HomeMy WebLinkAboutcoa.apz.min.043056proposal
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~OPOSAL FOF EuECIAL H' :V.~lUI!o COLt.EC'l'IC" FOR lSpW
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It r.as becCl'l!8 apparent that our city and county tax collections
are not suf'f'icient to me.intain the sevoral .'rvic88 and support
the ir-..provements that 11.1'0 essential to our COlllmU1'lit7 if it 10
to keep ita reputation as a firat-rate RESOFT coalIl"unlty.
The to11owi1'l6 are a few of the itet:.8 01' general interest that re-
quire Clore tinancial support thftn io preaentlT ava11able.
1. Pitkin CountT nospital.
2. Town and County street oiling.
3. P~l1c area (park) landscapir.g, Trash relllOval, painting.
4. Drinking fountains, bencheS, walka, etc.
S. Recroational tacl1it108, tennis courts, eto.
tor public Wle.
6. Goneral good will promotion beyond presont Chamber
of Commorce financial scopo.
7. Enginoeril".g and city plann1no surveys tor futuro
d.ovolopalent.
Tho constant dunniD<5 of tho buB1!'oes firms and individuals for
tho various intorests 01' such wortlV nature as above 1& only par-
tially etrective a~d i8 an irritating a~ t~4nkleB8 undertaking.
Because so 1118n:f worth ""l1e projocts arc in the minds of our
citizens no one project receives the full benefit of c~ncerted
eftort or ri~anQ1al support.
It has been demonstrated t~at a higher tax levy can 1"ot possibly
keep pace with the immediate ~oods. The 1nju8tice of greatly i~-
creased ta7 ird8xes to provide w~at can be 0180s11'1ed as the
"tr11lu" of the c~~un1ty is an ir.oquitable violation. ~ile the
boneri ts to be considered are available to all and ronect in
their eftect upon the values of every tax payer atill the differ-
enco in benefit to the individuals 1n various ldr-ds "t enter-
prises is too ma~od to ~ake a siMPle tax Inoreaee the solution.
~OlI'le "painlells" mothod whereby the VO" transients tor WhOlll
the extra services al'ld sat1stllctlons to be provided could in part
or even in ""ole pay tl'lo tre1B"t would indeed i.;e desireable. This
would only be cons18tant with tho uaual procedure 01' derlvinc bene-
flta trom the custom ot the me.in Induet17 of e.n.y COCl:1un1ty be it
a manufacturing plart or aanltarlu=.
Such a "painleso" collection process could be effected by placing
1n operation 8 tu of extret:lOly mode at size to apply upon a unit
per person per n1r:1-tt '8 lndglniI. "'01' exa"lplo, 10ft per nerSM per
bed a night could 'be added to the bill 01' ove.uest who id
for lod ,.,~ n !men or a!':!1: raBon a a .' s verT SMIl. e~:ra:t
on ~ne 1S1U lor J.OUf-ng oOUJ.a co J.ooeJ.ou .IAspen HospIce" or "l{appy
il'ollday Trusteeship t or SQ:lfl such d1;.;n1fied appellation.
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Lach 104&e wou1:.d be provided wit" a ftlnall poster to d1splay witl'>
their rate achedule outlining the reason and purpose 01' this
oharge and in addition, a card wPh a full description 01' the
reasons tor the cl,lU'gO plus a l1st of' the directora of the tund
and a legal outlina 01' it as an Don-profit, benor'.oi81 entity
to Which tax-deductahle donations could he nade would be avail-
anle at tho offIce at each cOllll:lorcial lod&:1ng place. Such liter-
aturo could be ~rotesslonallY phrased and attractively worked out
to natter the ouatO>:ler" aTld render hin pleased for the opportunity
to so participate in a wort~ enterprlae.
Now it 1s 1rm;lOd1ately apparent tl,at two pha3lt8 of' this plan,--
t~. aw!itIn~ and collocting from the oommercial lOdgl"3 nlaoes
and the adr.t1nistratin ~ ot tNI oollected f'Jrda are the primo fac-
tors of its success. A most superficial projoct1oF. ot tho poten-
tial involved in fUl'lds miGht be to estimate that within Aspen
there ara presently lOOO co:~rc1al bads available of 1Mlch 25~
are ocoupied tor 2$~ ot the calendar year. This most conserva-
tive est1ma~e would product at lC~ a bed a night ,nearly ~2300.00
for the year. One capacUj nioht of 1000 occupied beds would
produce '100.00. 'l'he posa1bllity of colle ctini " luring a 'Year's
perIod perhaps up to the atag&eri"\J' figure of \lO,000.00 is a
matter for serious conJocture.
The very potential substal"ce "1' the tunds If'vol ved "'skes the
considoration ot the ad~1"1stration of sucb an enhrpris8 a
matter 1'or caretul t;,1T\klnc.. The pla"'n1nz. the startir,:; end tho
collecting and the spendil.16 must ce pattornod upon open, legal,
and repre8entat1ve procedures. !he plan should first of all be
established by city o~ance so that c~llance to It by the
varIous co~erclal lod~ng ri~s would be an obli~tion a~d not ~erely
voluntary. Tl>. l"ochanIama for s',llUt IU'Id collection s'1ould 1,.
set up wi tl'> such regard for the oOtlfidontial integrity of' each
place of busi~e.s .s would ~ke tor good will and compliance. Vory
l1kelv the sitJPloat 1'1)1'111 of.' 0 oratIon would be to have en~ra"l d
st~plle. of attractIve, ~d stamps in varyln3 ~er~l~atlo"'.
of the loli W11t. ~.ach lodginr; would puro".so a l!lllppl'Y of t',eae
staMps ahea" of" tiMe and a1'1.7 the ri'ht "umber to the 1Y\divid\.l8l
at intervals after a period or j>usl",ess "ad bo ,n transactod. The
purchase ot the ata:"lps cotld be morely . bookkeepin..; ent!'"! br each
bua1neas fim as "payable~ The staMPs would be t"'Rke avallat>le by
the "TrU8teesh1~" oJ'3anlzation whlc~ wlt~ very l1ttle study
could estl;;!ate the requirol"lenta of each "1r"l 1n advance of oach
per10d ot lIea.~'nal activity.
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'i'he "Trusteeahip" or Al1thDrlty or COlII:11tteo in whom the respon-
slbillty tor the collection and tt~ furt~or adninistratlon of the
funds would lie 1YOuld be the koJ' to the SUCOSS8 ot the entire
plan. ObvioU8l~, a group whose interests favored one or another
benet1cial enterprise at the expenso of a1"other would so en~l".der
critioism and public discredit. Tho group shOuld be appoi1'\t1ve
with reprosontation from eac.l- ot the soveral organizations whose
Interests would be effected, City r:ourcll, ~ber of COl!Imerce,
Lions Club, ~chool l'OClrd. lTospital loard. each Church, al"d also
tho citizens at largo should be roproso~tod. By-laws should
formulate tho manner of proced'~ ar-d ?rovido for constart cir-
culation of the personDl, elim1natin~ t~e possiblltiy for stagna-
tion ot solt perpetuation ot the group. It ml~lt very well be
desirable to have the same ~oup function .s the statr for a
"C~ty Chest" repository where as in ot~r e~~un1tles
the various drives tor .p~cial phil.l"t~oplc fUnds both on a ~a-
tlonal Ilf'd on a local level arc integrated. Thus at the t1!'1le of
the I';ed (,'1'08. Drive the group could pick and encourage resp'molble
ohairmen and sl1,pllment trea its tunds the proceed. of the drIve.
'i'l,la ",ight spread tho wo1'k "'Ore &onorall;'T wlthi~ the C.".,..,llnIty a"1d
brine i" new talent. to serve tho worthy cauaes. ~e tendanq
without such or","n1~ation 111 obviously for the samo volunteer
workera to alway. 1>0 called upon tor service until their efforts
loae eftectiveness.
Objectlons to thia .;81"eral plan are likely to be that Ita function
11'111 croate a nuisance and a bookkeepinG ~urden. ~hat it 11'111
bring criticism and ill w111 frOlll the transient guest who 18 tl'>e
economic target 01' our llesort rnduat:l"1. That it 18 Inequitable
to place a ponaltT however s~all upon the guest who spends the
night here without touching tho gl.Ulat who may be here for the
day only or who may tind aecomOdatlons further down the rondo
That oxtracti"~ "trl~ut." tor tho benefIt of purelr local
matters is poor tqsto or even bad po11cy.
Theae aro sound objections superficiall,. hut a realistic anal"sia
ot the " Resort Ilusi!\Oss" reveals t....at in flvery calle over and
beyond the original capital lrvestment in facllities the customer
does 8l"d expect. t.o "pay the treight". Hospital fllcHi Me. whioh
we hope to make avl\1laple are more in quantlt'" and Quality tl'.an
our illllllediate local requ!,.el'lentB and II1USt be _lntained so in
order to provide tor the ~u.~t casualties not only dur1n~ the
winter sesson but tne emere,enoies ot hi~~a" accidonts, hunting
Beason and occur8ncea that our hospital statIstica show are in
direct proportlon the nUMber ot, r;uests who arrive In Aapen. It
could be la~eled and demonstrated as a torm of insurance ror
each ~ue8t to 8'oJpport on a small scale the "Ultra" facilities
Ilrhlcl, are avalla'le tor "i. eMer~(''1 needs ""lch are tar 1",
.,.ceas of what local requ1rol'lenta al""tt mirht iust1ty.
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The elimination ot the stIM'lor ti"" dust nuisance, the landseapin~
a~d maintainance of public arens within the city, drlnki~g tountains,
walks, comfortable putlic ~onohes,' street signs, play f.round
equipMent, picnlc shelters wlth clean, mai~tai~.d tacilitles,
all such thin(;s are admittedly "..;ood ouslnos." but are quite
beyond the means on a comprehensive scale of any one or9Bniza-
tlnn or prlvato ~up to ~'rovie.. Clut City (lovern"l8nt is present-
ly saddled with proilcMa of ole d.~ts a~d obllGatin~8 w~lc~ "uat be
mat botore t"'ese matters or tl,e "",ew ,C011O"!1Y" 01' Aspen elln "a ade-
quately faced. ',e have 1l:'10'1'": us ~ld and "',,"orad citlzoTlll or Aspen
who welco~e the encouregin: econOMic tre~d of end cultural ad-
vancel"lant a"d the bI'owth of the eO"'mlUni ty but who can 1"Iot he ex-
pected to welcome or even avm~thlze with the hlG~er puhlic costs
for servlles and facilitios tor whIch t~ey, as lrdivldua18 e7.proosed
DO need. Tha Integrity of Aspen In ossence is a quality which
must be Jealousy ~rded. ~'h1s intan,..;ll'le .ualit7 which dlatin-
gulares our COmMunlt~ f~ a hundred othe~ resort tow~s can he
lost fOrGvor it 11'0 ~vulnera~le to speeulati~e ~eed ~ich
can Dubotitute flas~1ng neon SiL':D ~or the natural sunset glow
ot our high peaks. ,holsome, co: ,on Intorest In the preservatiCln
of the atmosprere we have chosen tor our hOl:.es is not eno~')-: ..'0
need mOTley to build, maintain a~ to controU tve do not need one
Mansor one instituti~n'" Mo~ey but rather the legitlmate, modest
and ol1"l!Ost spontanlous st-Are frOl'll those wo wander rofreshed and
lrllspired throu.;h our garden.
COpy