Steamboat Today: Bennett defends voting stance

Archive for Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Ads tout record of public votes; not all issues made it that far

By Mike Lawrence Tuesday, October 13, 2009

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Election 2009

Visit www.steamboatpilot.com/election2009 for complete coverage of this year's races and issues.

Kevin Bennett

Upcoming political coverage

Today is the deadline for candidates to file a campaign finance report for the reporting period ending Oct. 8. See Wednesday's Steamboat Today for coverage of fundraising totals and contributors to local campaigns.

See Thursday's Steamboat Today for profiles of District 1 Steamboat Springs City Council candidates Kevin Bennett and Cari Hermacinski.

Campaign ads fact check

Steamboat traffic vs. Eisenhower Tunnel

Claim: A campaign ad for City Council candidate Kevin Bennett, published on page 3 of the Oct. 7 Steamboat Today, states in reference to Steamboat 700: "Lincoln Avenue currently has about the same average daily volume of traffic as travels through Eisenhower Tunnel."

Facts: According to the city of Steamboat Springs' most recent traffic study - the NEPA study conducted by Jacobs Engineering - there were 19,310 average daily trips at 13th Street and Lincoln Avenue in December 2008. The study projected that there were 31,282 average daily trips at that location during the summer of this year. The Colorado Department of Transportation reports that there were 31,559 average daily trips on Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower Tunnel for the entire year of 2008. That includes 32,771 average daily trips in December 2008. There were 39,536 average daily trips in July 2009.

Verdict: According to CDOT numbers, the Eisenhower Tunnel sees about 8,000 more vehicles per day during summer months, and about 13,000 more vehicles per day during winter months. The winter comparison is the most accurate, because both numbers - the city's NEPA study and CDOT's traffic count - are actual vehicle counts from December 2008, not projections.

How much water?

Claim: Another campaign ad for Bennett, published on page 9 of the Sept. 29 Steamboat Today, states in reference to Steamboat 700: "There is not enough water (owned by the city) in Fish Creek Reservoir to accommodate west Steamboat growth. Proponents claim the water is available by proposing to use 45 percent of our water reserves, needed in case of drought, fire, or other emergency."

Facts: The city's storage rights in Fish Creek Reservoir are 2,518 acre-feet, according to the Mount Werner Water and Sanitation District. The most recent water demand report submitted by Steamboat 700 states a need for 1,111 acre-feet, or 44 percent of the city's Fish Creek Reservoir allocation. Steamboat 700 also would be required to pay about $1 million to firm up existing city water rights in sources including the Elk River and Stagecoach Reservoir.

Verdict: It's true that Steamboat 700 proposes to use about 45 percent of the city's water storage rights in Fish Creek Reservoir. But Bennett's claim doesn't acknowledge the city's other water rights and sources. The nearly $1 million proposed payment from Steamboat 700 would help develop some of those rights, including an 8 cubic feet per second in-stream flow right from the Elk River and 552 acre-feet in Stagecoach Reservoir.

Brandon Gee contributed to this report

Steamboat Springs — City Council candidate Kevin Bennett, whose campaign ads cite the need for a public vote on Steamboat 700, said Monday that his council didn't seek a public vote on the adoption of the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan in 1999 partly because the community wouldn't understand the plan's complexities.

"We decided that no one would know what we were talking about; it was way too early," Bennett said Monday about the lack of a public vote on the adoption of the WSSAP a decade ago, when he was council president. "It takes years for these things to be understood."

More than any other City Council candidate this fall, Bennett is placing political ads that make strong statements about local issues and his past record as an elected official. Bennett's opponent, Cari Hermacinski, primarily has taken out ads touting broad statements about her goals and providing contact information.

Among other positions, Bennett repeatedly has used ads to support public votes on big city issues.

"I will continue to include the citizens' vote on all major issues, as I have done in the past," reads an online ad for Bennett at SteamboatPilot.com.

But public votes did not occur on some of the major issues during his previous service on City Council.

During Bennett's tenure as a councilman from 1993 to November 2001 - he was council president from 1995 to 2001 - a public vote provided funding for Haymaker Golf Course. A 1999 public vote on a downtown development authority, an effort to fund public improvements, failed.

There was no public vote on the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan; on funding for the expansion of Howelsen Ice Arena and construction of Centennial Hall; or on impact fees that, when initially approved in 2001, placed a fee of $4,454 on the construction of single-family homes of any size, and of $1,186 per 1,000 square feet of new commercial space. City Council approved the impact fees unanimously in June 2001 in an effort to fund Steamboat's capital costs.

In the following weeks, petitioners gathered 889 signatures to put the impact fees on a ballot for voters. That number surpassed the 10 percent of registered voters in the last municipal election that the state constitution required for a petition-driven referendum but fell short of the 20 percent required by Steamboat's home rule charter. In sticking with the charter requirement, Bennett's council and city staff denied the petitioners a ballot issue. An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer came to Steamboat to oppose the denial, calling the city's stance unconstitutional.

Bennett, in an article published in the Aug. 5, 2001, Steamboat Pilot, said the lawyer's position was "one person's opinion."

The City Council reduced the impact fees in September 2001, dropping the fee for a detached single-family home to $4,000, among other reductions. In November 2002, voters replaced the impact fees with a 1.2 percent excise tax on new development.

On Monday, Bennett said a public vote on the impact fees was not needed.

"We don't need a public vote on everything - we don't need a vote on impact fees that were established after a great deal of research and a nexus was established to the legality of it," he said. "We proceeded in a very legal fashion and did all the appropriate research and findings of fact to allow for this fee and other fees to be established. : It wasn't the feeling of council that this should go to a vote."

A referendum issue on this fall's ballot seeks to lower the city's petition threshold to match the state's 10 percent requirement. As part of Steamboat 700's annexation agreement, the current City Council and Steamboat 700 developers agreed that the 10 percent threshold, as opposed to the city's charter requirement of 20 percent, would be sufficient in the event of a petition drive challenging the council's eventual Steamboat 700 vote.

Funding choices

The expansion of Howelsen Ice Arena and construction of Centennial Hall were funded by certificates of participation, essentially bonds that negated the need for a new tax.

Bennett said each project had significant local support. The ice rink expansion was facilitated by three public committees and about $500,000 from the local business community, Bennett said.

"That tells the council at the time that there was enormous community buy-in; it was an enormous priority, and it's one of the most successful community projects we've ever created," he said.

Centennial Hall also benefited from private donations and was a vital piece of public infrastructure that moved City Council meetings out of the police station and into a much more publicly accessible venue, Bennett said.

"These are perfectly acceptable financing mechanisms and should not need a city vote," he said about the projects.

The WSSAP, updated in 2006, is the guiding document for west Steamboat growth and the proposed Steamboat 700 annexation, which the Steamboat Springs City Council is slated to vote on tonight.

Earlier this month, Bennett said that at the time of the original WSSAP adoption vote in 1999, he considered placing a non-binding resolution on the ballot about future annexations and whether they should be voted on if they didn't "pay for themselves."

"I'd been thinking about a vote of the people for a long time. : I wanted to put on the ballot, at the time, a direction question," Bennett said. "And that was a very rudimentary way of saying, 'Attention, community, heads up.' My other council members thought that this would really hurt affordable housing, so we took it off."

In each case - the WSSAP, impact fees, Centennial Hall and Howelsen Ice Arena - Bennett said there is no comparison to the need for a public vote on Steamboat 700, which he called "one of the biggest decisions in our community's history."

"The impact fees are not as significant to the community as giving up 46 percent of the water in our reservoir and allocating it" to 700, Bennett said.

Brandon Gee contributed to this report

- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4233 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com

paulhughes (Paul Hughes) says...

So let me see if I've got this right. Kevin's ads should actually say "I'm in favor of a public vote on any important issue that I think the public isn't too stupid to understand"?

October 13, 2009 at 7:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

AGM (anonymous) says...

Statistics are a funny beast. They can be presented factually as the Pilot has professionally done here. Or they can be manipulated and presented in a deceitful manner to further one's agenda.

One who manipulates figures is manipulative. One who presents figures in a deceitful manner is deceitful.

Just because one wears a cowboy hat in a picture, one is not necessarily granted the status of being a cowboy. That honor is earned. Deceitful?....you decide.

Character matters.

Thank you to the Pilot for presenting some very simple facts that everyone needs to know.

October 13, 2009 at 8:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

steamboatsprings (anonymous) says...

Excellent article. It sure is hard to believe Bennett and Engelken's ads when their voting record is the complete opposite.

It is disheartening to see that Kevin Bennett's views are the same as Steve Aigner of the Community Alliance but now thinks there should be a vote when it is possible the council's vote won't go his way.

"We decided that no one would know what we were talking about; it was way too early," Bennett said Monday about the lack of a public vote on the adoption of the WSSAP"

October 13, 2009 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

maggie (anonymous) says...

Both Kevin and Jim are using quotes from Ken Brenner as a backer, of their campaigns- need we say more! Thank you Steamboat Pilot and today for printing this article to begin to uncover more truth's. We know you are taking quite alot of heat for this. When one bases his campaigns on attacks, deceptions and untruths - you finally start getting what you deserve - to be uncovered. We do not need to go back to this kind of leadership - it takes away any possibility of preserving our community for the long haul.

October 13, 2009 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

romaney (Marian Marti) says...

What ever happened to objective journalism? Oh yeah, the Steamboat Pilot and Today do NOT believe in it.

October 13, 2009 at 2:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

AGM (anonymous) says...

Romaney,

Perhaps you could give us an example of what is not objective in this article?

October 13, 2009 at 2:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

launnie (Julie Green) says...

First of all, I really don't understand the value in writing personal attacks in these comments, particularly if you don't sign your name.
We are witnessing an election between two good people of Steamboat Springs. Those that are privileged to vote are responsible for getting information that is true and factual. Many of us believe that the news media provides that forum, but sadly in this day and age, words and facts are twisted and misrepresented. It seems that our system of elections from the national level all the way down to local races has degenerated into mean spirited character assassination, and who has the most money to get that negative message across.

The Steamboat Pilot and Today has obviously been in favor of Steamboat 700 and anyone who has the audacity to disagree publicly, becomes their target.

The need for a public vote on local issues really varies depending on the times and the importance of the issue. If Kevin Bennett would like to advocate a public vote on a current issue now, why does that even merit a newspaper article? If the people of Steamboat Springs would like to vote on a single annexation that will increase the population of the year round community by 50%, why not?

I've always been interested and participated in our local politics for these last 32 years, and maybe one of the most frustrating aspects of trying to figure out for whom to vote is the inability or unwillingness of many candidates to state opinions on real issues. I respect both Kevin Bennett and Kari Hermansinski for being very informed and knowledgeable candidates. I applaud Kevin for making his opinions on our local issues clear.

October 13, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

JLM (anonymous) says...

If every difficult decision is going to require a vote of the electorate, the utility of electing representatives is called into question. Why have an elected rep if he/she is going to throw the tough ones back? Some things in life are not "catch and release".

Sometimes you have to take a stand and risk the consequences.

While I think it is particularly obnoxious to question the intelligence of the electorate, the simple truth of the matter is that an elected official has an obligation to become informed and knowledgeable as part of the electoral compact with the folks who put him into office. The public is not dumb, the elected official has an obligation to become informed.

Being better informed is not the same thing as being smarter. Being less well informed does not mean you are dumb, it means you have a real job to take care of. Sheesh!

What a wacky concept --- wanting an elected official to read, understand and demonstrate some expertise on issues which must be decided for the benefit of the electorate? Wow, that's some edgy stuff!

Me? I like representative democracy. Send good folks to do the job and encourage them to be careful and consider everything but make a damn decision already.

We are way beyond analysis and nigh on to paralysis on SB 700. Take a stand already!

October 13, 2009 at 6:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

fredduckels (Fred Duckels) says...

JLM,
You are wise beyond your years.

October 14, 2009 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

greenwash (anonymous) says...

700 is a good thing....Its all the realtors that are not.

October 14, 2009 at 8:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dlg01 (anonymous) says...

Mr Bennett supports a public vote on things he and his council decides are important. I guess in some form this makes his ads make sense.
He always suports public votes, once he decides it is important.
Coincidentally nothing important enough for his approval occured during his previous tenure even though 889 people disagreed with him.

Thanks, but no thanks

October 14, 2009 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

AGM (anonymous) says...

Lots of involved citizens at that little meeting last night.

Someone was missing.......

October 14, 2009 at 5:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

pitpoodle (anonymous) says...

Investigative Research?

In an email to the Pilot and Today from Cari Hermacinski on October 11, I learned that she asked the Pilot to "do some good journalistic work" meaning she asked them to go after Kevin Bennett. They did.

Her email states, "Not only is it hard for me to respond to all of Kevin's ads; I want to keep focused on my positive message. I believe that the media has some responsibility for fact checking and digging into a candidate with such an extensive record." To do her dirty work, she goes on to suggest what the Pilot should investigate. They followed up with an article that tried to repudiate his statements by using innuendo and less than accurate "facts".

The newspaper's job is not to go after a candidate at an opponent's request.

Their job, not done at this writing, should be to investigate City staff claims that there is enough water in Fish Creek Reservoir for a huge annexation.

So far the paper has taken at face value the claims of so-called City "experts" who think it is okay to allocate 45% of the city's water reserves for the new development. The City owns a finite amount of water for municipal use and needed reserves. The Pilot doesn't seem to understand that water rights do not necessarily translate into actual water for the City without huge costs to current residents.

The Pilot's job is to investigate why City Council voted for the annexation without a report that tells how much new water filtration and waste water treatment plants will cost existing residents. Find out why SB 700 has committed about $1 million dollars toward "firming up" water rights but apparently not obligated to pay for the systems that will be needed to use that water (except within SB 700), if it ever becomes available.

The Pilot should not be an arm of the City Council. Residents deserve to have a newspaper that gives them independent, accurate information not a regurgitation of what the City staff wants residents to know, or to do a City Council candidates bidding.

October 16, 2009 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

AGM (anonymous) says...

Everyone loves to point their finger at the bad ol' Pilot. There's this odd little document titled WSSAP as amended in 2006. It has the following written in it:

2.3 WATER
The West Steamboat Springs area can be furnished potable water by the City of Steamboat Springs. The City currently provides water to the Steamboat II Metropolitan District, which in turn supplies Steamboat II, Heritage Park and Silver Spur Estates. The Steamboat II water main is a 12" trunk line running approximately east-west through the center of the upper plateau north of US Hwy 40. This trunk line generally follows the alignment of the Old Victory Highway from West Acres to Routt County Road (RCR) 42. The central location of this trunk line means that relatively easy water access is available to the entire upper plateau.
If a developer wishes to develop a parcel that is not adjacent to the trunk line, he/she must install a connector water line. Therefore, the implication for a cost-effective water system is that initial new development in the West Steamboat Springs area will likely begin close to the existing trunk water line and gradually extend outward. However, there may be other constraints/considerations that result in development starting further away from the trunk line. In either case, the developer will be responsible for providing the necessary water infrastructure, including any necessary loops/connections to ensure that the adequate redundancy and fire flow is provided for the new development.

and then it goes on to say....

2.3.2 Water Capacity
Currently, the City is contracted to furnish the Steamboat II Metropolitan District 150,000 gallons of water a day (0.15 million gallons per day or MGD). The City has sufficient water rights to provide water to all the plan area. Three nearby wells, operated by Steamboat II Metropolitan District, provide additional water to the plan area.

This doesn't even mention the "water easement" that runs with the property that a former council agreed to (hmmm....who was on that council and signed it??).

October 16, 2009 at 2:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )