I attended one of the Metro Board's meetings this past week. It reminded me of my visit to the Kenyan General Assembly some years ago. There was some talking and some voting, but in reality the board was not acting on anything substantive. They did not have any real choice in voting. Rather, the Metro District seems to be tightly controlled by Tom Anderson with a board that rubber stamps his actions.

If my perceptions are correct then an open discussion in whatever forum (this web site or other means) would be helpful in exposing how the Metro District really operates. If my perceptions are incorrect there is still no harm in informing homeowners in the Metro District about this entity.

Of current interest, I think it may be useful to ask how we got into a position of having to shut off all common space watering this month for a period long enough for the grass to be impacted. Tom Anderson told one HOA #1 board member that it was because residents did not know how to water their lawns properly and were using too much water. Then at the Metro Board meeting I attended he claimed it was because a construction contractor for the I-25 project had stolen our water through June and half of July. Additionally, even though he knew that water was stolen he did nothing to try to recoup the losses or to prosecute the violators.

Personally, I think he made a bad decision regarding additional wells and did not want to admit it, but I have no proof yet.

Another item that may be worth public comment is the practice of the Metro Board meeting briefly, voting on motions with little or no options available to them (paying on bonds, etc.) and then going into executive session. Now executive session is important to have if there is impending litigation or personnel issues, but to do so regularly makes me wonder if they are using the executive sessions to hide some of their actions from the community.

Still another questionable practice of this Metro Board is how they retain Board seats. Yes, they do advertise Board vacancy in the newspaper as required; they use the News Press, but they do little or nothing to really try to get information about upcoming elections to the community. They mail out monthly billing statements; why not include Board vacancy information on the bills at little or no additional cost? Past practice then calls for the Board to continue with present membership when there were no candidates brought forward.

I don't know if this board and Tom Anderson are acting for our best interest or not. Possibly, they are. I do know that some insight into their actions are being hidden from us, and that generates distrust. Some sunshine into their actions would be useful. Maybe this web site can do that."

Anybody up for a discussion, response in kind or another point-of-view? Share your thoughts...

Of note, Tom Anderson resigned his position. (read more about this)

"What's the deal with all the airplanes flying over head? There seems to be a noticeable increase in the amount of airplane noise I am hearing (or am I going insane). Does anybody else agree?

I'd like to see if there is a way we can do anything about this. Thanks."

"I remember reading in the Rocky Mountain News about when they diverted the planes approach and departure to lower sound levels for those people who, woops, bought a house next to DIA and then got unhappy over the sound levels. "They" (whoever that is) picked "less populated pathways" (us and our patch of heaven) to fly over as a compromise. Hmpff. It became noticeable to me because I work out of my house.

Re: air traffic (confirmation that flight routes have indeed changed to avoid flying over OTHER areas that complain.) There is a formal effort underway by Lone Tree residents to reduce noise, some of it by noise mitigation measures, restricting hours, etc., and some of it by rerouting air traffic to the south.

Centennial Airport has held a public hearing on this subject on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 pm at Centennial Airport Holiday Inn (7770 S. Peoria St) .

A set of recommendations include:

• Banning all stage 1 jets
• Banning stage 2 business jets between 10:00pm-7:00am
• Diverting jet takeoffs toward Cherry Creek State Park
• Reducing sending night flights over the sourthern (DC) quadrant
• Establishing a liason office for noise
• Installing a noise-monitoring system
• Implementing a "Fly Quiet" program to raise awareness by FAA and aircraft operators of citizen noise concerns.

Read the article from the Denver Post. (This link will take you to their site)

A Briar Cliff resident reports

"Two nights ago my sister's car was stolen out of her driveway in Noble Ridge and her son's car was broken into. Douglas County Sheriff Deputies told her there were several car thefts in this area the same night.

Everyone should be advised to be sure to lock their houses and cars, close their garage doors and take whatever precautions necessary to protect heir property and watch out for their neighbors.

The sheriff's department is going to address us at the Annual Meeting on November 8th. In the mean time:

Re: on the CPN car theft/crime wave (the sheriff says we're our own worst enemy, we're known in crime circles as an area that's very lax about protecting our property),

• Park your cars in the garage at night.
• If you can't do so, be sure to lock your car (at least one of the thefts involved a car that was unlocked with keys in the ingnition).
• Don't leave valuables in the car (cell phones, purses, etc.)
• Close and lock your garage doors at night.

The Sheriff's Dept will be sending a rep to speak to the community at the Master Association Annual Meeting on November 8th, 2001.

Keep your eyes open on behalf of your neighbors.

Another resident alerted us: "I was traveling on Buffalo Trail Rd tonight about 7:30 PM, near the eighth green of the golf course, when I saw a brown bear cub crossing the street to head west down into the canyon. He was very curious, kept peeking his head out from a bush watching me while I was in my car. He was about the size of a Golden Retriever, only much heavier. I can only assume if he was there, there must be a mother close by. Just wanted to alert everyone."

What to do if you spot a bear. This also addresses how to keep bears from frequenting our area.

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