Editor’s note: A story in next week’s Clear Creek Courant will focus on the county commission race between Republican Tom Hayden and Democrat George Clark in District 2.
Economic development and affordable housing, two issues vital to Clear Creek County, are among the list of issues being addressed by the two county commissioner candidates in District 3.
In interviews with the Courant, Republican Phil Buckland and Democrat Randy Wheelock also weighed in on the most recent Eclipse Snow Park proposal at St. Mary’s Glacier.
On Nov. 6, Clear Creek voters will select a county commissioner in District 2 and District 3. Mail-in ballots will arrive in homes on Oct. 15. Commissioner elections are countywide, even though candidates represent specific districts.
The District 3 seat currently is held by term-limited Democrat Joan Drury. District 3 is the county’s largest and includes the towns of Empire, Silver Plume and Georgetown.
The remaining seat in District 1, which includes Idaho Springs, is held by Democrat Tim Mauck, who will be up for election in the year 2014.
Economic development
Buckland said economic development needs to be approached with short- and long-term strategies.
For example, he said local trails can be promoted in the short term to bring people into the towns, but new trails need to be maintainable within the county’s budget in the long term.
One long-term economic idea, he said, is to draw people into the county to both live and work by making sure the area has recreational opportunities and good schools.
“So when they go home at night, they will take part in the Pumpkin Fest versus going to Lakewood and taking part there,” Buckland said.
Buckland said future commercial development is best handled in the county’s towns where infrastructure, water and buildings are available.
“We can help them get the doors open quicker because time is money to them,” Buckland said. “So they can make timely decisions. We need to make timely decisions, too.”
His opponent, Wheelock, describes the economic future of the county as challenging but bright. Specifically, Wheelock said the harder the county works at making Clear Creek a good place to live in terms of local culture, entertainment and infrastructure, the more attractive the county will appear to potential residents and businesses.
“And the more people will want to visit us, the longer they’ll want to stay when they’re here if they have a good experience,” Wheelock said. “Some of them might even want to come live here once they see what we have.”
Affordable housing
Buckland said affordable housing should be a priority for the county.
“(And) to have people realize that you’re open to those kind of ideas and that you want to get something done, not just study it,” Buckland said.
For Buckland, “affordable” doesn’t just include the home’s price tag.
“It doesn’t do any good to buy a house that is not accessible or is too far away for the kids to go to school or costs too much for the county to maintain the roads or too much to provide fire protection,” Buckland said.
An affordable house, he said, uses sustainable energy or energy that a homeowner can afford, especially in the winter.
Wheelock said the county should provide housing people can afford that will not harm the current real estate market or property values.
Affordable housing sometimes has a negative connotation when residents imagine dilapidated housing projects in a big city and become afraid of bringing that into their community, he said.
“It’s critical that whenever we are building housing that is affordable, it is affordable not only because of its initial price but because of its quality and its low maintenance costs, which means the utilities are low, and it will be extremely energy efficient,” Wheelock said.
Wheelock applauded the efforts of Habitat for Humanity to provide that type of housing in the county. Wheelock said Habitat is a great model for building affordable housing, while also providing financial and home management counseling.
Eclipse Snow Park
The commissioners elected in November likely will deal with a proposal from Michael Coors, owner of Eclipse Snow Park, to open a ski school on the property. A plan for a ski resort was rejected two years ago on a 2-1 vote by the commissioners because of the difficulty that law enforcement and ambulance services have reaching the site. St. Mary’s Glacier residents also were concerned about high volume of traffic on roads not built for that many cars.
This time, Coors has requested a one-year temporary-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service for the ski school, which would be open in late spring and early summer. If the permit is granted, Eclipse would bring its plans to Clear Creek County for approval.
The facility, if approved, would be capable of hosting 120 people per day. Ski teams would carpool to the area in vans and other high-occupancy vehicles rather than individual vehicles.
Buckland said it’s a complicated issue that includes private property, safety, land use and costs to the county. He did not divulge his opinion of the proposal, though he did say access to the area could be dangerous.
“It’s personal property, skiing that is part of our heritage, but I’ve also gone up there on fire calls and been very nervous driving a truck on that road on ice and so forth,” Buckland said. “(I’ve) been on calls where major injuries and sad situations have occurred with wrecks on that road just recently.”
Buckland said the county would need to look at the ski school’s impacts to the community, including the roads, fire danger and future tax revenues.
“So if it is do-able, and those costs come out to a positive that includes the community impact study, then fantastic,” Buckland said. “But if it creates problems …, then maybe they can come up with some solutions.”
Wheelock said that, given Eclipse’s past as a ski resort during the ‘80s, the potential exists for some type of ski operation.
But he added that input still must be gathered from various stakeholders, including residents and the Sheriff’s Office, before moving forward.
Wheelock said the county commissioners’ job is to judge every proposal based on its merits, its legality and input from constituents.
“The first thing I notice is that both the proponents and the opponents are equally passionate in their support or their objection, and that tells me that there must be some really strong pros and some really strong cons to what’s going on,” Wheelock said.
Wheelock added the area and the road are already used for recreation, and that additional limited use makes sense as long as residents don’t suffer negative effects.
Backgrounds
Buckland, originally from Oklahoma, has lived in Empire with his wife, Sally Guanella, since 1980. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado. He retired in 2009 as vice president for operations and information technology from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale electric power supplier. He volunteers with the Clear Creek Fire Authority.
Wheelock moved to the county 40 years ago and operates Wheelock Construction. He was elected to the Idaho Springs city council for a term during the late 1980s and later was appointed to the school board. In more recent years, Wheelock has been involved with the local Democratic Party, serving twice as co-chairman.
Contact Ian Neligh at courant
editor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.