Once Elected, Always in Charge?
By Cindi Kreutzer
I don’t make it a habit to share my personal opinions about individual people in a public forum, but in the weeks since January 22, 2018, I have heard, read and experienced some things that I feel I need to share.
On that day, city council voted to deny an application for a major apartment complex in Olde Town Arvada -- the $30 Land Deal project -- planned to be part of the Transit Oriented Development for the G Line. Three of the avid supporters of this high-density development are former city council members, Lorraine Anderson and Steve Urban, and former Mayor, Ken Fellman.
As part of our Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, Arvada for All the People received copies of emails to and from city staff and city council regarding the denial of this project. All of those documents can be found at www.ArvadaforAllthePeople.com. Following are a few excerpts from those emails.
Lorraine Anderson (former council member)
“…the who don’t like it (our community) should move to Wheat Ridge…”
Referencing current council members: “They take no responsibility for the Olde Town area.”
“…some said it was not their job…”
Referencing District 1 council member Nancy Ford: “I sent her a scathing email.”
“They just think the people opposed are tough. Wait till election time. I actually thought it was like when Ted, Joanne, Bernie and Dyer were running wild.” (other former council members.)
Steve Urban (former council member)
I couldn’t decide what parts to share so I am just posting this entire email.
Does he honestly believe that the Mayor or other council members did not talk to the applicant before the hearing? Perhaps the real reason he (and Lorraine Anderson) are so “pissed off” is because they are two of the people responsible for “planning” all the high-density housing development in Olde Town in the first place. Read about his “vision” in his next email:
Ken Fellman
The comments made by Lorraine Anderson and Steve Urban are disrespectful, but not surprising. And then there is Ken Fellman…
There are certain elected and appointed city officials who routinely attempt to encourage me to acknowledge my positive experiences with city matters. In an honest effort to do just that, I decided at the second public hearing on the Olde Town project, to approached Mr. Fellman, and introduce myself for the specific purpose of commending him on his defense of Nancy Ford in the email message shown above. Besides refusing to shake my hand (maybe he has some aversion to germs or something?), his only response was to give me some very negative commentary about the content of our website. He followed that with a strong suggestion that I should do something about it.
So, Mr. Fellman, this post is for you.
Because we are outspoken advocates for protecting our great city from becoming the Aurora of the west metro, we have had our fair share of ugly comments made about us. They have come from current and former city officials, as well as private citizens.
As an example, I was once told that I “just wanted to be on camera”. Since I am not the one who does the media interviews for our group, I have no idea what that even means. Surely, a 3-minute comment at a public hearing aired on Channel 8 doesn’t really count as being “on camera”.
We have learned not to take the unpleasant comments directed toward us, seriously or personally. Instead, we choose to recognize that people are hearing what we have to say.
As for the content of this website; however much you agree or disagree with the editorial nature of the stories, their content is factual. There would be no reason for us to do the work we do, if all we shared was information you could find in the city government's newsletter The Arvada Report.
Recent Comments