Let's Stop Arvada's Road to Third Rate

Arvada is headed towards becoming a third rate city -- unless a change is made at the polls on November 1.

You see, the direction the incumbent city council has set us upon is one of growing population, but with fewer resources to support the municipal services, the roads and bridges that we have come to expect.

This must be clearly understood: the fundamental, underlying problem for Arvada is most assuredly not a lack of residents -- it is a debilitating lack of businesses. Since by far most of the city's revenue comes from sales taxes, there is simply not sufficient income to supply the revenue to meet basic municipals needs.

This is the future, but it is also the emerging reality now.

Here is a demonstration of our predicament. At a Monday, October 3, 2001 city council study session on the state of our streets, we learned from city staff that thirty percent of our roads are in 'poor' condition, in need of major repair. We heard that it would take a permanent $2 million increase in the street maintenance budget to begin getting the city streets in acceptable shape.

We don't have an extra $2 million every year.

Then there are these looming problems ...

The Arvada police station is too small; the department occupies the same space that it did 20 years ago when it serviced 20,000 fewer citizens -- it is in serious need of expansion. The cost for improvement, depending upon the plan chosen, ranges from perhaps $7 million (the substations idea) to over $30 million (enlarging the present facility or constructing an entirely new building).

We don't have $7 million, let alone $30 million.

Ralston Road and surrounding redevelopment is pegged at around $18 million.

We don't have $18 million.

Yet the incumbent city council envisions new development that is heavily geared towards even more and more houses full of people. The council dreams of "transit oriented development" at Gold Line train stations; of high-to-medium density housing in the Ralston-Triangle urban renewal area; and most outlandish of all, the tollway-Candelas development next to Rocky Flats that would add another 20,000 residents to Arvada!

As in the past the city council claims commercial zones as significant parts of these new developments -- invariably, however, the much easier-to-do home building slowly but surely increases and the business areas shrink. That has already happened in the tollway-Candelas development, just like it happened fifteen years ago in the Westwoods project.

We need a moratorium on the construction of new houses in Arvada -- until such time as the business tax base is sufficient to pay for basic city services. Failing that and failing to replace the incumbent city council will ultimately mean just one thing -- (mark my words) requests for tax increases and/or a grave decline in Arvada's infrastructure ... meaning a decline in the quality of life in this community.

I'll put this plainly, in the mayor's contest voting for the guy with the most signs, who claims the most "experience" -- experience that got Arvada into this impending mess -- would be like hitting the gas pedal on the road to third rate status for our city.

As Arvada's mayor I will advocate for a house building moratorium and for a revitalized effort to bring to and create more businesses in our city. Since I have not allowed myself to become beholden to residential developers and real estate agents through campaign contributions, I will be free to do what is best for all of Arvada.

 

Comments

[Justin Bieber Supra]

Here is a demonstration of our predicament. At a Monday, October 3, 2001 city council study session on the state of our streets, we learned from city staff that thirty percent of our roads are in 'poor' condition, in need of major repair. We heard that it would take a permanent $2 million increase in the street maintenance budget to begin getting the city streets in acceptable shape.