After reading all the letters to the Open Forum regarding the Local Improvement District (LID) for maintenance of subdivision roads that was established by Boulder County, I feel compelled to make sure the voice of a long time city resident is heard, that’s me, and I hope other city residents will follow suit. One letter in particular, from a county subdivision resident, that calls for a recall election made me want to chime in.
Let’s take a hard look at the awesome benefits I reap, as city of Boulder neighborhood dweller, from the fact that my neighborhood roads are not in unincorporated Boulder County. Please don’t miss the sarcasm.
I benefit from employees of local business, who don’t live in Boulder, cutting through my neighborhood to find a shortcut to U.S. 36 on their way home from work. I benefit from having my neighborhood roads being left unplowed, regardless of the snowfall amounts, resulting in a slippery skating rink ride down my street two to three times every winter. I benefit from my small, fifth-acre lot, which only exposes me to about 80-feet of city road. But most importantly, I benefit from incredibly low city of Boulder taxes.
While I try to make a habit not to offer advice unless asked, after all the compelling letters that claim an injustice was done by forming the LID, I must offer this: Boulder County subdivision residents reap benefits from their roads that I, and other city residents, do not and it is time for them to pay for those benefits.
Ned Riedel
