And so it ends

Mayor and trustees: Midnight tonight ends an extended water-only fast undertaken to focus attention on the plight of migrants arriving in Denver every day. There are some people I need to thank for keeping tabs on my well-being. Locally, Sybil Barnes called me until I told her it wasn’t necessary, and the Sahms checked on me every day, even after I told them it wasn’t necessary. Former trustees and current library staff members crossed picket lines to see how I was doing, and thank me for taking a stance on a significant issue. Four of the current town board members have a health care background, so obviously recognized this was not an undertaking with zero risk. Our two local media outlets equipped to deal with controversial topics undoubtedly had other motives for getting a status update, but Patti and Jason’s concern appeared quite genuine. One of the local articles covering this included a list of what Denver shelters were requesting as far as donations. This list has grown, and I include the most current want list so that people are aware these needs are ongoing. New and gently used winter coats and winter clothing, new socks and underwear, backpacks, belts, men’s shoes, and shower sandals. Our Public Information Officer could broadcast these needs to a wider audience through a press release, or this information could be included in the weekly mayor’s column, if the town had any desire to do so. Outside of Estes Park, Larimer County Commissioner for District 1, John Kefalas, checked in frequently, and shared stories of his fasting for various causes he supported in the past. Also from District 1, but for the city and county of Denver, Amanda Sandoval quickly responded to an email, and engaged in useful discussions. Shannon Jones, general manager of the YMCA, has indicated through discussions the Y is aware of the problem and on top of it, and through a “handshake agreement”, has agreed the Y will do what they can to help, once their executive directors return from vacation and grant approval. I will continue following this, but obviously, even if they set up a donation box or mention this humanitarian crisis in their newsletter, it is more than the town of Estes Park has offered to do thus far. My artificial hardship in a warm bed with clean water is nothing compared to the actual hardships these migrants are encountering traveling from South and Central America, often with significant portions of the journey made on foot. One migrant arrived into Denver with a broken leg. Another woman had embedded cactus spines over most of her transverse arch.

I will continue to be a “bone in your enchilada”, as they say in Texas, with regard to any current or future humanitarian crisis occurring in our backyard, as well as any and all local issues dealing with racism, discrimination, treatment of children, and basic human rights. I am quite confident I stand on the right side of these issues as judged by the Golden Rule, ethos, teachings from the New Testament, and the tide of history. Every crisis goes away if you close your eyes long enough, and, long term, we are all dead. Avoidance is not proper coping behavior in a community claiming to strive for inclusivity. Dating from the early 1900s (thus ignoring the earlier eviction of Native Americans from their local hunting grounds, which was a federal decision), Estes Park has had a tragic history of treating people of different races and religions as unwelcome, whether through hotel pamphlets denying lodging to people of the Jewish faith, through organizing and maintaining an active KKK chapter in the 1920s, through ignoring the rights of a long-term resident Japanese family (the children of whom were U.S. citizens, the father was a volunteer fireman in the community) to continue staying in their home and operating their business shortly after the outbreak of WWII, or through reprehensible and offensive restrictive covenants in various Estes Park subdivisions, staring in the 1930s and continuing through the 1950s, which prevented anyone who was not a white Christians from owning property. I would hope this embarrassing behavior does not extend into our present. We are rich with self-serving proclamations and resolutions, but proclamations and resolutions are empty if they aren’t followed by a change in behavior. Five years ago, some of the members of the current board were part of a resolution indicating “Immigrants are the heartbeat of our community”. What are we doing to keep this heartbeat going? Do we need ultrasound to confirm these migrants are worthy of our compassion? Words are not beds, and promises lacking action are empty promises. The mayor of Denver and the Denver town council continue pleading for help from surrounding Colorado communities. The emergency declaration from December has been extended into late February. Migrants continue to stream into Denver at the rate of 50 to 100 per day. Yesterday’s decision to evict migrants from Denver shelters after 14 days, during the dead of winter, only make the current situation more acute. Denver has helped Estes Park numerous times in the past, whether we are in the midst of a crisis like a forest fire encroaching on the town limits, or dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster. Denver residents make up the vast majority of day-trippers to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park from the Front Range. Are we so callous, so grasping when it comes to our ballooning general fund, so unwilling to return the favor when we clearly have the hotel rooms and financial means to do so? The workforce housing changes we trumpet so mightily as a demonstration of how progressive we are becoming will do nothing to address the homeless problem, or Estes work staff reduced to living in Estes Park in their cars. Do any of our spitballed solutions addressing the dearth of workforce housing include thoughts of turning part of an old hotel into a homeless shelter, which could include transitional housing for those caught between homes? I fear the answer to these questions is “No”. Not only “No”, but “Never”. Estes Park does not want real-life “inconveniences” encroaching on or clouding the visitor experience, or harshing our sanctimony. I fear cries of help from outside communities involving brown or black folks will continue falling on deaf ears, and we will continue ignoring or chasing these problems away, so our dinnertime conversations are not interrupted by thoughts of the poor or tired or hungry, and we all rest well at night dreaming of how our blameless inaction helps decrease the surplus population. /////////////////////////// This public comment, which obviously exceeds the 3-minute time limit, is being submitted to the Estes Park Town Clerk and the newspaper of record.