Volume IV, Issue 3   January 18, 2018  Editor: Shaun Hathaway

 

 

 

 

Speaker: Aspen City Councilman Ward Hauenstein

 

Aspen activist Ward Hauenstein is the newest member of Aspen City Council after winning a runoff election by a final tally of 928 votes to 899 0n June 6, 2017.  Councilman Hauenstein was on hand at the Thursday meeting to update Rotarians on what he believes are the most pressing issues facing City Council and the City of Aspen.
 
He began with the water storage issue, providing an alarming projection for our community.  According to a recent study cited by Hauenstein, Eagle County currently stores 7800 acre feet of water that would last 355 days, Steamboat water storage would last for 250 days, and the Snowmass Village water supply would last for 23 days.  Alarmingly Aspen's current water storage of 9 acre feet is only enough to supply the City’s population for 8 hours.  With the uncertainty of climate change, building a reservoir is the only plausible solution to guarantee Aspen residents water during a potential severe and prolonged drought.  With storage rights in Ashcroft and the Maroon Bells, building a dam in these pristine valleys raises environmental impact alarm bells equally as loud as the residential water supply fears.  The solution to provide the City adequate water storage and preserve national forests rests with retaining its Castle Creek and Maroon Creek water rights through litigation, and then moving these rights to Woody Creek, where there are plans to build a reservoir at a cost of $80 million (the largest public works project in Aspen history).    
 
Other issues facing City Council that Hauenstein outlined are the future of Lift 1A (which became the focus of questions and discussion following his formal presentation), redoing the mall, (as underground utilities are rapidly deteriorating), the future of Justice Snows, and the Castle Creek Bridge (a five plus million dollar project to increase the bike lane to 8 feet wide connecting to Hallam street). 

 

Natalie Crick, Susan's guest
Virginia Baker, Roger’s guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

 

• No Board meeting this month
• Narrowed down date for retreat—either 21 or 22 of February
• Goal of the retreat is to outline a strategic plan for President and Board
• Brief  World Community Service meeting after main meeting
• Grand Slam Tennis Trivia (celebrating the Australian Open January 10-28)
  • How many Grand Slam tournaments in tennis? Answer: 4
  • Which Grand Slam is the oldest? Answer: Wimbledon (US Open is second, French Open is third, Austrialian Open is fourth)
  • When did the Australian switch from grass to hard court? Answer: 1988 
  • Who was the youngest and oldest player to win a Grand Slam title? Answer: Ken Rosewall

 

 

Happy Bucks this month benefits the Homeless Shelter