Moving into the Red Feather Lakes Neighborhood
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d...@sundancetrail.com
May 30, 2022, 9:48:07 AM5/30/22
to Allan Wilson, John Parker, John Kefalas
Sundance Trail Guest Ranch
Aspen Grove Events at Sundance Trail
17931 Red Feather Lakes Road
Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545
970-224-1222
SundanceTrail.com
ColoradoRusticWeddings.com
Morning Allan,
Allan, I apologize for the length of this note.
Years ago, when Ellen and I needed County Commissioners’ approval for building, we had 2 neighbors attend the “open public input” County Commissioner’s meeting. The meeting lasted almost five minutes. Both neighbors publicly supported our plans. This was a “non-event” because everyone in the nearby neighborhoods had been well informed of our plans, and had been invited to our house for open houses to answer their questions.
Just a couple of years ago, the “open public input” Commissioner’s meeting for the Wolf Rescue had more than 200 locals attend. The first night of the meeting required extra auditoriums be opened so we could watch the activities in the Commissioners’ Counsel Chambers on CCTV. The meeting was extended to a second day, as over 100 people lined up to voice their disapproval. These meetings were very loud, very dramatic and overwhelmingly negative. The crowd was angry. County Counsel initially refused to approve of the Wolf Rescue's plans.
The local population was extremely angry, as the Wolf Rescue spent well over $100K on engineering studies architectural consults and other planning activities over the course of two years, without ever contacting anyone in the neighborhood. The announcement of the public hearing was an unpleasant surprise. And the blow back was intense.
The problem had nothing to do with rescuing wolves. The problem was the Wolf Rescue people made no effort to make friends in the neighborhood. They were a big, powerful, rich “corporation.” The negative feelings continue to fester.
Last week, I came across a discussion of the Kennedy Campus on NextDoor.com. People had many questions. The tone was negative. It appears that this conversation has been pulled.
Yesterday, at the monthly Red Feather Lakes “neighborhood meeting” with County Commissioner John Kefalas, questions about the Kennedy Campus arose. Unfortunately, the first 75 minutes of this 60 minute meeting was occupied with angry discussions with the Forest Service interim Ranger. (Apparently Donahue has left without an immediate replacement, with a list of different issues unresolved.)
An impassioned fear of “5,000 college students being housed here for a semester” with “hundreds of cars and college students in the village nightly” was voiced. There was no one with clear facts, and the meeting was closed as it was already overtime. Commissioner Kefalas promised to try to have a representative of DU at the June 23rd meeting.
Allan, I don’t mean to interfere. You may want to consider more neighborhood outreach. Maybe an open house or two, someone on NextDoor, an outreach to Kefalas?
To use the “village meeting hall” (Called the Property Owners Association or POA Building), you can contact Caryn Hughes at < https://redfeatherlakes.net/contact/ >. Caryn is also a respected “influencer” in the village and Glacier View.
Again, I apologize for interfering,
Regards,
Dan Morin
Aspen Grove Events at Sundance Trail
17931 Red Feather Lakes Road
Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545
970-224-1222
SundanceTrail.com
ColoradoRusticWeddings.com
Morning Allan,
Allan, I apologize for the length of this note.
Years ago, when Ellen and I needed County Commissioners’ approval for building, we had 2 neighbors attend the “open public input” County Commissioner’s meeting. The meeting lasted almost five minutes. Both neighbors publicly supported our plans. This was a “non-event” because everyone in the nearby neighborhoods had been well informed of our plans, and had been invited to our house for open houses to answer their questions.
Just a couple of years ago, the “open public input” Commissioner’s meeting for the Wolf Rescue had more than 200 locals attend. The first night of the meeting required extra auditoriums be opened so we could watch the activities in the Commissioners’ Counsel Chambers on CCTV. The meeting was extended to a second day, as over 100 people lined up to voice their disapproval. These meetings were very loud, very dramatic and overwhelmingly negative. The crowd was angry. County Counsel initially refused to approve of the Wolf Rescue's plans.
The local population was extremely angry, as the Wolf Rescue spent well over $100K on engineering studies architectural consults and other planning activities over the course of two years, without ever contacting anyone in the neighborhood. The announcement of the public hearing was an unpleasant surprise. And the blow back was intense.
The problem had nothing to do with rescuing wolves. The problem was the Wolf Rescue people made no effort to make friends in the neighborhood. They were a big, powerful, rich “corporation.” The negative feelings continue to fester.
Last week, I came across a discussion of the Kennedy Campus on NextDoor.com. People had many questions. The tone was negative. It appears that this conversation has been pulled.
Yesterday, at the monthly Red Feather Lakes “neighborhood meeting” with County Commissioner John Kefalas, questions about the Kennedy Campus arose. Unfortunately, the first 75 minutes of this 60 minute meeting was occupied with angry discussions with the Forest Service interim Ranger. (Apparently Donahue has left without an immediate replacement, with a list of different issues unresolved.)
An impassioned fear of “5,000 college students being housed here for a semester” with “hundreds of cars and college students in the village nightly” was voiced. There was no one with clear facts, and the meeting was closed as it was already overtime. Commissioner Kefalas promised to try to have a representative of DU at the June 23rd meeting.
Allan, I don’t mean to interfere. You may want to consider more neighborhood outreach. Maybe an open house or two, someone on NextDoor, an outreach to Kefalas?
To use the “village meeting hall” (Called the Property Owners Association or POA Building), you can contact Caryn Hughes at < https://redfeatherlakes.net/contact/ >. Caryn is also a respected “influencer” in the village and Glacier View.
Again, I apologize for interfering,
Regards,
Dan Morin
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Allan Wilson
May 30, 2022, 10:13:55 AM5/30/22
to d...@sundancetrail.com, John Parker, John Kefalas, Stuart Halsall
John. Thank you so much for reaching out and for the context and wisdom. Very greatly appreciated. I simply could not agree more with you. Your assessment is spot on. To that end, we already have a meeting with Commissioner Kefalas in motion and Stu Halsall
has been named Associate Vice Chancellors for the Kennedy Mountain Campus. Stu will be charged with managing day to day operations as well as community outreach. With your permission, I’ll arrange a time for the three of us to meet. We are aware of the chat
occurring on the Neighborhood web site and are beginning an action plan to facilitate neighbor meeting to begin bringing clarity to our intent.
On another note, I’m zeroing in on the paving project and recall that you had a desire to do some paving at the entrance to Sundance. If still interested, may I connect you to our General Contractor?
I look forward to connecting soon.
All the best,
Allan
Allan Wilson,
Associate Vice-Chancellor, Facilities Management &Planning
Office 303-871-2039
Cell 303-667-6315
On May 30, 2022, at 7:48 AM, d...@sundancetrail.com wrote:
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Allan Wilson
May 30, 2022, 11:08:31 AM5/30/22
to John Kefalas, d...@sundancetrail.com, John Parker, Stuart Halsall
Dan. So sorry. Typing before coffee can be dangerous. I look forward to connecting you to Stu. John. Thanks so much for the reply. I look forward to meeting with you.
All the best,
Allan
Allan Wilson
Director, Real Estate & Auxiliaries
University of Denver
On May 30, 2022, at 8:34 AM, John Kefalas <kefa...@co.larimer.co.us> wrote:
Dan,
I will forward you an email and an FAQ about the DU Mountain Campus that we recently received from Stephanie O'Malley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Government Relations and Community Affairs, in response to our inquiries about the campus. The information floating around on the internet is not correct, and as Allan Wilson mentioned, we are in the process of having a meeting with the DU folks, and I've invited them to attend our June 23rd Red Feather Lakes Community Conversation so RFL folks can hear from the DU staff directly about what is planned for the mountain campus. Hope this information is helpful, and you're always welcome to reach out to me with further questions and any lingering concerns. Thank you and hope you, your family and business are doing well these days.
John Kefalas
County Commissioner, District 1
Commissioners' Office
200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor
PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190
Cell: (720) 254-7598
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