- Pressure the existing Special Districts to use existing program dollars to expand their specific services to include public safety issues in Evergreen on which they can communicate, collaborate, coordinate and otherwise work together to resolve.
- Form a Public Safety Special District.
- Become a local democratic government home rule municipality as defined by Title 31, and fold the existing Special Districts into departments of the municipal government while adding a Public Works & Safety and a Police department.
Here are the pros and cons of the listed options.
PRESSURE SPECIAL DISTRICTS
PROS
Attend board meetings at, and send emails to the three Special Districts, requesting the design and publication of OSHA approved Evacuation plans for all community use buildings. To be accomplished with existing tax dollars. While these private organizations do not have to provide “due process” by listening and responding, they are not immune to a groundswell of demands to expand their services in order to satisfy a legislative mandate.
Demand the establishment of fire lanes to, at and around all community use buildings wherever possible .
Inundate JEFFCO commissioners with requests for assistance from the Planning Department and the County Traffic Engineer to work with Fire & Rescue to design, develop, and put in place the necessary on-the-fly coordinated traffic signal control systems and routes necessary to serve the Evergreen community. Also request the provision of educative materials on the systems and routes. Fortunately, the County government is real government that must provide “due process” by listening and responding, even though they may cry poverty in response.
Request the design, publication and distribution of fire lane safety educational programs and materials for public consumption.
CONS
Special Districts are private organizations, and as such they do not have to provide “Due Process.” In a word, they don’t have to listen to the public. This is true based on the inadequate definitions and procedures in the poorly crafted Title 32.
Form a Public Safety Special District
PROS
Forming a Special District for Public safety would at least create an organization that could inspect a community and report on public safety problems.
CONS
A Public Safety Special District has no authority over other Special Districts. It could not force other Special Districts to paint fire lanes around their buildings, or buy full cost liability insurance without a liability cap for the insurer. It is not clear what a Public Safety Special District could do beyond inspecting and reporting, and such a limited mission does not justify the creation of another Board and employees with little to do, and all of whom end up illegally on the State retirement rolls. Such a district is another undefined mystery item in Title 32.
Form a local democratic government
PROS
“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.” (Eagles)
The people of Evergreen are indeed fortunate. They do not have to brave teargas bombs and bullets in order to achieve a little democracy and self determination. All they have to do is follow the procedures in Title 31 to establish a home rule city in Colorado. Yes democracy is messy but at least its your mess that you control.
CONS
Its not as easy as Title 31 would have it. Because the two Special district private organizations, Fire & Rescue and Parks & Recreation would have to become departments in the municipal government. Likewise, the schools in evergreen together with their administrative support would have to be dissected from the JEFFCO School District. Sounds like a big pill to swallow, but maybe not, as future updates to this website will explain. “Watch this space.”