Eye On Englewood

Link: http://www.eyeonenglewood.com

The latest full house at City Council meeting turned up when Council member, Linda Olsen, complained about seeing recreational vehicles, trailers and caravans on the streets and in driveways of her neighborhood. She requested that her friends on council implement laws to address the problem. Arapahoe Acres is an upscale Englewood neighborhood where each address has a unique piece of art in the front yard.

Political opponent, Matthew Crabtree, and some Concerned Englewood Citizens stirred the pot. He says, "For clarification, this was this was NOT a discussion about parking on the street - this is a debate on how you can use your own driveway." The house was packed when people turned up to represent themselves. That would be their right to freely and openly express a pursuit of fun in life. Mayor Woodward refused to let so many people speak, and Olsen herself apologized, --not for her attitude,-- but for so many people feeling compelled to come out and represent on “such a non-issue.” Then, the tempers flared. To an outsider, it seemed a bit like July 4th celebrations.

Afterwards, Crabtree, approached Olsen to encourage her once again to make these kinds of decisions public so that there is a fair fight and the people are heard. But Olsen leaned in to quietly lecture Crabtree, “Do you realize that I now fear for my life?” She hissed. “I need a police escort just to get out to my car after this meeting!”

A criminal case is being served this week against the City Council by Douglas Cohn against the Mayor of Englewood, Jim Woodward, and the City Manager, Gary Sears for various violations of the Tabor Act, the most recent being the green solar panels. A more efficient manner of erecting green building standards in Colorado would be to enact a building code utilizing solar attic fans and 2”x 6” exterior framing, costing taxpayers nothing. Or, erecting windmills in open areas to generate energy.

Last year, a couple running a boarding house for seminary students and missionaries, the Bartnicks, filed for a special recall election on several of City Council, then decided instead to put their efforts towards a lawsuit against certain Council members and staff for acting outside their scope of legal authority and for illegal lawmaking, including retrospective laws, a bill of attainder and the City’s triple religious discriminatory prosecutions. An unwarranted search and seizure escalated by Englewood’s top judge, Mr. Atencio, was included by the District Judge, and the City is compelled to Answer charges this month.

Another case was filed by an Englewood Developer on Ogden Street for the City’s intermeddling in a land deal, which ended up costing the developer months and money, which the City paid back in restitution to the tune of approximately $60,000.

Again, in the case where an Englewood industrial developer over shot his lot survey, and developed on a neighboring property, all approved by Englewood’s Building Department, the City is again defending its reckless disregard for your money at work.

This is the same government that asked for their two terms to be enlarged to three, and won the vote in November, 2009. This is the City Manager whose salary is $165,000, with added travel and vacation packages, and who just slashed your benefits across the board from street maintenance, snow removal and paving, to parks and staffing.

Bloomberg reported this week: “Hundreds of residents of one of the poorest municipalities in Los Angeles County shouted in protest last night as tensions rose over a report that the city’s manager earns an annual salary of almost $800,000.

“An overflow crowd packed a City Council meeting in Bell, a mostly Hispanic city of 38,000 about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, to call for the resignation of Mayor Oscar Hernandez and other city officials. Residents left standing outside the chamber banged on the doors and shouted “fuera,” or “get out” in Spanish.”

“The Los Angeles Times reported July 15 that Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo earns $787,637 -- with annual 12 percent raises -- and that Bell pays its police chief $457,000, more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck makes in a city of 3.8 million people. Bell council members earn almost $100,000 for part-time work.”

Yes, when citizens turn up and turn out their government, is when they see the shenanigans going on and figure out how the system works to correct the funny business.