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Show Viewpoints The A-19 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 24-27, 2019 editorial The primary lesson of the 2019 Council race: your vote counts I guest editorial Community growth presents an opportunity, not a threat CHRIS ROMER Vail Daily Growth is a good problem to have, as the saying goes. But, for some communities, it can be a concept that causes friction and resentment — particularly when residents perceive it as not benefiting society at large. Eagle County is not alone in this. The challenges created by such misunderstandings are also on display in the Cayman Islands, where 21,000 indigenous Caymanians often find themselves in direct competition with the 39,000 foreign nationals who supply much-needed manpower to the island nation’s $3.2 billion economy. “Because our economy is growing at such a fast pace, we now have a situation where more than 50% of our workforce is held by foreign nationals,” said Wil Pineau, CEO at the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce. “Locals sometimes feel as though they’re not getting the direct benefit of that growth, and as a result, they’re feeling a bit threatened by it.” Sound familiar? A common refrain is often heard locally when discussions are held regarding local housing developments, the cost of health care, or state transportation or school funding challenges. While we don’t have 50% of our workforce held by foreign The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Alexander Cramer Ryan Kostecka Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Events Manager ................. Julie Bernhard Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ........................Chelsea Babbitt nationals like the Cayman Islands, we do have stresses caused by growth and we’re equally threatened. But we are far from full, and our ongoing success is dependent on figuring out ways to accommodate our future growth. The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Colorado is on track to add 50,700 jobs in 2019. Colorado was one of six states where the unemployment rate declined. The seasonally-adjusted rate fell from 3.2% to 3.1%. The Colorado economy is not operating efficiently because the unemployment rate is too low and there are not enough qualified workers to fill jobs in many sectors across Eagle County and Colorado. That job growth leads to population growth, and Eagle County is forecast to reach almost 70,000 residents by 2030 and 94,000 by 2050. Urban policy reporter Emily Badger writes in the Washington Post that the notion that a place is “full” is more about perception than reality: “We can always make choices to make more room, to build taller and denser, to upgrade schools and rethink roads to let more people in. That we don’t isn’t a limitation of physics. It’s a matter of politics disguised as physics.” Basalt Town Council member and Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Aspen Ski Company Auden Schendler writes, “Mountain and resort communities are increasingly occupied by older, wealthier people. Peace and quiet is what they prefer. But do these residents only care about numbers, and not community character? The places we live, absent families, young people, commerce and foot traffic, can’t really be described as towns, much less communities.” Community growth strategist Doug Griffiths sums up the need to embrace growth by sharing, “Successful communities are not afraid to take risks and embrace change. By being creative and taking on a ‘can do’ attitude, they find that one success leads to another and another. If you like the status quo and have no stomach for risk-taking — you’ll be in a good leadership position to keep your community away from all chances of being successful.” Community growth is not a bad thing; from the Cayman Islands to Colorado, successful communities need to find ways to support growth and grow community in order to thrive and remain vibrant. Eagle County’s continued vibrancy and success depends on it. For the record t was expected the Park City Council ballot for the November election would be determined on Aug. 13, the date of the primary election. Now, nearly two weeks later, the final slot on the six-person ballot remains to be decided. Two candidates, Chadwick Fairbanks III and Daniel Lewis, are within two votes of each other with Fairbanks III with the narrow lead. The canvass is scheduled on Tuesday, and the other candidates appear to have already secured the votes need to advance to November. The margin between Fairbanks III and Lewis as the canvass nears makes it possible that the final number will fall into the range that would allow a candidate to request a recount. The lesson of the primary election, regardless of which candidate advances, is the critical importance of each and every vote in a City Hall election. The campaign season has thus far been staid, certainly lacking the political fireworks that marked municipal elections of the past. That was apparent in the primary, when 24.6% of the registered voters cast ballots, according to the preliminary numbers. Just 1,443 or so Park City voters, then, will decide the names on the ballot in November. There were nearly 5,900 registered voters in Park City on the day of the primary, meaning three out of every four people who could have voted chose not to do so. And that leads to a discussion about two votes separating Fairbanks III and Lewis. Fairbanks III is a relatively recent arrival to Park City whose status as a contender for the November ballot is likely a surprise to many voters given his embrace of far-right ideologies that typically do not resonate in left-leaning Park City. Lewis, meanwhile, is a staunch supporter of the City Hall agenda. There is a political chasm between them even though there is just a two-vote gap separating them. It seems it will be difficult for either of them to capture a City Council seat in November, as they trailed the upper tier by hundreds of votes in the primary. But the lesson of the narrow margin between them in the primary should not be lost on the electorate once November arrives: Your vote counts. guest editorial ‘Change is hard. I get it.’ ROGER MAROLT The Aspen Times There is a new rallying cry in town. “Relax, it’s Aspen” is dead, thank goodness, although this new one is equally grating on the nerves. I first heard the condescending replacement phrase last winter as the community debated the new lift 1A development plan. In the spring, I heard it said about the airport expansion. Wednesday, I saw it quoted by Mike Kaplan in Skico’s acknowledgment of Ikon Pass crowding at Highlands. Thursday, I heard someone on the radio in an ad for the airport use it in describing the new parking arrangements there. The execrable words are these: “Change is hard. I get it.” And with this, we are left to lick our wounded sense of intelligence while accepting that the angst we are feeling over these changes are due to personal weakness and not anything external that we have experienced or observed. We know this because the people saying this about the gentrification of the Lift 1A neighborhood, airport expansion, Ikon Pass infusion or inconvenient parking arrangements don’t seem like they really believe that the change to which they refer is hard or actually “get” why we think it is. At first I thought this was so irritating because of the way people say this catchphrase. It sounds like the beginning of a lecture from a goody two-shoes talking down to me; somebody who believes with all their heart that I am an idiot, but they will treat me kindly by sticking to simple words I have a chance of understanding. I don’t know, maybe I deserve it. Except now I see the trick. They want me to believe that “change” is the problem, and not actually the thing they are trying to pull over on us. It’s not that the new development won’t provide enough employee housing. It’s change that gives us the heartburn. It’s not that the new airport is another step toward citification that’s the trouble. It’s change that’s got us down. Crowded parking lots and ski slopes are not the issue. It’s change that chaps our hides as we moulder in line. Well, how about lowering the price of a Classic Pass by $500 this year and see how hard it is for us to adapt to that extra change in our pockets. Get more reasonably priced flights out of here and fewer unexplained offseason cancellations and see how smoothly that change is accepted at the airport. Build a reasonably sized hotel and some houses for locals and I don’t think you will have any problem with us accepting change. As it turns out, it’s not change that’s the problem, it’s you guys who are trying to make us think it is and that this is our fault instead of yours. Remember when somebody would tell you, “Relax, it’s Aspen”? You hated that phrase, but could never admit it, even to yourself, because the implication was that, if that slogan irked you, it was because you were uptight. It was telling you that there are no problems in Aspen except for you, if you happen to be grumpy one morning. That was me who came up with the “Relapse, It’s Aspen” sticker that is plastered onto the front door of The Hickory House in an attempt to sober up the reality of the “relax” movement, if you will. So agreeably bad was that relax slogan that my sworn enemy, Lo Semple, did the honor of actually sticking the verbal antivenin up there. We haven’t agreed on anything since. If it is not clear now that I am not relaxing about this latest proliferation of patronization, pay attention. Change is coming your way and the purveyors of it will make you feel so stupid for resisting it that you will eventually fall in line even though your stomach won’t stop hurting. So, a friend says the other day about the rise of e-bikes and the opposition to them: “It’s change. I get it.” I kept my cool, but didn’t hesitate to point out that it’s not just change. There are plenty of good reasons to dislike e-bikes. There are also lots of good reasons to like e-bikes. We don’t need to blame any of this on change, just look at the facts and make up your own mind about them. Personally, I think we should treat e-bikes like medical marijuana. If you need one, get a prescription from your doctor and we’ll give you a pass to ride them on the single track. Let’s talk about it. The change will do us good. Roger Marolt believes change is as inevitable as bad ideas are. Email at roger@maroltllp.com. letter to the editor Rewards needed Editor: The FBI should offer $500,000 rewards to people who report anyone they suspect of committing mass shootings in the future. There are many people, friends and relatives, who know what these shooters are up to long before they do their shootings. And the reward will prompt people to take action. David G Clark Park City Photos by James Hoyt Asked on Main Street Are you in favor of the idea that the United States should purchase Greenland? Kip Portz Denver “No. There’s bigger fish to fry here at home; there’s other things that need our attention and our funds.” Laura Magnuson Chandler, Arizona “I don’t know why it’s necessary. I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other, but I don’t know why we would need that country.” Sebastien Jegou Paris “It should definitely stay in the hands of people who are really responsible rather than just thinking that it’s going to be an additional playground.” See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord and Instagram.com/parkrecord |