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Letter: There’s a better use for barn money

Hello, town of Avon, yes it is I. I am sorry, but I can’t keep quiet any longer. There have been several letters about the barn, you know the storage unit that has been rotting on the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District property? Well, a lawyer is now involved and she wants to give the town of Avon officials a round of applause. Why do you ask? Because she thinks that restoring the Nottingham, I mean Hahnewald barn will “attract residents and visitors to Avon for years to come.” She seems to think that if we refurbish a barn and make it look pretty, we will “attract youthful populations who desire to live in a town with a unique character.”

Listen, lady, when I moved to Avon 15 years ago, it wasn’t because I loved hearing about the lettuce patch that my apartment now stands on. No, it was because I couldn’t afford to live in Vail. Fifteen years later, I still can’t afford to live in Vail.

Oh, oh, get this, she also points out that in 2018, the Aspen Historical Society received “$840,000 in public funds.” Well shoot, $840K, that will cover moving the barn … and, remember, Aspen is a lot like Avon. We have a ton of millionaires and billionaires just begging for people to take their money. Right? Not so much.

The argument I did like is that she pointed out that we shouldn’t be spending the money to bring in acts for the sound stage that cost $2.2 million dollars more than originally stated. Speaking of which, where is Avon getting all this money? But I digress, I liked that she wants to have a community center in Avon, but come on … “Our younger workforce needs a place to meet and mingle.” I can just see it now: “Hey, Tony, it’s 4:20 p.m., I just got off my 10-hour shift, what do you want to do in Avon, Colorado?” says the 20-year-old.  “Hmm,”  says Chris, age 19. “Why don’t we go to the new Underwood, I mean Hahnewald community center?”  Not going to happen …

I urge our community to join me in figuring out how we can stop this travesty. I’m not a political activist, so please, let me know what I can do, so I can stop bothering the editor of Vail Daily with these stupid letters.

Mike Spaid

Avon


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