YOUR AD HERE »

Ascendigo goes against Garfield mission

I am joining the chorus of residents in Missouri Heights who have voiced their opposition to the proposed Ascendigo development. And I want to underscore that everyone admires Ascendigo for the valuable and needed work they do so well. This is about land use compatibility and impacts on this particular rural residential neighborhood.

The county’s Community Development Mission as stated on its website landing page reads: “To provide development services and implement county policies in a professional manner that promotes the quality of life for the citizens of Garfield County.” Well so far, over 380 (and growing) citizens have expressed vociferous opposition to this project because of their quality-of-life concerns. And while the Ascendigo program would be available to local families, they customarily have attracted campers mostly from farther away and out of state; I believe very few are Garfield County citizens.

Furthermore, if the county approves the plan, then Ascendigo, being a 501c3 nonprofit, would likely be granted a waiver from paying property taxes. Whereas, if the originally planned subdivision with 13 to 15 homes were to continue, the county would receive property tax revenue of $100,000 per year, or more. As a taxpayer, I find the potential approval of this project egregious. How can anyone view inflicting harmful and unsafe impacts on county residents (traffic, fire evacuation danger, water concerns, noise and light pollution and more) to be an improvement in our “quality of life”? Particularly, while reducing the spending power of the county, which would either reduce services or result in higher taxes. Why on earth would Garfield County approve this project in light of the county’s own stated mission?



Lori Brandon

Carbondale