Letter: A dismissive candidate

A number of letter-writers are painting Rick Stevens as the knight in shining armor who will save Basalt. Save Basalt from what? Save it from having the best river park in the valley? Save its residents from activities that would annoy hotel guests and second-home owners on the Pan and Fork? One thing is certain you can expect of Rick Stevens. He will be dismissive of the residents unless they happen to be in alignment with his vision. Four hundred registered voters signed a petition asking the town to buy the Pan and Fork property. What was his response? “I’ve talked to 400 people who disagree.”

Let’s get some common sense here. If you have empty buildings in east Basalt, why would you want to build more commercial? Riverwalk never filled up, and that was before Whole Foods began sucking businesses to Willits. It is also too far from the center of town. When the card shop moved from next to the motel, it no longer had foot traffic and closed. Imagine some Riverwalk-like buildings along Two Rivers Road. They too would be empty, with empty second homes above them.

The place for development is Basalt’s center (aka Clark’s Market, where Habitat is now). This is the core of Basalt. Everything else is within walking distance of it. That’s the place for commercial. The Pan and Fork is the place for all Basalt residents to recreate, to gather, to enjoy the outdoors. Once it is developed, there will be no other opportunity like it.

That’s why I’m voting for Jacque Whitsitt. She listens to the people and represents them in spite of the developers’ wishes. Unlike Stevens, she didn’t vote to give Mariner Basalt’s tax money at Willits. That was the right decision. Mariner wanted our tax money to sweeten the pot when it sold part of the development earlier this year.

Gerald R. Terwilliger

Basalt