The neighborhood is buzzing once again. Please join your neighbors in an open comfortable forum to discuss, question, and understand, the impacts of issues that currently face our community.
Sunday, August 30th. 7:00 p.m. CPN Community Center
For more information:
"Home Rule City" analysis by the City of Castle Pines North - http://www.cpngov.com/
"Position Paper" From the Castle Pines North Metro District - http://cpnmd.org/
We are extending a special invite to the new candidates for election to our city government. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet and understand the viewpoints of the homeowners as you begin your journey to represent our interests.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
You’ll get the government you deserve - by Linda Nuzum
CPN’s upcoming election will choose our city’s leaders for the next four years. What kind of government will that be? The government we deserve! CPN citizens, it’s time to step up and get involved.
Listening to folks around town, I hear some rumblings and questions about some of the actions our city has taken. But talking with your neighbors won’t solve anything – the only way to fix things is to speak up. Sure, you’re busy (work, kids, whatever), so it’s easier to assume that someone else will do it. And frankly, some city officials would prefer that you stay apathetic and stay home.
Unfortunately, some of our city officials are prone to view any questions about their performance as a “personal attack” or being “against the city.” But this isn’t Iran. In our democracy, it’s quite possible to voice divergent views and still be considered a patriot. In fact, healthy debate leads to better decisions.
I truly appreciate all of the hard work that our city officials have put in this past year, and they have accomplished a lot to get the city up and running. But let’s hope the next phase of our city’s history will be marked by TRUE citizen involvement.
To accomplish that, we need two things:
1) city officials who will truly communicate the implications of what they are working on, and
2) citizens who will get involved.
What can the city do?
The city sends us an Annual Report, a monthly newsletter and periodic emails, and uses a website, Twitter and RSS feeds. But do they use these tools to tell you what YOU really want to know? Consider a few examples:
Did you know the city planned to adopt the fireworks ban? We got a flurry of emails a few days before July 4th saying that all fireworks are banned in CPN, but what did they tell us BEFORE they voted? Nothing. In fact, the word “fireworks” was never mentioned in any city documents leading up to the decision. The whole topic was buried in an agenda item about adopting international building codes, and the only notice of the public hearing was in the “legal notices” section of the Castle Rock News-Press.
Have you noticed new “city franchise fees” on some of your utility bills? The city adopted these new fees earlier this year. Did you get any notice from the city? Nope. (Hey, at least on this topic, you could have figured it out if you read the minutes.)
What is the city’s true financial condition? Some of our city councilmen have been asking this question since the day they were sworn in, but even they had trouble getting an answer. Finally, a few months ago, the city council voted to change how financial information is reported, and some financial statements are now available on the city’s website. Did the city inform you of any of this? Nope, you just have to be watching the website. Is this the “transparency” we were expecting?
Did you know that candidates for the upcoming election need to have their petitions filed by August 24? The City published a web page about the upcoming election on June 4, but more than a month later, the topic still hadn’t been covered in the city’s newsletter or email alerts.
What can YOU do?
The best way to get responsive government is to have active citizens. You can:
Run for office. All city officials are up for election this fall – Mayor, Treasurer, Clerk, and all 6 city council seats. I think some of the incumbents have done a great job and hope they run again, but mixing in some new blood is always a good idea.
Get involved. Campaign for good candidates. Go to a meeting – and speak up! Join a committee. And it’s not just the City – also pay attention to the other CPN organizations that still control much of what is done in CPN – the Metro District, Master Association, and Parks Authority.
So, step up, do something! I was active in CPN for several years; it was rewarding and I still have people come up to me and thank me for some thing that I did while in office. I’ve done my turn, now it’s your turn! Figure out something you can do – big or small – to make our community a better place.
Linda Nuzum
Listening to folks around town, I hear some rumblings and questions about some of the actions our city has taken. But talking with your neighbors won’t solve anything – the only way to fix things is to speak up. Sure, you’re busy (work, kids, whatever), so it’s easier to assume that someone else will do it. And frankly, some city officials would prefer that you stay apathetic and stay home.
Unfortunately, some of our city officials are prone to view any questions about their performance as a “personal attack” or being “against the city.” But this isn’t Iran. In our democracy, it’s quite possible to voice divergent views and still be considered a patriot. In fact, healthy debate leads to better decisions.
I truly appreciate all of the hard work that our city officials have put in this past year, and they have accomplished a lot to get the city up and running. But let’s hope the next phase of our city’s history will be marked by TRUE citizen involvement.
To accomplish that, we need two things:
1) city officials who will truly communicate the implications of what they are working on, and
2) citizens who will get involved.
What can the city do?
The city sends us an Annual Report, a monthly newsletter and periodic emails, and uses a website, Twitter and RSS feeds. But do they use these tools to tell you what YOU really want to know? Consider a few examples:
Did you know the city planned to adopt the fireworks ban? We got a flurry of emails a few days before July 4th saying that all fireworks are banned in CPN, but what did they tell us BEFORE they voted? Nothing. In fact, the word “fireworks” was never mentioned in any city documents leading up to the decision. The whole topic was buried in an agenda item about adopting international building codes, and the only notice of the public hearing was in the “legal notices” section of the Castle Rock News-Press.
Have you noticed new “city franchise fees” on some of your utility bills? The city adopted these new fees earlier this year. Did you get any notice from the city? Nope. (Hey, at least on this topic, you could have figured it out if you read the minutes.)
What is the city’s true financial condition? Some of our city councilmen have been asking this question since the day they were sworn in, but even they had trouble getting an answer. Finally, a few months ago, the city council voted to change how financial information is reported, and some financial statements are now available on the city’s website. Did the city inform you of any of this? Nope, you just have to be watching the website. Is this the “transparency” we were expecting?
Did you know that candidates for the upcoming election need to have their petitions filed by August 24? The City published a web page about the upcoming election on June 4, but more than a month later, the topic still hadn’t been covered in the city’s newsletter or email alerts.
What can YOU do?
The best way to get responsive government is to have active citizens. You can:
Run for office. All city officials are up for election this fall – Mayor, Treasurer, Clerk, and all 6 city council seats. I think some of the incumbents have done a great job and hope they run again, but mixing in some new blood is always a good idea.
Get involved. Campaign for good candidates. Go to a meeting – and speak up! Join a committee. And it’s not just the City – also pay attention to the other CPN organizations that still control much of what is done in CPN – the Metro District, Master Association, and Parks Authority.
So, step up, do something! I was active in CPN for several years; it was rewarding and I still have people come up to me and thank me for some thing that I did while in office. I’ve done my turn, now it’s your turn! Figure out something you can do – big or small – to make our community a better place.
Linda Nuzum
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
CPN city Council - "Behind the Scenes"
"The initial intent was to do this behind the scenes so that our residents don’t have to see what goes on." ...City Council Member Kim Hoffman
I popped into a city council meeting last Wednesday. It was a joint meeting between the CPN Master Association and the City Council and about twenty residents were in attendance. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss repayment of approximately $200,000 of incorporation expenses loaned by the Master Association to support the incorporation effort in Castle Pines North.
Not long into the meeting, Council Member Kim Hoffman stated, “Just so you all understand, the Master and the Council were supposed to have a meeting and this got publicized and that’s why everybody is here. But the initial intent was to do this behind the scenes so that our residents don’t have to see what goes on."
I was stunned. Council Member Hoffman, the residents DO want to see what goes on.
A little research revealed that just last Thursday, city council held an executive session (no public allowed) to hear advice from its attorneys on strategy and negotiation tactics to be used at this very same meeting. (CPN City Council Agenda 7-23-2009) Your city council is now spending taxpayer funds to deflect citizen inquires about unfulfilled campaign promises.
When asked why only two council members were in attendance, it became clear that the City had failed to post notice of the meeting, providing a legal loophole for city council members to dodge the meeting. We suspect that the lack of notice was intentional, in order to shelter certain city officials, notably Mayor Shul, the prime proponent of the "loan" concept, from public scrutiny.
After an hour of discussion, nothing was really resolved at the meeting other than the city expects a report from their attorneys as to the legality of the now disputed loan repayment scheme and the Master Association board members expect to hear a report from a city official at their next meeting.
I popped into a city council meeting last Wednesday. It was a joint meeting between the CPN Master Association and the City Council and about twenty residents were in attendance. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss repayment of approximately $200,000 of incorporation expenses loaned by the Master Association to support the incorporation effort in Castle Pines North.
Not long into the meeting, Council Member Kim Hoffman stated, “Just so you all understand, the Master and the Council were supposed to have a meeting and this got publicized and that’s why everybody is here. But the initial intent was to do this behind the scenes so that our residents don’t have to see what goes on."
I was stunned. Council Member Hoffman, the residents DO want to see what goes on.
A little research revealed that just last Thursday, city council held an executive session (no public allowed) to hear advice from its attorneys on strategy and negotiation tactics to be used at this very same meeting. (CPN City Council Agenda 7-23-2009) Your city council is now spending taxpayer funds to deflect citizen inquires about unfulfilled campaign promises.
When asked why only two council members were in attendance, it became clear that the City had failed to post notice of the meeting, providing a legal loophole for city council members to dodge the meeting. We suspect that the lack of notice was intentional, in order to shelter certain city officials, notably Mayor Shul, the prime proponent of the "loan" concept, from public scrutiny.
After an hour of discussion, nothing was really resolved at the meeting other than the city expects a report from their attorneys as to the legality of the now disputed loan repayment scheme and the Master Association board members expect to hear a report from a city official at their next meeting.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Power Politics in Castle Pines North
After the demotion of the CPN City Treasurer, which was extensively reported on in the last edition of the Castle Pines Connection, recent inquiries have revealed that the City owes over $1,500,000 to various entities, most of it in contractual obligations to consulting firms and lawyers. Read more at Castle Pines Politics
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