If 2011 had a theme, it was this: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Local communities rallied to support their post offices, which have since received a federal reprieve engineered in part by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo. The budget problem has not gone away, however, and neither has scrutiny of small post offices.
2012 will be a big political year, as conservatives focus on their goal of unseating Barack Obama, regardless of the cost to their own party. Expect more threats to shut down the federal government.
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, part of the much vaunted class of freshman Republicans who have worked to change the way Congress functions, completed his first year in Washington with his local pottery business shuttered and his downtown congressional office locked to passersby. Thanks in part to the bizarre (and still unresolved) fight over payroll taxes, the most recent Gallup poll showed that 11 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing on their behalf. Tipton who did vote yea for the temporary tax-cut extension on Dec. 20 will face re-election in November.
Occupy Wall Street protesters have been gathering outside of Tiptons office at the corner of Market and Main on Fridays. Critics say that nationwide, protesters demands are both unclear and ridiculous; the fact remains that many Americans believe their government favors the wealthy.
Locally, allegations that recent city council decisions had favored a developer failed to result in a recall of council members, whose constituents believed were doing a good job overall.
In the 2012 election, two county commissioner seats will be in play. Larrie Rule and Gerald Koppenhafer both are term-limited. Rules wife, Pat DeGagne-Rule, is seeking to continue the family tradition. She will face Tea Party favorite Bud Garner in the June primary; the winner will meet Tim Hunter in November. So far no candidates have declared for Koppenhafers District 3 seat, but its still early.
County zoning will be a big issue. No one wants the government to tell them what to do, but zoning also protects property owners rights. Its past time to institute a coherent plan.
Also at issue is how the county will work with federal lands agencies which, like it or not, do control broad swaths of Montezuma County.
NATURAL RESOURCES
After a rocky start, Dolores Public Lands Office staffers bent over backward to address public concerns about the Boggy-Glade Travel Plan. The one issue they could not mitigate was resentment that the federal government has any control over local land use. While the restrictions are reasonable policies designed to protect land resources, they will be met with renewed resistance as they take effect in forests across the West.
Montezuma Valley Irrigation shareholders turned down an opportunity to lease water to the Colorado Water Conservation Board, a deal that would have provided income to pay for infrastructure improvements while ensuring beneficial use of the water and protecting MVIs water rights. Shareholders feared losing control of their water.
THE LOCAL ECONOMY
Hints of increased energy development have evoked cautious optimism. The construction industry has yet to recover from the collapse of the so-called real estate bubble.
Fewer downtown storefronts are empty, and some new eating establishments have opened in town, although businesses come and go.
KSJD is remodeling the Cornerstone Building on Main Street, a project that provides both downtown revitalization and a convenience presence for the radio station.
The medical marijuana boom is waning, partly as a result of stricter controls designed to protect patients and thwart stoners and, in larger part, as providers learned that demand for expensive medical marijuana isnt where its at.
Construction of the Mesa Verde National Park visitor center is underway, funded through federal stimulus money earmarked by former U.S. Rep. John Salazar. The project has created local jobs; when completed, the center will offer an additional local attraction for tourists.
EDUCATION
School District Re-1 was turned down in its bid for a state Building Excellent Schools Today grant, leaving it scrambling for funds to rebuild aging facilities. Southwest Open School won its BEST grant, but voters failed to approve the mill levy that would have provided matching funds, leaving the charter school unable to accept the state funds.
In Lobato v. Colorado, a Denver district court judge sided with the plaintiffs who had claimed that Colorados system of funding education was neither thorough nor uniform, as required by the state constitution. The costs of correcting that illegality could run into the billions and will be enormously complicated by a web of laws, including Amendment 23 (which mandates increases in education spending), the Gallagher Amendment (which mandates the balance between residential and business property taxes), and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights amendment (which requires voter approval for tax increases). The state will appeal.
Underlying all the discussions about education finance are serious concerns about educational achievement in the Re-1 district. The solutions to that problem are much less straightforward than finding money to fix deteriorating buildings.
Southwest Colorado Community College learned that locals really do care what the sign says, especially if it says Pueblo in great big letters. Kudos to SCCC leaders for recognizing that. Now lets strengthen local programs that lead to good jobs.
HUMAN SERVICES
The new facility built by AXIS, Southwest Colorados mental health organization, on Empire will provide better access to services for Montezuma County patients.
Southwest Memorial Hospital has done a good job recently of recruiting additional physicians to the area.
Less than a week into 2011, Tag Garner, a well-known local man, was found dead under a downtown snowbank. The Bridge Emergency Shelter has greatly reduced the risk of such deaths. Lets resolve to have none in 2012.