The candidates are: District I: Susan Dellinger (incumbent), Scott Myller District II: Meg Page Bentley, Paul Hughes District III: Vince [...]]]> Election season is upon us in Steamboat Springs. Five of the seven seats on City Council are up for grabs this November. The list of hopefuls is eleven strong with some members seeking reelection.

The candidates are:
District I: Susan Dellinger (incumbent), Scott Myller
District II: Meg Page Bentley, Paul Hughes
District III: Vince Arroyo, Walter Magill (two year term)
District III: Karen Post (incumbent), Jon Quinn (four year term)
At Large: Towny Anderson (incumbent), Cari Hermacinski, Dave McClure

The campaigning has begun and the local papers are filled with ads from the candidates. I realize that this is a small town, however, does that also mean that the ads have to be lacking in… oh, how shall I put it? Professionalism? Or how about some inspiration? Walter Magill’s ad is a black square with his name in white lettering. Cari Hermacinski’s is corny, Towny Anderson’s doesn’t make sense, and Vince Arroyo has placed his ad in the classifieds. So far four candidates have taken to the Internet for their campaigns. Towny Anderson’s site is still under construction. A little planning goes a long way. Karen Post’s site is riddled with spelling errors and typos. The name of her partner, Dave Glantz, is spelled incorrectly. Susan Dellinger’s site is disorganized and quite pathetic looking. Cari Hermacinski has taken a unique approach. She has a video on YouTube. It’s almost four minutes long, but your mind will begin to wander after only a few seconds. Yawn.

These are the people who will be hiring consultant after consultant in the coming years. Perhaps they should get in a little practice and hire some consultants now. This may mean that some money will have to be spent, however, that is also a prerequisite to being on City Council – spending money. Lots and lots of money. If this is the best that these folks can do in regards to representing themselves; what sort of job are they going to do representing the needs of the people?

Here are some highlights:

The ordinance stresses a need to preserve a small-town atmosphere in Old [...]]]> Hold onto your butts, folks! Here we go again…
City Council and the City Planners are getting together tonight to put into place an ordinance to keep out those evil “formula stores”. View the article in its entirety here.

Here are some highlights:

The ordinance stresses a need to preserve a small-town atmosphere in Old Town.
“The Historic Downtown Commercial Districts are a special and unique asset within the city which could be impacted by the presence of formula establishments that are out of harmony with the downtown districts and which do not contribute to the small town atmosphere,” the ordinance reads.

Is anyone else besides City Council still suffering from the delusion that this Historic Old Town still exists? And how many consultants at $300,000 each are we going to hire to evaluate what types of businesses will be appropriate for our small town atmosphere? We all know how much City Council loves their consultants.

Tonight’s meeting will be to discuss this ordinance. (I may have to attend for the sheer fun of it.)

The ordinance defines a formula business as “a type of retail sales activity or retail sales establishment, including restaurant which, along with 10 or more other retail sales establishments, maintains two or more of the following features: a standardized array of merchandise, a standardized façade, a standardized décor and color scheme, a uniform apparel, standardized signage, a trademark or service mark.”

Okay, that’s wonderful. We are going to have approximately 100,000 square feet of new retail space downtown within the next couple of years. I’m pretty sure that it is safe to say that these spaces are not going to be inexpensive. Let’s face reality here. Who, but corporate backed retail, is going to be able to afford to run a successful business downtown? Would City Council rather that these store fronts remain empty? Or better yet, a Mainstreet lined with “Going Out Of Business Sale” signs. That’s always attractive. It would be nice to have stores that don’t have to cater to the tourists. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Mom & Pop stores seem to do. Are we doomed to having more of the same; Steamboat t-shirts, Indian jewelry, ridiculously priced clothing and elk horn furniture? The lack of selection is exactly why I don’t shop here now (except for groceries). In fact, with high speed Internet, I haven’t shopped here for years and I hardly think that I am alone. Just think of all that yummy sales tax money that would stay here if stores actually had stuff locals wanted and non-tourists could afford.

“I’m a free market guy,” Cook said. “Plus, I think design guidelines can handle the impact of any formula store that might look at the downtown.”

I find myself in the truly awful position of actually agreeing with Cook. I would also like to know why City Council gets to have this enormous power over where we get to shop. Aren’t these people going to be out of jobs soon anyway?

Jim Cook and City Council will continue to do whatever they want with “their” town and, quite frankly, I no longer care. So why this long post? Possibly because the whole debate is so preposterous and I find humour in it. Mainstreet and the Downtown businesses are not why I moved to Steamboat Springs 17 years ago and they are not why I am still here. I live here for the mountains and so far Cook & Company hasn’t bulldozed them. See ya at the meeting!