After years of fighting with the Regional Transportation District of Denver to prevent the loss of their home and business to eminent domain, Lakewood property owners Kim Snyder and Galen Foster have settled and plan to relocate. The couple recently sat down with Independence Institute President Jon Caldara to film a final video in the series: "The Human Cost of FasTracks."
COLORADO'S FRONTPAGE
Face the State
Content Index: RTD
Follow this topic by RSSRTD vice-chairman held money for suspected drug kingpin
This week in Colorado news: RTD vice-chairman Noel Busck admits to holding $400k in cash for suspected drug kingpin Dan Tang, calling into question his judgment as the transit district takes heat for its over-budget FasTracks project. FTS staff writer Kate Melvin has more.
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RTD one step closer to a state audit
A Face the State Staff Report
June 8, 2009
The Legislative Audit Committee unanimously voted today to proceed an audit of Denver's Regional Transportation District, but only once its scope can be pared down to a more manageable size.
6/1: RTD's voracious appetite for land
RTD’s latest land grab could cost taxpayers $100 million.
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CoPIRG doesn't get it on rail
FTS Opinion
May 26, 2009
In recent weeks, the Regional Transportation District has received a lot of mixed media coverage regarding the departure of RTD General Manager Cal Marsella. The sources of concern stem from a "sometimes bumpy ride," including a delay in a vote on an additional tax increase for FasTracks and a potential "railroading" of a viable business to build a bus maintenance facility. Despite this, the state director of the liberal Colorado Public Interest Research Group, or CoPIRG, authored a guest opinion piece in The Denver Post urging voters to "climb aboard high speed rail."
Experts forecast future of eminent domain abuse in Colorado
A Face the State Staff Report
May 13, 2009At an Independence Institute event Tuesday evening, property rights expert Jessica Peck Corry and land use attorney Bob Hoban presented their latest findings about eminent domain in a "post-Kelo" world. They say RTD's potential takings for transit-oriented development could usher in a new era of eminent domain abuse in Colorado.
Property rights activists support proposal to audit RTD
A Face the State Staff Report
May 12, 2009
In the week since Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, requested a full audit of RTD and its outgoing manager, local property rights activists have been encouraging members of the Legislative Audit Committee to support the proposal.
RTD's Cal Marsella will tout rail transit in private sector
A Face the State Staff Report
April 29, 2009RTD General Manager Cal Marsella announced Tuesday he will resign effective July 31. While some critics see the decision as "jumping ship" of sorts, Marsella says the move is about what's best for him and his family.
'The Buzz' on 1310 KFKA, 4/27/09 - U.S. Senate challengers, RTD on property rights
FTS managing editor Brad Jones visits with 1310 KFKA's Amy Oliver for a wide-ranging survey of hot topics in Colorado politics. Brad and Amy discuss the results of Face The State's online poll regarding GOP challengers to U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and examine lessons learned from RTD's eminent domain proceedings for its FasTracks expansion.
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RTD talking points detail how to organize against property owners
A Face the State Staff Report
April 23, 2009A 2008 presentation by a top Regional Transportation District official is spurring questions about the transit authority's use of taxpayer dollars to teach other agencies how to effectively prevail against property owners in future disputes.
Earmarks focus heavily on transportation
A Face the State Staff Report
April 16, 2009Members of Colorado's Congressional delegation have released their requests for federal appropriations funding, commonly called earmarks. Of Colorado's seven representatives, six, excluding Rep. Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican, requested earmarks totaling over $1 billion, half of which were transportation requests for the Regional Transportation District and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
RTD General Manager Cal Marsella's employment contracts
March 31, 2009Through an open records request, Face The State has obtained employment contracts for Cal Marsella, executive director of Denver's Regional Transportation District. Read more about Marsella's annual salary increases and bonuses in this FTS staff report, and click the links below for PDFs of the contracts and any relevant addenda.
RTD General Manager contract gets sweeter every year
A Face the State Staff Report
March 31, 2009Recent documents obtained by Face the State show that RTD General Manager Cal Marsella has a base salary of $290,286, nearly a three-fold increase from his original base pay of $107,500 in 1995. In addition to his salary, Marsella's bonus in 2008 was $33,707, up nearly eight times from his original bonus of $4,456.
3/26: Just say no to another RTD tax hike
Denver's transit district is moving toward another tax hike. And one city is already fighting back.
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Segment 5 - Lakewood eminent domain case draws to a close
Lakewood business owners Kim Snyder and Galen Foster announced Friday they had reached a settlement with Denver's Regional Transportation District over the taking of their land for the district's FasTracks rail expansion project. The case sets important precedent for other Coloradans facing eminent domain condemnation proceedings. Darren Copeland reports.
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Segment 1 - The week's news: RTD forces a pay raise
FTS managing editor Brad Jones and staff writer Kate Melvin wrap up the week in Colorado news. Of note: Denver's Regional Transportation District recently voted to deny a request by general manager Cal Marsella to defer his bonus payment. What's going on here? Also, a Colorado Springs city council candidate fails to renew his domain name, with some risque consequences, and the Denver Metro Young Republicans meet in a venue that embodies the party's "big tent" mantra.
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You'll take it and you'll like it!
FTS Opinion
March 20, 2009The RTD board of directors has rejected General Manager Cal Marsella's request to defer $14,000 his salary raise and $36,000 bonus. The board's excuse for this incomprehensible decision? "Transparency," the buzz word of 2009. But in reality, taxpayers will be the ones who pay for this bad decision.
'Colorado's Kelo' comes to a close
A Face the State Staff Report
March 13, 2009
Nearly two years after receiving notice from the Regional Transportation District that their property would be seized for light rail expansion, Kim Snyder and Galen Foster of Pro-Tint Windows in Lakewood are moving on.
3/2: 'FASTER' bill paves way for higher taxes
The state transportation bill is larded up with fee hikes, and paves the way for a big tax increase, too.
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"The Buzz" on Newstalk 1310 KFKA, 2/23 - FTS investigates government waste
FTS managing editor Brad Jones visits with 1310 KFKA's Amy Oliver about a recent investigative report exposing waste in Denver's Regional Transportation District. Also: What will Andrew Romanoff do with himself now that he's disconnected from politics and finished with law school?
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Segment 2 - Despite recession, local governments still spend big
Despite tough economic times, local governments around Colorado are spending big, oftentimes on lavish benefits for public employees. As the Aspen Times reports, city employees just can't resist dining out on the taxpayer's dime. And as FTS reported this week, RTD-Denver directors made frequent use of a $50,000+ travel budget in 2008.
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RTD charges dinner cruise, beachfront hotel to taxpayers
A Face the State Staff Report
February 19, 2009According to records obtained by Face the State, the RTD board of directors spent more than $54,000 on travel in 2008, including a trip to China, nights in a beachfront hotel and a dinner cruise. Records also indicate that members avoided RTD buses and light rail, opting instead to charge taxpayers for taxi rides and airport parking. Some of the spending may be in conflict with the board's own policies.
FTS on the air: RTD directors spend big while FasTracks flounders
February 18, 2009
Documents obtained by Face The State were the basis for a report aired Wednesday night on Denver's Fox 31 News detailing lavish spending by directors of Denver's Regional Transportation District. Amidst lagging sales tax revenues and a pay freeze for front-line bus and rail staff, RTD directors spent tens of thousands of dollars in 2008 traveling to as far away as China at taxpayer expense.
Talk about bad timing for RTD
February 3, 2009In the face of metro mayors questioning leadership decisions made at the Regional Transportation District, the transit authority will inevitably face more backlash this week after it announced that it will seek more than 100 full or partial properties as part of its expansion from downtown to Denver International Airport.
Small business gears up for court battle over eminent domain
A Face the State Staff Report
January 21, 2009Selling window tinting and totem poles out of a property that also houses their home and a doberman pincher rescue project, Kim Snyder and Galen Foster could be the poster children for hardworking small business owners. Over the last year, however, they've also become the face of the increasingly difficult struggle over eminent domain.
Lakewood Eminent Domain Meeting Gets Heated
A Face the State Staff Report
January 19, 2009Nearly 80 property owners and property rights activists gathered Saturday at the Lakewood Public Library to voice their frustrations to board members and an attorney representing the Regional Transportation District. The source of dispute: the agency's intent to condemn more than 150 properties as part of its westward light rail expansion.
RTD freezes salaries, but execs still rake it in
January 13, 2009Regional Transportation District General Manager Cal Marsella has announced that all RTD staff will forgo raises to cut the agency's 2009 spending. That is, all RTDers who aren't on the board of directors.
Gardner, Brophy to take on eminent domain in 2009
A Face the State Staff Report
January 6, 2009As the 2009 state legislative session gets underway, two lawmakers have plans to protect property owners from property rights abuses.
10/15: Aurora gets hosed by RTD
Add Aurora to the list of communities angry over a bait-and-switch routine from government.
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