General Issues November 2009

Another month has passed and once again it has been a very interesting education of your thoughts and concerns. Thank you to all that have posted and we look forward to hearing more of your comments and concerns.

If you are confused about how to post on the blog or feel more comfortable e-mailing me your comments and concerns, please do so and we will post it for you.

E-mail: dustin.mcintyre@yahoo.com
Dustin McIntyre, Gateway News and gatewaynews.org

Operation Commerce: Economic Scan of Commerce City

Recently a report by the consultant AngelouEconomics was released and a number of you have left your opinions about it in the October General Issues section. As of today, we are still getting comments in regards to that specific report, therefore we at the Gateway News thought it would be prudent to start its own comment section. Before posting any comments, PLEASE read the following statement:

This process is not intended in any way to serve as a vehicle to simply criticize, nor does it place blame. That is counter-productive. Rather, the process of issue identification and SWOT {strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats} summary gives a realistic inventory of assets or limitations that can be used to develop realistic, effective recommendations from Angelou.

Fact – Nearly 60% of Commerce City ’s population over the age of 25 has a high school diploma, if not a higher degree of educational attainment.

Fact - In the Northern Range , 83.3% of the weighted population over the age of 25 has graduated high school. This rate is higher than our neighboring cities and the Adams County statistic.

Fact – Approximately 60% of the weighted population in the Core City over the age of 25 has a high school diploma.

Fact - Multiple sources, including the database (Claritas) used for the Comprehensive Plan update, provide us with similar educational attainment statistics as found in the Angelou study.

Fact - The source that Angelou used for the data and statistics found in the Economic Scan (Decision Data Resource) is used by many national site selectors on behalf of their clients. If we were to report numbers other than ones that are cited in the report, those site selectors would probably pass us by for other jurisdictions.

Fact - Commerce City has grown 158% in population since 1998. While rapid growth is a good thing for a number of reasons, it poses a great challenge to projecting population and demographic statistics.

Fact – The purpose of the Economic Scan is to evaluate the current state of affairs in Commerce City in areas that are most critical to business & industry growth and job creation, in order to evaluate Commerce City ’s readiness to attract and direct future economic development. Educational attainment is one of these critical areas.

General Issues October 2009

Another month has passed and once again it has been a very interesting education of your thoughts and concerns. Thank you to all that have posted and we look forward to hearing more of your comments and concerns.

If you are confused about how to post on the blog or feel more comfortable e-mailing me your comments and concerns, please do so and we will post it for you.

E-mail: dustin.mcintyre@yahoo.com
Dustin McIntyre, Gateway News and gatewaynews.org

LANDMARK ACADEMY STUDENTS ASK THE HARD HITTING QUESTIONS

This week several Landmark Academy students sat down with Gateway Reporter Dustie McIntyre and told him what questions they would like the candidates running for office to answer.

Click on comments below to read the responses from the candidates.

What do you think of the Werth Manor Event Center Forum by the CCPBA

by Dustin McIntyre

As far as Commerce City forums go the CCBPA {Commerce City Business & Professionals Association} forum was well attended. Out of the 13 candidates, only one, Mr. Colby Trull was a no show. Commerce City has a notorious history of poor turn out for public forums, at least for as long as the Gateway News has been around.

It is not uncommon to look around the room during past Commerce City forums and be able to count and name all of the "usual" citizens in the room with less then 10 fingers.

Next to the Reunion forum of two years ago, I would say this CCBPA forum was Commerce City's second biggest turn out in its recent history. It should be noted that the Reunion forum may have been popular due to the NASCAR issue at that time.

Also, this CCBPA forum was the first Commerce City forum that was Streamed LIVE via the internet. I am sorry for the short notice of letting the public know this was a possibility. We have had some challenges and have learned from this election season that will make future elections seasons more efficient.

So, after hearing the LIVE stream and videos, we all want to know what you think of the issues and candidates.

Medical Marjiuana in Commerce City, What do you think???

Medical Marijuana coming to a city near you is not breaking news. It has been discussed in previous Commerce City council meetings and was even a question asked to the 2009 candidates at the Metro North Chamber of Commerce Thornton Forum recently.

So, it wasn't that surprising when a group came to the council meeting on September 28th wanting to gather information on where the city stands on the issue and expressing interest in setting up shop within the city limits.

Now, it is your turn to tell us what you think of the issue. Do you support it, oppose it, and more to the point, do you want it in Commerce City and why or why not?

We want to know what you think after listening to the Thornton Forum Video

Some really good Commerce City subjects were covered in the Thornton Forum brought to you by the Great City of Thornton, the Metro North Chamber of Commerce, the Metro North Newspapers and The League of Women Voters.

After watching the videos, both the at-large and ward candidates, we want to hear from you. What do you think, what are your thoughts, have listening to any of the candidates speak change your mind or enlighten you in some way.

Let the world know!!!

If you have troubles leaving a comment, you can e-mail it to: dustin.mcintyre@yahoo.com or just call and tell us 720-221-7352

General Issues September 2009

Another month has passed and once again it has been a very interesting education of your thoughts and concerns. Thank you to all that have posted and we look forward to hearing more of your comments and concerns.

If you are confused about how to post on the blog or feel more comfortable e-mailing me your comments and concerns, please do so and we will post it for you.

E-mail: dustin.mcintyre@yahoo.com
Dustin McIntyre, Gateway News and gatewaynews.org

Commerce City Council Third Term??? Ballot Issue 2A

Currently, the Commerce City Charter stipulates that a citizen can run for a council position for only 2 consecutive terms, that would be a total of 8 years straight. The citizen would then have to sit out for one term before being able to run again.

Council women Kathy Teter brought up the idea to increase the term limits from 2 consecutive terms to 3 consecutive terms. Thus, giving citizens a possible total of 12 years on city council positions, if voted in by the people of course.

This issue is not officially part of the 2009 ballot, but with a council consensus in the majority for support, more likely we will see it in November.

So, with all that being said. Should Commerce City Citizens have the option to run for city council for 3 consecutive terms, a total of 12 years? Or should we continue with the current 2 consecutive terms, a total of 8 years?

The power is in the people's hands. Let us know what you think!!!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK THE CANDIDATES?

This online forum is going to allow you, THE VOTERS, to ask all the questions you would like to ask of ALL THE CANDIDATES. This November in 2009 and next November in 2010, we have some very important seats to fill and issues to decide. We have a mayor in Brighton, city council seats in Brighton and Commerce City and director seats in school districts 27J and ACSD14, and county, state, and federal seats next fall. Also, there could be bonds to pass (or fail) and issues to be decided.

When you post your question, please let us know which candidate the question is for, or if it is for all candidates in a certain race, or for all candidates in general. Candidates we encourage you to visit often, you can pick and choose which questions to respond to or just use the forum to understand your future constituents concerns. If you have a problem blogging, please call us at 720-221-7352 or fax to 720-221-8317 or email to dustie@coloradobusinessalliance.com or just come up to us at any city event and tell us directly.

Periodically, we will print questions and answers in the print version of the Gateway News.