2019. An awkward time for the humans living on Planet Earth, when — in spite of instant global communication, and the unprecedented ability to process, in the blink of an eye, incredible amounts of data — we still don’t know what’s accurate information, and what’s make-believe.
America’s ‘ground zero’ for fake news and misinformation is probably Washington, DC. We’re pretty sure, for example, that there’s currently an impeachment inquiry going on — that’s something everyone seems to agree on — but whether the inquiry is a “witch hunt” or a valid test of a president’s Constitutional oath of office? Sure, we all have an opinion, but who the heck really knows?
Even in a small town like Pagosa Springs, many of us lack a clear understanding of certain government matters that might have a significant bearing on the long-range future of our community.
Local business owner Butch English submitted a letter to the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN (very similar to his letter shared here in the Daily Post last month) that reads, in part:
Over the last few weeks, there has been a great deal of discussion (and maybe a greater deal of distortion) around the proposed Tax Increment Financing plan for the downtown Urban Renewal Effort (URA). It has been sensationally stated; that approval of TIF based financing will rob money from ‘hot button’ areas of community funding such as education, fire services, and water sanitation. It has also been insinuated that these funds will somehow instead be taken in the night by a ‘wealthy few’ with no positive net impact on the community.
I respectfully disagree…
Mr. English is here insinuating that some of the folks questioning the applicability of Colorado’s Urban Renewal Law to an expansion of the Springs Resort are engaged in “a greater deal of distortion” and “sensationalism” and “insinuations.”
I personally found it fascinating that, on the same ‘Letters’ page where we could read Mr. English’s “Support for the URA” — promoting tax subsidies for future Springs Resort expansion — the SUN had also included two rather large advertisements, promoting the Springs Resort and its ‘Urban Renewal Authority’ efforts.
If you happened to read the larger of the two display ads — the one titled “SPRINGS PLAZA DEVELOPMENT and related Urban Renewal Authority” — you might wonder whether some of the information is, in fact… misinformation?
And whether certain important facts are not mentioned at all?
The Town government has been presented a petition, signed by 31 people, asking for a determination by Town Council that “slums and blight” exist within the Town limits, and asking the Town Council to form an “Urban Renewal Authority” to address the redevelopment of those “blighted” areas. The Town Council has scheduled a discussion of the petition request for their regular November 5 meeting at 5pm; that meeting will reportedly be held at the Ross Aragon Community Center to accommodate a crowd, in case numerous community members are interested in this issue.
I’m not sure if Mr. English and the other Pagosa residents who support tax subsidies for the Springs Resort have actually read Colorado Revised Statutes 31-25? CRS 31-25 begins with a clearly stated legislative intention: to address dangerous slums and blighted areas in urban settings. This declaration explains the situations where the law should be used.
31-25-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that there exist in municipalities of this state slum and blighted areas which constitute a serious and growing menace, injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents of the state in general and of the municipalities thereof; that the existence of such areas contributes substantially to the spread of disease and crime… and that the prevention and elimination of slums and blight is a matter of public policy…
You can download the law here.
We must wonder if people like Mr. English feel that the intent of a Colorado law is a meaningless detail, or else that the Springs Resort and the adjacent vacant property truly constitute “a serious and growing menace, injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and welfare” of Pagosans specifically and Coloradans in general, and that the resort “contributes substantially to the spread of disease and crime…”
This law — CRS 31-25 — was composed and approved by the Colorado General Assembly, and was recently amended, once in 2015 and again in 2016. During that amendment process, we assume our legislators could have updated the “Legislative declaration” to allow the law to apply to projects like the expansion of a popular hotel complex. But for whatever reasons, the legislature left the “Legislative declaration” unamended. CRS 31-25 still applies to the spread of disease and crime. It still applies to dangerous slums and blighted area that constitute a growing menace.
That much seems pretty clear, if you read the words as they are written.
The Pagosa Springs Town Council, however, has been advised by consultants working for the Springs Resort that they can safely ignore the Legislative declaration that provides the legal justification for CRS 31-25, and that the Town can use the Urban Renewal Law to subsidize development projects — everywhere in the Town limits — that have absolutely nothing to do with urban renewal. The Town Council has been told, by the Springs Resort’s consultants and others, that municipal governments all across Colorado are conveniently ignoring the intent of the law, and are using it to funnel Tax Increment Financing subsidies into the pockets of wealthy developers.
The right consultant can make even very intelligent people believe that only certain words matter, and the rest of the law is irrelevant.
We are certainly challenged by the “misinformation” and “fake news” that we find in the media… and coming from corporate interests, and their consultants and supporters. In spite of our access to instant communication, incredible technological advances, and mind-blowing data processing capabilities, we still don’t know who is engaged in “distortions” and “insinuation”… and who is not.
Even here, in a small town where we sometimes feel like we know everyone’s business and they know ours, we can be just as easily confused by the “yea sayers” as by the “nay sayers.” Distortions and misinformation come in various flavors, and are as likely to be shared by decent, well-meaning business owners as by crooks and con men.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.