So there has been an ongoing issue up here in Evergreen for quite a while now. I'll try to keep this as short as possible...
The Evergreen Fire Protection District decided about 2 years ago that they wanted to install a four story training facility on the Station 2 campus (for those familiar with Evergreen, it's the Bergen Park station up near King Soopers), aka a "burn building" for structure fire training. Once the proposal got released for public dissemination many residents blew their lid. This occurred shortly after the fire up in Conifer earlier this year. The plans got put on hold until the fire district could get a higher number of 'approval' from the residents. The whole hoopla was started by a somewhat famous journalist (I won't name names) who used to cover Shuttle launches that happens to live in the area, but not in the immediate area near the station. He sided with the anti-burn building folks, who by now had set up a "Ban The Burn Building" Facebook page. Their arguments against were that it would be an eye sore, it posed a danger to the immediate community as there would be open flames used in the building (duh!), it posed a danger to children as an elementary school property butts up to the station property and that smoke was a concern, and what they didn't say, but those of us who were for it knew what they meant, this was a NIMBY issue (Not In My Back Yard). So the board of directors with the FD decided to compromise. The building was reduced to 3 stories (equivalent to the station height), the theatrical smoke would be re-examined, and they held several meetings to inform the public that since this training facility would be
at a fire station there was extremely minimal risk to the community. Several meetings and several discussions later, the district decided to go ahead with the facility and include the changes to better appease the angry neighbors. The FD even got approval from the county, which was unnecessary.
Problem solved, right? Wrong. Suddenly, feeling like they won't take no for an answer and refusing to accept the consolations given by the fire district, a group of these angry neighbors have decided to petition to have a recall election of the board members. Estimates by the county show that this will cost the tax payers in the Evergreen Fire District $70,000 to have a recall election and campaign for new board members. Even today the unnamed journalist published an op-ed piece in the local paper basically saying "we lost, now drop it." But they continue to fight the FD.
It's so sad in our modern society that if people disagree with something they can't just let bygones be bygones and as that old cliche goes "agree to disagree," no, they have to fight it tooth and nail until they get their way, like a spoiled little child. I see so much of this all the time, and this here is a prime example of this "we lost, now just drop it" mentality becoming extinct in favor of a never accept defeat and fight until you get your way mentality.
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Originally Posted by Ronin13
Honesty is always the best policy!
