Denver Direct: Thank You to the People of Denver

Picture from Friends of the Electric Fountain

I bought a house near City Park 36 years ago because of City Park itself. My wife and I had traveled that summer to Colorado, California and Oregon, in search of a wonderful place to live, where we would find jobs, rather than letting jobs dictate where we lived. We came back to Denver, picnicked in City Park, and made the decision – a city with a park that wonderful, in its then-neglected way, was for us.

Over the years monies have been spent (remember SaBelle’s, struggling with the sprinkler systems?) but it seemed to be running down faster than upkeep was keeping up. But then, as I recall, in a voter-approved bond, we agreed to borrow money to finance a whole bunch of stuff, including fixing up City Park.

This Thursday we got to see how some of that borrowed money was spent. As Mayor Hickenlooper et al gathered to celebrate the occasion, I spent a little time driving (roofcam) and then talking with Gary Coffey, the knowledgeable Superintendent from Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc.

I was overjoyed to see the thoughtful, well designed improvements. Actual sidewalks, real curbs; all-in-all it now looks like we care about our parks and ourselves.

There was a whole lot of congratulation going on, between individuals, departments, companies and agencies for a job well done (well, not exactly done yet) and ahead of schedule. I say bravo to them all, but a special thank you to the people of Denver, who agreed to take on the obligation to finance all this for our current enjoyment.

Now look at the next big pop, this Infrastructure thing. Can we afford to go into more debt to finance a total rehab of everything at once? Personally, I say let’s go for it.

The US dollar is shrinking so fast that the ones we pay back will be much smaller than the ones we borrow now.

Whatever interest rate we agree to pay will look good when rates go way up after a few years of 12% inflation (current, actual).

Plus, I’m old and on my way out as crunch time approaches. Hehe. Enjoy!

City Park Celebration (7:23)