We cover news, events, and voices shaping the Boulder Valley — all in a tight, reliable package for people on the move. Whether you ride, drive, or walk, our weekly episodes — under 15 minutes each — will help you be an informed community member.
Town of Erie 3E, 3F and council candidates Plus: Boulder County headlines
•Season 2•Episode 41
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
0:00
|
15:00
Oct. 14, 2026
Town of Erie Ballot Issue 3E
What does it mean?
Should Erie implement a 3.5% tax on all short-term lodging (hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, Airbnb, etc.) to help pay for general government operations?
What will it cost?
Nothing, unless you run a short-term rental or other lodging. In that case, it will cost 3.5% of the total rental rate.
What will the money be used for?
“General governmental purposes,” according to the ballot language, which could include parks, police, transportation, administration or anything else the town uses money on.
Why you might want to vote for this
Taxes like this are paid for by visitors, reducing the burden on residents. The tax is expected to generate up to $150,000 annually, so it won’t add a ton to the budget.
Most towns have lodging taxes of some kind. With Sundance coming to Boulder, it is a good time to capitalize on any visitors who may stay in Erie.
Why you might not want to vote for this
It is a new tax, which could slightly increase costs for Airbnb and other short-term rentals.
Should Erie implement a .501% sales tax and borrow $32.5 million (with total repayment costs of up to $52.6 million) to fund the expansion of the town’s community center?
What will it cost?
“2.5 cents on a $5 cup of coffee, or $2.50 on a $500 appliance,” according to town officials.
What will the money be used for?
Proposed improvements include:
A new multi-purpose community room
A new full-size gym
A new fitness space
Expanding the Columbine Lounge (for adults 60+)
Expanding the Mini Miners/KidStation area, including dedicated space for childcare and public access to the indoor playground
Converting the existing racquetball courts into dedicated fitness space
Why you might want to vote for this
The community center is well-used: over 800 people, on average, use it each day, and nearly 1,500 people were on program waitlists in 2025.
Use of the center has increased greatly since its construction in 2008. According to the town, annual visits climbed from 158,000 in 2008 to 225,000 last year, and program participation more than doubled from 44,000 to 98,000.
This project will expand and evolve it to meet community needs.
The cost to individuals is low; less than a few cents per dollar.
Why you might not want to vote for this
It is a tax increase, and will cost residents money.
The tax is permanent. Once the community center debt is repaid, the town can use the money for whatever it wants.
Priorities: Workforce housing, Flag policy, Mixed-Use zoning and development, Mineral rights, Business development, Managed growth, Budget transparency
Priorities: Safeguarding our open space areas, Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), infill developments, Traffic conflicts and safety, Accessory dwelling units (ADUs), Erie's historic buildings and artifacts, Budget, Erie Municipal Airport, Commercial and Light Industrial Development, Use fees
Good morning, Boulder County. It's Wednesday, October 14th. I'm Shea Castle, and this is The Frequency. A weekly local podcast covering the news, events, and voices shaping the Boulder Valley. Today's episode is brought to you by Boulder Bookstore. Come visit Boulder's Community Bookstore on the Pearl Street Mall. Besides an amazing selection of books, they host author events every week. On Thursday, October 29th, see Merritt Turetsky, author of Bogland, the secret world that defies death and protects life, in conversation with Hilary Rosner, starting at 6.30 p.m. Visit BoulderBookstore.com to buy tickets, see a full list of upcoming events, and support the store's Literacy Foundation in its mission to donate books to schools and students in need. That link, once again, is Boulderbookstore.com. Today, we're traveling out east to Erie, where they've got three competitive council races, two taxes on the ballot, and some very spicy issues facing the fast-growing town. But first, the headlines. Lafayette
City Council voted to strip funding for Flock license plate reading cameras from its 2027 budget. The five-to-one vote came amid a standing room-only crowd. The vote comes as Boulder and Longmont both pause their replacement of Flock license plate reading cameras amid resident pushback and significant concerns over privacy and mass surveillance. Read more from Colorado Hometown Weekly at the link in our show notes. Kimball Musk has sold his Boulder and Denver restaurants, The Kitchen, to local Boulder restaurateur Brian Dayton. Dayton operates Oak It 14th, Corita, and Seaburger. In an interview with the Daily Camera, Dayton said he was not concerned about Musk's reputation being hurtful to business. The brother of billionaire Elon Musk was revealed among the Epstein files as interacting with late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and linked to a known victim. People are gonna have opinions, and that's just how it is. But what Kimball built there with Hugo is amazing, Dayton was quoted as saying.
That's Erie District 3 candidate Amy Becker making her case for why she should be elected to Erie's town council over incumbent Brian O'Connor at an October 5th candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Boulder County. It was a bold and direct argument and a night full of direct, respectful questions and confrontations over Erie's top issues, candidates candidly engaged on topics like oil and gas, housing development, water rights, and more. I was impressed and more than a little entertained. There are seven people vying for four seats on Erie's town council. Half the candidates have served on council before, including two incumbents, and the majority of candidates have been involved in town government in some shape or form. The town has had quite a bit of controversy in recent months. In the last two years, a former mayor unseated the incumbent, then led a divided council and firing the town manager. Then that mayor resigned, citing health concerns. But not before the council rejected a deal to sell the town's mineral rights to an oil and gas company, then called for a second vote and approved the deal, only for the company to pull out after facing a potential citizen vote on the matter.
SPEAKER_08
We had two public hearings. And part of my role is to try to hear that voice. And basically, leading up to that vote, heard you know, virtually nothing. After the vote, I hear there was at least four people who were sitting in the audience who came up to me and said, I was afraid to voice my opinion for being bullied or being harassed. And it happens in this town. Uh, it's not uncommon to hear of people's tires being slashed. It hasn't happened recently that I've heard of, but it has happened in the past. People do fear for that. So after hearing a number of residents reach out to me, that's when I basically called for a reconsideration.
SPEAKER_05
That's Brian O'Connor, the District 3 council member who pushed the oil and gas deal to a second vote, ultimately approving it. Amy Becker, whose voice opened the segment, is challenging O'Connor for his seat. One other controversy I forgot to mention, Erie made headlines across the country when it voted to remove Pride and Juneteenth flags from town property, an issue on the mind of at least one resident at last week's forum.
SPEAKER_06
This is not an easy topic. And one of the issues is constitutional rights, Supreme Court cases, legislation that has been tried in many different areas. And there is the equality that needs to be to those. If you provide on a governmental building, one group the access to you have to provide the other. So now you get into a situation of, well, what if one group, maybe a white supremac group or something to that effect, wants to fly their flag? They could have a constitutional claim that we're denying their freedom of speech because we allowed another group. You start to get into the conversation of, well, this was about proclamations. Yes, but at the same time, we're choosing which proclamation to actually put forward. We have countless proclamations throughout the year, and we do rely on federal and state so that we can use them as the backbone. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03
District one, candidate Rhodus.
SPEAKER_00
Okay, so let me just set the record straight for one thing. When the pride flag was taken down and not put up, it was because there was no proclamation. I immediately called Marty Moore, who the CEO of Rocky Mountain Equality. She caught in touch with the governor, and we had a proclamation the next day. So I'm definitely in favor of flying the flags. I do think that was broader than a pride flag or a Juneteenth flag. I think the fact that people say, well, someone could fly a white supremacist flag or a Nazi flag. The policy is set that there was a federal or state proclamation. Who in God's name, I'm sorry, would write a proclamation for a Nazi flag or a white supremacist flag? Not somebody on the council I know. And I think it's a combination of banners and flags would be really good. So you can do multiple things. I have no problem with that. Erie lost money to our businesses because the people boycotted our businesses because it cost us all.
SPEAKER_05
That is both candidates for District One. Their first voice you heard was Andrew Sawich, a tech executive, member of Erie's Planning Commission, and a former town council member. Responding to Sawich was Bob Brodis, who has served on Erie's Planning Commission, Open Space Parks and Trails Board, and Home Rule Charter Commission. Brodis is retired, but serves on many community nonprofit boards, including as president of the board for St. Vrain Valley Habitat for Humanity. Let's hear from the last two candidates, both running in District 2. Here's Delaney Drekman, an Erie planning commissioner and rural appraiser. Drekman works with farms, ranches, and water rights. Here's her take on affordable housing and the cost of living. I should note Yellow Scene fact-checked her claims about vacancies and time on market and labeled them as inaccurate.
SPEAKER_02
I believe if there is demand in the market, the town should work to supply that demand. If we have affordable housing right now and there's vacancies in it and the days on market are longer than what you see for a traditional house, I don't believe that needs to be a main focus in Erie. However, I think that a divert like a diversity of housing would be a great solution rather than traditional subsidized housing. So I think you know, Erie is working towards that. We have apartments, we have townhomes, we have single family dwellings. As far as utilities and other expenses, I believe that the town can especially work to connect people that need assistance with things like that, like the assistance with utilities and living expenses, just to make sure everyone's aware of the benefits out there through the county and through the town.
SPEAKER_05
Running against Drekman is Ben Hempill, also a planning commissioner. He's employed as a mechanical engineer. Here's his response to the affordability question.
SPEAKER_01
Affordability is important. I've talked with many residents as I've canvassed around town. And part of that is providing multiple housing types, different districts. One of my favorite districts is the mixed-use zoning that provides commercial inside of housing as we develop. That puts commercial close to residents to give access to other trips. And it also expands the taxable base in the community, which allows the town to if not raise any property taxes, but potentially lower them as the sales tax revenues increase. So part of the affordability is making sure that Erie is an affordable place to live and not just with affordable housing, although I would support affordable housing provisions in Erie.
SPEAKER_05
One candidate did not attend the forum, DePak Bassnet. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about his priorities or platform, so he is not represented in this episode. You can find information about all the other candidates, including their stated priorities, in the show notes. I'll also link to a wonderful piece from Yellow Scene magazine, which includes the candidates' responses to the major questions, along with helpful fact checks and context on local issues.
Now let's talk taxes. Erie has two on the ballot. 3E, a tax on lodging like hotels and Airbnbs, and 3F, a sales tax to renovate and expand at the Erie Community Center. 3E, the lodging tax, is pretty straightforward. So let's start there. You wouldn't pay it unless you're renting out a room or vacation home for less than 30 days at a time. The tax would be 3.5% on the total rental rate to fund general operations. As for 3F, the sales tax would add cost to every physical and online purchase you make, about $2.5 for a $5 coffee, or $2.50 for a $500 appliance. Thanks to Erie Town staff for those numbers and excellent examples. The revenue will allow Erie to borrow up to $32.5 million to expand and add new fitness studios, build a new gym, add a new multipurpose community room and a lounge for older adults, dedicate childcare space, and buy strength and circuit training equipment. Since it costs money to borrow money, 3F actually authorizes the city to spend up to $52.6 million, including interest on repaying the loan. The community center is very well used, and usage has increased exponentially since it was built in 2008. There are hundreds of people on the wait list for programs. There is no backup plan to pay for this project, town staff told me. If the tax doesn't pass, the community center will stay as it is. Find more information about both taxes in our show notes and at the links provided. Thanks again to the League of Women Voters of Boulder County for hosting the Candidate Forum. You can watch a recording of the October 5th Forum on the Town of Erie's YouTube channel, youtube.com slash at Erie, Colorado. We'll drop a link in our show notes. Join us Friday when we talk taxes and Tabor, including Boulder County's child care funding measure, Boulder's tax on empty homes, Proposition NN, and two competing state income tax measures. Before you go, here's my colleague Tyler Hickman and I discussing a history of concrete, a film I recommend you go see immediately. It's this week's One More Thing.
I feel like it was like the perfect movie for Boulder because he talks about like NIMBYism and the need for affordable housing and the like challenge of balancing preservation and like embracing change. And he did it in such a beautiful way. And then just because of all the election stuff I'm working on right now, like the theme that's emerging from all the election stuff is like, who will pay for these cities that we haven't been taking care of? Like all the infrastructure's falling apart. Like, who will pay for the society that we've created that is seems to be crumbling around us? And then like that's all set against like, hey, I just really love humans and the weird, quirky, very sweet things they do. And um, we also got Christmas music from DMX. Did you know DMX had an unreleased Christmas album?
SPEAKER_07
Nah, but he has like I've seen recordings of him doing like the red-nosed reindeer.
SPEAKER_05
Oh, yeah, I've seen that.
SPEAKER_07
But that's what I did.
SPEAKER_05
But it was so good. I was like crying a little bit. It was so, it was so beautiful. It really surprised me. I knew it'd be funny, um, but I've never seen the HBO show, so.
SPEAKER_07
You've never seen the HBO show. Okay. Did it have that same feel where it like just kind of started with this kind of innocuous idea and then uncovered with like this big beautiful story that says a little bit of everything about something?
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, that's exactly the perfect description.
SPEAKER_07
That's my favorite thing about his show, is that like it's not always wrapped up in like a tidy little. Yeah. I love media, it's uh like sometimes I don't want to be unsatisfied, sometimes I want there to still be like questions or like answers that aren't always like satisfactory. Especially for if it's something about like maybe it's like really a satisfactory like answer.
