WHAT I SEE

My family and I have seen many changes in this county over the last 13 years, some good some bad. We fell in love with this county and the people from the very beginning.

One of the things that I have noticed that concerns me is the growth that we are experiencing. We have all seen how Denver has grown every other direction but west. Our mountains have kept us from the massive growth that the other directions have seen. But that is no longer the case. Weather or not you may want growth, it is coming. What we need to do now is have responsible growth. Do we want to have people moving up here that just want to spend a few years in an apartment to have a "mountain experience"? Or do we want to have people move here to build a house, create a home and become part of this wonderful community?

Along with the growth comes the traffic. With the new residents comes their commute. While the Roundabout has done a great job of increasing service within the county and even to Bergen Park, We need to find a way for the new residents to get from Denver to here without adding hundreds of cars a day to the roads. It will also provide added employment opportunities to our current residents. Years ago I had the opportunity to sit on the citizens advisory committee the the county planning commission. My main focus was exactly this situation.

There is another concern that I have heard from both citizens and business owners is our increasing tax rate. It is evident that we need to increase revenues to keep up with the increasing costs. However, we can not keep putting the burden on the backs of our residents. We have amazing natural resources that bring people from around the world to visit here. Since they benefit from our roads, parks, river and our police a fire protections, they should carry a larger portion of the cost.

I know that there may be more concerns than what I have listed. And probably other solutions to the concerns I have raised. I hope that you will reach out to me with anything you would like to share.

I am a republican. I am a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. I feel that the concerns and solutions for this county are things that effect all of us and not any particular party. This may be a simplistic view but I do believe that together we can move this county forward while keeping it the place we all love.