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Letters to the editor

Kristi Ferraro

I urge Eagle County to make the $6 million commitment requested by the Vail Valley Foundation to purchase Eaton Ranch, for the following reasons: First, I applaud the Vail Valley Foundation’s foray into open space preservation. The foundation’s willingness to commit its time, resources and extraordinary fund-raising capacity to open space is an exciting prospect for this valley. I want the Vail Valley Foundation to successfully preserve Eaton Ranch so that it will be emboldened to participate in other open space projects. Second, with the Vail Valley Foundation’s financial help, Eagle County citizens will own land worth $12 million for an investment of $6 million. Third, the reservations I have about the transaction will seem inconsequential with time. Several years ago, Avon was offered the property that is now the Village at Avon. Avon attempted to buy the property, but in the end, the deal fell apart over a few terms that were deal-breakers in 1985 but seem trivial in hindsight. I think about how different the future of Avon would have been had Avon, Eagle County, the Vail Valley Foundation and the community worked together to purchase the Village at Avon, preserving a substantial portion of it as open space. For these reasons, I urge the Eagle County commissioners to commit $6 million for Eaton Ranch and begin a new era of smart growth and regional cooperation in Eagle County.Kristi FerraroAvon Town Councilwoman Vail, Colorado


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