In context as mayor, I’m not talking about our basic philosophical or spiritual beliefs that guide our path through life. I’m talking about our ability to hear various opinions, to gather information from many sources, and to have all of that input change how we think about a topic.
It’s not a moral compass, it’s a practical compass. Your input, when it affects my opinion, doesn’t throw me off my true north. Instead, you give me a wider and more thorough understanding of the issue at hand. You’ve enhanced the sum of my understanding.
I’m glad to get input right now regarding hosted short-term rentals. In our preliminary look at the Aug. 27 board meeting, we allowed community comment – it was excellent insight that added several revelations to my understanding. Our ace Town Clerk Jackie Williamson presented her research of how other municipalities and counties define and manage hosted short-term rentals — it was wonderfully enlightening. It’s still a very malleable subject. We’ll have another study session in the not-far future where we’ll be presented with several different options.
I like projects at this stage, when all possibilities are on the table. And this topic is important to our vacation community, and very important to many of our residents for their economic survival.
While doing this, we have to respect our traditional types of lodging, which are a mainstay in Estes, and which have suffered through the pandemic and the ups & downs of the economy and many other factors. My wife and I generally stay in traditional hotels and motels when we travel, but STRs and their variants are so very important to give all options to our guests.
Also at the Aug. 27 board meeting, I cast the single dissenting vote in a hearing. While I won’t get into details here because of the quasi-judicial nature of proceedings, I can say that it was the impassioned commentary of the various residents that swayed me in this case. Some comments were very soft-spoken but still quite intense. After four or five comments, I could see through the eyes of those other citizens. The balance tipped just enough for me at the end of that particular vote. So, again, input from citizens impacted my opinion and my vote.
Grants and community activities
My position on the board of the Larimer County Behavioral Health Policy Council two weeks ago to approve $3 million in grants to 41 recipients was an easy one. Not much convincing was needed for these good causes. There was a good presentation about all of the applicants, and who was chosen and why. I feel very good about making the motion in that meeting to move those grants forward. I do want to remind the various agencies in Estes to apply for those grants in subsequent years: While Estes was representated in the grants awarded, we certainly could have more applicants and likely more awards.
On the community front, I will help welcome all to the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival and ride in the tattoo (thanks to Peggy Sue Young); I spoke at the YMCA 37th Annual International Dinner and Performance Night last week (CEO Julie Watkins is a true visionary for world peace); I speak at the noon Rotary this week and the Estes Park Women’s Club next week; I chose and handed out the Mayor’s Award at the Estes Valley Plein Air 2024 at the Art Center of Estes Park; I held my first Mayor’s Coffee at the Community Center; I’ll be part of the filming of a video that will help Platt River Power Authority apply for a grant to fund our first battery to store renewable energy; and I welcomed all to the Upper Thompson Sanitation District announcement of their WIFIA Loan; and much more.
I would be remiss to not mention the great work by Greg Muhonen and his crews and contractors to get the Loop work done early. While there’s still many smaller items to address and tuning and tweaks to be made, we’re in a very good place and we can finally begin to see the much better flow. The Labor Day weekend was a wonderful example of the elimination of gridlock and backups. I’m very much looking forward to next summer.
Here’s my parting note, related to the Estes Downtown Loop. I was approached about trying to rename the Loop Roundabout “Dieter’s Donut.” Those who know the Donut Haus history know where that comes from. Now we may not be able to make that happen officially in the foreseeable future, but how about if we call that roundabout The Donut (or Dieter’s Donut) informally? That seems like a fine idea to me. Estesians, take a whirl around The Donut in your jalopy!
You can contact me at ghall@estes.org, through my phone at Town Hall at 970-577-3706, or by requesting a meeting at https://dms.estes.org/Forms/mayormeetingrequest.