The filmmaker Monty Python group missed a stupendous opportunity for a film featuring Basalt Town Council. Once again, Kansas-based Bruce Kimmel of Ehlers: “Leaders in Public Finance” has been engaged to advise Basalt regarding the developer monopoly that Basalt created with about $8 million in taxpayer funds 2014-2017.
Kimmel is the “expert” the town relies on to “look over” what the monopoly cabal tells him are their projected costs, revenues and acceptable profit margins for their proposal which is said to best utilize tax payer assets. (Laughing yet?) They are proposing to build the elitist “River Cabin” residences on the river park so that billionaires will be able to enjoy Basalt where 33 low income households were removed and funded by taxpayers in a bait and switch play. Three years ago, Kimmel provided his “expertise” in evaluation for a bond issue that failed. That time the bond also relied on other made up numbers by more “experts”. That bond question was asking voters for about four million to landscape a couple of acres. After the bond failed, the town put it out to open bid and beautifully landscaped half of the land into the existing grassed park for about one-quarter million. This is a perfect example of what camouflaged feudal top down authoritarian, ram it down the citizens throats produces.
Mark Kwiecienski
Basalt