You haven’t heard much about Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District in a long time. They have been working hard on behalf of the district residents after the end of the recall chapter.
Jeff Baker, Alex Plotkin and Karen Morgan won the recall election by a 3 to 1 margin last Fall.
When Ms. Hanagan, who supported the recall, resigned and was soon followed by Ms. Peters, the board majority had to appoint two replacements.
Dave Garner and Tom Hooks stepped up.
Board members Jeff Baker (president), Alex Plotkin, Karen Morgan, Dave Garner and Tom Hooks served admirably and took care of the district’s business, assisted by counsel Dylan Woods. Mr. Woods has been with the board almost a year now and by all accounts has served the board and the district with distinction.
It is now time for a new election.
Mr. Garner said from the beginning of his appointment that he would help the district through to the next election. And true to his word, he is not running for a full term. He has also served with distinction and deserves an overwhelming “thank you” from all the residents. He volunteered to help the board at a time when they needed strong leaders to step up and serve. Grounded in a strong sense of duty and commitment to the district’s governing principles he proved to be a significant asset.
Mr. Hooks is running for a one year term and no other residents have self-nominated for that position. He, too, has provided invaluable service and the district is fortunate to have his continued presence on the board.
Alex Plotkin, along with Jeff Baker, was elected the same night Big Sky jammed through the Big Sky IGA with the prior board majority that was being voted out of office. Jeff and Alex’ leadership in unearthing the IGA, having it analyzed, addressing the defects with Big Sky and eventually terminating the IGA when Big Sky refused to address the defects; their continued leadership in defending the lawsuit brought by Big Sky and a gaggle of Rooney Valley developers, dealing with an increasingly hostile district president and counsel, continuing to fight the litigation until the district court dismissed the case, replacing counsel and continuing to defend the appeals; and then successfully dealing with the harassment and destructive antics of the recall group – all while doing the business of the district – is nothing less than remarkable. Alex has served the district in a truly heroic fashion and deserves the residents’ thank you for his time, hard work and unyielding commitment as he quite understandably retires to spend time with his young family who have missed him during his time of service.
Jeff Baker, the current president of the board, has also served with great distinction, overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to just take care of the good business of running the water and sanitation district. He is running for a second term and well deserves it. That he is willing to continue his work is a strong statement to his commitment. He, too, has shown great courage and sacrifice in the face of unnecessarily destructive forces the past four years. Having the continuity of his experience and leadership will be a continued asset to the district.
Karen Morgan is not up for re-election for two years. Her experience and contributions over the first two years of her term speak favorably for more good work as her term continues. She, too, has been tested by, and overcome, forces that were extraordinary in their level of destructiveness.
That leaves two positions open and Jeff Baker’s position up for election, which he seeks to continue to fill.
There are five residents, including Jeff Baker, running for three positions. The three candidates with the most votes will fill those three positions. Hopefully Jeff Baker will be one of those three.
The remaining four residents running (for the remaining 2 positions if Jeff fills one of them) are:
- Robert Wilson
- Nathan Davis
- David Wiechman
- Roger J. Wendell
All candidates have been invited to post a short bio on the district website in a couple of days, April 20.
I don’t know much about the other candidates but for what its worth I do know Mr. Wiechman. He will likely reference his experience as a member of the Lakewood City Council for Ward 4, his prior experience on the West Fire District and his experience in attending most of the Green Mountain meetings the past several years.
He is a strong advocate of limiting Green Mountain’s work, as stated in its Service Plan, to providing services to its residents. He is opposed to providing services outside the district as occurred 1. ) by the pre-May 8, 2018 board’s election night approval of the Big Sky IGA and 2.) by the board influenced by Adam Paul (then Vice President of the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation Board) in laying the groundwork for providing services outside the district to Solterra.
In recent years he has consistently worked to represent resident interests in providing residents a seat at the table dominated by the development community when it comes to the rate of growth in Lakewood and Jefferson County.
But you can’t reflect on Mr. Weichman’s past experience without considering how he handled the events of the past two years. For what its worth, my only reservation and disappointment is his decision to sit on the fence at a time when the Green Mountain board majority was under a terribly misguided, unfounded and vicious attack. At a time when the board was facing a significant crisis, in the middle of serious litigation, he stood on the sidelines. Didn’t want to “take sides” and then ran to replace Mr. Plotkin if Mr. Plotkin was recalled (Mr. Plotkin won that contest by a margin of 3 to 1) It was a time when someone with Mr. Weichman’s experience and commitment had an opportunity to lead, as the voters eventually did, supporting the board and their work with a 3 – 1 margin. A missed opportunity to provide leadership in a time of need.
Mr. Weichman will undoubtedly talk of bringing people together. If he is elected, I hope that is true. But it will take a lot to rebuild bridges he has burnt. Rebuild trust. Rebuild confidence. Rebuild credibility in judgment.
The board has operated exceedingly well in the post-recall period; accomplished a lot of good work. It has been peaceful and productive. It would be a service to no one in the district to re-introduce even a small measure of those destructive forces that were unleashed only a year ago.
John Henderson