Issue # 41 .... ObservANT of City Hall

OUR BIG BAD BUDDY BARWICK'S BACK (IN THE NEWS)!

Aaahhh, city manager Steve Barwick.... The Red Ant cringes to report that our naïve and complacent electors (4/5 of them; Skadron was absent) unanimously voted recently to provide Barwick with an employment contract with the city worth over $170,000 annually.  The contract notably prevents Barwick from "committing an act of gross negligence or malfeasance."  In his 11 years in this role, Barwick, who works at the direction and discretion of council, has never had a contract.  He has asked for a contract before, but previous councils recognized the potential political pitfalls of granting one due to Barwick's spotty record as city manager.  Barwick is the city manager who:

• ...misled voters in 2005 with a city brochure for the Burlingame affordable housing project that stated there would be a $62,500 per unit taxpayer subsidy when in reality it was closer to $400,000 per unit. And it wasn't just a "brochure error."  He personally promoted that $62,500 throughout the media and then later denied that the city had ever used that number.
• ...enabled the Burlingame housing project to be built without a budget, unless you want to count one written on a McDonald's napkin, resulting in an anticipated $75 million in unexpected costs thus far.
• ...initiated the $18 million purchase of the BMC property and completed it without an appraisal, bankrupting the housing fund.
• ...led, oversaw and continues to lead wasteful expenditures of millions of dollars of public funds on unrealistic, ill-conceived, cart-before-the-horse, failed projects and programs such as the ZG Master Plan, the Main Street Median and the outdoor pool at the ARC.
• ...approved, enabled and then defended the use of city employee "purchase cards" for meals at Aspen restaurants in excess of $250,000 in 2007 and 2008.
• ...granted "free housing for life" at a city-owned ranchette (valued at $14 million in 2009) to the city public works manager in order to keep him from leaving Aspen for a job elsewhere.  Yep, Barwick rewarded the guy for NOT having a succession plan in place!
• ...recently attempted to have an Aspen citizen "punished" by the Rotary Club for dissenting with the local government, despite his first amendment constitutional right to do just that.
• ...did not require the most fundamental election controls in city clerk Kathryn Koch's office, where her negligence in mapping the designated marketing district for the November 2009 election resulted in the city foregoing nearly $1 million in tax funding for marketing purposes.
• ...has ducked any and all responsibility for the serious unresolved problems, broken commitments and violations of the law associated with the May 2009 municipal election.

 Each of these issues (obvious "acts of gross negligence and malfeasance," in The Red Ant's book) was presented to council prior to their consideration of Barwick's annual request.  I know because I presented them.  But the contract was a foregone conclusion, which should surprise no one.  In their sadly predictable fashion, council immediately jumped to the defense of Barwick, making excuses for him and his job performance to-date:

• Ireland:  "It's a difficult job.  It's a broader scope of duties than a city manager in a typical town of this size would face."  And, this contract "is also key in attracting a good successor to Barwick. Whoever that person is will want to know that their predecessor was treated well."  To which The Red Ant says, "He's Aspen's CEO.  The job is not so difficult as to ignore basic management principles and fiscal responsibility."
• Romero:  "All of those decisions actually rest here at the city council table.  We bear the brunt of the success or failure of those decisions."  And, this contract and severance package "allow for greater candor and more honest discussion between the city manager and council."  To which The Red Ant says, "Wow.  We'll remember your admission of responsibility for these 'acts of gross negligence and malfeasance' when we head to the voting booths next year.  And Dwayne, does it really take a $170,000 contract to have an honest discussion with your employee?"
• Johnson:  praised Barwick's performance.  To which The Red Ant says, "You've been on council for almost a year now.  It's time to tune in and get with the program."
• Torre:  called the public comment on Barwick's abysmal performance as city manager "cowardly."  To which The Red Ant says, "It actually took a lot of guts to get up there in front of council and truthfully report on Barwick's known record.  Calling someone a 'coward' for speaking out against the government is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence your detractors."

Citizens of Aspen, your elected council DOES NOT want you to criticize the local government.  Especially with the hard truths.  The Red Ant is committed to shining a bright light on efforts to silence the electorate while perpetuating cronyism and rewarding mediocrity with your taxpayer dollars!

 JUST ASK STEVE!?!

And, in late-breaking news, the Aspen Daily News reports that $475,000, generated in a 2004 public-private "land-lease" agreement between the city and the developers of Obermeyer Place, has gone "unaccounted for."  While the city did not "collect" on the lease of city-owned land that was used by the developers during construction, the developers were on the hook for $475,000 in public improvements -- 13 items were listed to satisfy the requirement, but the Aspen recycle center at Rio Grande Park was the primary focus.  Nobody can clear up the issue -- Helen is no longer mayor, and the city's asset director and assistant city manager have long-since left their positions.  Current assistant city manager Randy Ready states that the work was done and all was reconciled, but with the staff turnover, there are no records.  At press time, Obermeyer is digging for its records to show how the money was spent.

C'mon people!  Leave Helen and the former employees alone.  Just ask Barwick!  He's been in his role as city manager (a.k.a. CEO of the city of Aspen) for 11 years now.  And given that he has just been rewarded with a nice employment contract for his "job well done," surely he can quickly and thoroughly fill in the blanks and put the whole issue to rest.  Or can he?  A former city employee who was close to the issue tells The Red Ant, "The city manager's office's decision to handle the Obermeyer improvements off the city's books is typical of the 'outcome-based' culture of that office.  Work was probably done (environmental health, site work, planning and design) but at what cost? And how was the money really spent?  Since the the funding did not pass through the city's books, I am not surprised that they're having difficulty proving it."  

While Mick vows to "get to the bottom of it" and go after Obermeyer if records can't be produced, Barwick is currently preparing to spend $175,000 of your tax dollars in coming weeks on paving, landscaping and security cameras at the recycle center.  (Yes, council approved this!)  It appears to The Red Ant that Barwick just wants to finish the recycle center this spring and sweep the missing $475,000 issue under the rug.  Kudos to the Aspen Daily News for breaking this story!    The Red Ant will follow it (and Barwick) closely!  "Afterall," The Red Ant says, "it happened on his watch!"

GOOD RestaurANT NEWS

To briefly follow up on Issue # 40, "VacANT," The Red Ant is pleased to report that the D-19 space and Popcorn Wagon are under new ownership.  Hope springs eternal that the return of these Aspen favorites is indicative of a trend toward renewed vitality in the commercial core!  And yum, popcorn!

ANALYSIS PARALYSIS

 Regardless of where you stand on the issue, The Aspen Club's timeshare expansion proposal came before council Monday night for the SIXTH time since January!  And council predictably punted once more.  It seems Mick can't vote yes on this land-use question until the deal includes a mandate that current owners/investors are restricted from selling until the development is complete.  Aspen Club owner Michael Fox wondered aloud what this had to do with the "public benefit" of the proposal.  (Public benefit being a key component of land-use applications.)

In discussions, councilman Romero made the City Council "Ya Think" Statement of 2010 (to-date): "I think this is over-reaching from the government sector to the private sector....We should be looking at this for its strengths and merits as a land-use application, not on the strengths and merits of the applicant."  Ya think??

THE RED ANT SUGGESTS:

• Follow the money  While the city budget is never exciting reading, it is important to learn and know how our local government is spending taxpayer money.  For example, there's a $2.8 million line item in the 2010 budget for the initial design of Burlingame phase II.  And, recent news reports have mentioned notable contributions to the RETT due to several large real estate closings (The Limelight, The Lodge at Aspen Mountain).  With these tidbits, The Red Ant senses a coordinated effort brewing to float a HUGE ($100+ million?) bond to complete the build-out of the city's largest and most controversial affordable housing project.  Yikes!
• Monitor  The Red Ant suggests that we all watch the activities of and public expenditures developed, promoted and approved by city manager Steve Barwick.  He has an established record of fiscal mismanagement and bad decisions. 
• Write to council  Let them know you're watching.  And you care.  While The Red Ant is sadly aware of the real repercussions and retributions for standing up to the government (see Issue # 19 of The Red Ant: Fear and Loathing in Aspen, CO), there are still opportunities to periodically (and less controversially) weigh-in on the issues.  There is an email link to all council members on the homepage of www.TheRedAnt.com
• Speak out  As The Red Ant learned the during the winter hiatus, when the cat's away, the mice will play.  We all have to work together to foster change around here.  If you can't speak out publicly, please stay in touch and let me know what you're hearing, seeing or thinking about.

 The Red Ant will keep you posted and opine on the issues, and always welcomes your feedback and input.