To Governor Owens:
My name is Scott Brazil, I am sending you this letter in protest of the Front Range Toll Road. I feel the Front Range Toll Road (FRTR) is not in the best interest of Pueblo County, which you represent. I know I am supposed to keep this short, but I have some real concerns that I would like to present to you.
The use of eminent domain by private parties or corporations is an outdated law that will be forced upon property owners by the FRTR. When the eminent domain law was written, one if its objectives was to stimulate growth and advancement into new territory. If the effected parties didn’t like it, they could pick up stakes and move elsewhere to undeveloped property. Where are the farmers and ranchers going to move today? Available arable property with water rights is scarce and dwindling more everyday. Large cities are purchasing the water that was used in the past to farm. The FRTR claims fair market value will be given to property owners whose property lies in the effected zone. But, purchasing replacement property for the proposed amount will be impossible. Replacement and relocation costs must be considered.
I am 36 years old, my family and I have chosen agriculture as one of our careers. I have helped farm my family’s property since 1984, and purchased a farm of my own in the year of 2000. I understood that I would face drought, hail, depressed commodity prices, and the discovery of mad cow disease in the U.S. I knew it was going to be a “tough row to hoe.” I never dreamed a toll road would take all of my and my family’s hard work, progress, and investment away. Agriculture is not just farming. It’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that my family loves and is built upon. There is no better place to raise a family, than on a farm. I did not have the privilege of past generations, of pounding stakes into the ground to claim property for my own. Nor will I when the FRTR does exactly that on my property. I have worked hard for every spec of dirt and cow that I own. My situation is not unique. There are many young farmers and families that will be put out of business by the FRTR.
I sit on the board of the Pueblo County Farm Bureau, vice president of the Pueblo County Stockman’s Association, and have been approached to sit on the board for the Arkansas Valley Ground Water Association and the Bessemer Ditch Company.
I am not against progress, but not at the expense of farmers and the best farm ground in the county. The cavalier approach that will be used by the FRTR is uncalled for and outdated. This project should go through the same zoning and impact studies as any other development of this kind. Other locations outside the “corridor” should be considered.
In closing, I hope you reconsider your position on the FRTR taking into the account the families and agricultural businesses that will be devastated by this project with so many holes and unknowns. The one thing I do know about this project is that it will not benefit Pueblo County or its inhabitants. The only possible beneficiary’s would be the railroads, the trucking companies, and possibly the investors in the FRTR. All of these organizations are in business for one reason, profits, not for the “public good”. I am available to discuss this topic at any time.
Sincerely,
Scott Brazil
1890 38th Lane
Pueblo Co 81006
sbrazil@attg.net