Parker Chronicle 1023

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October 23, 2015 VO LUM E 1 3 | IS S U E 51 | FREE

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Residents debate proposed tax increase Ballot issue 2A would increase tax to pay for rec improvements, open space

By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com With a looming proposal to increase the sales tax rate in Parker, supporters and opponents are trying to get last-minute messages to voters. The town of Parker is asking residents to decide Nov. 3 whether to increase the sales and use tax by 0.5 percent to pay for

the expansion of parks and recreational amenities and the acquisition of open space. The rate would go from 8 percent to 8.5 percent, including town, county and state taxes. The question asks whether Parker should go into debt by issuing $39 million worth of bonds to pay for new amenities today, while simultaneously implementing the parks-and-rec-specific tax increase to pay off the bonds. Along with an expansion at Salisbury Park, the tax increase would pay for the enlargement of H2O’Brien Pool, a park expansion at O’Brien Park, open space and new trails.

Mayor Mike Waid has said the town prefers to stay ahead of the game for amenities to accommodate a growing population, but that the decision to put the tax increase on the ballot was largely driven by demand from residents. Parker resident Lily Tang Williams, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, says taxpayers should not be saddled with more debt and believes the town should use existing tax revenues if it wants to expand its recreation offerings.

“When governments want to tax more, the elected officials and special interests always make it sound like a great deal that you cannot pass up. They never cut spending and save for what they want,” she wrote in an open letter. The additional tax amounts to 5 cents on a $10 purchase. John Sutherland, a Parker resident for 17 years, says he is troubled by the idea that there is no sunset clause for the tax increase, meaning it will remain forever. But proponents say the tax is needed in Tax continues on Page 9

SCHOOL BOARD RACE

Fundraising figures so far favor challengers Third-party money pays for TV ad in support of incumbents By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Honey bees and butterflies share space on a rabbitbrush shrub in a pollinator garden at the Hidden Mesa Open Space trailhead. The garden is part of a recently-certified monarch way station. Photos by Chris Michlewicz

People prop up pollinators Local efforts take aim at global epidemic By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com Douglas County residents are spearheading local initiatives to combat a global issue: the rapid decline of pollinators. Monarch butterflies, honey bees and a host of other insects share space on a rabbitbrush shrub in a pollinator garden at an official monarch way station recently certified by the nonprofit Monarch Watch. Built by Douglas County with the help of Eagle Scout Jack Vasquez, the pollinator garden and way station at the Hidden Mesa Open Space trailhead south of Parker provide a source of milkweed, nectar and shelter on the western fringe of the monarchs’ migratory path through North America. It’s just one of the components in a grassroots effort to save the pollinators, which the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign estimates are responsible for one out of every three bites of food eaten in the U.S, including nuts, fruits, coffee and chocolate. Because of economic impacts to the honey industry, much of the focus has been placed on saving bees. But there are parallel campaigns to prop up all pollinators, from bats and flies to butterflies and birds. “A lot of people don’t put the whole ecosystem together,” said Jackie Sanderson, natural resource specialist for Douglas County Open Space. “They just say, ‘I like plants, but I don’t like bugs.’” But, she pointed out, one often cannot survive without the other, and the ramifications from the domino effect of decline are frightening to consider. A plea to ‘bee’ educated In recent decades, bees have taken on a growing list Pollinators continues on Page 9

In contrast to recent Douglas County School Board races, candidates challenging the school district’s reform policies have raised more money than their opponents as of the first reporting deadline. David Ray, Anne-Marie Lemieux and Wendy Vogel have combined to raise $51,765, nearly $44,000 more than the three incumbent candidates during the reporting period that ended Oct. 8. Those totals do not reflect third-party money being spent to try to influence voters. Kevin Larsen, Craig Richardson and Richard Robbins have raised $7,793, according to the most recently released campaign finance reports. By this time in the 2013 campaign, the candidates who supported the school district’s reform policies had outraised their opponents $156,631 to $30,541. Those candidates, Doug Benevento, Judith Reynolds, Meghann Silverthorn and James Geddes, each won. Each of the candidates elected in 2013 received a $25,000 contribution from Alex Cranberg of Aspect Energy in Austin, Texas, and $10,000 from Ralph Nagel of Top Rock LLC Financial of Denver, according to the Colorado secretary of state’s database at tracer.sos. colorado.gov. There were no such large contributions reported by either side as of Oct. 8. DCSD continues on Page 8

WHAT THEY’VE RAISED A look at the campaign fundraising totals of candidates through the first reporting period, which ended Oct. 8, in the 2015 Douglas County School Board race: Incumbents

Challengers

Craig Richardson: $3,020

David Ray: $19,015

Kevin Larsen: $2,800

Norma Grigs holds a pod containing milkweed seeds. Grigs, 87, has become known as “Norma Milkweedseed” for her efforts to distribute the seeds to county residents. She grew the seedlings for the Hidden Mesa pollinator garden.

Richard Robbins: $1,973 Total: $7,793

Anne-Marie Lemieux: $17,805 Wendy Vogel: 14,945 Total: $51,765 Source: tracer.sos. colorado.gov


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