I think everyone agrees that Green Mountain Water and Sewer has no obligation to provide sewer service outside the boundaries of the district. None. Service Plan. Statutes. Case law. Bylaws. Rules and Regulations. None. No obligation whatsoever.
Service Plan: “The present purpose of the district is to provide a complete waterworks distribution system for the district and the inhabitants thereof”
Rules and Regulations “5.4 Extraterritorial Service. The District shall have no obligation to provide Service outside its boundaries.”
The Rooney Valley Developers and their surrogates and supporters want you to believe that Green Mountain does have a legal obligation.
They tried mightily to persuade the Court that was true. The Court said it was false. Case Dismissed.
That is not stopping the Rooney Valley Developers from persuading you to sign a petition to recall those directors who fought against this big lie. Plan B.
Here is how the recall began – to give control of the board back to the Rooney Valley developers.
Those same Rooney Valley developers who controlled the board that voted on May 8, 2018 to approve the illegal Big Sky IGA.
The same Big Sky IGA that the Court just recently decided was illegal.
January 12, 2021 conversation on Christoper Arlen’s facebook page:
Robert Eadie (long time promoter of Rooney Valley development as former member of Lakewood Planning Commission and Rooney Valley Commission created in 2016):
Mr. Eadie: “These people (Green Mountain Board) are using our Water District for political objectives which is to block all development by preventing access to water [sewer was the issue, not water]. “
Again this is a false understanding. You aren’t “blocking” something if they don’t have a right to do it in the first place.
Rooney Valley developers don’t have a right to Green Mountain sewer. Just don’t. By sticking to the limits of the Service Plan and not providing sewer service outside its boundary, Green Mountain is following the law – it means Rooney Valley developers have to go back to their own sewer district and leave Green Mountain alone.
Mr. Eadie: “Unfortunately it might now be time to initiate a recall but most of the water district customers are fairly apathetic.”
Mr. Eadie apparently wants to recall the board members because they were blocking development in Rooney Valley – development he thought Green Mountain was obligated to support.
Mr. Eadie: “I have also heard but can’t verify that the District is being sued by developers. Is this true?” [law suits were filed in June, 2019 and had been pending for 1.5 years.]
William Furman (longtime promoter of development in Lakewood – former candidate for City Council who lost against David Skilling):
Mr. Furman: ” . . . it is worth noting their efforts to use the water board for their political aim is at our expense.”
Mr. Furman is saying is that the new board voted into office on May 8, 2018 were using the board for their political aim by terminating the Big Sky IGA.
No, the Big Sky IGA was terminated, as the resolution clearly stated, because it was illegal. And the Court has agreed it was completely illegal.
Remember, the Big Sky IGA that Mr. Furman and Mr. Eadie are defending was signed by the developer controlled board on May 8, 2018 just as the votes were being counted and the developer controlled board was being voted out of office in a constitutional election.
Mr. Furman: “The board’s legal fees [defending the lawsuits which were just dismissed and the legal fees the board should recover if Counsel Timmons files the motion] since the take over have gone up five fold. That is paid for by us.”
The “take over” he is referring to is the constitutional election on May 8, 2018, that replaced the developer controlled board with a citizen controlled board.
Mr. Furman seems to favor another “take over” to replace the citizen board with another developer board. Return to the way it was before May 8. With a recall. This recall. Plan B.
Clearly Mr. Furman and Mr. Eadie opposed terminating the IGA and wish the case had not been dismissed.
They wish the plaintiff developers would have beaten the district or the district would have given up and entered into a new IGA with the Rooney Valley developers.
But that didn’t happen.
The Rooney Valley developers were wrong,
made false allegations,
lost the case,
the case was dismissed and
they need to find sewer as they should have in the beginning – from Mt. Carbon or one of the other ways to get sewer.
The Rooney Valley developers gambled on being able to control Green Mountain and lost. That is their problem. Not the residents’ of Green Mountain’s problem.
For Mr. Eadie and Mr. Furman, its all about doing whatever is necessary to develop Rooney Valley. Green Mountain’s job is just to go along with the Rooney Valley developers and do whatever they want Green Mountain to do.
That was the way Adam Paul did business when he was on the Board. Both are fervent supporters of Adam Paul and the development community.
So, this is Christoper Arlen’s facebook page. Where does he stand on all this. He is the leader of the recall movement and the leader of the group that has been demanding recall and resignations at the board meetings.
What is his position.
Christopher Arlen: “Yes. I agree that the intent to the block development. [appears to be “that the intent is to block development”] I think a recall should certainly be on the table.”
Mr. Arlen is agreeing with Mr. Eadie and Mr. Furman that terminating the illegal Big Sky IGA was a political move to block development.
Recall is on the table to make sure the Board works to support, not block, Rooney Valley development.
Mr. Arlen: “Yes, there is considerable litigation going on. I think the best thing we can do in the short term is to pay attention and let them know we are watching. I thing [think] we need to brainstorm other ideas too.”
And apparently they continued to brainstorm on how to return the Green Mountain board to the way it was before – when the board was controlled by the Rooney Valley developers and the board did what they were told to do.
And Mr. Arlen has led the way. He has, meeting after meeting, attacked three of the board members, Jeff Baker, Alex Plotkin and Karen Morgan demanding that they resign or be recalled.
According to Mr. Arlen’s campaign records filed with the City, he has received campaign contributions from Adrienne Hanagan and Brenda Bronson during this same time. His contributions are increasing with contributions from notable developer oriented patrons as he pounds away at Jeff, Karen and Alex.
Mr. Arlen’s developer pedigree was clear in the 2018 election campaign against Barb Franks:
Consistent with the pro-development anti citizen involvement in managing growth, he did not think much of the Citizens Initiative 200:
From a published interview during the 2018 election:
“What are your top three priorities if elected?”
Christopher Arlen: “Moving Lakewood beyond 200 is imperative. The distal impacts to economic development, low income housing, and sales tax revenue impacts our collective future. . . .”
And most recently, April 6, 2021, in one of his many lectures to the Green Mountain board about how they should do their job, he explained that the board is just a “toaster; an appliance”.
Clearly indicating that their job is “not to weigh in” on development. Their job is not to say “no” to a developer.
Their job is to do whatever the developer wants them to do.
Like a toaster; an appliance. All plugged in and simply there to serve up whatever the developer requests.
Even if its illegal.
Even if its outside the boundaries of the district.
Even if its going to expose the residents of the district to liability.
Just a toaster.
Just an appliance.
Wonder if Adam Paul agrees that he is just a toaster; an appliance.
Problem is of course that if Green Mountain provides sewer service outside its boundary, it is promoting development.
And if it follows its service plan and does not provide service outside its boundary, it is not promoting development.
Whatever they do is going to affect development one way or the other.
Green Mountain is not a toaster or just an appliance.
Here is the tape of Mr. Arlen’s April 6 “lecture”, beginning at 46:50. If you can handle it, the first 50 minutes of the meeting is a “nice” sample of what the board has endured the past 6 months or more. Mr. Mueller’s harassment beginning at 41:00 is typical.
These are the people who are the leaders of the recall movement.
Note, that later in that same segment Mr. Arlen reveals a very unusual approach to how board members are supposed to communicate.
He lectures the board that, apparently based upon his vast inexperience as an elected official, that they can talk to each other one at a time.
Two of them at a time can talk to residents and developers.
But, according to some rule he made up, they can only do that once.
If Adrienne talks with Rhonda about something, she can’t then talk to Karen about it later on.
Or the next day talk to Alex about it.
And if two of them talk to residents about an issue, one of them can’t talk with another board member and residents about the same issue another time. So on.
If they do, that is some how a conspiracy, politically corrupt and that is another reason they should be recalled.
There is no support in the constitution, statutes, caselaw or bylaws for such a “novel” idea. And of course all city councils would completely shut down if they couldn’t talk to each other one on one or with the voters, two at a time, more than once on any issue.
But where did he get this idea. Same place he got the idea that the Rooney Valley developers have a right to Green Mountain sewer and Green Mountain was blocking that right – the Rooney Valley developers.
Both arguments were made in the Rooney Valley developer’s frivolous lawsuit that cost the district over $500,000 in legal fees.
Cost incalculable stress on the board as an institution and
Cost incalculable stress on the individual board members and their families.
The Rooney Valley developers tried to get sewer they were not entitled to from Green Mountain. They have always had access to sewer from their own district – Mt. Carbon or one of several other avenues.
Green Mountain simply has no legal obligation to the Rooney Valley developers.
No matter how often they try to say so.
Plan A did not work.
Case dismissed.
The Rooney Valley developers gambled on being able to control Green Mountain and lost. That is their problem. Not the residents’ of Green Mountain’s problem.
Plan B – taking over the board with a recall – should not be allowed either.
But thats up to you. Are you a toaster too?
John Henderson
Green Mountain should not be obligated to pay for new sewers for any development in other area’s currently propose, they have not payed for any in the district and should not pay for any new development areas, Lakewood has an ordinance requiring only 1% growth and that should be followed, inspite of these of supposedly “legal” claims to permits to develope more areas.