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4 Pikes Peak Courier View
November 28, 2012
Trustees wrangle over budget By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com Tensions were high in Green Mountain Falls, as the trustees and Mayor Lorrie Worthey split over the marshal’s budget for 2013. While the mayor made an informal request that other departments relinquish funds for the marshal, her request went nowhere at the meeting Nov. 20. As it was, Marshal Tim Bradley as well as Chris Frandina and Rob McArthur had already sliced 4.5 percent off their initial requests for the clerk’s office and public works’ department. For Bradley, the issue boiled down to explaining why he allotted just $203 for gasoline for the year while maintaining his current staff. “Do we really need two part-time depu-
ties?” said trustee Howard Price. “For how many years did we have a marshal and one deputy? And we didn’t have a crime wave.” Put on the hot seat, Bradley kept his cool. “When I came here there were 2.5 employees,” he said. “I took that full-time position and turned it into two part-time positions.” Price and trustees Ralph LoCascio, Jane Newberry and Mac Pitrone kept drilling. At one point, Price asked why the marshal’s department was so busy now that the ChildrenARK/Axios had closed. “We’ve fielded 700 calls for service this year,” Bradley said. “A lot of these have criminal charges filed, investigations and follow-ups.” Whether Bradley keeps the deputies or not, the trustees were riled up over the gasoline allotment. In a kind of concession, Bradley agreed to increase the fuel budget by axing portions from such items as office
supplies. If nothing else, the hassle over the marshal’s budget highlighted the effects of the Great Recession on small municipalities. “Randy (former marshal Randy Ford who retired in 2011) got a $21,500 criminal justice grant, $15,000 paid for a deputy,” said Frandina, the town’s clerk/treasurer. “We got $9,000 in donations, but to take donations and grants for salaries is not sustainable, even though that’s what’s been done. But grants have dried up.” After a tense-filled hour, Bradley acknowledged that he and his deputies would have to decrease patrols. “We have done increased patrols because people have asked us to,” Bradley said. “We’re just going to have to cut back. I don’t know what else to do.” Newberry snapped. “Appreciate it,” she said. “Now if we’re all okay with that bot-
tom line, let’s move on to another budget (department). In a balanced budget of $440,699, the marshal’s portion is $115,699. There were no salary increases and each department was asked to add 1 percent for a 3 percent contribution to the town’s contingency fund. Worthey was still rankled. “I just want you guys to know that this has been a ride like nothing else, with all the scheduled meetings cancelled it has just been interesting,” Worthey said. “I agree with Chris (Frandina) that we need to move on. I would like to see changes next time, where we start looking at this earlier. It’s important that we have all of us together; having a trustee gone is really hard.” The trustees are scheduled to pass the budget at the meeting Dec. 4.
Merchants talk customer service By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com In a roundtable discussion, members of the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce talked about doing business in a year of challenges. “What has worked and what questions do you have?” said Luke Conrad, broker with Benchmark Mortgage who moderated the discussion Nov. 15 at the Swiss Chalet.
“It’s rough right now,” said Scott Duarte, general manager of the Country Lodge. “Luckily, a lot of people are moving in; I have two or three people a week either closing on a house or looking for land.” Along with the hospitality, Duarte adds a marketing component, talking up the town’s restaurants and shops. “We tell them they don’t have to go to the Springs,” he said. Tina Myers, marketing agent for Life Vantage, expressed frustration about the follow-
up process as a response to phone calls. “You call people back and they don’t have time to talk to you,” she said. On the other hand, Myers credits the quarterly roundtables as a networking tool. “It’s these smaller events where I’ve been able to develop relationships with people,” she said. Conrad responded. “That’s music to our ears,” he said. The relationship with the Chamber has been “awesome,” said Dean Buysse who, with his wife, Kathy, recently opened the Edgewood Inn Bed & Breakfast. In relating his experiences, Buysse talked about flexibility. “When we got into this business, I really thought it was going to be a bed and breakfast,” Buysse said. “But it’s going in a totally different direction; it’s becoming a destination event center.” While things may be looking up in Woodland Park, the Waldo Canyon Fire hurt business. “We opened June 1, the first guest arrived June 15, the house was full and we had to evacuate June 23,” Buysse said. “We had to cancel everybody, did not have a phone call or an email.” At Tweeds Fine Furnishings, the fire and subsequent evacuation period hurt busi-
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ness, said Tanner Coy. “The fire really hurt but the rebound has been fantastic,” Coy said. “We’re looking forward to the Holiday Home Tour, think it’s going to be a shot in the arm for the locals.” In a small community, the roundtables are designed to build relationships, said Neil Levy, who owns the Swiss Chalet restaurant. “That’s the biggest thing for me. We kind of think of that song from `Cheers’ where everybody knows your name,” he said. “That’s real important in the restaurant business.” When it comes to building relationships, the new position at Vectra Bank held by Andrea Hall reflects the wave of the future. “Relationships are the big thing here,” said Hall, who is the bank’s relationship banker. While most agreed the Internet is handy for web exposure, for Conrad, there is a downside for the flurry of information available. “Everyone and their brother want to look on the Internet and become a mortgage expert before they buy, or refinance, a house,” he said. “We struggle to convince people why they need to work with a mortgage professional as opposed to the internet.” To enhance the networking opportunities, the Chamber hosts an open house from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 18.
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