Healthy Living Park, letter to the editor Valley Courier

5/7/13

Dear editor,

On Thursday morning the Alamosa School Board will deliberate about the future of the Polston property, the 38 acre parcel at the junction of Hwy 17 and Hwy 160.  The special meeting will be held at 209 Victoria Avenue at 6:30 am.

Last summer, eight Guatemalan families were able to grow food on that property.  For well over a year, several focus groups involving over 100 community members have been brainstorming the best use of that space to serve the most people, and the foundations for a healthy living park with many services and purposes, including microbusinesses, began to take shape.  This blog details this initial brainstorming progress and hopes for economic development of the region through this asset: http://riograndehealthypark.blogspot.com/

The Trust for Public Lands (www.tpl.org) has over 40 years of experience making these sorts of community projects a reality.  They broker complex transactions, identify community member wishes/needs while building broad coalition community support through multiple community focus groups. They raise money, and create public spaces that satisfy many community needs, including planning for the long term sustainability of the space.

One major concern the school board is considering is how best to turn that property into cash for the district as well as a tax asset into the future.  While an RV park will generate some taxes, a healthy living park is a beautiful Alamosa destination and it fosters entrepreneurship, microbusiness development, and job creation.  We still have a long process ahead of gathering community input, but we don’t need to reinvent the wheel:  the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks built their ‘healthy living park’ 15 years ago and is a great example to follow —see www.acenetworks.org/  They provide business incubation, venture loans, e-commerce and specialty food preparation.  Since Colorado recently passed the Cottage Food Act, making it easier for people to start businesses selling prepared foods, the time is “ripe” for this sort of economic development in Alamosa.

I think it is important to consider all of the people impacted by the school board’s decision.  We must certainly think of the children of Alamosa—what outcome will promise the most for their future?  It is also important to remember that Alamosa is a diverse community—our children come different economic backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds.  Which outcome will more likely benefit ALL of our children?

I prefer the solution that supports several people making more money and consequently having more to spend in Alamosa (and also paying their appropriate taxes) rather than having one sole business make more money.  The Trust for Public Land/Healthy Living Park has so much more potential for supporting our schools now, and our children’s livelihood in the future.

Sincerely,

Karen Lemke