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On September 11th, 2013, unprecedented rains began to fall heavily on Colorado's front range. Early the next morning I went to the nearby US 36 bridge into Lyons, - witnessing it engulfed by St. Vrain Creek floodwaters. After years of forewarning, it became clear that the longstanding threat of a major flood event had finally become a reality, - and that lives were at stake.
From Lyons, I drove through heavy rains to what I knew would likely become the most dangerous roadway in Longmont: Boston Avenue, east of Hover, — at the entry to the Fairgrounds Farmers Market. There I found dozens of cars in standstill traffic: immobile at a dip in the road that would soon be eight feet underwater. Dozens of lives were at imminent risk of the flood surge soon arriving from upstream. I ditched my vehicle and waded through floodwaters to talk to Police personnel about this imminent threat, both shocked, - and angry at what decades of disregard and inaction by the former city manager’s administration had allowed to manifest.
The history of what preceded and followed that day reveals “3C” to be an important inflection point regarding Longmont’s future that is about far more than stormwater; it is about actual lives, public safety, livelihoods and social justice: it is about balancing economic investment with environmental protection: it is about the massive “cost of inaction”. Most importantly, it is about a vision for the direction of the city itself: one of cynical decline and NIMBYism, — or of a flourishing future for our younger generations.
In the end, miraculously, no lives were lost that day, but only because of the heroic actions of first responders and others that put their own lives at risk. One unfortunate woman’s car was swept into the floodwaters at this location, where she was saved by emergency personnel only moments before her vehicle was literally crushed.
Recently, former City Manager Gordon Pedrow wrote an opinion piece stating that; “ As of today, I am having trouble determining the merits or urgency of Longmont’s $20 Million bond election...”. It comes as no surprise that nine years after the 2013 flood, Pedrow still cannot see the urgency to act to prevent another crisis, - much less take responsibility for the consequences of his administration. His disregard, lack of vision, and failure to plan for preventing this known threat during 18+ years as City Manager demonstrate what inaction can costT the city: lives put at risk, mobile home communities wiped out, businesses ruined, the environment ravaged, the economy shocked, the city cut in two, and over $350 million in physical damages. Pedrow’s opinion piece clearly sheds light on his continued disregard for this ongoing flood threat and his willingness to put the city, its residents, and the very lives of first responders at risk of repeating that experience.
Current City Manager Harold Dominguez has demonstrated what can be done in only a few short years: the investment of over $80 million dollars in RSVP (Resilient St. Vrain Project) flood mitigation work, — encompassing more than five miles of the St. Vrain.
The current 3C bond issue will help achieve the full benefit of that RSVP investment. It will not raise taxes. It will help avoid over $100 Million in future flood losses. It will protect lives and first responders. It will ensure access to Longmont United Hospital during a flood event. It will protect over one hundred acres of land, homes, businesses, mobile home parks and more. It will protect the environment from the ravages and toxicity of a flood. It will ensure opportunities for pursuing federal funding for filling the $78 million gap in city-wide stormwater projects. It will protect businesses and the economy and will help ensure a more positive future for our younger generations.
Importantly, Bond Issue 3C it will prevent another Longmont mother from ever having to call her family to say her final goodbyes after being swept into floodwaters. Support the excellent, ongoing work of city staff in pursuing flood protection for this vital stretch of RSVP flood mitigation work.
Vote, — for Bond Issue 3C.
By: Michael Schnatzmeyer
Co-founder StartUp Longmont, TinkerMill, Sustainable Resilient Longmont, Campaign St. Vrain
(Opinions are my own)
