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Erie's Future: The Fork in the Road, and the Path To Lead
Andrew Sawusch • Jan 18, 2020
In order to catch up to the current 40% growth rate in the past 5 years alone, the Town must take specific actions to forge their own path, rather than sitting at the fork in the road and deciding which path to follow
Now that we have a better understanding of the position that the Town is faced with, which is that the town has been unable to keep up with a 40% growth rate in the past 5 years, a new question arises: how does the Town catch up to Erie's rapid growth and expansion?
Now, the Town has come to this new fork in the road, and the question between growth or infrastructure arises yet again: which path do we follow? This time, however, the decision isn't as simple. The path of "growth" is still moving before our eyes, and very rapidly at that. If the town does not make a decision quickly, we will be stuck at a fork in the road which leads to dead ends on whichever path we take. The answer? Forge our own path which converges where the two paths meet!
Let's face it - the current and previous boards have made tentative or hard agreements which will lead to a population of 60,000 to 75,000 residents in the next 25 years. While there is the potential for certain agreements to be renegotiated, others can not, else we open Pandora's box of lawsuits and litigation for breach of contract. Certain and specific agreements may be soft and would have room for new negotiations, but what do we do about new or future development agreements? Some have mentioned that a way to resolve this is to place a moratorium on new developments . I do not believe that this is immediately necessary, but at the same time, it isn’t to say that it can’t be a tool which could be potentially used in the future for an immediate and temporary “freeze”. I believe that a development moratorium would only be an immediate band-aid, effecting one singular symptom – the number of residential developments – and would ultimately hurt the Town more than help it, since there would be a very large chain reaction of events which would occur if that decision were made. Among others, a development moratorium would greatly effect various partners within our community – financial institutions, developers, home builders, etc. – as well as the Town itself in the way of current and future Town Budgets or forecasts of revenues, which the Town needs to be able to count on for additional projects Town-wide. This could also erode these relationships, which the town greatly needs. This would then potentially lead to unforeseen negative outcomes, such as developers refusing to work with our Town again in the future, which is something that actually has already been occurring with specific developers.
So how do we forge our own path then, without placing actions into motion which would prove detrimental for the Town's future success? Well, it's simple: the Town, specifically the Board of Trustees, has to become smarter, as it relates to the development agreements which it signs. Specifically relating to residential developments: current development agreements include “milestone” clauses where infrastructure improvements only occur after X% of dwellings have become finished within a development. While this might be great, when you have the sheer volume of developments occurring at or around the same time, as is currently the case, the Town basically creates a "one step forward, two steps back" situation. While the developments, might have milestone clauses individually, collectively the infrastructure becomes strained before these thresholds are in-fact met. Instead, the Town should take a proactive step, rather than solely relying on developers to be “contractually obligated” to improve our own infrastructure.
Regarding road and intersection widening, there are certain areas which are within Erie's purview, which can be addressed immediately. Specifically pertaining to US-287 and Hwy-7: this is not just an issue for Erie to address as the projects must also be taken on in conjunction with other jurisdictions: Weld County, Boulder County, the City and County of Broomfield, the City of Lafayette, and more importantly at a State level with CDOT. Since CDOT actually "controls" and has final say on any state highways (including CO-7, US-287, I-25, etc.), they are the ones who would actually need to make the call on when, how, and the costs associated with these projects. Now, with that said, Erie must do a better job of working
with their local, regional, and state partners to plan for the future better. There are some very specific issues which must be addressed, and they absolutely require these partners in order to resolve them. Some of the Town’s relationships with our partners and largest allies have become corroded, and quite frankly need to be restored. Unless this occurs with the next board, Erie will continue to be stuck in limbo, handcuffed by the interests of surrounding agencies and municipalities.
Ultimately, the solution first starts by analyzing all town activities, and then to create the next-steps forward, while at the same time and in conjunction with a plan-of-action for the future: where have we been, where are we now, where will be in the future, where do we want
to be in the future. This means that the Board, Town employees, Town departments, and Erie residents – from the very top to the very bottom – need to be on the same page. There needs to be a common and singular path for the community, which lays out exactly what we have done, what is currently being done, what needs to be done next, while also planning what will need to be done in the future. In the business world, this is called a “business plan”, which is constantly monitored and updated, and from which develops the vision, goals, objectives, strategies, and action items for future and day-to-day planning.
Since the priority regarding the Town’s growth is not to necessarily curtail it, it rather becomes to ensure that the supporting infrastructure becomes sustainable in order to always stay one step ahead of the increasing growth rate. To do this, the following questions must be answered: What is our current population? What will our population be based on the number of development agreements in place? What is the capacity for our infrastructure and resources? When, and more specifically where, will our capacity levels be met based on these agreements? If we know that there are going to be areas where large communities will be built, or multiple communities will be in-progress and occurring at the same time, we must become forward thinking and have the infrastructure in place before the population from these becomes too large to handle.
For starters, every piece of infrastructure within the Town should be monitored based on active levels and capacity thresholds or limits. For example, in the situation of Erie's North Water facility expansion mentioned earlier, town staff should have been actively monitoring the capacity limits better, identifying precisely when
the capacity levels were necessary to being their exploratory and planning phase. The State mandates that at 80% capacity, expansion planning must begin, and that expansion construction must begin at 95%. However, to be proactive, the town should set better threshold limits and reporting practices (ex: at 75%, begin planning, not state mandated 80%), in order to stave off any potential maximum capacity issues. One basic determinant that could be used (although does not account for commercial growth) would be based on something similar to the "Number of Residential Dwellings", and graphing out exactly when current activity levels initiate specific planning and expansion responses.
Our current Town Comprehensive Plan is already outdated, and in all honesty, falls short of the totality needed in setting the future blueprint from which to lead Erie. If the next Board of Trustees does not take the necessary steps and action needed to set the Town's forward thinking vision, and if we simply wait for thresholds to be met by developers, the total of all developments town-wide will soon create additional needs, as is the case right now, and still aggregating as a whole.
In a future post that will come next, I will outline and discuss specifically how the town can become Forward Thinking in terms of their finances, specifically relating as to how the Town would be able to pay for these infrastructure improvements, while at the same time maintaining the proper reserve levels necessary and/or required by State laws.
*Just a side note to all of the items that I discuss: I am a solutions driven problem solver by nature. I wonder how things work, why they work the way they do, and how to make them better. This means seeking different, outside-the-box methods to figure out solutions to various issues. Accordingly, I am always open to learning new ideas, different ways of doing things, as well as constantly learning from others' experiences to make better decisions. When I see an issue, I view it in a holistic fashion, and then dive into specific areas to remove deficiencies and create efficiencies. If you, who are reading this, have some thoughts or ideas about any of the subjects I discuss, I would be more than happy to speak with you to hear your opinions. Listening, hearing, and understanding different perspectives is the only way that we can all grow and create positive change - by learning from others, and delivering ideas that push the needle to become Forward Thinking.
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While some call it an "Affordable Housing" issue, in reality the root of the problem is a lack of housing diversity. During the Town's massive growth over the years, a lack of available inventory and the national housing market have created a housing affordability issue as the Town's makeup has comprised almost entirely of single family homes. The best way to resolve this issue is to work with our stakeholders in the community - our development partners - to address the cause, not the symptoms of the issue.
Erie has quickly moved from "the best kept secret" to "the gem of North Metro Denver", becoming a destination that others want to call home. In order to set our Town up for the best chances for success, a plan must be created that provides us with an ability to manage our current and future growth.
The blueprint below is designed to do just that, providing an understanding of where we are now (our "Current Position"), where we are going (our "Upcoming Needs"), and where we want to be (our "Future Growth"). It starts with assessing what's needed at this moment, preparing for what's needed later, and then having a vision to plan for the future.
Tell us briefly about yourself and where you are from and why you think you're a good candidate for the position you are running for: Originally from the Chicagoland area, I have been a resident of Erie since 2016, previously a resident of Broomfield for 7 years. I graduated from CU Boulder in 2009, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with dual concentrations in Management and Marketing. I am a business operations and marketing professional, with experience growing businesses from the ground up. Currently, I serve as the Sr. Manager of Customer Operations for a data analytics software company. As a solutions-driven individual, I use a holistic-view approach to identify and resolve issues that deliver results, which are both effective and efficient. I am married to my amazing wife, Gabrielle, and am the doting father of my two husky fur-babies, Kaia and Koda. I currently serve as both a Planning Commissioner and a Comprehensive Plan Amendment Steering Committee member for the Town. As an individual from the business world, I believe the Town needs leaders who can create solutions that will be positive and Forward Thinking for Erie’s Future. I believe that I am a good candidate for the position of Trustee because I am committed to making Erie the thriving and sought-after place to live, work, and raise a family - the place we love to call "home"!
I have recently been asked my stance on the Town's current face coverings order. This is an issue which by now, I am sure we have all formed our own personal opinions on. Since 2020, it has affected our daily lives and has been a “hot topic” locally, nationally, and world-wide. It has created division between families, friends, neighbors, communities, and nations alike – and likewise, Erie too has also seen its fair-share of division surrounding the subject. Personally, I abide by the orders issued by a county’s Public Health Agency, as their respective agency has final-say on the specific orders currently in place within their respective boundaries. As well, I abide by the requests and policies of a business which may not be under a mask mandate, but request that patrons within their establishment wear one. However, as I will go into further, the current Town of Erie Face Covering order is in actuality an overreach of legal authority applied to the Weld County side - due to Erie not having its own Public Health Agency, and due to Public Health order which was referenced in the Town's order being from the Boulder County Health Department. The decision made by the Board of Trustees and Town Administrator to administer this upon those in Weld County has not only hurt our businesses, but it has as well placed our Erie Police Department in a situation which they have no option but to enforce the order. The Erie Face Coverings Mandate Erie is uniquely situated in a location where we are split between two counties, with each county having differing views when it comes to various topics – and COVID has been no different. Statutorily, CRS §31-15-103 notes that the Town has the power to issue ordinances “which are necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health” of the Town’s residents. As well, we are statutorily provided with the authority to create our own Board of Health, as described in CRS §31-15-201 (1) (c), as well additionally in CRS §25-1-507 which notes:
First off, this issue has nothing to do with the capabilities of our Town's current Finance team. I am in no way, shape, or form "throwing them under the bus." I think they are doing a fabulous job, and are making amazing strides in rectifying many issues that they ultimately inherited. These issues should have been found out sooner, and lies entirely and squarely on the shoulders of previous Board of Trustees, as well as our Town Administrators. These individuals are the leaders within Town Hall. They are the individuals who are either our elected, or appointed by those elected, to be Stewards of our Town's finances. Our next board must contain individuals who understand the Town's budgets and finances, who review them thoroughly - as well as those who provide scrutiny, ask questions, and request clarification on these items (and others) from Staff. As someone who believes that our Town's Financial Wherewithal is an extremely important topic for our Town's future success, and having identified this issue in 2020 , I am disappointed in our Town's leadership for placing this situation upon our Town's Finance department. I am providing this information because of the opaque nature in which our Town has acted with in years past. I am also providing this information because there are many more issues that these individuals are attempting to rectify at this very moment, some that might take a year or two to finally be able to accomplish, as well as to say to our Town's Finance Department (Stephanie and Candice - and Victoria who just left as well) "Thank you for all that you are doing to illuminate and resolve these issues for our Town!" Backstory After my last article regarding the Town's 2022 Budget and the changes made within, another Trustee Candidate and myself were discussing the Town's budget online, referencing both the Town's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report's and Monthly Financial Reports in our comments. Less than a week later, I noticed that the Monthly Financials were removed from the Town's website. I decided to post on my Candidate Page about this in jest, and tagged the Town's official Facebook account - assuming that I wouldn't actually receive a response about it.
The General Fund is the primary operating fund for the Town. This single account is where all revenues and expenses are allocated relating to Town Administration, Legal, Legislative, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Finance, Economic Development, Communications and Community Engagement, HR, IT, Public Safety, and Central Charges (ie. Debt and Transfers to other funds). The revenues that fund this account results from our sales taxes, property taxes, development related fees, recreation fees, landfill fees, oil and gas related income, and other miscellaneous sources. Adopted by the Board of Trustees in November, this year’s budget was prepared for the first time in over 10 years by someone other than our previous Finance Director. The 2022 General Fund Budget projects a total of approximately $42.6 million in revenues for the Town. This is an increase from approximately $36.1 million in 2021, for a year-over-year growth of $6.5 million or 18%. At first glance this might look great, but the Budget then continues to explain that this double-digit growth is largely just a result of an “accounting change.”
As we all practice social-distancing and isolation due to COVID-19, what happens when we run out of activities to do around the house? Below are many different items - ALL COMPLETELY FREE - including educational materials for children, books, music, and virtual activities, in order to continue learning or simply pass the time. Have more items to add to the list? Send me a message here or on Facebook . (I will continue adding to the list as additional suggestions come in - but remember, they must be FREE!) ACTIVITIES Fitness 1440 - Erie Virtual training for its members on their Facebook page, to help stay mentally and physically active (On-Demand FREE for current members, Facebook video classes also posted for current and non-members) (just a side note: you can still also purchase their smoothies, picking them up curbside from 10am-12pm, by texting or messaging your order to them!) https://www.facebook.com/fitness1440erieco/ Virtual Field Trips Take a virtual trip to locations arround the world: View exhibits from The Louvre Museum in Paris, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, explore the surface of Mars, and more http://freedomhomeschooling.com/virtual-field-trips/ Virtual Disney World Rides Even though the Disney parks are closed, you can still ride their rides virtually online https://www.wesh.com/article/virtual-disney-world-rides/31782946 Paris Musées Virtual Exhibit Collection of 150,000 digital art reproductions in High Definition of works in the City’s museums http://parismuseescollections.paris.fr/en GoNoodle Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts https://www.gonoodle.com/ CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS - GAMES, LEARNING, & VIDEOS Khan Academy Expert-created content and resources for every course and level (requires sign-up) https://www.khanacademy.org/ Newsela content from the world's most trusted providers and turn it into learning materials that are classroom-ready https://newsela.com/ XtraMath Program that helps students master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts https://xtramath.org/ Teachers Pay Teachers Online marketplace for original educational resources with more than four million resources available for use (requires sign-up) https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ Create Printables Variety of worksheets and printables ideas to personalize for your child https://www.createprintables.com/ PBS Kids Educational games and videos from Curious George, Wild Kratts and other PBS KIDS shows https://pbskids.org/ Sesame Street Play educational games, watch videos, and create art with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and more of your favorite Sesame Street muppets https://www.sesamestreet.org/ Education.com A library of games, activities, educational worksheets, and lesson plans for PK-5th, curated by educators (requires sign-up) https://www.education.com/ BrainPOP Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology https://www.brainpop.com/ (Normally this is a paid subscription service, but they are offering free subscriptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic) Starfall Allowing children to have fun while they learn - specializing in reading, phonics & math - educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children K-3 https://www.starfall.com/ BOOKS (KIDS AND ADULTS) Magic Blox Offers a large library of free online books & children's stories https://magicblox.com/ Epic! Digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 35000 of the best children's books of all time (30-day free trial available) https://www.getepic.com/ Open Library Collection of books from the Library of Congress, other libraries, and Amazon.com, as well as other contributors https://openlibrary.org/ Project Gutenberg Library of over 60,000 eBooks, including free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online https://www.gutenberg.org/ TV & MOVIES Tubi Stream and watch movies and TV shows online in HD on any device https://tubitv.com/ Pluto TV Watch 250+ channels of TV and 1000's of on-demand movies and TV shows https://pluto.tv/ MUSIC Spotify Digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs https://www.spotify.com/us/free/ Pandora Music streaming and automated music recommendation internet radio service https://www.pandora.com/ TuneIn Radio Internet radio, sports, music, news, talk and podcasts https://tunein.com/
Current and previous leaders have not addressed the items which they said they would. As a resident, I am tired of seeing Erie's potential squandered. That is why I am saying "no more!", and why I am running for Trustee. This is why I will focus on the most pertinent issues that I see, as well as the items that are most important to you, the Town's residents
Please be sure to support my campaign for trustee by getting involved in a few different ways ( click here to see how )!
There have been many discussions lately regarding Erie's agreement with Lafayette and the Nine Mile development. This post looks at Erie's local relationships with other municipalities and agencies, and specifically this Nine Mile agreement, in order to understand how it came to be, and why our current Town leaders are incapable of negotiation on behalf of Erie residents.