Author: Jerry Penland
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Choices clear for City council | Guest Column
The Woodland Park City Council/Mayor Candidates Forum made it clear that we need to add Don Dezellem, not Mary Sekowski, to our current high performing city council team. The synergy on the Dias is there to move our city into the future, a future we can all be proud of, a future our current City…
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Code compliance vs. code enforcement | Guest column
What is the difference between code compliance and code enforcement? Let’s say there’s a problem with speeders on highway 67, so the Colorado Department of Transportation puts up a speed limit sign. This easy code compliance approach solves the problem; CDOT expects drivers to comply with the law. That’s all it takes…right? Solving a speeding…
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Shining Mountain a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity | Guest Column
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The City’s ability to purchase 355 acres of open space inside the city is a fantastic, once in a lifetime opportunity. Purchasing this open space by the city was first considered in the Mid-1990s, decades…
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Shining Mountain a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity | Guest Column
The City’s ability to purchase 355 acres of open space inside the city is a fantastic, once in a lifetime opportunity. Purchasing this open space by the city was first considered in the Mid-1990s, decades ago, but there was no funding to do so. With the right vision, this will become a tremendous community asset…
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Let voters decide council vacancies | Guest column
The Woodland Park Charter states in Section 1.4 – Form of Government, “Pursuant to the Charter provisions and subject only to limitations imposed by the State Constitution and by this Charter, all municipal responsibilities shall be vested in an elected council which shall enact local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies and appoint the City Manager,…
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Peace in our Neighborhoods for 2025 | Guest column
For weeks I’ve looked forward to celebrating the New Year at 12:01am, knowing that short-term rentals (STRs) will soon leave our Residential Neighborhoods for good. Our residential neighborhoods will start turning back to what they used to be and we all want, neighborhoods with neighbors, our family and friends. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. A last-minute…
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Change is on the way | Guest column
I’m running for Mayor of Woodland Park. I was a Woodland Park planning commissioner for five years, and also attended many city council meetings. It soon became obvious that the citizens had little influence in city council decisions. My vision of the future of Woodland Park is a city council that makes decisions, with strong…
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Voters have opportunity to preserve their neighborhood character | Guest column
On Dec. 12, vote “YES” with the citizens on Question No. 1, the Citizen Initiative Short-Term Rental Ordinance and vote “NO” on Question No. 2 the city council competing ordinance that is focused on supporting investors from all over the nation, rather than Woodland Park citizens. The Citizen Initiative Short-Term Rental (STR) Ordinance is simple…