Appreciation for White
Dear Editor,

It is with great sadness that we received written confirmation of Berthoud Town Administrator Jim White’s resignation

Jim is in his eighth year as Berthoud Town Administrator. During his tenure, we have witnessed Jim to be the consummate professional, ethically above reproach, and tireless in his pursuit of making Berthoud a better place.

Jim is well connected within and outside our community. He has raised the stature and image of Berthoud, simply through his tenacious commitment to reaching out and staying involved. Whether it is various town subcommittees, community organizations and foundations, or regional boards and commissions, you can always count on Jim being connected, involved and participating. The pinnacle of this community involvement is the honor of being the next Vice President of the Colorado Municipal League, as voted on by his peers. Berthoud should be very proud of Jim’s standing in the community, the region, and the state, and the favorable reflection that we have gained from his efforts.

Jim has been a budget hawk, and has constantly shown tremendous flexibility and patience in his ability to respond to an ever changing business and political climate. Through changes in economy, elected official turnover, staffing changes and the ebb and flow of citizen concerns, Jim always accomplished more than expected.

On a personal note, we both enjoy Jim’s excitement for biking and boxing, positive attitude and personality, and are glad to have called him our neighbor.

The position of Berthoud Town Administrator is incredibly challenging and demanding. We have witnessed intimately Jim’s verve, diligence, skill and enthusiasm in tackling the challenges that the job has demanded. Jim has been an asset to our community and a good friend.  He will be greatly missed.

Please join us in wishing Jim all the best in his future endeavors.

With respect,

— Mayor Pro-Tem David and Stephanie Gregg, Town of Berthoud

Water Quality Needs Improvement
We all recently received a letter from the Town of Berthoud. This letter’s intent was to inform the residents of this fair town about how confident the town administration is about the quality of our tap water, the water all of us use to bathe with, and most importantly, drink.

In this letter, starting at the bottom of page one, the town tells us they want to inform us, their valued customers, about the services the town provides and the quality of the water that is delivered to each and every household in Berthoud.

I cannot believe this town’s administration thinks we have good quality water.  For the last four years, I have been talking to quite a few of the town citizens about our water. Not one has said we have good quality water. Quite the opposite. Some who work here, but live in Loveland or Longmont, bring their own water to drink because of how bad our water tastes and smells. Doesn’t anyone in town wonder why the inside of our toilet tanks are black? How many residents are having to buy water filters, incurring an additional cost over our already overpriced water rates?

I’m sure the quality of our water is acceptable by state standards, but this Consumer Confidence Report doesn’t include smell, taste, color, price or consumer complaints. I’d be surprised if the town administration keeps track of the number of complaints. It’s no wonder people are not moving into this lovely town.

I’m no authority on town finances, but I think it’s easy to see that we are being overcharged for poor quality water to pay down past debts (i.e. the sewer plant). My water bills are ridiculously high compared to Loveland, Longmont and Ft. Collins. I know these are communities with a lot more money and resources, but it is plain wrong to overcharge the citizens of this town for poor quality water. It’s just plain wrong.  Especially in these tough economic times we are all in. I have talked to an engineer at Little Thompson water supply, and they can supply water to Berthoud of a higher quality at a lower cost. The supply connection is conveniently located close to the Berthoud cemetery. This is not the first time this has been proposed to the town administration but has been brushed aside.

My suggestion to the town administration is to stop overcharging the hardworking people of Berthoud for poor quality water, or increase the quality of our water. Or how about both!!

— Patrick Macarelli, Berthoud

Strong Public Health Plan Needed
Congress should include a strong public health insurance option in reform this year, based on the following principles:

Available to all of us: A strong public health insurance option should be available to anyone who chooses to participate. If you like your current plan, you can keep it; if you want to participate in the public health insurance plan, you can choose to do so.

A national plan with real bargaining clout: In order to truly control costs and compete with private health insurance plans, a strong public health insurance option must be available nationwide.

Ready on day one: Every day we wait on real reform, health care costs continue to rise. A strong public health insurance option right out of the gate is key to building a competitive program that will help control costs.

A truly public plan: To ensure it’s held to the highest standards of accountability, a public health insurance option must be truly publicly run–accountable and transparent to Congress and to voters.

— Dennis Madiska, Berthoud