In March, I turned a new decade of my life. In my younger days, I didn’t think much of those decade changes. Now, it’s a bit gratifying to make it to each next threshold, and to be a useful member of society, and have two daughters who are good citizens. I’ve stayed reasonably fit, and much of that is due to my athletic wife: We take our Peak Partners approach to hikes and mountains and marathons over the years.
Carpe diem – “seize the day.” Seizing the day is important, it’s a building block. To do long-term good work, we need the whole-life version, whether in work, art, service, play, music, or whatever.
I offer you carpe vitam – “seize the life,” “make the most of life.” Each year, Linda and I make a list of the trails and summits and lakes to which we’d like to hike in the following year, so we can seize the all-too-short summer. Seizing the summer is “carpe aestate.”
Time is precious, fleeting, and my time as mayor is limited. I must study, learn, listen, guide, and make decisions to help our town, residents, and guests. As I close in on my first full year on April 23, how can I help Estes be the best that it can be?
When it comes to development versus preservation, I believe that every development must be weighed by the Town Board in terms of need and fit, while respecting the resources, character, and beauty of Estes Park.
I see the goal as “sustainable transformation”— moving to superior technologies and materials and methods while operating in harmony with the natural world and while respecting those who already live here.
“Sustainable growth” in a limited mountain cradle is a misnomer. We can’t expand forever, and we don’t want to make the mistake of going higher and higher vertically with our buildings.
I hear from newcomers and long-timers about developments. What a remarkable spectrum of opinions I hear!
I try to view each development framed by the full history of Estes. Where are we today, where have we come from in 155 years, and how do our actions today impact future generations?
Our impact must be balanced with the preservation of natural resources and beauty, or our time here is limited. Each development demands that we seize the moment (“carpe momentum”) to weigh all factors and make the best call.
I speak frequently of the evolution of transportation, but I don’t see the size of the Estes population changing dramatically – we are limited by our surrounding mountains. There’s no Denver sprawl here.
I do expect that in the future, we will see more younger families as we offer additional housing options. I do expect that many of our commuting workers will be able to reap the benefits of advanced transportation when we get there.
Personal self-transport will change shape over the decades, but there will also be high-volume, convenient transit (groups and “micro-transit”) up and down the hill (and within town). I do expect that our population will see greater ethnic diversity since that’s been a hallmark of America over the centuries and is likely to continue in the long run. Carpe diversitatem!
In my life, I have learned so much from so many types and tints and shapes of people and philosophies. Varied ingredients will continue to be tossed into the melting pot of America, as we’ve seen for centuries. New flavors, new spices, it continues to add to our culture, art, discourse, music, sports, and education.
I was very disappointed to hear of the indefinite postponement of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District’s new plant. They do a tremendous job of managing the products they manage and working in harmony with nature while handling the substantial “output” of so the human population here.
I offer them any support my office can properly offer as they navigate through this hurdle to take their operation into the 2030s and forward to the rest of this century. My house is actually serviced by the Estes Park Sanitation District, which has a smaller footprint in town but is just as important.
I appreciate both organizations and our own water utility department in their efforts to send pure and pristine water down the hill to our Front Range neighbors. I wish that UTSD could seize the opportunity (“occasionem carpe”), but I’m sure they’ll find the best path forward toward modernization.
The annexation of the unincorporated parts of Estes Valley (the Larimer County portions) is something I favor, and in general, I’ll support those opportunities. I’ll cease with my “seize” verbiage in regard to this, since those annexations happen best when they’re desired by the County, the Town, and local stakeholders.
In the meantime, while we have vitality, let us make the most of life. Every day, every season, every year; how quickly it goes by.