Category Archives: Letters

July 5th BOCC Meeting

More Bulls Bullying, Landfill Made More $’s,
Public Health/Clinic Relationship Ended?

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

-July 5, 2017

WESTCLIFFE, Colorado

by Jackie Bubis,
Reporter

The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call.  Introductions of the public in attendance followed.

The public comment time was extensive with citizens living in the vicinity of CR 390 and 391 coming to discuss their feelings about the cattle guards requested by Dr. Hamilton on CR 390.   The discussion was passionate, especially with Dr. Hamilton being unresponsive to calls that two of his mean bulls are running the neighborhood.  Apparently even before the BOCC meeting in Wetmore was finished, fences were being taken down on Hamilton’s property.  Calls to the Sheriff, to Chairman Kattnig and to the brand inspector only resulted in frustration as these bulls ran amok.

There were neighbors of Hamilton’s that stressed repeatedly that Hamilton is not a good neighbor, does not properly keep up his fences and has bought up properties when owners became exasperated with his bullying behavior.

Continue reading July 5th BOCC Meeting

The New Custer County: Change an Outdoor Light Fixture, Go To Jail

Commissioners Proposed “Dark Skies” Ordinance
Criminalizes Light

June 30, 2017 issue- Sangre de Cristo Sentinel

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary

At a public meeting last week, the three Custer County Commissioners, Bob Kattnig, Jay Printz and Donna Hood, finally revealed their proposed “Dark Skies” or “light pollution” ordinance they have been talking about since the two new Commissioners (Printz and Hood) were sworn in this January. Note that there was barely a mention of it during the campaign last year.

The Commissioners’ proposal wants to amend the Custer County Zoning Regulation of 2016 to regulate outdoor lighting throughout the county (The Towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff have their own zoning laws.) They want to change the current non-enforceable, zoning law definition of “Light Pollution” to “Light Pollution defined as any adverse effect of the use of artificial outdoor lighting at night. See Section 8.2.G and Appendix D.3(p) for further information.”

The new Section 8.2.G reads like this:

“8.2.G: In order to minimize light pollution, all outdoor lighting shall be rated correlated color temperature of 3000 Kelvins or less, and any light source exceeding 500 initial lumens must be fully shielded. A “lumen” is measurement of the brightness of a particular light bulb or lamp. The following is a “lumens to watts” table:”

No need to print the whole table. (See Ordinance Proposal.) The first line is all you need to know. It says a light source of 600 lumens is equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent light (old school light bulb), a 10-watt florescent light and a 5 – 9 LED light. If my math is correct, any incandescent light bulb over 33.3 watts is subject to this ordinance.

Continue reading The New Custer County: Change an Outdoor Light Fixture, Go To Jail

July 6th BOCC Meeting: “Running of the Bulls”

Wetmore:”Running of the Bulls”,
Shipping Container Complaint

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

-July 6, 2017

WESTCLIFFE, Colorado

by Jackie Bubis,
Reporter

The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call.  Introductions of the public in attendance followed.

During public comments, one citizen asked about the statutes cited by the recall committee.  Attorney Smith stated that he was attorney for the Board and would not answer the question.  He also asked if the Board would consider putting the county in the air ambulance program formerly Eagle Med (Now React.)  The Board said they will consider it as a public item.

Commissioner Items

Commissioner Hood reported that Jeffrey Wood and the architecture students would be there later in the afternoon to finish their courthouse assessment.  She also requested that the Board have another evening meeting.  The meeting was set for Tuesday, July 25th at 7 p.m. in the Courtroom. [Now canceled]

Commissioner Kattnig reported a conversation with the brand inspector regarding Mr. Hamilton’s bulls (see article for July 5th meeting). The inspector said that his office will only check a brand if the stray is corralled and if the owner is unknown.

Continue reading July 6th BOCC Meeting: “Running of the Bulls”

LTE: You Got Elected Because YOU SAID You Were REPUBLICANS!

June 27, 2017

To the Editor;

The recent actions, attitude and behavior from our REPUBLICAN Commissioners raised serious questions regarding their real motivation, intent, integrity and honesty. You know, integrity is defined as doing the right thing when there is no one there to challenge your actions.

All three of the current Commissioners ran as Republicans. They attended Republican events, proclaimed Republican platform values, and indicated if elected they would emulate those values into their governing.

Dr. Kattnig was so bold as to admit he came from a Democratic family and he was the only one who became a staunch Republican. After all, he told us again and again during the campaign, “People, I am a professional and son of Custer County. I know what this county wants!

The people want low taxes, less government, more liberty and less intrusion from government. So do I.”

Donna Hood ran as the champion of the people. Someone who would in her benevolent heart said she would (she even said she would give her salary back to the County) reach those in need and make the county better. After all, as a business woman of great achievement here in the valley she had a plan. Her plan, if you recall, did involve the word “progressive”. You have to watch those words! They slip them in there just like another guy who said, “if you like your Doctor you can keep your Doctor.” There was another gal who talked a lot about, “our values”. Nice sounding, soft, comforting but those values involved abortion, more government control, less liberty and a socialist America.

Jay Printz was a little more slippery in his campaign. He was one of those politicians and good lawyers who could talk all day and when he finished you had no idea where he really stood on anything. He claimed to be a Republican.

Somewhere between the election and the day these three were sworn into office, a polarizing shift in attitude, intent and behavior took place. Suddenly, the people who voted for them are the people they intend to control. The dynamic shift in attitude became immediately evident. Dr. Kattnig starts talking down to people in meetings. The incident where Robin Young was not being fired by the Commissioners but replaced at their insistence became public. (A really gutless way to go about a problem). A tape recorder placed on the Commissioners desk for years becomes an object of frustration and concern for these learned elected people. His Honorarium Printz declares, “we don’t want that here. Remove, it please.” At least he said “please.”

Since being elected, not one Commissioner has attended any Republican Central Committee meeting including the recent Lincoln Day Dinner. When asked about his absence, Mr. Printz replied, “I don’t think I would be welcome there.” Why would he make such a statement as a staunch, died in the wool, red county, conservative Republican?

Dr. Kattnig missed the Lincoln Day Dinner but found time to give a speech at the Democratic Party dinner. Are you curious why he would do that being a conservative Republican? This is a man who gave up the Democrat tradition against the wishes of his family. Maybe he has a reason as pure as the driven snow for his actions, maybe not.

Dark Skies is proposed for Custer County and Printz declares, “there’s been no decision on Dark Skies but it is inevitable. We are going to have it.” He didn’t say we may have it, or might have it but we are going to have it. If you think this is some silly little measure to keep the light from shining up instead of down, please get informed. This code has some real teeth. All those teeth are snarling right at you the property owner.

The International Building Code is being considered and once again Printz makes the case for a “compelling interest” to deprive us of our liberty. The Government has used the “compelling interest” argument many times to intrude on personal liberty. Most often liberty is deprived in the name of security or safety, exactly the argument Prince would use in forcing the IBC Code. (It sounds more like Karl Marx than Ronald Reagan.)

These three Republicans are proposing landfill fee increases, hikes in other fees and a tax levy for road improvement. Sounds like Democrats at the Golden Dome, not conservative Republicans in Custer County.

There’s an old colloquial expression I heard a lot as a boy from my mother, “your actions always speak louder than your words.”

The expression is truly appropriate regarding these three Commissioners. They are not acting as Republicans! They are acting as though once elected they were given a mandate to do whatever they pleased in regard to County Government.  It is obvious they do not know the limits of their Office. What is even more disturbing is their “we don’t care attitude” coupled with “were going to do it like it or not insensitivity” regarding the people who put them in office. Sooner, rather than later, the Commissioners are going to get themselves and ultimately Custer County into a Criminal Investigation or Civil Law suit. “We the people” are not required to bend to these Commissioners whims and belligerence. They were elected they can be removed! This is not the old Soviet Union. They are not the commissariat and the voter is not the peasant masses.

I’ve only lived in Custer County for ten years. Yet, I know the vast majority of people who vote here did not intend for this kind of Commissioner hegemony. It is no consolation to say, “well I didn’t vote for them.” The gratification from that statement lasts about as long as it took to say it. Instead, we should all be asking, “how do we fix this problem, other than waiting till the next election?” Asking for the Commissioner’s resignations would be a start although getting them to agree would be like asking a zebra to give up its stripes. However, doing nothing is no longer one of them. The old conservative “get along and go along” to keep peace died in Custer County about three minutes after these three decided to ruin the liberty we enjoy. If they won’t go quietly into the night of their liberalism then we should remove them through a County recall vote.

Larry Luikart
Rural Custer County.

 

Take Back Custer County Recall Committee Kick-off Meeting

Take Back Custer County
Recall Committee Kick-off Meeting

–July 6, 2017

by George Gramlich

The Take Back Custer County Recall Committee, chaired by Ann Barthrop, Ann Willson and Mike Haga, held their first general meeting last Thursday, July 6th, at Tony’s Pizza in the events room. Ms. Barthrop and Mrs. Willson hosted the meeting. Over 40 concerned citizens attended. The purpose of the meeting was to review the status of the campaign, outline the timeline for the recall and to train the attendees in the rules and etiquette of gathering recall petition signatures for each member of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

In addition, three potential replacement candidates to replace the current BOCC, running as a slate, were introduced at the end of the meeting.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer led by county resident, Bill Canda. Ms. Barthrop then proceeded to review how the recall petition process works and how once a successful recall is accomplished, the election process works. (If a recall petition is successful, an election occurs where, for each recalled Commissioner, a question is placed on the ballot asking essentially “Do you want to recall this Commissioner? If you check yes, then you may vote for a replacement candidate that is on the ballot. If the majority of people at the election, select “recall” then the current Commissioner is fired. The new Commissioners elected would take office immediately after the election results are certified (sometime in November.)

Ms. Barthrop pointed out that the Recall Committee has set up the recall timeline so the recall election would be on the normal November election ballot thereby eliminating any extra cost for the county.

The meeting then proceeded on how to gather signatures, what is a proper signature (what your voter registration signature is), legal address required (no PO Boxes), areas to be canvassed and etiquette.

An extensive question and answer period then ensued. Many thoughtful technicalities were addressed by Ms. Barthrop who had clearly done her homework with the help of Mr. Haga.

Finally, a slate of potential replacement candidates was introduced: Bill Canda, Kit Shy and Sandra Attebery. One for each Commissioner. The candidates each gave a brief speech with a common theme of restoring traditional American values to our county government including: rebuilding the trust between the BOCC and the county’s citizens; respecting all citizens; that there will be no hidden agendas; that they will govern (not rule) with honesty and integrity always; that they will be transparent and approachable; that they will at all times use due process; and will govern with compassion.

Just before the meeting was closed with a rousing prayer by Bill Canda, the attendees gave Ms. Barthrop and Ms. Wilson a tremendous standing ovation for their work in attempting to restore traditional American values, integrity, honesty and compassion to our county government.

 

BOCC on Proposed Building Code May 17, 2017

If There’s a Compelling Reason…You Can
Restrict or Take Away Someone’s Personal Rights”

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

-May 17, 2017

WESTCLIFFE, Colo.

by Jackie Bubis

The meeting was held in the Wetmore Community Center despite the ongoing work.  The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.

Public comments: One citizen brought a report to the Commissioners of the perceptions out in the public.  While he personally had nothing against them, he did say that the community was in turmoil about the Board insisting that CSU fire Robin Young.  He also stated that there was a firestorm in the blue collar and construction arena about the decision to require insurance for the perc-test techs and suggested that the Board, especially Commissioner Kattnig, would suffer the repercussions at the ballot box.   Commissioner Printz told him that the insurance requirement would be addressed later in the meeting.  All three Commissioners continued their “we didn’t fire her” story and again stated that they didn’t insist on her removal.  Mr. Kattnig also, again stated that they had already talked to Young’s supervisors (a “fact” still in question) before driving to Ft. Collins.

Continue reading BOCC on Proposed Building Code May 17, 2017

June 26th: a Meeting on Building Code Folks Need to BE THERE

June 26th: a Meeting on Building Code
Folks Need to BE THERE

To the Editor;

On Monday, the 26th of June, the County Planning and Zoning Advisory Board, not the Planning Commission nor the Board of Zoning Adjustment, will hold a meeting so that they can recommend adoption of a building code to the County Commissioners. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Courtroom. It is possible, though unlikely, that opposition to adopting a building code will be heard.I have included the Letter to the Editor I wrote regarding the Pro’sand Con’s document submitted by Commissioner Jay Printz and his cabal. It doesn’t address the building code as much as debunk their assertions. It is unknown if the push will be for International Residential Code or if Printz’s push includes the commercial code. Given that Printz wants the proposed county inspector to also cover the town’s inspections, we can assume he will push for adoption of the commercial code disregarding the fact that there is not a commercial zone in the county. Unless they designate AG as commercial as they have done elsewhere. Show up before you lose another right.  Here’s my LTE, in case you missed it a few weeks ago:

Weighing in on the Push for a Building Code

Liberals in Custer County have been pushing a building code for a long, long time.  And now we have the latest iteration, a la Progressive Printz.Apparently the Printz has been holding secret meetings to implement a building code for the County. And as usual he shows a complete contempt for both the law and his subjects. Rather than discuss this major character flaw, I’d like to discuss his proposal. He starts with the unanimous consent of those secret conspirators and states that they are requesting, in their capacity as surrogates for the Board of County Commissioners, that the Planning and Zoning Committee, apparently another new group, write some building and fire codes that mirror the codes of the towns. It is unknown what building code has been adopted by the Town of Westcliffe. It might be the Uniform Building Code (UBC) or the International Building Code (IBC). It is also unknown when the building code was adopted. The reason that it is unknown is that there doesn’t seem to be a record of this adoption.Regardless, the secret cabal allegedly identified the pros and cons of adopting a building code. Obviously the pros outnumber the cons. That would be a foregone conclusion of such a secret meeting. Let’s go through the pros and see if they are valid conclusions.

First is “Better product produced”. Of course, there isn’t any evidence cited but the truth is that this claim is false on its face. The reality is that all the good builders in the county build better than code and that a building code protects bad builders and fly-by-night builders. That is the main purpose of the code, to provide cover for builders from lawsuits. They can claim that the structure was “built to code” so they aren’t responsible.

Second “Reduce/eliminate inappropriate or dangerous shortcuts and cost saving activities”. This is just a ridiculous statement. Who is supposedly doing this? Hired builders or homeowners? And what are these alleged shortcuts? Building with straw bale or tires? As though any responsible individual is actually going to take dangerous shortcuts. But even if a builder did, responsible homeowners and lenders inspect the work being performed.

Third “Higher resale value”. A completely specious claim.  What causes the higher resale value is the higher cost to build because of all the regulations and inspections. It also isn’t a function of government to increase the monetary gain of select groups.

Fourth “Easier mortgage (lower debt/equity ratio)”. See above but also when someone builds their own house they either have sweat equity and don’t need a mortgage or they manage costs so that their mortgage requirements are much lower.I haven’t even gotten to the really stupid pros yet.

Fifth “Lower insurance costs”. Can’t imagine where they pulled this from. Insurance is based on the value of the property. Perhaps what they mean is lower fire insurance but this is also not true. That insurance would be based on the likelihood of a fire destroying the structure and as we have seen from fires like Black Forest experienced, the insurance companies required all trees and brush within 100 feet of a structure be removed.

Sixth “Health and safety of occupants” (including fire/construction) safety (sic). Stop laughing. We all know that where there is a building code, construction workers never get hurt and homeowners always are protected against the ravages of nature. When there is a building code, winds never drive debris through walls, trees never fall on homes, snow never crushes a structure, carbon monoxide never builds up.  Well you get the picture.

Seventh “Equitable – Level field – One code for everyone”. So does that mean Kommissar Printz wants to regulate the minimum size of structures in the County and Silver Cliff like he has done in Westcliffe? Then it isn’t about safety at all is it? And exactly which code has Westcliffe adopted? And when? And does the Town of Westcliffe follow the same regulations as Silver Cliff with regard to modular homes? And will alternative building materials be disallowed?

Eighth “Eliminate property tax evasion schemes”. I guess the assessor’s office doesn’t do their job and never check out structures. But a different government agency will do better than the existing one. Are there any County employees doing their job?Ninth “Protect buyers not familiar with proper building standards and adherence thereto”. Another way to say this is remove personal responsibility from people and protect them from being STUPID.  Maybe that’s too harsh.  Still, if you don’t know what you’re doing, hire someone who does. There are lots of building inspection firms that guarantee their findings and warn of problems where a bureaucrat just stamps “built to the lowest common denominator”.

And the final pro, and my all-time favorite, “Reasonable flood insurance availability”. Flood insurance has nothing to do with adopting some arbitrary building code. It has to do with becoming a FEMA participating county and producing flood maps. The HUD flood maps are not only half a century old, their scale is pathetic. The smallest amount of homework would have revealed this. And I personally know of residents that have flood insurance for about $100 per year. And that’s through Lloyd’s of London.

My favorite con is “3. Restricting Class of people (tent dwellers, makeshift housing, etc)”. Notice the wording – class of people. We certainly don’t want the riff-raff living here. How can we make this Vail or Aspen if those kind of people are allowed to live here?The closing statements say that the 2006 International Building Code is “Not over restrictive.  But that code is over 650 pages. How could that NOT be overly restrictive?But government is here to protect us from our own decisions – right or wrong.  And these current commissioners are the “class of people” who think they know what’s best for us.

Dan Bubis
Rural Custer County

BOCC: Public Input on Dark Skies Regulation

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

-June 22, 2017
WESTCLIFFE, Colorado

by Jackie Bubis, Reporter

The meeting started at 6 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call.Commissioner Jay Printz began the meeting by stating that, unequivocally, Dark Skies ordinances have been beneficial to both towns.  The BOCC sees this as economic development without impact.  The Board provided a draft resolution amending the County Zoning Resolution of 2016, written by County Attorney Clint Smith who is also vice-president of Dark Skies.

The meeting was opened to comments from the forty or so people in the audience.Jim Bradburn, president of Dark Skies, resident of Cotopaxi, Fremont County, spoke first as a “citizen of this valley” that the night-scape is our second greatest asset (after the mountain views) and suggested that the dark skies will only stay that way if we take action to put hoods on our lights.  He stated that Dark Skies (would pay for anyone who wants to change out their light fixtures.)

Several other Cotopaxi citizens spoke on behalf of our night skies.  One Cotopaxi resident said that most people will hood their lights voluntarily.Other citizens of the two towns and a few residents of the county also spoke in favor of the beauty of the night skies.

Continue reading BOCC: Public Input on Dark Skies Regulation

BOCC Meeting June 21, 2017

June 21st BOCC Meeting

-June 21, 2017
WETMORE, Colorado
by Jackie Bubis, Reporter

The meeting started at 9:00 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.
The Commissioners thanked Alden Grey and Nan and Courtney Davenport for all their hard work on the Wetmore Community Center.
Commissioner Items:
Commissioner Hood reported that the tourism board has selected a vendor to remodel their website. She met with Jeffery Wood and three CSU architect students with regards to the DOLA grant. She took part in the Public Health Department’s mock outbreak exercise. She has appointed a communication committee made up of Cindy Howard, Shannon Byerly, Dawna Hobby, herself, and Chuck Ippolito. They will be looking at the county phone system which she calls a “dinosaur”, will be getting rid of some phone lines and, in the end, hopefully saving some money. She also attended a tourism board/economic development/Dark Skies meeting and learned of various grants available for agri-tourism.

Continue reading BOCC Meeting June 21, 2017

Republican Dinner Void of Recently-Elected Republican-Ticket Officials

Republican” Commish Kattnig Skips Republican Dinner, Then Attends Democrat Dinner!!!
Other Two “Republican” Commissioners ,
Also No Shows

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary

“…as we march towards being Boulder South…”

My, my, my. I can hear then Commissioner candidate Bob Kattnig stating unequivocally, about two and a half years ago, in the Sentinel’s office, to my face, that he was a “conservative Republican”. He then listed the usual conservative talking points that he adhered to politically. Sounded good to me. Although his family were life-long democrats, and he was a long term, tenured professor at an Arizona university (warning signs, maybe?), he insisted he believed in limited government and traditional conservative American values.
“Honesty” was one of his big themes. Yes, honesty. A “man of his word” or a similar phrase was used often. “I will treat people fairly” was another. Hmmmm.

Continue reading Republican Dinner Void of Recently-Elected Republican-Ticket Officials