quick review of applications shows that most wouldn't pass our litmus test as they are currently presented. The arts center offered a thorough application, but in this preliminary stage is slated to get $17,500 rather than the $20,000 requested. One of the areas in which the GVCA is particularly interested in seeing far more accountability than has been provided in the past is the EDC. Just so you know, one of the items that group listed as "done" this past year was design standards for big-box retail. The budget process is a lengthy one and, I suspect, for most people, a rather boring one. But this is the nitty gritty of any government, what it chooses to fund, and WE are the government. I would suggest that proactive is better than reactive (although I just read somewhere that professional writers should never use the word "proactive"), and that if you can't get to the meetings, that you tune in on Cable Channel 15. I just read in last Thursday's Denver Post that Federal Heights in the Greater Denver Metro Area is cutting positions such as the public works director because of declining revenues. That city is losing money to the big boxes in neighboring Westminster and Thornton. However, at the south end, you have Lakewood over $12 million in debt, with more big boxes per capita than anywhere else in the metro area (okay, I just made that statistic up, but they do have lots of big boxes, including the Colorado Mills Mall giganto-rama). Aurora wants its voters to pony up a tax increase or it will shut down swimming pools and a library, and the preliminary reporting suggested that voters think they should be able to have lower taxes and all the amenities. At any rate, budgeting, if not interesting, is certainly impacting to all of us. Our sales tax is up about 6% this year, although apparently that only gets us back to pre-2001 levels, but Richard has cautioned council that it might want to prioritize should next year's revenues not meet projections. The other big item we all ought to be monitoring is the hunt for a new city manager. Ken Coleman, who has worked his way up through the city ranks, will take over for the interim. The search will be conducted by the same man who conducted our police chief search, although council took exception to his rather poorly-worded ad and rewrote it. I haven't heard anything on a timeline -- if someone else knows, speak up. That's it for Item #1. We could be at this a long time, couldn't we? TL ___________________________________________________________________________________2) City Planning Commission     The commission has been reviewing several county referrals within the three-mile plan, but it sounds as though the county isn't really paying much attention to these thoughtful comments. The master plan process -- which really ought to concern all of us as residents of Gunnison -- is lurching along very slowly. Because of an intergovernmental agreement, the county has been sending information to the city planning commission on proposed projects within three miles of the City of Gunnison. Many of these projects are north of town, and I believe there are three of them in the works now (one, Riverwalk, has already been given the go-ahead) that are going to spill traffic out onto Highway 135 in the vicinity of the river bridge. The two on the east side of the highway both stand a chance of impacting the city's water source. There's also been discussion about the north sewer extension, and no one anywhere seems very clear on how many people are ultimately going to tap into this line. The city planning commission, as it does on every project I've watched them work with, has taken a thorough and thoughtful look at these proposals and sent back letters to the county detailing concerns and frequently pointing out where these proposals don't even meet existing COUNTY standards. But, now that Richard is monitoring both commissions, he is witnessing the county reaction to these comments, and so far, it hasn't been very impressive. He was particularly disappointed in the "snide" response by county planner Neil Starkebaum to the city's comments on one of the projects east of the highway. Most of the city's comments appear to have been disregarded, and the proposal was given a go-ahead without addressing any of the city's misgivings. The animosity is not all on the county's end, and as an eyewitness to city proceedings, I have heard snide remarks directed at the county as well. I don't even begin to understand the history of the animosity, but it's not a healthy place to be, either politically or environmentally. Another three-mile proposal that could directly adversely impact the city is a request to allow retail business to be conducted in the Hartman Castle south of town. On the surface it seems innocuous: the castle has a history of retail offerings, and most of the items offered for sale would be expensive artwork, which is frequently shipped without any tax being collected, but it could set a very dangerous precedent, one that the county planning commission seems oblivious to, and one in which a potential majority of the city council seems to have shrugged its hsoulders. Right now, due to an intergovernmental agreement, the city has a big lever: it doesn't have to offer a sewer or water tap to any business that wants to set up retail outside the city limits but within three miles of those limits. The city collects 3 cents on every dollar of retail goods inside the city limits, but no money from a place like Roc's Up in Smoke or Henry's TV. If the city bypasses that requirement, suddenly the lever goes to the retail business. So let's just say a big box retailer wanted to build in Van Tuyl's field, but didn't like the city's design standards. It could then threaten to set up shop just east of the city limits. The city, desperate not to lose a considerable contribution to sales tax coffers, then repeals the design standards and lets the big box build whatever it wants, just to keep money in the city. And, not that tax is frequently paid on expensive art pieces -- or so I'm told by people who know these things -- but say the Hartman Castle did sell a $250,000 art piece on premises. That $7,500 the city just gave up in sales tax -- enough to fund half of the money the city used to set aside for the Main Street program (which is now defunct, but hopefully you get the idea). The city council recently told an applicant with a good cause that it wasn't going to waive the new park rental fees (which, as a recent renter, I have to say are quite reasonable) because it might set an unhappy precedent, and that the fees were put in place for good reason. As Diane Lothamer noted at a planning commission meeting, the council needs to heed its own action, bear in mind that the no-retail-outside-the-city is a good policy, and not go setting unhappy precedents. Although I wouldn't be surprised to see big boxes opt for Highway 50 rather than 135, even if it requires an annexation process. Which brings us to: 3) Annexation Possibility     In 2004, anticipating a request from Dick Bratton for the land east of town, the city budgeting money to look into annexing that property, Nor equest was forthcoming, but a land purchase may be closer to making this a reality. On July 13, between 20 and 30 parcels of land belonging to Gunnison Gateway, LLC, were combined into a single parcel and sold to Gunnison Valley Partners, LLC, of Colorado Springs. John A. Wilson signed the warranty deed on behalf of Gunnison Gateway. The deed does not bear a signature representing Gunnison Valley Partners. However, we have learned that members of Gunnison Valley Partners include Steve Shuck of Colorado Springs and Dick Bratton of Gunnison. I believe this partnership was reported just about a year ago in the Gunison Country Times. The sale price for the property was $3.2 million, and the new parcel is roughly rectangular. It extends from east of the new Holiday Inn Express eastward (Johnny Wilson appears to have held onto a parcel immediately east of the hotel) to the cemetery and from Hwy 50 northward to a line beyond the northern boundary of WSC. It actually wraps around the north end of cemetery. The city expected Dick to show up this past January with a proposal to annex this property or some portion thereof, but the request has so far not materialized. With a $3 million investment, however, I'd guess we're not looking at leaving it as pastureland and sage. The last time the city looked at an annexation proposal by Dick, it cost the taxpayers something like $16,000, and I believe that's about what got budgeted last year. I would look for that item to remain in the budget. 4) County Planning Commission     We have at last found a volunteer to attend these frequently all-day meetings (thank you, Richard), and so we have a better eye on items such as the corridor plan and the affordable housing policy, although it's now called "essential" housing. The county planning commission has been a busy body too, working on finalizing the comprehensive plan, puting together the Gunnison-Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Corridor Plan, and getting ready to send to the county commissioners suggested requirements for affordable/essential housing. Richard has categorized the group as fairly representative of a broad spectrum of interests, and that has been particularly noticeable during the affordable housing discussions. It's now being called "essential," because without it, no one's going to be able to live anywhere near the giant homes that are mushrooming all over the north end of the valley. "Anywhere near" pretty much means the City of Gunnison. Even the planning commission members who feel this is strictly a private enterprise issue have admitted the private sector has not stepped up to meet this demand. "Affordable" is defined as three times a household's annual income. Since the median income is somewhere around $43,000, that means most of us should be spending no more than $130,000 on a house. Well, good luck with that, even here in Gunnison. So the county is getting ready to require any proposed development to either dedicate a percentage of lots (or units, depending on what stage the development is in) to deed restriction rendering them affordable or to purchase an equivalent amount of land or housing elsewhere (say, the city of Gunison) for such a purpose. If the planning commission didn't finalize language last week, it's going to this week. Either way, it's soon headed to the county commissioners for the final decisions. The corridor plan also got a go-ahead stamp from the planning commission, although they noted it's rife with contradictions. I would suggest, if you're interested in mor detail, that you query Richard -- he's the one willing to go to the meetings. (I did suggest, during one of the public hearings, that maybe some of this stuff could be conducted at night so that working citizens could attend, and although my requested was seconded by another audience member, I'm guessing the suggestion went exactly nowhere. And, since GVCA members are frequently the only audience at the city planning commission, it probably doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference when meetings are held.) So that's this morning's report. At this rate, it will be Friday or Saturday before you get the entire journal. Something to look forward to, I'm sure. TL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5) Referenda C and D     GVCA members have been among those most actively involved in the campaign to pass these two referenda, although there has been some recent dilution of support for D. What we are finding is that an appalling number of people who stand to be directly impacted really have no idea what these referenda are about. *** Your local C& D Committee has been quite active of late (at least, the Venturos and Richard are doing their share -- some of us are slacking). Look for a postcard in your mail about the same time you receive your ballot, and there should be ads in most of the local print media this week with a list of local supporters. If you want your name added to the list, e-mail rkaras@gunnison.com and tell Richard. Of course, the ad costs money to run, despite the geneoristy of local media in helping with this issue. (Political ads are generally a lucrative source of income for newspapers and radio stations, so this is a particulaly generous donation.) So if you would like to contribute to the local C7D campaign, give Vikki a shout at roach@montrose.net. We have had some discussion of late about the worthiness of D, which devotes 85% of the bonds issued to transportation, leaving 15% for schools and higher ed building infrastructure and firefighters' pensions, which have already been 'borrowed" from and need to be repaid. Pat had several excellent points about the nature of supporting D, and would be willing to share those with anyone interested. Let her know at patatgunny@adelphia.net. And, because we are finding so many people who don't seem to have a clue about C and D: C will keep the state solvent and able to offer -- still at a somewhat minimal level in many cases -- basic services. It will keep $400 million from getting axed out of the state budget, according to the state budget director, who was appointed by Gov. Bill Owens and who, three years ago, was touting the virtues of TABOR (you can read all this in memos posted at the Office of Planning and Budget's website). It is estimated that at least $200 million of that will have to come from higher ed. Western State has estimated this will mean a loss of half its state funding. And this is just for 2006. Experts on both sides seem to agree that public funding for higher education will be phased out somewhere between 2010 and 2015 in the state of Colorado if C does not pass. The difference is that John Andrews and Jon Caldara, who are leading the charge against C, are publicly on record as opposing public funding for any sort of education, K-graduate school. If you value higher education, or even the economics higher ed provides here in Gunnison; if you value services such as public health, Temporary Aid to Needy Families, the food bank, Partners, senior services; if you expect state highways and buildings to be adequately maintained; if you don't want the county to have to pay for the health care of prisoners who belong in state facilities rather than in holding here in Gunnison County; heck, if you think you might want a publicly-funded swimming pool here in Gunnison and hope the county doesn't have to devote all of its resources to trying to make up holes in the state budget -- then you NEED to be voting for C. And if you're on this list, chances are good you're already aware of everything I've already said. But your friends and neighbors may not be. The Rocky Mountain News profiled an Ohio City couple, he still employed for $8-something an hour at the Gunnison Wal-mart, she on unpaid leave due to a non-work-related injury. At the same time as they are applying for food stamps, which the state currently helps pay for, they are planning to vote no on C because they think it's going to be an additional tax taken out of a paycheck that's already not stretching far enough. (Their story, by the way, pointed out several problems facing valley residents: they were having to move from their rental home because it had been purchased by someone not interested in using it as a rental; and, despite having health insurance, the family is unable to pay their 20% of the medical bills the wife has incurred since her injury.) So please -- and I have been as negligent as anyone, with an extra Yes on C and D yard sign face down on my porch -- talk to people you know, anywhere in the state. The "No" campaign, heavily funded from out-of-state and by secret sources Jon Caldara declines to reveal despite campaign funding laws, has devoted a lot of money to telling lies and distortions in the interests of carrying out an extremely radical agenda (saying NO to any public funding of education strikes me as extreme), is waging a simplistic TV campaign that tells us how hanging on to tax money already collected will cause irreparable harm to families. The polls keep showing somewhere around a 50/50 split for an issue that really ought to be a no-brainer: if you value public services of any sort, you have to be willing to pay for them, and it's a heck of a lot easier to do that at a state level rather than from our small county pool. End of soap box. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. TL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6) Gunnison County Justice Center Forum     The League of Women Voters has organized a forum for this Friday, 7 p.m. at the Fred Fieldhouse (multipurpose building). With no one willing to step forward to speak in opposition to the county ballot initiative, this will now be an informational presentation by county officials and perhaps the architect, with the opportunity for questions from the audience. *** The GVCA has not, and I don't believe plans to, taken a position on this ballot issue, but we do encourage everyone to make an informed decision. There does appear to be considerable opposition to the proposed detention center, but so far the closest anyone has come to stepping forward is Butch Clark, who says right up front that we absolutely need a new jail. He, however, backed by years of articles, studies and suggestions, thinks the county is planning to spend too much money to put the jail in too finite a location. Originally slated to appear as a panelist, Butch is now likely to either pose questions or make suggestions as an audience member at the forum. After a reading of the ballot language, the GVCA does note that the bond is not site-specific, although in the information mailed to all registered voters, the "pro" side spends all of its time detailing the plan for adding on to the existing courthouse. There are no comments against the ballot issue. 7) Farmers' Market     Only one week left to buy local and nearly-local farm products, plants and baked goods! But the market has had a successful sophomore season, and plans are already underway for next summer. The GVCA will soon begin discussing staffing its own booth with donations from local gardeners, proceeds to go to the food bank. And, while not exactly in the same line, there have been rumblings out and about about the possibilities for a community garden. *** The market's last gasp of summer takes place Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at the corner of Main and Virginia. However, you can look for many of the local vendors to be active through the winter. Mike Avery is organizing a bread club for those interested in continuing to purchase his products, and Lynn Schumann's Guilty Pleasures Baked Goods can be found in the alley between Main and Iowa, next to the Gunison Gallery. I believe you will still be able to call Tomichi Creek Beef this winter, but let me double-check that with Greg and Kathleen this weekend. You can, as a result of the market, eat their beef in the form of a Gunnison Brewery hamburger. The market will end with some excess money, most of which will be put toward next year's market. There is the possibility of either a community donation or a rebate to vendors, but that decision will have to wait until market organizers stage their next meeting. All in all, it was a successful venture this summer, and thanks to all of you who helped support this foray into sustainability. Look for more information this winter on the GVCA's planned role in the market next summer (as a vendor of donated local garden offerings), and, if we find out anything, plans for a community garden, either on the Western State campus or elsewhere in town. 8) Sustainable Communities Symposium     Staged by HCCA, this symposium a week and a half ago was attended by several GVCA members. Whether we want it to be or not, the world's oil supply is finite, and that directly impacts those of us who exist in a valley where almost everything is imported. *** I'm afraid I wasn't one of the GVCA members in attendance -- more meetings, activities and events than time, sadly -- but it sounded like a sobering evening. I'm sure there are others on this list who did attend who could provide more information, but getting them to actually pipe up and butt into my personal e-forum may never happen. The one fact I did hear that has impressed me is: while wandering through your local grocery aisles, you should be aware that, on average, every item you look at traveled 1,500 miles to arrive on that shelf. Somewhere I also heard how many calories are expended (it was in the hundreds) getting a strawberry to your grocery for your 4.3 caloric consumption of the little berry. As fuel costs rise and oil grows scarcer as demand increases, that 1,500 miles might start looking pretty long. That's why it certainly wouldn't hurt to start working on a more sustainable local economy. Let's celebrate that effort by starting this Saturday with a purchase at the Farmers' Market. *** I was going to try to wrap this up tonight, but it's not going to happen. It may be that gruesome details on the three remaining items I haven't covered don't actually get reported on this week. But by now you've probably heard far more from me than you ever wanted to. Some of the rest of you (besides Janet, who gets credit for doing her part) might want to put your two cents in and let me back my money out for a change. People might find it refreshing. TL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I am skipping over several items to this one because of a visit I received from Bill Matthews, a member of the GVH board. 12) Gunnison Valley Hospital     The administrator has left after about a year, and after many years in the black, the hospital is now in the red. Construction of a new orthopedic surgical clinic will draw away even more revenue. In an area where 22% of the population lives below the poverty line (according to a Hurricane Katrina forum comment made by sociologist Dan Cress) and where over a quarter of the population was uninsured three years ago (bet it's more now), this is a topic that should concern all of us. *** Word gets around quickly, and Tuesday morning Mr. Matthews stopped by to see me. We had a good conversation, and it started with the assurance that the hospital once again finished in the black as of June. He offered to show me -- or anyone else, because they're public documents -- the financials, or to provide any information we might want. I reported, obviously in error, a less rosy situation for the hospital's financials after we heard, not once but twice, from osentibly credible sources, that this was the situation. So I apologize for the misinformation. However, it did bring me into contact with Mr. Matthews, and we discussed several other points as well. I've already managed to forget the name he gave me -- I believe it's Randy Phelps, but that could be totally off-base -- of the hospital's interim CEO, who by several accounts is making a fine first impression. He comes here from Craig, where he spent 18 years as the hospital administrator. He did get forced out there, and since my last speculation was wrong, I should refrain from doing the same here. But it sounded like it was a change in management philosophy rather than anything else. I told Mr. Matthews our interest has stemmed in trying to tackle the very large problem of providing affordable, accessible, preferably preventative health care to valley residents. It's such a large issue, I told him, that it's been difficult to even identify a starting point. He did repeat what we've heard over and over, that Blue Cross is putting a serious squeeze on the area doctors. But I recently had an insurance representative tell me that was the most economical policy from a consumer standpoint, so there's a point of unhappy tension. Mr. Matthews had also heard more recent information on the Crested Butte Chamber's attempts to make available insurance for members. Apparently they tried Pacificare because Rocky Mountian HMO wouldn't talk to them, and then Pacificare left the table because it felt Blue Cross was getting preferential treatment from GVH, a charge Mr. Matthews disputes. I do think it's still worthwhile to keep an eye on the hospital's financial future, because a separate orthopedic clinic has to have some sort of impact (the Fiesta Mexicana Resaurant staff splintered into two new eateries here in town, and now Fiesta Mexicana is no longer -- although I don't mean to imply the hospital will go away). And we do have a large percentage of population without insurance, which the hospital is (thankfully) still obliged to provide for. In a tale of a cruise gone awry in a recent Denver Post Travel story, a man who suffered a urinary tract infection was required in Nassau to pony up $1,200 either by cash or credit card before they wold admit him to the emergency room. Maybe that's just the "rich tourist" policy down there, but it's still a sobering thought. Operating costs at our hospital --as they are for everything else -- are bound to go up this winter, as we all try to stay warm while paying a lot more than last year. So we should continue to keep an eye on our local hospital and local health care issues, and we have been offered access to any public information whenever we would like it. TL -----------------------------------------------------------------------------In looking over my notes, I see I neglected to report on the master plan process for the city, which is limping along at an amazingly tepid pace. Tonight the planning commission will review the preliminary vision statement, which reports indicate is less about vision than it is about our current state of existence. (I will not be able to attend the meeting since my film class at the arts center is supposed to start tonight after two delays.) And Richard reported the discussion at the county level of possibly creating two separate planning commissions, one to deal with the north end of the valley and another for the south. To us, that doesn't sound terribly productive, particularly if the economics and other parts of the plan put all the big houses up there and a need for little houses down here. There will be a library meeting (I don't know if it's strictly a board meeting, or an open public forum -- although any board meeting of a publicly-funded entity ought to be open to the public) on Oct. 12 (is that today?) to discuss funding possibilities for a new library. Ellen is recommending the new Barbara Ehrenreich book, _Bait and Switch_. I don't even remember the synopses she gave, but she's generally right on with her title recommendations. Oh, and I forgot to mention the letter I read in yesterday's Denver Post in my hospital report: the letter writer talked about how the tuition increases her husband has already seen at CU Health Sciences have caused him to rule out a career in family/general practice medicine, because the amount of the loans necessitates a larger income than such a practice will generate. The letter was a push to vote yes on Referendum C. Just another potential consequence for an area that doesn't generate much income (comparatively speaking) for doctors of any stripe. And, to anyone present at last night's city council meeting: what was Dick Bratton's response when the council asked him about his plans for the parcel east of town? The microphones picked up exactly zero of his response. My last comment for the morning (believe it when you finally see it) comes as a former member of the fifth estate: I do not think discussions about what our duly-elected city council hopes to find in a taxpayer-funded city manager belong in an executive session, and I'm very disappointed in a consultant who would suggest such a thing. Hopefully city attorney Rod Landwehr will find that this is a terrible idea. The consultant's thought -- not a very good one, if you ask me -- would be that access to this information would give an edge to local or regional candidates, who might get this edge either from the meeting or the minutes of it. I would suggest to Mr. Ranguet (I'm sure I spelled that wrong), Mr. Dickey (as a current member of the fifth estate) and the three council members who have signed up for our e-list this: that the city videotape the meeting it airs publicly, and make both it and the minutes from that meeting available to any candidate wanting to request them, rather than holding secret meetings about what is clearly the public's business. And now I think I'm done. For today. TL The E-Mailing Fiend ------------------------------------------------------------------------------