ANB evicting seven businesses on the east side of the 900 block of Grand Avenue for the purpose of building their second bank in Glenwood Springs is creating quite a bit of controversy. The move doesn’t appear to be serving a public need.
I count 15 banks already in Glenwood Springs and seven more in Carbondale, with a First Bank going up on Highway 133 that, no doubt, won’t be the last. I’ve patronized KC’s Wing House and Jewels and Gems. I doubt if I’ll ever set foot in ANB.
How’s Glenwood Springs going to compensate for the lost sales tax? Word is, ANB’s going to rent the upstairs for office space. Offices don’t pay sales tax. The seven evictees do.
Banks haven’t always been good neighbors. Glenwood Springs and Carbondale both have Wells Fargo banks, the banking branch of organized crime. They put out these commercials saying they’ve violated our trust and, now, they’re going to win it back. Then, the next news item you hear is Wells Fargo is back to its old loan sharking ways.
If you can find one that’s still alive, ask any farmer who lost his farm during the Great Depression about the compassion of banks. They made folk heroes out of Bonnie and Clyde.
I recently switched from U.S. Bank to Alpine Bank because A) Alpine Bank has a branch in Carbondale, B) they were founded in Carbondale, C) their current headquarters is in Glenwood Springs, D) their founder and chairman, Bob Young, is a notable community leader and philanthropist, E) they have an impeccable reputation, and F) they don’t invest in fossil fuels.
Come to think of it, I can’t think of a reason why this valley needs another bank besides Alpine Bank.
Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale
