Guest opinion: Raising the stakes on subdivision paving – Boulder Daily Camera.
The problem…
County officials in 1995 decided that they no longer wanted to pay for the full upkeep of streets and roads in unincorporated subdivisions. They decided unilaterally and without public discussion to stop chip sealing, overlaying, and reconstruction of these roads even though they continued to collect revenues that were intended for these expenses.
Fast forward to the present time, and the county now makes the distinction between what it terms “routine maintenance” and the more costly “rehabilitation.” There was no such distinction when the county accepted the streets in unincorporated subdivisions.
The county made all of this worse by having no alternative plan in place and allowing these streets and roads — which the county owns — to deteriorate for the past 18 years. The county didn’t even have the courage to admit these circumstances until 4 years ago.
The choice presented by the County is a LID or a PID but Greg Klinkel (author of this guest opinion) has a different solution. It’s time to fight back.
There is another option. It is not clear that the county can abdicate its responsibility to maintain and rehabilitate these streets and roads either by using its existing revenues or by asking all county voters for an across-the-board tax increase. The affected residents can band together to pursue legal action against the county to force it to perform on its obligations to maintain and rehabilitate these roads.
For the past three years, many voices have raised the arguments of responsibility, obligation, and fairness to the county commission, and those arguments have fallen on deaf ears. The county believes it can get away with this plan. They have forced this issue to a vote with an explicit threat. It’s time to fight back.
Go to the public meetings over the coming weeks: July 23 in Niwot, July 25 in Gunbarrel, July 30 in east Boulder, and the public hearing August 14 at the courthouse. (You can find more information at BoulderCounty.org/SubdivisionPaving.)
Stand up and tell the county commissioners that you’re mad as hell, and you’re not going to take it anymore.
Also the comments from Don Wrege are very much worth reading. His strategy is based on the opinion that Boulder County is intimidating voters to vote for a PID this November by threatening it’s citizens with inactment of a LID (you’ll have to read up on this). It is unlawful to intimidate a voter and the recourse is to file a complaint with the Secretary of State.
Don provides a template for filing a complaint with the Secretary of State and I highly encourage everyone send it in.
If blackmail is intimidation, this sure feels like intimidation.
There are the following Public meetings to supposedly discuss the PID vs. LID options coming up today and in the very near future:
- Niwot: Tuesday, July 23rd (today) 5:30 – 7:30, Rocky Mountain Christian Church, 9447 Niwot Rd @# N 95th St
- Gunbarrel, Thursday July 25, St. Mary Magdalene Church, 4885 Cambridge Street
- East Boulder, Tuesday July 30. Boulder County Recycling Center Community Room, 1901 63rd Street
- What happened to West Boulder?
- Public Hearing, Wednesday August 14, 4p @ Downtown Courthouse, 3rdFloor, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder
I will be attending the meeting in Niwot tonight, hopefully to network with other intimidated citizens.
