Current Watch: "Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association Investigation"

Today's post is put up by 'GWS44'. 

Yesterday, a Garfield County citizen commented and put up his name.  This individual has been aware of the whole scope of problem from the beginning.  His comment was heated, direct and if there were no concerns for harm to others, we would let it stay.  In fact, we wanted to let it stay.  It was pulled by grace that runs far, far deeper than my own.

With everyone agreeing this morning we're putting up his revision at his request.

For anyone else wanting to speak while we have comments down again, write in by email in a letter form and we'll review it.

"smalltown:

I talked to her at length yesterday after she pulled my name and comment off this blog.

There’s 2 reasons I’ll go along with that.

The biggest one is after talking, I see your right.  There’s a list now of people hurt and after a lot of years, clear evidence that shows who did that. That woman is known now with hard evidence that eventually stops her.  If people don’t have a safe place from that, they not only won’t talk, she’s daily revealing she doesn’t think she has anyone stopping her and anyone getting in the way gets hurt.   

The second reason I’ll go along with being yanked is because the men involved in this group and the men who have fallen in alongside them since you started now have one who needs help staying standing. They now have vulnerable younger kids and their parents in the line of fire from that same woman running loose. The goal seems to be complete destruction of their lives. On the other hand it’s not an option to let lives be taken. Those men are right that the thing to do is stay standing in front until authority deals.  Those men are right that there isn’t anyone stopping her.  The vulnerable come first.

You put me up in an email post too.  For now, leave my name off and I won’t post it again until we agree on that.

Here’s my words:

“Interesting to see the delay in the video put up on the city site.  Save the smoke and whistles trying to slap an excuse on that. I don’t want to see minutes like I saw yesterday on the city site that are shaved down from what they were when they came in the council packet last Monday.  Shaved down in Kaup’s stmts of why she’s not running again.  I don’t appreciate the attempt to insult my intelligence.  Remember, your all on public record now in a lot of areas and your actions reveal. 

Chuck out to the garbage every single word out of council, city leaders, tourism and the chamber mouths that distracts from that fact and please do so from this point forward.  I don't want to hear it.

At this point, I want to know where in the hell my Garfield BOCC is. 

They oversee the county.  What we have here that a blind man can see now is verified proof that more than one of Garfield’s citizens has a complaint against the chamber of commerce.  And every one of those complaints says the same thing.  Get the problem of your public tax, your public contract and your whole relationship with the chamber away from the victims.  Deal with it, it’s your responsibility, they have nothing to do with it and never have wanted to.  What we have here now is a proven city council not doing anything about at least the current for over a year now until recently when it's so bad it gets filed in a court of law.  What we have here now is a legal process trying to back track and clean up but think it's Ok to still let more fall and all to go deeper into the shadows.   

The writer before me is dead on right.  Those things stand when all else falls away.

What really stands up that needs intervention from higher, is council and chamber board not just turning backs on those complaints, but encouraging the harm happening to people by encouraging a process that is now proven to allow anything to go on because they're being led around by the help that can't be fired.

To hear at Christmas another family has fallen prey. And to keep hearing no matter how bad or obvious it gets, there’s still a council sitting that has the audacity to act like they are now in public meetings plus still sit cowering in front of that one sick mind in the help that can’t be fired,  sends nothing but a cold chill up my spine. 

To watch with my own eyes that council has the power to run human lives, businesses and physical bodies into harms way is a feeling of fear looking at the depth.

Since when is any part of this allowed?”
MR 

Current Watch: "City of Glenwood Springs City Council, Tourism Marketing Contract 2012, Tourism Oversight and Promotion Board

This morning's post is done by 'GWS44'.

Today's Glenwood Springs Post Independent announces a deadline of this coming Friday (2 days from now), for 'vacancy' seats on the new Tourism Promotion Board that was just sat last fall.

These three seats have always had a short term in order to work the new board into the designated seating cycles. 'smalltown7' is just not buying the obvious today in the fact that the PI has not announced this publically so the folks could truly be informed.

When City Council chose to heavily seed the new board with the current marketing vendor's Board of Directors last Fall, the public noticed.  One of those seeds is Ken Murphy.  He sits both Chamber Board of Directors and the new Tourism Board.  Ken also was sitting the Financial Advisory Board that has a direct tie to the tourism grant fund requests.  Ken is a highly qualified person and well liked in the community.

smalltown7 points out again that this is not a popularity contest and we do not care for the performance of our City Council's oversight.

It is a true conflict of interest for the marketing vendor board of directors to be seating the Tourism Board.

The people's request for a city handled tourism board has seen nothing but purposefully driven friction from the tourism sector that is now having to fund their private businesses themselves and who support giving no public transparency.

Nobody will blink today seeing this from the PI. It's also possible they still just remain asleep at the wheel and missed the signficance of these seats upcoming.

We hope our resident seat in Scott has not already reached a point of being so fed-up with little to no true support (or) is watching the current harm being done to still yet another local family, that he decides this is not worth it and bails.  If he does, we hope John Duven steps up now that he has not turned in a petition to take the council seat held by Dave Sturges.

We call out today to 81601 avatars in commentary and ask you to pull in any tourism sector replacement that meets the requirements and at the very least replace Ken Murphy.  Steve Beckley needs to move on as well.  From the sound of the tourism feedback, his position of trying to force the old status quo that has kept both the rift in the community and our lodging revenues in the tank is just not right for 81601. 'necky', 'remedy'--you both could make this change happen because of how you are placed in the community.

There are terrific replacements on council in Leahy and Gamba.  They'll do a great job.

Support Edmonds for Arensman's seat and urge him into the position of Mayor.  smalltown could support Arensman if he retains his seat but feels it's time for a clean sweep.

Very disappointing that Dave Sturges has no competition unless what could be a well-supported write-in steps up. The one thing we know historically with Dave is that once he can finally be made to move, he usually follows through.  His handling of the chamber situation and his allowing the lack of support to hold the tourism board's positions is deeply concerning.

Applications for the Tourism Board seats are due by this Friday.

Good luck and our thanks,  to any qualified  individual stepping up.

Current Watch: "Tourism Marketing Contract 2012 (and) City of Glenwood Springs City Council oversight"

smalltown7 post the Draft Agenda for the City of Glenwood Springs City Council Meeting of February 3, 2011.

Click on the title of this post for viewing. 

Or:  http://www.ci.glenwood-springs.co.us/packet/Addtl%20Info%20-%20Draft%202-3-11%20Agenda.pdf

Item #10:  'Discussion and/or Action on 2012 Tourism Marketing Contract' makes this an upcoming meeting that is extremely important to the citizens of 81601. 

All citizens are urged to watch this council meeting. 

You do not have to buy into council's mandate that they want you to appear in person.  You can review and watch from the privacy and comfort of your own home.  Simply go to the City of Glenwood Springs homepage and click on 'live feed'. 

Should you miss the meeting, you can now also simply go to the video library link under the City Council sub-category and pull it up on file.  Conveniently broken out into sections of meeting so that you do not have to endure sitting through the entire meeting.
______________________________
In the past, smalltown7 has posted 'after the fact'.  Always hoping that their belief in giving every entity under Current Watch the benefit of the doubt would bring same to be forthcoming.  That turned out to not be the case, yet the wheels of rightful things kept turning and the end result of victory came to the voices behind the scenes.

Now, that the tourism marketing portion of the Accommodations Tax is safely in City oversight hands and your  new board has held firm gaining control of the 2011 contract and vendor, what faces the citizens of 81601 is the last section of your list of concerns.

Do you get an RFP for all future awards, including 2012?  Is there going to be public awareness of the results of audits forthcoming from private hands?  Is Strawberry Days truly a civic event and if so, why is there no city oversight or handling of all the money pertaining to the event?  So much has torn Glenwood Springs apart in the battle to get Ordinance #12, Series of 2010, where are we now and how do we pull together?  What more lies ahead that is in the public eye?

As these concerns unfold over the next few months, Glenwood Springs also has a City Council election coming up.  A very, very important one with (4) major seats in play.

81601 has some very strong and incredibly capable competitors stepping up for these seats.  This is likely the most important election for City Council and Mayor 81601 has ever known.  The smalltown7 group urge anyone qualified by living in the correct ward who desires to do what is best for Glenwood Springs to step up.

This time, there is no longer a fear of retaliation  nor is there a need to be concerned over back-door politics.  smalltown7 makes it known now that Russ Arensman is the only incumbent they feel could be a possible to stay.  If you will go back and watch all videos and read minutes from the past few years, you will see that Arensman has grown throughout the bloodshed of 2009 and 2010.  He has strong competition who is also very fit.  smalltown7 makes it known at this time that their decision is not to disclose their personal choices.  That decision making turned out to be very wise as Ordinance #12, Series of 2010 began to wind up to really be possible.

You, the citizens of 81601, have done an incredible job with your new board.  smalltown8 is greatly encouraged and so very glad to see the growth.

As this group looks at the tasks remaining, they see that once again, the slippery slope of disinformation and/or omission, is still a factor attempting to side-track your progress. 


"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." John Wooden 


We are not certain exactly how to do it, but have decided that a vital role for this group is to keep pointing out the little details:

This evening (January 20, 2011) City Council meets.
http://www.ci.glenwood-springs.co.us/packet/agenda.htm

• The two items of likely significance at this meeting are unfortunately at the discretion of Council to disclose.
• Those items are #5A pertaining to approval of minutes from special closed door meeting held January 12, 2011 and Item #9 Council Reports on Board, Committee and Commission Meetings. 
• Relevant to both item #5A and Draft Agenda for February 3, 2011 are the meeting dates of the new tourism oversight and promotion board.  http://www.ci.glenwood-springs.co.us/boards/2010_MeetingDates.pdf
• If you have been following the progress of Ordinance #12, Series of 2010 and 81601's new board, then you are aware that the meeting held on January 13, 2011 was the first meeting after they had set their mandate that in order for approval of the 2011 Tourism Marketing Contract to be given, both oversight of spending in all contracts by the vendor (and) the removal of accounting from the Chamber of Commerce vendor and the Chamber Board.  Accounting to be placed into private hands for accounting and audit purposes.
• Located for your review on older minutes are Leo McKinney's comments that he was wondering if the tourism board could be stopped from their executive session request last fall.
• Located for your review on older minutes is Dave Sturges placing a disclaimer of liability on to the meeting record after the board's mandate was given.
• Yet, our council is verifiably not transparent in all matters pertaining to the accommodations tax and have been that way for decades. 
• A very important area that voters need to ask some hard questions about are the number of closed door sessions this council has gone into.  The dates of their doing so are significant and will likely reveal how significant as the months ahead unfold in the public eye. For now, smalltown7 urges you to keep a close eye on upcoming ventures and awards of contracts where the accommodations tax are concerned.  Ask questions on closed door meetings.  Check with your tourism board members and make sure they are comfortable with where they are at between their last meeting of January 13, 2011 and council's agenda for February 3, 2011.
• The only 'rush' there has ever been is the one that puts the tourism contract into the coffers of the Chamber as the sole source vendor all these years.  That is no longer the citizens of 81601's concern and you can safely and freely focus on your goals and aspirations for revitalizing the assets of our community.  

smalltown7 keeps talking.