Vote no on 4A

frogger wrote: After speaking with a friend....as I missed much of the call....it seems you guys did have a good deal of difficulty locating the gentleman in question.
Give me a date and I can provide the archive.
So....admit when you can do better.

Yes, locating the gentleman was a challenge. When the call came in, dispatch said this person (doing this from memory, so forgive me if it's not verbatim) was "in the climbing area in Stanton Park." Staunton Park is what, 3,000+ acres? With numerous climbing areas in a wide spread area.

Dispatch was getting information from another climber. He wasn't familiar with the park and didn't know his exact location. He was worried about his friend and he wasn't completely composed. He kept trying to give dispatch a location, but without a working knowledge of the park, his directions were inaccurate.

We had a helicopter on scene pretty quickly. We kept getting information from the victims friend. He said he could see power lines from his location, that helped a little. He said he thought he could hear the chopper, that helped a little more.

Meanwhile our people are splitting up into search teams and hiking up and down the mountain, following directions that keep changing.

It wasn't until the pilot got a visual that we were able to pin down his exact location.

So yes, if you're sitting at home listening, it probably sounded like chaos. But, I don't care if it had been Alpine Rescue, the New York City Fire Department or Chuck Norris looking for this guy. Finding a person who is lying on his back in thick undergrowth in an unknown location in a 3,000 acre park isn't an easy task.

Unless of coarse you're an arm chair quarterback with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. In that case you have all the answers before the question is even asked.

Again: I was there. I know the people I serve with and I know they did a very, very good job. I think the fellow we recused would agree.

otterdog wrote: Michael, I for one appreciate your efforts in the department and I am glad that you understand that these folks venting here are in the minority - the community DOES appreciate you!

Thank you sir.

sooooooo. Bringing it back around to the subject line.

Please return your ballots. Either way. Make sure to exercise your rights. And vote!

Mail in ballots change the way these issues turn out. Many of the ballot recipients are vacant land holders. Who are also taxed as a higher rate. So this one will be hard to read.

Can the PIO or the Insurance "friend" tell us who will be doing the ballot count? Will that be Jeffco since other issues are on the ballot?

Michael_Davis wrote:

Engineer2207 wrote: I'm new to the area, just moving from Lakewood. I just received a card for "Vote no on 4A." Is it just me, or does Mr Bartlett have some sort of personal grudge?

Welcome to the community. You are very preceptive. I think your observation on this is totally accurate.

Please don't let all this ranting give you the wrong impression of our community. What you're seeing here is the work of a hand full of people with a vendetta against the fire department.

The Conifer area is a great place to live. The people are welcoming and friendly and (although I am biased) we have a great Fire Department, filled with dedicated Volunteers who will readily risk their personal safety to help a stranger. I think that says a lot.

Again: Welcome!

Thanks for the welcome. I haven't had much of a chance to visit with the local department folks yet, but intend to do so soon. I'll have to review their records, as well to determine how I will vote.

Mr. Bartlett definitely seems to have an axe to grind and is clearly against paid personnel. If he was the one that put the slideshow together for the C.U.T. website, he only gives one-sided, misleading, and vague information about the supposed "waste."

We have enjoyed our time here and look forward to many more years

Why is Elk Creek asking for a mill levy increase?

The Risk of Increased Insurance Costs - Failing to replace aging fire equipment will likely lead to dramatically increased fire insurance costs for homeowners. Two of our 4-water tankers are 25-years old, and 1 of our 4-fire engines is 24-years old. Budget cuts have wiped out our ability put money aside for those trucks.

Decreased Revenue – Property tax revenues for the fire district have fallen 10% over the past two years and are going to drop at least 4% to 6% again for 2014 and 2015. All our services are funded primarily through property tax.

The Cost of Doing Business – Our costs keep going up while our income is going down. Fire engines cost twice what they did 10 years ago. Insurance, equipment and maintenance costs keep climbing and we have had to cut staffing, training and benefits.

Michael_Davis wrote: Why is Elk Creek asking for a mill levy increase?

Decreased Revenue – Property tax revenues for the fire district have fallen 10% over the past two years and are going to drop at least 4% to 6% again for 2014 and 2015. All our services are funded primarily through property tax.

I am not sure where you are getting your "facts" but it appears that property values are increasing and not decreasing. Trulia.com Yes this links to Evergreen and not Conifer, but it's as close as I could come up with a quick search. We all do know that assessed values lag behind actual values, perhaps that is what you are referring to?????

I would hate to be a real estate agent right now if it's a known fact that property values are going to drop by 10% over the next 2 years.

edit to add another Link about property values.

Grady wrote:

Michael_Davis wrote: Why is Elk Creek asking for a mill levy increase?

Decreased Revenue – Property tax revenues for the fire district have fallen 10% over the past two years and are going to drop at least 4% to 6% again for 2014 and 2015. All our services are funded primarily through property tax.

I am not sure where you are getting your "facts" but it appears that property values are increasing and not decreasing. Trulia.com Yes this links to Evergreen and not Conifer, but it's as close as I could come up with a quick search. We all do know that assessed values lag behind actual values, perhaps that is what you are referring to?????

I would hate to be a real estate agent right now if it's a known fact that property values are going to drop by 10% over the next 2 years.

edit to add another Link about property values.

I think that if you really want accurate records, you should try: http://jeffco.us/ats/addresssearch.do

With websites like Trulia and Zillow, the values you see are merely based on average value per square foot for an entire neighborhood or region and nothing more. You shouldn't read too much into them other than directional trends in overall housing costs over time.

Where your tax dollar goes:

Currently the owner of a $300,000 home pays $9.78 per month for fire protection and ambulance services. This measure would cost an additional $4.98 per month.

Isn’t the Fire Department Mostly Volunteer?

Yes! The fire department has over 50 volunteers and only 6 full time firefighter/paramedics and the fire chief…but Elk Creek Fire still need funds to replace personal protective equipment, older fire engines and tankers and firefighting equipment.