Community Feedback
Aspen Times Reader Comments | April 14, 2007
I guess it's naive to hope that local politics won't go negative and personal as is the case with Mr. Lahey's comments. As the aspiring political freshman, perhaps he should come up with the next edition of the Anyone but Mick bumper sticker as well. Most of us would like to focus on the issues like attaining our affordable housing goals. One thing that Mr. Lahey does get right is that there's anger and frustration. It's too bad the anger, frustration and apparent desperation is coming from the Semrau camp. Like John Oates once sang, "I can't go for that".
Letters endorsing the developer, Mr. Semrau, come from everywhere but Aspen: Scott Smith - Carbondale, Karlyn Stout - Snowmass Village, Tony Hershey - Glenwood Springs, David Blazier - Glenwood Springs. Andy Modell - Basalt, Brooke Solheim - Aspen and New York City, Peter Gluck - New York... oh and there are two Aspenites with daily letters: Vince Lahey and similarly signed letters from Vincent R. Lahey.
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Tim Semrau is just too development oriented and self-serving for me. He spent four years on council passing "infill" codes, raising heights and allowing more density. Then, he steps down because he says he was getting "institutionalized" and puts in a development application taking full advantage of the new allowances he approved.
Torre
(April 9, 2007; Mayoral candidate speaks out; Guest Opinion By Torre, Aspen Times)
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Aspen Times Reader Comments Re: Ireland wants the canary to sing | April 5, 2007
Mick is the guy to lead Aspen to the next level on its commitment to the environment. He's got a long, proven track record of taking on those who would put our precious land under blade, unlike either of the other mayoral candidates.
Most of us moved here for the land, the mountains, the nature, and the culture; not to look at another big building.
If you're into big buildings, vote for Semrau. If you're into Aspen and the Aspen Idea, then vote for Ireland.
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"Rather than creating an 'us' and 'them' environment of weighted special interests, Mick will continue to address the problems of affordable housing and growth management affecting all the citizens of Aspen, and by extension, Pitkin County, the Roaring Fork Valley and Eagle and Garfield Counties. A vote for Mick is a vote for the community."
Kimberly S. Phillips (emailed comment)
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"He [Mick Ireland] is so well informed and highly respected at a state level," said Commissioner Dorothea Farris. "He's not provincial in his approach and he knows the people, the plans, the governance. There is no way anyone else could step into that role and do as well as Mick at this time," Farris added, especially given that Gov. Bill Ritter is setting up a blue ribbon coalition to deal with the state's growing transportation problems.
Pitkin County Commissioner Dorothea Farris
(March 15, 2007; Ireland to continue on regional transportation board; By Sarah Gilman; Aspen Daily News)
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"...we need to use our housing dollar subsidies to continue to encourage severely needed employees to live and work in the community. This is not rocket science. Tim's plan, on the other hand, would actually subsidize employees to sell out and leave town -- not exactly what Aspen needs right now.
"I think Tim really knows better than to think that any electable City Council would ever support his loony self-serving plan. Nevertheless, it still scares me to think about all the other goodies that a Semrau-dominated City Council might have in store for the town. Is anyone ready to dig up Wagner Park to build the parking for all the extra commuters that Tim's housing money give-away would generate?
Sy Coleman
(March 15, 2007; Aspen Times Letter to the Editor)
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"For over 30 years, many committed Aspen and Pitkin County residents have been working together selflessly, to create affordable housing to keep our community strong. Mr. Semrau is not among them. True, he's a developer who's made a lot of money on AH Zone district projects, a city zoning provision that has granted him valuable free market development rights in return for building the required housing units. His trademark has been to argue in every approval meeting that he needs to make those required units as expensive as possible to make the money he needs. But take away the cash and you take away Mr. Semrau."
Frank Peters
(March 15, 2007; Aspen Times Letter to the Editor)
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Aspen Times Reader Comments Re: Locals picked as transportation advisors | March 28
Mick and Dan will be great representatives for our region on the complex issues surrounding highway and transportation funding. The state is facing a 60 billion dollar shortfall over the next 20 years...just to maintain a status quo for mobility. Funding improvements to Highway 82 could be greatly assisted by success in this effort!
The state couldn't have found two guys more committed to finding transportation solutions than Dan and Mick. We're lucky to have their voices on this important state committee.
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Aspen Times Reader Comments Re: Semrau's housing proposal takes beating | March 15
The assessor's record of Semrau's AH shows an actual value of $858,790.00. If you added 20% in improvements to that or $171,758.00 you come to $1,030,548.00. At 5% appreciation that would double every 14+ years (rule of 72). In 28 years that would be over $4M in Semrau's pocket! P.S. Have you seen how over the top Semrau's million dollar AH home is inside?
ADN March 14th "This town is completely built out," Semrau said. "Can you show me anywhere they can spend that money? Can you show me a piece of land where they could build another Centennial?"
Has Tim forgotten that we can approach our housing shortage on a regional basis too? Or that we could stabilize rents at Truscott, The Country Inn, Castleridge and Centennial. Or that we could land bank now for the future. Or that we could make major capital improvements to existing older projects benefiting the whole community, or that we could use the money to help the hospital and school district deal with their housing crisis.
His spending spree proposal is a solution looking for a problem...He wants to spend off our funds before we even have them in hand.
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Aspen Times Reader Comments Re: Candidate wants to increase appreciation cap | March 14, 2007
Semrau is simply trying to buy votes from a population he has already made lots of money off of. It's gross.
Is this ethical? I don't think it is legal to change what tax dollars are used for after it has been voted on. Folks in employee housing did not expect to get rich on it. They agreed to the price caps. The money should be used for more housing.
Wow, this ingenious idea maystart a bidding war: other unscrupulous candidates can offer 10% returns paid for with tax payer money, than 15%, than free market sales! Don't vote for Tim, hold out for a better offer!
Wow, this ingenious idea may start a bidding war: other unscrupulous candidates can offer 10% returns paid for with taxpayer money, than 15%, than free market sales! Don't vote for Tim, hold out for a better offer!
(not that legally anyone could unilaterally change property deeds held by the housing authority... but it was a nice gambit)
How about using the transportation taxes to buy everyone a new car if elected? No pesky publicly held deeds to get in the way, and what voter wouldn't want a new car?
Would it be a bad thing if no more lawyers, architects, realtors or developers could afford an average (remember average in Aspen is uber luxury inside) single family home? Will Semrau's vision of Aspen be a better place with more lawyers, architects realtors or developers?
Pepper Gomes redux: Let's destroy affordable housing and give everyone an unasked for windfall. Someone thinks were not smart enough/rich enough to understand when we are being offered a bribe to vote for someone. Tim Semrau has to be smarter than to think we don't get that point!
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Aspen Times Reader Comments Re: Open letter to Torre | March 1, 2007
Torre, although I have been a strong supporter of yours from the day you first entered the City Council race, and appreciate all of the energy and enthusiasm which you have devoted to your service on Council and engaging the youth in our community, I will be voting for Mick for Mayor and hopefully you for Council again so that Aspen will have its "Dream Team." And you've got my back on the Wienterstube project - every project has to be exceptional in every way. You have a bright future and I and many others will be there for you! Right now we need Mick, he also is too valuable an asset for the future of our community to lose. It may take a village to raise a child but it also takes the dreams of the child in every one of us to have a village.
Su's right, we cannot afford to lose Torre on the town council. A run for mayor will almost certainly have this outcome. Given the forces driving Aspen these days, a strong council is imperative. More than ever, we need a mayor and town council who can foster balance, economic diversity and self-determination before this town totally succumbs to the synergy of mega-wealth and development.
Su Lum makes an excellent point. At some point Torre needs to think about the greater good and the risk that if he runs for mayor and loses, he will place the council makeup in jeopardy. We cannot have another four years of what we have just gone through. It can get worse. Torre, please think of the community, and run for council, not mayor.
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