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\u2019t appear to be serving a public need.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t be the last. I\u2019ve patronized KC\u2019s Wing House and Jewels and Gems. I doubt if I\u2019ll ever set foot in ANB.<\/p>\n
How\u2019s Glenwood Springs going to compensate for the lost sales tax? Word is, ANB\u2019s going to rent the upstairs for office space. Offices don\u2019t pay sales tax. The seven evictees do.<\/p>\n
Banks haven\u2019t 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\u2019ve violated our trust and, now, they\u2019re going to win it back. Then, the next news item you hear is Wells Fargo is back to its old loan sharking ways.<\/p>\n
If you can find one that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t invest in fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Come to think of it, I can\u2019t think of a reason why this valley needs another bank besides Alpine Bank.<\/p>\n
Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale<\/p>\n