Is Change Coming? There is an undercurrent of expectation that this election might be one of "change" but the big unknown is whether that will really happen. Several factors seem to be contributing:  a sense that community values are being ignored, public weariness with the adversarial nature of many of the Town's recent decisions, political in-fighting between various Town factions, the perceived lack of leadership for conciliatory compromise and power brokering over economic development issues.

The momentum for "change" is being propelled by a more optimistic view of the community's future prospects. The worst of the Great Recession seems to be over as the crowds of visitors have returned in record numbers. As of October 1st, the Town reports a 10% rise across all funds year to date over the prior year. There are additional economic development opportunities underway that will further enhance the community's forward momentum... if there is a greater willingness to seek compromise rather than force results through confrontation. Discussions set aside in recent years are beginning to resurface. There are concerns rising about overcrowding and excessive urbanization. There is recognition of the need to rebalance economic development within the preservation of environmental and life style assets. More attention needs to be paid to regional factors, like expanded air service, and tackling big environmental issues including curing Gore Creek and I-70 water and noise pollution.

Does the Town's Focus Need Readjusting? Vail was founded on a foundation built on protection of property values based on solid zoning created by property covenants, respect for the quality of life of its residents and a low density European village model with an equal mix of residential and business interests. Some are now asking whether the Town has tilted too far in favor of business interests, especially since the Town has gone into business for itself. Crossing the line from a government body to a business proprietor puts the Town in a conflict of interest when residential rights are at issue. The recent confrontation over the Golf Course Clubhouse renovation and the movement of the 18th green pitted the neighborhood residents against the Town and resulted in a contentious lawsuit which continues to wind on. With 83% of the property within the Town of Vail now owned by individuals who are unable to vote in Town elections because of residency requirements, there is a fear that, in the absence of leadership for conciliatory compromise, more lawsuits will ensue as residents seek to protect their rights. There is also a fear some of the Town's business forays might not pan out, the ill-fated conference center is a prime example, and that will put the Town's finances in jeopardy.

Are Fractures Developing in Vail's Governing Infrastructure? Recently, there appears to have been an unprecedented spate of Town Council rejections of advisory decisions by its Planning & Environmental Commission and Design Review Board. Similarly, political in-fighting seems to have broken out among the Town's economic development factions as they vie for tax dollars and domination of the Town Council. These are not healthy nor sustainable conditions and many are looking to the elections as an opportunity to bring a fresh approach to the Town's government.

VLMDAC sought to absorb the CSE into its operation, resurfaced. The VLMDAC wanted control over the CSE's budget with the intent of redirecting spending to its "health and wellness" marketing initiative. The VLMDAC had adopted its health and wellness initiative as the primary means to lead Vail through the recession. The fracture was papered over as each side sought and achieved a greater degree of common purpose. However, in the last two years, record setting gains in sales tax receipts demonstrated that the success of the CSE's special event venue has over-shadowed the productivity of the VLMDAC's health and wellness agenda.

How Not to Win Friends: Furthermore, the VLMDAC, through the activities of some of its members, became associated with championing the redevelopment of the Golf Clubhouse into a commercial event center, requiring the reconfiguration of the 18th hole of the golf course. The repercussions of their insistence upon the inclusion of the commercial event center in the club house created a political upheaval the likes of which has not been seen since the 2005 Solaris redevelopment battle. The clubhouse redevelopment is locked, for the time being, in litigation between the Town and adjacent residential neighbors.

At the same time, there are those who question whether Vail is becoming "over-eventized" and whether it is time to scale back and emphasize quality over quantity. More recently, questions are being raised about whether either group should be favored. Both are trying to commercialize Vail and "put more heads in beds"; they just come at it from different perspectives. Their efforts, together with VRI's new summer activities, threaten to turn Vail into a giant amusement park, and all these things are changing the character of Vail. In the push to commercialize, quality-of-life issues seemed to have been pushed to the back burner.

Vail's Shrinking Reserves: Each budget season brings a lineup of event providers seeking public funds. In recent years, several new large scale events have been funded from the Town's reserves, which historically had been spent on capital projects rather than to cover special events. As a result, the Town's reserves, which reached a high of $69 million in the Vail Renaissance boom years, have since been drawn down to $30 million and, if the desire to make further withdrawals from the reserve succeeds, it could decline to $8 million, the minimum reserve amount recommended by the Town's financial advisors. Of long-term concern is the recent removal of a measure that restrained the percentage of operational spending in the Town's annual budget. Without that constraint, operational costs as a percentage of the annual budget in recent years has increased while capital expenditures have declined. With no public support for tax increases, each entity may well have to be content with shrinking financial support from the Town as other pressing priorities inevitably eclipse their day in the sun.

Transparency May be Part of the Answer: Improving understanding through communication is a reoccurring theme in the community. The Town Council has led the way with the live streaming of its deliberations over the Internet and on local public television. Extending this exposure to other deliberative boards and committees of the Town could give an even better glimpse into the operational complexity of Vail's public political processes.

Windows Are for Looking In as Well as Out: Opening windows to view Vail's government at work could become a valuable tool to help educate the community's citizens and future leaders. It could open windows for non-residents so that they do not feel shut off from the process. After all is said, better government is a result of a citizenry that can take up their responsibility to become fully informed participants. Understanding through learning cannot happen if there are no windows through which to gain a better view.

15.  Please rank the following TOV issues in priority order:  1 highest, 15 lowest and bold/underline those items most important in each category. Elaborate with commentary, should you desire to do so.

1. ___Incentivize the building of more commercial space, condominiums, hotel rooms, transient employee housing and/or affordable full-time resident housing.
2. ___Increase snow plowing and/or snow removal and/or treatment of urban runoff to reduce stream pollution.
3. ___Increase police presence with more car and/or foot patrols and/or traffic management and/or increased enforcement of nuisance amplified sound and/or late night noise and/or highway noise.
4. ___Increase sidewalks/curbs & gutters, recreational paths, street paving, frontage road parking, building more public parking structures and I-70 sound barriers.
5. ___Expand and/or change shuttle bus service frequency and/or routes serving residential neighborhoods and/or improve public safety in commercial areas.
6. ___Fund more and/or larger special events summer and winter and/or improve quality of existing events.
7. ___Increase Town of Vail tax revenues and/or cut budgets and/or spend cash reserves to fund higher operating and/or capital improvement budgets.
8. ___Emphasize solutions responding to environmental issues, highway noise, Gore Creek pollution, voluntary and/or mandatory trash recycling, charge a fee or ban plastic grocery bags, impose more stringent energy and/or environmental conservation building codes, terminate heating streets and/or driveways, incentivize public and/or private investment in solar and/or wind and/or other alternative energy sources.
9. ___Expand redevelopment through zoning and/or master plan incentives by increasing densities in mixed residential and commercial and/or residential neighborhoods.
10. ___Fund more public art and/or protect more open space and/or parks from excessive use.
11. ___Increase Fire Department emphasis on reducing wildfire threat and disaster preparedness.
12. ___Leave the community's emergency helipad, used by the Vail Valley Medical Center, in its present location or move it adjacent to residences in an established residential neighborhood.
13. ___Where would you allow Pot Shops to be located: Vail Village, Lionshead, West Vail Commercial Center, other specified locations and/or ban altogether?
14. ___Reduce motorized vehicular traffic and public safety conflicts on Town streets used for tourism by means of the Town of Vail providing alternative points and routes of vehicular access, i.e. roundabouts and underpasses, and/or limiting vehicular access via traffic management methods and/or aggressive enforcement.
15. ___Repeal or modify the Town of Vail mandatory affordable housing requirements. See all questions...