Erie Election 2014

Erie Neighbors,

My husband, Andrew and I, along with Matthew (18) and Megan (16) have called Erie home for almost 16 years. We are fortunate to have gotten to know so many of you.  

Being involved in our community has always been important to us. Andrew and I have both volunteered in our neighborhood.  Andrew was Mayor of Erie for 6 years, until being term limited in 2010.   I am 2 years into my 4 year term as an Erie Trustee.

As a fiscal conservative, the last 2 years as a board member have been a considerable challenge for me.  As many who have kept up with the politics know, I have been in the minority most of the time when the topic has been about expenditures.  Many of of these I’ve written about in my blog.

This blog is to ask for your support for the candidates who I believe will help move Erie forward.

Here are the people I am asking you to support with your vote in this election:

 
Tina Harris (Mayor) 

Jennifer Kramer

Waylon Schutt

Scott Charles 

Mark Gruber 

You may ask why I am not in favor of Ronda Grassi as our next mayor.   It is not personal, it is business.  It comes down to the deciding votes she cast on the 5 major decisions listed below. These decisions compromise Erie’s livability and its fiscal health.

1.	Approved Golden Run with Ultra High Density designation which could bring in 40,000 people congest traffic and change the character of Erie from suburban to high rise urban. Annexation Agreement - Ultra High Density Golden Run Approvals Population Reference
2.	Gave subsidies of over $3M to a housing developer, shifting the burden to the taxpayers.
3.	Built the $1.2M+ skate-park against staff recommendations and borrowed to do it.
4.	Reduced gas well setbacks in a large 2200 home development at the developers request.
5.	Changed Erie’s development code to allow for Planned Developments (PD).  This means developers are able to by-pass Erie’s code and any meaningful planning process.   It is what has allowed #1 and #4 to occur.

I'm confident the candidates I endorse will work for the majority in Erie, not special interests. Their platforms focus on bringing in retail, putting needs before wants, revitalizing Old Town, re-establishing good relationships with our neighbors (Lafayette and Boulder County), advocating for a new BVSD school, and ensuring subsidies to housing developers stop.   None of these candidates are taking campaign contributions from developers.

You may have noticed I did not specifically endorse a 5th Trustee.  You are asked to vote for 5.   I believe of the other candidates, Dan Woog or Bill Gippe are good choices and are not taking money from developers.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and consider these candidates.

As a Trustee for our wonderful town, please let me know your concerns and thoughts by emailing or calling me.

Take care,

Janice

303-604-0510

Erie Airport - What Do You Think?

I first flew in a small airplane in college.  It was exhilarating.   Since that time I’ve appreciated local aviation.  My son has an even bigger love for flight and is working towards his private pilot’s license. He recently soloed for the first time.

I’m writing this blog to ask for your help.  I need to understand if I am in the minority on funding and operational decisions related to the airport.   I’d appreciate your input via a short survey.

I want the airport in Erie to be successful, and currently believe it must do so using its own funding mechanisms.

On January 14, on a 4-3 vote, Wilson-Grassi-Mahe-Woog directed staff to add to the supplemental budget certain airport expenses to be paid from the general fund.  On February 25, Trustee Woog questioned staff on if it would be a loan.  Staff said it could be, but the decision would be made at supplemental budget time.

I was shocked when the small majority of the Board, for a second time, earmarked money from the general fund to supplement the airport fund.   

This is especially frustrating at a time when we are asking voters to raise their taxes for a new police station.    It begs the question, why can’t the airport live within its means? 

With this in mind, I am providing a short survey to obtain a sense of how Erie residents generally feel about airport funding and their support to expand the airport.

I appreciate your time filling out the survey and helping me understand this topic better.

You can find the survey by clicking here.

Take Care,

Janice

Censuring and Redirection

4//22/14

Tonight the Board of Trustees repealed the censure on a unanimous vote.   Erie has returned to common sense and teamwork.   Click here for the article.

4/1/14 - Update

The election today voted out of office Trustees Grassi and Mahe.    Trustee Carnival and Mayor Wilson choose not to run.   The 4 behind the censure are now out of office.  Thank you Erie Voters!

1/4/14  - Original Blog

Censure -  strong disapproval or harsh criticism. 

It happened to me and Trustee Gruber at the Erie Board of Trustee meeting on Tuesday, Dec 10, 2013.

By resolution, and without an opportunity to respond, on a 4-3 vote, Mayor Wilson and Trustees Grassi, Mahe, and Carnival took it upon themselves to become Erie’s de facto judge and jury.   In a show of desperation, Mayor Wilson purposely and willfully did not allow us to speak in our own defense without interruption during this shocking process.   Our voices were silenced.  The process resembled politics of a country ruled by a dictator and his cronies - ignore the facts, silence opposing views.

A bit of history/timeline is important:

• Mayor Wilson negotiates a property deal for the Town without oversight of town staff.  
• The Town declines to purchase the property.  
• Mayor buys the property at a discount below what he brokered to the town.  
• Mayor confronts tenant on property and is issued a restraining order and ordered by the court to divest the property.   
• All 6 Erie Trustees launch an investigation into the Mayor Wilson’s actions knowing costs would be incurred by the town.   
• Erie resident, Liz Fisher, files a subsequent ethics complaint.  
• Trustees unanimously vote to suspend their duplicate investigation of Mayor Wilson.  This ensure costs for only one investigation. 
• Investigator asks Board for relevant information from an executive session -  Grassi, Carnival, Ogg vote to block him from seeing the information.   
• Investigator then concludes ethics investigation and could not confirm Wilson profited.  
• Investigator also says that the information from the executive session was not made available and the landowners who profited could not remember key discussions with Mayor Wilson.   
• Wilson, Carnival, Grassi and Mahe then vote to censure us for not telling them we answered Liz Fisher's questions.   They stated that we caused the cost of the investigation, conveniently ignoring the fact they approved the investigation.   
• On another close vote, the board approves $10,000 in legal fees for Mayor Wilson.   That is $9,000 over what the law allows.  I voted against this and strongly voiced concern regarding the appearance of legal fees included from his personal retraining order case. 

Neither of us knew about Liz Fisher’s ethics complaint before it was filed to investigate the Mayor Wilson’s ethical behavior.  Neither one of us filed nor wrote the ethics complaint.

There is nothing unethical or illegal about talking with constituents.   And we certainly don’t have to get Wilson, Grassi and Carnival’s approval to do so.  We discuss Town business with constituents, associates, town staff, and other government & business leaders all the time.  We can and will continue to talk to any Erie resident that have questions on any subject related to town business.

The willingness of Wilson, Grassi, Carnival, and Mahe to impose domination through censure is a direct threat to democracy in Erie.   In a free society the views of our citizens must be heard without the threat of punitive action. 

As elected officials in the minority we also must have voices not squelched by those who hold a majority.   Our voices in Erie will not be stopped nor censored by people who behave like a bullies.

Take care,
Janice

Thank You Erie Optimist Club

Thank you to the Optimist Club of Erie and the Town of Erie Public Works Department for making last Saturday's Eerie Erie 5K/10K and Goblin Run a BIG success!  Their partnership was especially important this year because of the flood damage on parts of the routes for the 5K and 10K races.

Erie's Public Works Department worked diligently, under a time press, to make sure the trails were safe for the event. Thank you so much!   Under a blue sky, this year's 31st Annual Eerie Erie it was made possible thanks to all the friendly and dedicated volunteers from the Optimist Club of Erie.

The Optimist Club's goal is to serve the youth of our community by sponsoring programs and events geared toward mental and physical development.  If you've participated in the event, then you know the costumes are hilarious and it's a fun time to see many friends from Erie and neighbors from towns nearby. If you haven't experienced the event yet, then please join us next year!  To learn more about the Optimist Club in Erie, please visit their website at http://erieoptimists.org/.

Take care,
Janice

Trail Connectivity and Tree Certificate Program

Dear Erie Neighbors,

Want to go for a bike ride, run or stroll? Now you can on over 25 miles of connected trails!

The newly completed section of the Coal Creek Regional Trail, which opened officially on Wednesday, adds 4 miles of multi-use trail that extends from the end point of Rock Creek Regional Trail near Majestic Drive in Lafayette to Erie’s Spine Trail near Vista Parkway. The entire Coal Creek and Rock Creek trail system has over 25 miles connecting the communities of Boulder, Superior, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie and Broomfield.  

Boulder County worked with the Town of Erie, City of Lafayette, the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Foundation and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to secure funding to complete the eastern most link of the Coal Creek/Rock Creek Regional Trail System. GOCO awarded a $500,000 grant through its special opportunities program which allows for larger grant awards for larger scale projects.

See photos of the Ribbon Cutting event by clicking here.

To view a map of the new trail segment north of State Highway 7, click here. 

Fall is a perfect time to plant trees.  If you are planning to add one or more in your yard, consider the Town of Erie's Tree Incentive Program to help with the cost.  To learn more about how to get a certificate, please click here.

Have a great start to the school year, and enjoy Autumn,

Janice

Golf Carts and IGAs

Dear Erie Neighbors,

Wow, that was a crazy storm we had Saturday night!  I hope you, your family, and property are safe.

I want to share information about IGAs and get your input on having golf carts on the trails and/or streets in Erie.

On the topic of IGAs (Intergovernmental Agreements), I support collaboration with our neighboring cities and counties.  I wrote a guest opinion to the Hometown Weekly newspaper. You can find it by clicking here.

There is talk about legalizing golf carts on the trails in Erie.  I am currently not in favor of mixing strollers, walkers, joggers, and cyclists with motorized vehicles, but would like to hear from you before I am required to make a decision.  Please let me know what you think below.


Take Care,
Janice



===== Update on 8/13/13 - Survey Results =====

Thank you for all the great feedback on golf carts on our trails and streets.  You can find the results and comments by clicking here.

A quick summary:

• 249 responses
• 80% do not want golf carts on the trails primarily for safety reasons
• 53% do not want golf carts on the streets

The comments are where you'll find more insight on why Erie residents feel the way they do. 

I did share the results with the other members of the Board of Trustees.

In the end no motion was made to consider golf carts on Erie's trail system.   A motion was made to consider golf carts on our streets with speed limits 35 mph or lower by Mayor Wilson and seconded by Trustee Grassi.   The motion failed 3-4.

Erie Recognized as One of the Top Places for Raise Kids

Great news! The Denver Business Journal ranked 4th in Colorado for best towns for young families. Read the article by clicking here.
Let's keep celebrating our community and its focus on families.

Take care,
Janice