City Council must now undertake the search for Lewis’ replacement. So the Citizen is wondering, if you were on the selection committee what qualities, expertise and style do you think would best suit Salida’s new City Administrator?

Someone young, progressive and up on state-of-the-art approaches to city adminstration? Someone more seasoned who will play it safe and just keep things humming along? In short, a visionary or a don’t-rock-the boat kind of overall philosophy.

Will they be someone who perhaps  has implemented sustainability initiatives or perhaps its someone who is a good front man or woman whose got some PR-savvy and places a premium on good communications – internal and external. Maybe its someone who will push for and find grants and other sources to continue to create more lifestyle amenities for Salida (trails, parks, bike lanes) or maybe it’s someone who has a vision for how to better incorporate IT services into every aspect of city administration – admin, welfare, industry and daily living. Maybe it’s someone who brings fresh ideas, approaches and business-savvy to economic development.

We realize the City Administrator can only do so much. They work at the direction of City Council who represent the citizenry. So – coming full circle – as a member of the citizenry, if you had your druthers, describe your dream candidate for our fair city’s next City Administrator.

July 28, 2011

BLM Selects Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 5.9-Mile Proposal for Over The River

DENVER – After two and a half years of analysis, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s proposed temporary work of art, Over The River. In the Final EIS, the BLM selected the artists’ original vision to suspend 5.9 miles of fabric panels in eight separate areas along a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River. The project will be displayed between Salida and Cañon City in southern Colorado for two consecutive weeks in August of 2014 at the earliest. The Bureau of Land Management will issue a Record of Decision containing the agency’s final decision, conditions and mitigation measures in fall of 2011.

There have been a number of positive developments since the release of the Draft EIS last summer, and analysis in the Final EIS shows improvements in impacts to traffic flow, bighorn sheep and other issues.

“I am very pleased that the BLM selected our proposal for this temporary work of art,” said Christo. “This is the first time in history that a work of art has undergone an Environmental Impact Statement, so this is a significant milestone for us and for artists everywhere who want to create art on public lands. Although our team is still reviewing the 1,686-page Final EIS in detail, I am confident that the impacts and concerns have been adequately addressed. I am eager to move forward with Over The River as Jeanne-Claude and I envisioned it.”

About Over The River

Over The River is a temporary work of art by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Christo plans to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River along a 42-mile stretch of the river between Salida and CanÞon City in southern Colorado. Assuming the permitting process moves forward as planned, Christo hopes to exhibit Over The River for two consecutive weeks in August, 2014, at the earliest. For more information, visit our website at www.OverTheRiverInfo.com.

About Christo and Jeanne-Claude

For one-half century, internationally acclaimed artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have created highly celebrated works of art around the world. Together, they changed the concept of “public art” by creating temporary works that are truly transitory by design. Jeanne-Claude passed away in November 2009, but Christo continues with their work on Over The River, as well as other projects. Christo and Jeanne-Claude have never accepted any subsidies, royalties, grants, or sponsorships. They fund all of their temporary public works, and the artists’ income is derived from the sale of original works of art by Christo to museums, galleries and private collectors.

Zack Hughes of Badfish

Encinitas, CA (July 18, 2011) - Boardworks Surf announces that Badfish Stand Up Paddle will be joining their lineup of premier SUP and Surf Brands.  “ We are extremely excited about this news,” commented Phillip Rainey of Boardworks. “Badfish represents the ultimate in cutting edge designs for the growing sport of river SUP.”

Paddling whitewater rivers is all about dealing with opposing hydraulic forces, from running through holes and wave trains to crossing boiling eddy fences, and it requires a craft that can remain stable in a chaotic environment.   There is one company that is leading the charge with very innovative and unique SUP boards designed specifically for these challenging river conditions: Badfish Standup Paddle Company. Badfish boards are designed and built by mountain-based watermen, located in Salida, Colorado at the foot of 14,000 foot peaks on the Arkansas River. After four years of brainstorming, prototyping, surfing, and stand up paddling rivers, a new type of SUP board is born.

Mike Harvey and Zack Hughes

Mike Harvey and Zack Hughes, co-owners of Badfish, bring a high level of expertise to the table in their board designs. Since 2000, Mike has been working with Recreation Engineering and Planning (the country’s leader in whitewater park design) to design and build whitewater parks all over North America (www.boaterparks.com) Mike was the Project Manager for planning, design and construction of the first two river surfing specific, standing waves in the US, in the Salida Whitewater Park in 2010, providing Badfish with the ultimate advanced river surfing laboratory.

Zack Hughes, born and raised in San Diego has been surfing and skateboarding since the days when mullets and Trans-Ams were cool. Drawn to Colorado and later Honduras to be a whitewater rafting guide, Zack quickly became one of the top freestyle kayakers in the golden years of the mid-90s.  With his surfing background and kayaking expertise, Zack shapes boards that are completely relevant to the new sport of whitewater SUP. Note: Zack just won the Triple Crown SUP Title at the 2011 FIBArk River Festival.

Badfish Stand Up Paddle has now chosen Boardworks to manufacture and distribute their River specific SUP boards worldwide. “Badfish is incredibly humbled and honored to become the newest member of the Boardworks team.  Badfish takes its job of staying on the leading edge of river SUP paddling very seriously.  We understand that we have the dual responsibility of constantly improving SUP boards for river-based paddlers and also promoting river SUP to existing paddlers and new users alike. As long time surfers and kayakers Badfish is passionate about the new direction that SUP is taking river paddle sports. Boardworks has the experience, technical know-how and sales team to service dealers and customer needs while helping Badfish build durable, high-end SUP boards and products.  As new kids on the block, in a new and developing sport, Badfish looks to the Boardworks team not just as partners in our growth, but as mentors as well. The whole Boardworks family is as enthusiastic as we are about promoting SUP as a fun and accessible means for people to explore moving water.  We think this partnership will be a win-win for Badfish, Boardworks, dealers and consumers as well,” comments Mike Harvey.

Anyone out there have more info? Witnesses?

Do tell the Citizen.

UPDATE: Exclusive photos of the search and capture of the suspect in today’s robbery of Bank of the West were provided to the Citizen by eyewitness and local river man Morgan Mason. Mason’s afternoon surf session with Mike Harvey took an unexpected and surreal turn this afternoon that left the pair feeling like extras in an episode of “Cops.” SWAT teams shooed Harvey and Mason off the riverwalk as the manhunt for the armed robber was in full progress. Mason, who frequently packs cameras along on river sessions, caught the SWAT team and search dogs on film as they were in the hunt along the riverwalk. Soon after, Mason captured images of what is believed to be the  suspect being apprehended and the site mopped up just across the river from the uppermost hole of the Salida Whitewater Park where Mason and Harvey had been surfing. Thanks to Morgan for sharing these images of an unusual day in Salida. Thankfully, no one at the bank or elsewhere was injured during the drama. Click on images to see bigger view.

Please help our County grow in a manner that enhances our local economy, supports local ranchers, and protects our natural and cultural resources!

Since 2006, many community members (including me) have been working with Chaffee County Planning Staff to update the County’s land use development code. A diverse group of citizens worked together to produce the Citizen’s Roundtable Recommendations. Last year, the County Commissioners designated a core group for a Code Advisory Committee to review the Draft Land Use and Zoning Code prepared by the County Planning Staff based on the State of Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Model County Code.  The DOLA code is based on lessons-learned from other counties and municipalities in the Mountain West.  This new Draft Code faithfully incorporates the Roundtable Recommendations and enables quality development while protecting private property rights. Now the Draft Code moves to the Planning Commission for their action. Their action (or inaction) may be determined next week. You can view these documents at: http://www.chaffeecounty.org/Page.aspx?PageID=737

I urge you to do two things to support smart sustainable growth in Chaffee County:

Action 1
Please email the County Commissioners ASAP supporting the Roundtable Recommendations, the Draft Code, and immediate finalization by the Planning Commission. The County Commissioners’ email addresses:fholman@chaffeecounty.org Frank Holman, Chairdgiese@chaffeecounty.org Dennis Giese     dpotts@chaffeecounty.org Dave Potts
Here are key points:
1.  Adopt the Draft Code

• The current County Land Use Code is a grossly-outdated contradictory mishmash, and fails to achieve the goals identified by either the Roundtable Recommendations or the Chaffee County Comprehensive Plan.
• The Draft Code enhances our local economy, supports local ranchers, and protects our natural and cultural resources; all while protecting legal private property rights. The Draft Code streamlines the development review procedures and zoning classifications.  The Draft Code provides more options to landowners and developers, not just single family “cookie-cutter” residential development.  The Draft Code incorporates lessons learned by many Mountain States towns and communities that wish they could rewinds the clock.
• A well-written cluster subdivision ordinance will provide large landowners, ranchers, and developers with development options that will also protect valuable land and water resources and enhances the development climate without sacrificing community values and natural resources.

2. Respect the good faith effort of the Roundtable participants and Code Advisory Committee, and the community diversity they represented.

• The Production Agriculture, Water, Heritage, Local Government, and Sustainable Growth groups of the Roundtable and the Code Advisory Committee, despite their differences, respectfully tried to find common ground and volunteered innumerable hours.
• In contrast, the Real Estate & Development and Commercial committees have not worked in good faith to identify collaborative solutions. During the Roundtable and Draft Code processes, they consistently opposed all consensus.  I do not believe they represented the view of their constituencies as a whole.

3. DO NOT POSTPONE FINALIZATION OF THE NEW DRAFT CODE WITH AN UNNECESSARY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVIEW OR ANY OTHER “ARTFUL DODGE” DELAYING TACTICS.

The County’s current Comprehensive Plan is amazingly similar to the Roundtable Recommendations and the new Draft Code. A comprehensive plan update is unlikely to identify any new community goals. Instead, the County should adopt the Roundtable Recommendations as an amendment and continue to work on goal implementation.

4. The Planning Commission needs balanced leadership to achieve a vibrant, diverse, and sustainable economic future.

• The newly appointed Planning Commission includes real estate, land development and finance leaders, BUT no members engaged in recreation and tourism. Yet recreation and tourism are the County’s largest economic sector. The Roundtable and Code Advisory Committee included diverse business interests including agriculture, heritage tourism, recreation, arts, and professional services – not just real estate and development. All economic interests in the County should be represented on the Planning Commission.

______________

Action 2

Please attend the Planning Commission Meeting Tuesday March 8^th at 6pm in the Board of Commissioners Chambers, Salida. In this critical meeting, the County Commissioners and the newly appointed Planning Commission will discuss how to act on the Draft Code  – or to DELAY ACTION by first “updating” the Comprehensive Plan. (In fact, the 1997 Comprehensive Plan is amazingly congruent with the Roundtable Recommendations and the Draft Code.)

It’s been a long process, and the majority of participants worked productively in good faith. The result is a pragmatic streamlined Draft Code. However, a few of the seven Code Advisory Committee members continually worked to weaken the new Draft Code, using private property rights and anti-government rhetoric. We need to tell the County Commissioners (all recently elected) that Chaffee County’s citizens expect them to continue forward. We need to counter the lie that “no one is for the new Draft Code and everyone is against it.” Of note, surveys from the 1997 Comprehensive Plan reveal that the majority of Chaffee County citizens desire smart planning and growth.

We hope you can attend the Tuesday meeting and email the County Commissioners to help make Chaffee County the place we want to live!

Please forward this to other citizens that share these concerns.
Thank you,
Keith Baker

Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, in creating the district, the city did not overstep its authority. Instead, it joined more than 20 communities around the state in exercising their state-granted right to protect their town’s drinking water supply.

Without exception, as outlined in the enabling state legislation, each of the 20-plus towns – from small towns like Basalt, Craig and Pagosa Springs to larger cities like Grand Junction, Fort Collins and Denver – have passed similar measures that, by state law, allow them to protect their waterworks and water supply from injury and pollution up to five miles above the point from which the water is taken.

For a case study of the benefits of protecting water supply, one need look no further than March 2008, when 1,300 people got sick and one person died from a Salmonella outbreak, the source of which was Alamosa’s water supply. Animal contamination of one of Alamosa’s ground water storage tanks meant that for three weeks 8,900 residents had to depend on one gallon of bottled water a day until the town was able to flush and disinfect its water lines and restore municipal water service. Restaurant owners, whose margins are already thin, were hardest hit as costs rose because they had to buy bottled water and pre-packaged ice from sources outside the town just to be able to serve the few brave souls who dared to eat out. While the exact conditions that precipitated the water crisis in Alamosa may not be present in Salida, the point is this: polluted municipal water supplies can have devastating effects on a community. So if we can, by law, put extra layers of protection in place, why wouldn’t we?

A City of Salida 2009 Drinking Water City of Salida 2009 Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report for calendar year 2008 ranks this community’s susceptibility rating, meaning the possibility of contamination to any of our three main water sources, as either moderately high or high. The city water portfolio includes one surface water and two groundwater sources. Potential sources of pollution come from the following: sewage treatment plants, septic systems, existing / abandoned mine sites, high and low intensity residential development, pasture, row crops mixed forest, septic systems, road grading and above ground storage tanks. So if the new regulation impacts the golf course development on property formerly known as Friend Ranch or any other new development that could potentially pollute our city’s water sources, I say, “hooray.”

Not only do I disagree with anyone who calls on City Council to rescind the resolution establishing the water protection district, I fervently hope this action is just the start of more good things to come with respect to water in this community and the greater watershed around us.

To borrow from a statement recently made by a man in the Roaring Fork Valley where citizens and stakeholders are joining together to create a watershed management master plan, “We can propose some regulatory changes that could have some impact, but the real change will be based on people having a different relationship with water and a culture of water responsibility becoming part of our regional ethic. That cannot be mandated.”

I hope that City Council’s action to proactively protect Salida’s water for this and future generations is just the start of a community-wide paradigm shift in the ways we think about and plan for water for water quality and supply into the future.

I found this news hilarious on so many fronts. As the tempestuous tennis great John McEnroe used to shout at line judges on questionable calls, “you have GOT to be kidding! The move begs the question, is there so little support for the project in its own backyard that proponents have to cast a wider net in search of supporters? Are we to believe that the wishes of distant observers would trump those of the people more proximate to the project? What political heft are we expected to presume former Presidential hopeful Richardson may bring to the project. Why stop at just contiguous states, perhaps there could be a national popularity poll. Why not seek support farther afield. There are 194 countries in the world; surely there are a few less-than-scrupulous dictators who would welcome payment for their endorsement. What does the Pope thinks about it? Is Lindsey Lohan contemplating it from her jail cell?

If so many people in New Mexico are so in love with this Christo project, I say let them host it. If relocated to the Rio Grande’s Taos Box, then the project could benefit from the skippier sounding title Over the River in a Box and any opposition group could modify the name Rags Over the Arkansas to simply Rags Over A River so it could still be ROAR . . . in a Box. If local opposition develops, would the ensuing din of contention drown out the legendary Taos Hum?

Ten days after he penned his letter of support for OTR, Richardson announced he’s considering pardoning Billy the Kid (I kid you not) before he leaves office. Apparently, the Gov has too much free time on his hands, surprising when his state is $160 million in the hole just three weeks into the new fiscal year.

Back in this neck of the woods, at this protracted stage in the process, I don’t care if OTR is approved or denied. Locals can read the draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Project and comment on it until the Aug. 30 deadline for comment. Download the Executive Summary of the Over The River Draft EIS by clicking here, or download the full document on the BLM’s website (please note that the full document is over 2,000 pages long). Hard copies are also available for review at several places in Salida, Cañon City, and Denver, and you can click here to view the exact locations.  You can also request a compact disc containing the file by calling the BLM office in Cañon City at (719) 269-8500.

I just want the incessant droning and nitpicking to end so that maybe our citizens could re-focus their activism on issues that really matter. Like how about starting WAR – Water in the Arkansas, that is. If WAR leaders could marshall the passion of those for and against Christo, and focus it instead on creating a unified voice to repel all future attempts by the Front Range and more Nestles-in-waiting wanting to take water out of our basin, out of our river and out of the aquifers that replenish our river, then we might have something really substantive to roar about.

Colorado Kayak Supply co-owner Earl Richmond who hosted and sponsored the race, said turnout for the event was better than expected, noting the field was bigger here than two major events held earlier this summer, the US National Whitewater Stand Up Paddle Championship in Glenwood Springs and  Teva Mountain Games in Vail.  “I guess people just like surfing Salida better,” Richmond surmised.

The top two finishers of today’s 2.5 mile downriver race are the silver and bronze medalists from the SUP Nationals. Silver medalist Charlie MacArthur of Aspen finished a scant two-hundreths of two seconds in front of National bronze medalist and Vail Valley TV weatherman Ken “Hobie” Hoeve. In third was Vail Valley firefighter Brent Redden. The top three times for the race that went from just above the upriver end of the whitewater park to the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area boat ramp at Salida East were: 21:07, 21:09 and 21:15. CKS awarded prizes to first, second and last place. Finishing last with a time of 32:00 was Salida businessman Ray Kitson.

A record number of women for any of the main SUP events in Colorado this season, 11 in all, entered the SUP Sprint Race. The top two finishers are the gold and silver medalists at the SUP Nationals, and also finished one-two at Teva Mountain Games. Jenny MacArthur, joined her husband in taking top downriver honors, followed by Boulder’s Nicole Duke with times of 23:01 and 23:58 respectively. In third was CKS store manager Tiff Simpson who crossed the finish line in 24:29. And just as the MacArthur’s took top honors, Salida’s Kitsons took bottom honors as Ray’s wife, Penny, finished last with a time of 30:12. Although she was last among the women, Penny noted she was nearly two full minutes faster than her husband. It was Ray Kitson’s second humbling defeat by women in his family in as many weeks. A week earlier, Kitson was rescued by his teen daughter, Sage, after swimming from his kayak in The Numbers.

Chaffee County locals fared better on their home wave during the surf competition. Mike Harvey, who engineered and built this and the other three features of Salida’s whitewater park, finished first with a crowd pleasing exhibition of a bass air guitar followed by a move he’s calling the 12-ounce Cutback, or possibly the Bottom’s Up Turn, as seen in this video of his ride.

Coming in a close second was Hoeve, who had already consumed three of his favorite malt river beverages before the competition started. In third was another Salida local, Zack Hughes, riding a board of his own making from his fledging stand up paddle board company, Badfish Riverboards. At press time, it was not known how many, if any, malt river beverages Hughes consumed before, during or after the competition.

For their part, the women had a much tougher time getting and staying on the wave.  Surfing to first with  side and overhead paddle twirls was sprint silver medalist Duke. US National Freestyle Kayak Team member Haley Mills of Buena Vista placed second while another BV pro kayaker, Amy Jimmerson, placed third.

The staging grounds for the event were held at the new riverside home of Gary Lacy, a longtime FIBArk downriver competitor and Harvey’s boss at one of the world’s premier whitewater park building firms, Recreation Engineering and Planning. Lacy’s home is directly adjacent to the uppermost play feature of Salida’s whitewater park which has seen nearly as many or more stand up paddlers as kayakers. Lacy was enthusiastic about the event and said he hopes it becomes an annual fixture of Salida’s annual summer event calendar. He noted that SUP comps don’t need high water, in fact lower water levels are preferable, so once peak high flows recede,  it’s a perfect way to extend the season for river sports enthusiasts. Lacy quipped, “The only downside I see to this sport is I might not ever get back in my boat.”

Ray Kitson drinks beer from a booty but does it count?

To try to get to the root of booty beer rules, the Citizen scoured reliably questionable online sources such as forums on well-trafficked kayak enthusiast web sites such as boatertalk.com, mountainbuzz.com and boof.com. The murky picture that emerged, not unlike the murky picture of Kitson seen draining his booty at right, leaves many unanswered questions.

“Guido,” identified as a senior member – whatever that means – of boof.com, shed light on the possible origins and rules of this river runners tradition. Guido reminisces: “Actually, the booty beer goes back to the southeast in the mid 80′s. I remember one day a bunch of slalom paddlers were hanging out barefoot in our spandex. Eric Jackson, Corran Addison and Tony Prijon were all there (yep, they all paddled slalom) and they were practicing a move across this hole on the Ocoee.

“Tony, being German, had a bunch of beer in his car, but forgot his cooler. The only thing he had to keep the beer cold was a pair of old neoprene booties – kind of like a modern day coozy. Well, needless to say, on one of his runs he got stuck in the hole, flipped a few times, broke his flimsy slalom paddle, hand rolled, broke his flimsy slalom boat, sank, popped his flimsy slalom skirt and had to swim out.

“Of course after the workout we all made fun of what a sissy he was for swimming (slalom paddlers never swim) and EJ suggested that he chug a beer to prove that he was still a man. Corran chimed in and suggested he chug it out of his gnarly booty to further prove the point. Tony, being German, and not one to back down from a challenge, said “I’ll drinken ein booty beer if you both start ze boat company”. And that’s how the booty beer, Jackson Kayaks and Savage Kayaks came to be. I swear. These seem obvious:
1. You swim, you drink
2. If your buddy rescues all your stuff, you drink from his/her booty, not yours (time to practice the self-rescue techniques…).
3. If you try to hit your pal with a throw rope and you miss him/her, you drink too.
4. If you don’t have a throw rope with you to throw to your buddy, you drink.
5. Consumption of one full beer is required. When doing Wild Turkey Booty shots, the pour must be equivalant to a double shot or better.”

Another “senior member” of Boof.com, “new Randolph” offers some other rules boaters may or may not play by:

“The Corey Volt Rule: If there is a girl drinking a booty beer, you too should drink one with her in hopes that it will help you score later (it never actually worked for Corey, but that could be because of his messed up teeth…)

“The Eric Giddens Rule: No sally-ass PBR or Coors Light will due for Booty Beers, you need to drink at least 7% beer to truly be proud.

“The Rookie-becomes-a-Man rule: Drink one booty beer for each swim in a day/trip (not just one at the end of the day/trip). Talk about rookie-rapid-intoxification!!

“A-Team rule: If your buddy has to drink a booty beer, you MUST put the sick footy of it on your sick blog for all your sponsors to see (extra bonus points if you get it with your helmet cam bro). You should probably have more stickers on your car too…

“The Jackson Kayak Park Rule: If you swim at the Jackson Kayak Park in Reno, you are suspended from Kayaking for 50 days. You must also drink a booty beer each one of those days to make you feel shame.

“The Blonde-Roots Rule: If a friend is actively drinking a booty beer, and you ask that person “why do you only have one shoe on?” you must also drink a booty beer.

“BFF Rule: If you pal pulls your sprayskirt in a wave-battle and you swim, you still drink. If while he/she is pulling your skirt, you successfully pull THEIR skirt and they swim too, your buddy has to drink the booty beer and you don’t have to. While they are drinking their booty beer, don’t put yourself in jeopordy of having to follow the Blonde-Roots Rule (see above).”

Tragically, there seems to be no consensus on either the history of the booty beer tradition or any evidence of hard, fast rules, let alone any rules governing the questionable circumstances under which Kitson claims to  have fulfilled his booty beer obligation. To whit, has Kitson, by waiting five days and drinking from a sanitized booty, truly fulfilled his booty beer obligation? If not, would drinking another booty beer from an authentically unsanitized booty settle the score? If not, then what?