Vail Town Council candidate John Rediker in his own words
The current PEC member is running to bring 鈥榮trong鈥� leadership at a 鈥榗ritical juncture鈥� for the town
The Vail Daily is running questionnaires with the 10 candidates running for four open seats on the Vail Town Council. The questionnaires will run in the order that the candidates appear on the ballot, which town staff via a blind drawing on Sept. 5.
The Town Council election is a nonpartisan race and will be conducted as part of the Tuesday, Nov. 7, coordinated election in Eagle 久久热精品视频app. Voters within the town of Vail will be able to select up to four candidates. The three candidates that receive the highest number of votes will serve four-year terms, and the candidate that receives the fourth-most votes will serve a two-year term.
Ballots will be mailed out on Oct. 16. For more information on the Eagle 久久热精品视频app Coordinated Election 鈥� including how and where to vote 鈥攙isit .
Name: John Rediker
Occupation: Attorney
Neighborhood you live in: West Vail
Length of residence in Eagle 久久热精品视频app and Vail: I have lived in Vail for 17 years
Have you served on any other boards/commissions/councils in Eagle 久久热精品视频app or otherwise? Tell us about your volunteer experiences, involvement and service to the community that you live. How will these experiences enable you to bring value to the board?
I have served on the following:
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- Vail Planning and Environmental Commission for 10 years, four years as chairman
- Vail Design Review Board for four years
- Vail Local Housing Authority for two years
- Vail Recreation District Board for two years
I have a very strong knowledge of town operations through serving on the entities listed. I have the analytical skills and ability to thoroughly review information provided by staff, third parties and the public, to research issues independently. and to elicit further relevant information for the public record to make the best-informed decisions for the benefit of the town’s citizens. This comes not just from my experience serving the community, but also from my formal legal training and work as an attorney.
Why did you decide to run for Town Council?
I am running for Town Council because Vail is at a critical juncture in an uncertain economic environment with major capital projects and other issues in front of it.
Vail needs strong, experienced and effective leadership. I will ensure that decisions facing our community are made with robust discussion among council and involvement from the community. I will prioritize making council as transparent as possible regarding all issues before it.
What are the top three things you’d seek to accomplish during your term if elected?
I intend to move forward with workforce housing initiatives geared toward providing rental housing for workers and also shift focus toward providing affordable homeownership opportunities in Vail.
I will work toward council being fiscally responsible with taxpayer funds including enacting guidelines for bidding out and contracting on large projects and solidifying a long-term capital improvement plan that addresses the various Town needs and interests.
Finally, I will work toward rebuilding community in Vail by supporting and growing initiatives and events that bring locals together and bring vitality to our town.
The town currently has more projects in the pipeline (bringing housing to West Middle Creek, Dowd Junction and other sites to revamping its municipal building and civic area, relocating the Children’s Garden of Learning, and other redevelopments) than revenue to pay for these projects.
What do you feel should be the town’s top three priorities and why?
Dobson Ice Arena is a priority as it is in poor condition and desperately needs operational upgrades. Another priority is developing housing at West Middle Creek and using the housing tax to subsidize affordable housing opportunities for locals in Vail. A final priority is exploring options for the Civic Area and its redevelopment.
What additional sources of revenue do you think the town should consider and why?
I am not in favor of tax increases on locals and visitors in this economic environment. Local businesses are experiencing declining revenues due to inflation and additional taxes targeting locals and visitors will not help local businesses.
Vail needs to be more deliberate about its planning for both short-term and future spending on capital projects. Bonding may be a possibility for some larger projects down the road, but in a time of high interest rates and declining sales tax revenue, bonding needs to be scrutinized closely.
The town has been in the midst of the condemnation proceedings with Vail Resorts over Booth Heights as Election Day approaches. How do you feel the town should move forward in repairing the relationship now that the town council voted to acquire the site?
The Town needs to re-establish a professional working relationship with Vail Resorts. We don’t have to see eye-to-eye on all issues impacting our community, but it is key that the town deals with all businesses in a consistent and professional manner.
Our strongest ties are with Vail Resorts executives and employees who live in our community and operate the ski mountain. Building on those relationships is where to begin re-cultivating a professional relationship with Vail Resorts’ decision makers in Broomfield so we can address the pressing issues in Vail that involve both entities.
Outside of affordable housing, what other workforce issues do you think the town needs to address and how do you propose it does so?
Three important workforce issues are child care, health care/behavioral health support, and transportation.
We need to examine expanding upon all currently operating avenues offering child care and look to partnering with entities in Vail and the Eagle River Valley to build more facilities with affordable childcare.
We need to work with other governments to address making health care and mental health support available and affordable for people who work here. Health care insurance and rates are two to three times greater here than in Denver. Old justifications for charging people excessive rates in “rural” areas are not as relevant today in our town and our technologically advanced society as they were 20 years ago.
We need to ensure the new ETVA is robust enough to give as many workers as possible easier means to travel to and from Vail, both socially and for work.
