Well, first off, not really Lyons, but those of you registered to vote in Boulder may find this interesting. Since former Councilman Will Toor had to leave his post to hold up the status quo that Ron Stewart is leaving behind as county commissioner, his council seat is up for grabs. There will be a special election in April to decide who the new council person will be.
I got this email from BOA today:
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BOA endorses Suzy Ageton for City Council
Will Toor resigned his City Council seat in November to take on his new job with the Boulder County Commissioners. There is a special election underway to fill his City Council position. The biggest issue that this Council person will face is the Open Space and Mountain Parks Visitor Master Plan (VMP). Of the six candidates running only Suzy Ageton or Lisa Morzel have a realistic chance of being elected. For more trails and better access to OSMP properties the mountain biking community should support Suzy.
If you are registered to vote in this election, you should have received your ballot in the mail by now. We ask that you consider this election to be a turning point in City politics, one where we can open a new chapter of collaboration and positi ve progress with OSMP.
After six years of stops and starts and over one million dollars spent, the City Boulder Open Space &Mountain Parks (OSMP) has released its Final Draft. It's due for submission to the City Council in April. BOA was an active participant throughout the six year process and worked to represent mountain biking access in this plan. During this period, BOA, along with dog owners, runners, rock climbers, equestrians, hang gliders and paragliders became involved politically like never before. We interviewed City Council candidates in 2004 to voice our concerns with the VMP. The current City Council now understands our issues and our desire to create a plan that both provides access while protecting the lands.
What does the plan look like?
For starters, we encourage everyone who enjoys Boulder's fine open space s to look for themselves at the OSMP website: http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/openspace/plan.htm
We are happy to report that this plan is a good one. The tone of the plan places the user experience as a valued goal for OSMP. There are specific goals laid out, there are metrics to see how they are doing, and there is a feedback process to help with an adaptive management approach. And yes, mountain biking access is in there as well.
Is it perfect? Of course not. There are still several issues regarding "on-trail only" use in certain areas and nighttime visitation. But taken as a whole, this plan is a guide that will enhance the user experience AND protect the natural resources.
Are we done? Is there anything you can do about it?
Yes! Vote in the spe cial election and support Suzy Ageton. The VMP is scheduled to go before the City Council for approval on April 5, 2005. We need Suzy on the City Council.
Suzy acknowledges the problems we've had with OSMP and the Board of Trustees. She seeks a more balanced representation on the Board of Trustees. Ms. Morzel represents the more reactionary facets of Boulder politics, the type of approach that we have seen throughout the 1990's, where preservation trumped recreation at every turn.
There are candidates that are more pro-recreation to be sure. But we feel every vote for someone other than Suzy Ageton is really a vote for Liza Morzel, who has been endorsed by PLAN-Boulder and the Sierra Club.
Getting to this point in the process has indeed been a long, strange trip. Please consider our points and then go vote
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Thanks for reading this far. In other news, although it's a couple weeks old, check out this press release from IMBA regarding mountain biking and Wilderness. It's good to have a little backing in this area. A little more background info his here. Interesting, to say the least.
Thanks, more as I hear it!
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