Walsenburg Infrastructure

In a previous blog I mentioned that a city official agreed that Walsenburg has about $30 million in contingent liabilities.  These would include replacement of water and sewer lines, replacement of the gas transmission line, replacement of the water supply line from LaVeta, replacement/repair of the water tank, and resurfacing of city streets.

With these kinds of expenses required to maintain basic services, it should be clear where our priorities need to be.  Why is there no urgency to solve these problems?  Why is the Northlands Sewer Project always first in line for time and money?  If the residents and owners of the Northlands aren't contributing their time and money to the project, why is it so important to the city council?

Maybe Walsenburg citizens aren't sending a message to the council on where their priorities are.  Is it true that our basic services are not important? Could it be that our council is avoiding these problems?  The money for the loans  and legal fees will be in the range of $5 to $10 million for the Northlands Sewer Project. That amount would be a good start on some of our city projects for basic needs.  I wonder if there are potential council members in the community that would put basic services in a different order than the present council?  We currently have four members who are affiliated with a political party known to stand for fiscal responsibility.  Does that not apply to city policy?

Any shortfall in the city budget always brings talk of additional mil levies and other taxes.  The burden is placed on responsible homeowners who are rewarded by being billed for expenses for other areas while their needs are put on indefinite hold.

Cloaked Easement Negotiations

The Walsenburg city council is pushing to complete the Northlands Sewer project regardless of the consequences.  The secrecy about the easement negotiations is pronounced.  Even council members are asking for information.  There is reason to believe that the administration and some council members are discussing business by cell phone and e-mail between council meetings.  Never mind open meeting laws.

City property can be traded in easement deals which leave the citizens out of the loop. I only bring these things up because I was raised to believe in democracy.  If citizens don't insist on being informed, they send the message that government can act unilaterally.

I have asked the question repeatedly, what have the Northland residents contributed to this project?  I haven't received an answer yet.  The city has contributed money and many man hours to this project.  If half this effort and money were spent on the city, we would have new Infrastructure and paved roads.

We need to re-examine this project and pull out before we lose more money and time to a speculative venture that may only benefit a few land speculators.

Same Song a Different Day

The Northlands sewer project keeps coming up in the City Council meetings and the Financial Committee meetings.  Funds for the project keep coming from the city of Walsenburg.  How much have the property owners in the Northlands area contributed to date?  This is unknown.  No amount has been mentioned.

The bills collecting on the accounts payable ledger are for the city.  One of the next bills will be a $400,000 plus interim loan to pay for initial invoices for the project.  The city is borrowing money to pay for services already rendered.  There are about $500,000 in expenses waiting for payment.

Even though the money will be repaid by the USDA loan, the loan is guaranteed by the city of Walsenburg. Currently there are invoices for legal services in the amount of $27,000 to pay for property description details to properly secure the interim loan.  Although it would seem logical that the Northland property owners would front this money, so far there is no indication that this will happen.  All front money and effort seems to be from the city.

There is another puzzling part to this picture.  The easement procurement process is proceeding so quietly that even council members aren't aware of any news about it.  Many of us are concerned about the terms of any deals to secure the easements. Hopefully, the future of Walsenburg will not be forfeited in this process.

The Northlands project appears to be an ongoing process that should never have been started after the area was annexed.  All utilities and roads should have been in place before the annexation.  If proper procedures had been followed, we would not be involved in this quagmire now.

United Communist States of America

Have you or anyone you know ever seen as much corruption and un-american activity in this country?  In the interest of political correctness, our country is being subverted by the lawless.

No one I know wants Sharia law here.  It is cruel and inhuman.  Even animals don't treat others the way Muslims treat their families.  Women are treated as property instead of human beings with rights.

Our education system is being dictated by the federal government.  The administration we have is showing that they are not interested in justice.  They have an agenda which seems to include indoctrinating children to political correctness and to making students believe whatever the government says. This isn't the democratic way.  We should teach our children to examine what is presented to them for the truth.

Our freedom of speech is threatened by a government which uses the most cutting edge technology to spy on us daily.  Some senators are trying to revoke the first amendment right of citizens to have free speech.  They are signing their name to such legislation.  How can this be happening is our country?

Our veterans are disrespected and abused at the VA hospitals.  It's difficult to understand how this is happening.  I am a veteran and never expected to see this.  After defending our freedoms from communist and tyrannical dictators, it is not easy to see this kind of government in D.C.

Also we are being indoctrinated that we are to be ashamed if we are not of color. All problems and evil is said to be from white people.  This is racism.  When Hitler was defeated, we thought it was the end of this kind of hate.  Obviously, our present administration wants to resurrect this type of behavior.

I hope you agree with me that we won't tolerate this in America.  No matter what your political label, let's work to restore tolerance and freedom in our nation.

Just Trust Me

A consistent characteristic of the Walsenburg government is similar to one in D.C.  When it comes to transparency, they say it exists, but I don't buy it.  The accounting system is not one which can be easily accessed and checked for a current financial picture.

If you ask for an account balance, you are informed that it is not available.  Why is this so?  As near as I can tell, it is to allow for funds to be placed in a general account where they are available as needed.  Never mind whether it is income for the water fund or gas fund or a utility deposit.

This is not accounting; it is spending whatever comes in.  No wonder we are short of funds. When it was suggested that capital improvement funds should be put in separate accounts, you would have thought the roof was caving in. It would be too much extra trouble to do that according to city officials. At present, there is a financial administrator and a second accountant for payables and receivables.  The financial administrator gets a substantial paycheck plus benefits. What is her function?  That's a lot of manpower for a small city, and they think separate accounts are too much trouble?

The terms "mill levy increase" and "sales tax increase" are being used more often by city council lately. "Fix the infrastructure" and "improve Walsenburg" are not heard much.  There seems to be a pattern here. "Let's fix Northlands" is heard a lot.

As citizens we are entitled to accountability for our taxes.  Of course this can be forfeited and the folks at city hall can be given a blank check. It appears that has been done already.

Questionable Party Affiliations

My father was a staunch Democrat all of his life.  He was a blue-collar worker and believed in the importance of strong unions protecting the rights of workers. I guess most of our political beliefs are shaped by our parents.  However, today's Democratic party bears no resemblance to the one my father supported. Their stand on abortion, homosexual rights and amnesty, leaves me no choice but to consider Republican candidates.  And even then, I must be sure he or she is a Republican candidate who stands for conservative and traditional values - someone who calls for a balanced budget and promotes the security of my country.

When you vote in the up-coming local, state-wide and congressional elections, I ask you to consider carefully who you cast your vote for.  Study the candidate's past voting record in regard to personal integrity, constitutionally-based and traditional family values. We can no longer afford to simply vote along party lines.

Brenda Murphy 

It's All About the Northlands

The Walsenburg City Finance meeting and the City Council meeting were all about the Northlands again. (No surprise there.)  For years the Walsenburg city has been consumed by their interest in the development of the Northlands.  It is  seen as the panacea for all the problems of Walsenburg.  Supposedly, the installation of the multi-million dollar sewer line will bring life to an otherwise dying city.  It sounds like a sales pitch.  In fact, there is no guarantee that businesses will locate there. There is also no guarantee that the city will ever recover any of the funds spent on the project.

At the city council meeting Tuesday night, there were several discussions of how to bring about the Northlands project as quickly as possible.  Noticeably absent from the meeting was any enthusiasm for projects in Walsenburg south of the camelback.

There was a presentation by LiveWell Huerfano County.  They are working to promote pedestrian and bicycle trails in Walsenburg.  In conjunction with the presentation of a route map, they discussed the painting of a bike lane divider on some streets. There were suggestions by the city council about implementing their proposals; however, if only they could incorporate the word Northlands in their name, they could probably receive substantial money and immediate action from the council.

Near the end of the meeting, Jacque Sikes was recognized to speak.  She discussed Ordinance 1015 which was passed in Walsenburg on December 10, 2012, to provide for replacement of sewer and water lines that are older than 3 years.  The money is collected through sales tax and designated for capital improvements to the water and sewer infrastructure.  The ordinance requires a 5 year plan to address problems with the water and sewer systems.  Because no plans have been drawn and money has been spent from these funds, Jacque requested that separate accounts be set up for them so they could be easily accessed.  The reception of this request was less than welcomed.  The administrator immediately protested that it would create an extra workload; although moments before, the same administrator was expressing how easily the job of city treasurer could be assimilated by his office personnel without hiring a new treasurer.

The pattern of expending time and money on one area of Walsenburg continues.