Bureaucrats Cover Bag Man’s Costs

by Dave Felice

By paying $30,000, Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) is enabling entrepreneur Bill Airy to recover part of his speculative investment in an ill-fated park advertising scheme.

After his proposal to install hundreds of dog waste bag dispensers with advertising signs in city parks was rejected, Airy claimed he had a contract which the City had breached. Airy, whose veracity came into question during the deal-making, never produced a contract for anyone to see. But prior to widespread community uprising against the scheme, Parks and Recreation staff had promoted his plan to be implemented in “15 parks” during the month of June 2009.

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INC Parks & Rec Proposal Poo Pooed

Image from DearDenver (welcome back Lisa!)

From Larry Ambrose:
Outcome of PRAB Meeting: "Bill Boards in the Parks"

The City put forth Bill Airy's plan last night at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, with one exception. Parks Department Manager, Kevin Patterson introduced the Poo Free plan and proudly announced that now it is possible for us, neighborhood groups and non-profits, to actually buy advertising just like the commercial folks! And our logo's will be just below and bigger than the Poo Free Parks logo! Really!

Not good news folks. In an abysmal display of dereliction of public stewardship and accommodation to the most popular Mayor in Denver history, the PRAB voted overwhelming to approve the P and R Departments sweetheart deal with Poo Free Parks. Policies? Not to worry, said Chantel Unfug, the Mayor's $100,000 per year + liaison to the Mayor's appointee, Manager Patterson, (and elected representative to the Denver School Board from NE Denver).

Unfug said (and I paraphrase here), "We are working to change the policies by 2010 so that they are consistent with what we want to do now."

Poo Free advertising a slippery slope?

Advisory Board member representing Peggy Lehman, attorney, Richard Ott, admonished the Parks Department staff not to let any more advertising into the parks. Strong stuff, aye? But Chris Nevitt's representative, Ed Done came up with the winning solution. It's not the advertising that's the problem. The signs are just too big! But there was a motion on the floor put forth by Carla Madison's guy, Keith Pryor, who insisted that the Board approve Poo Free Parks proposal precisely as Bill Airy's contract was presented. The vote was taken and low and behold, they voted NOT to approve the deal 8 to 4.

But then architect Noel Copeland, (Rick Garcia) put forth the face saving compromise. What if we approve IF he makes the signs smaller than 12 x 18? How much smaller? No discussion about this "small" point. It was getting too late. I'm not sure of the vote count but I believe it was 10 to 2 (Elizabeth Kester and Flo Navarro against). So, now Mr. Airy can make his "Bill Boards" 11.75 x 17.75. Brilliant.

On positive notes, there were many thoughtful and civic minded people from around the city who presented wonderful and cogent testimony. Kathleen Rust was brilliant in describing everything in the parks eventually bedizened with ads. We must rally these folks and follow through with strategies to keep this scheme from being implemented. And, there's always the likelihood that Mr. Airy will not be able to sell advertising to cost and public image conscious companies anyway. After all, do they want at least half the people in the city resenting them for intruding the commercials into their parks? Perhaps we can help "make this known" to these companies.

In a related matter, Mr. Airy didn't even wait for the Advisory Board hearing to start advertising in the parks. He was seen putting these signs up throughout Sloan's Lake Park and on public right-of-ways on Tuesday. Oh, yes he did use his Poo Free hybrid fuel efficient Prius with the City logo on it to put them up. And, he was even able to do it without any help from the homeless! See also here, and here.

Plug Pulled on Parks Poo Proposal

This just in:

Dear Denver Citizens, This afternoon while I was away, Kevin Patterson left a message on my answering machine. He also wrote an e-mail to me at 5:30 p.m. last night. I tried to reach him several times today and he also tried to reach me. The message was as follows: "We have decided to pull the advertising in the parks deal--based on some of the comments we heard at the Parks Board Meeting." That is all that he said except that he would try to call me later. I am very glad that this has happened, as I was shocked at the behavior of the Board members as I sat and watched the whole proceeding. We still have to be very watchful, but we should all break our arms patting ourselves on the back--for a little while. Thanks, Cathy Donohue

Update: by way of Dave Felice:

At the Council Aides meeting this morning (Friday) I was made aware for the first time Mr. Airy was using the city logo on his personal automobile. However, this was not part of the conversation when Chantal Unfug from Parks and Recreation called this morning to notify this Council office that the contract with Mr. Airy has been pulled and for now the discussion has ended regarding Pooh (sic) Free Parks. Chantal did not offer any reason for the contract being pulled. The reason for the end of discussion on Pooh Free Parks is the city and department’s priorities are the New Zoning Code and the budget and Pooh Free Parks discussions were distracting from these higher priorities. I apologize for any misunderstanding, and hope this statement makes things clear for everyone. Carol Singer 303-871-0601 Council Aide Charlie Brown Denver City Council District 6

Deja Pu

Like something stuck on your shoe, Bill Airy just won't go away. I thought I had fallen into a time-warp when I saw this:

 

Airy was paid $30,000 by the City for his poo bags last year and the "contract put on hold". Now it's like none of this happened, and we have started all over again.

Click to enlarge

INC: Put Parks Poo Plan on Pause

(received by email - not an April Fool's joke)

"On March 24, 2009, the INC (Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation) Parks and Recreation Committee passed a motion to send the following letter to officials of the City and County of Denver after consideration by the INC delegation on April 11. Please be prepared to discuss and vote on the motion.

The Delegation of INC approves sending the following letter to the City and County of Denver Department of Parks and Recreation, copied to Mayor John Hickenlooper and members of the Denver City Council and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee: Kevin Patterson, Manager Department of Parks and Recreation City and County of Denver 201 W. Colfax Denver, CO 80202 kevin.patterson@denvergov.org

Dear Mr. Patterson, At the INC Delegation Meeting meeting on March 14, 2009, your representative, Angela Casias, announced that a “pilot project” would commence in early summer wherein dog waste bag dispensers would be installed in five to ten Denver parks. Furthermore, this plan was publicly announced in a Parks and Recreation Newsletter sent out by Jill McGranahan on March 27. On January 20 of this year, Mr. Bill Airy, President of Poo Free Parks presented his company's plan for such dispensers to The Parks and Recreation Committee of INC. The plan included signage with commercial advertising to be placed above the dispensers.

We encouraged Mr Airy to take the project to Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, to Registered Neighborhood Organizations, and to other interested park groups as a matter of community outreach. We also voiced our concern about advertising in the park and the possible push back from the community.

Although details of Denver Parks and Recreation's “pilot project” are unknown, Parks and Recreation wrote an an article which was forwarded to INC members on March 15. This article stated stated that “We also will be rolling out a pilot project in early summer with a company that will install and maintain dog waste stations in 5-10 parks at no cost to the City. If this pilot project is successful, we hope to roll it out system-wide to help with our overall dog waste management goals.”

In responding to questions at the INC meeting on March 14, Ms. Casias, confirmed that commercial advertising would be featured as part of the dispenser project. She maintained that such advertising was not in violation of any City legal or policy requirements, but is, rather, allowed under the Department's Policies and Procedures on Corporate Sponsorship, although Section 2.3 of these policies, states "...The permanent placement of a corporate logo, brand, or product placement in a public park or facility is considered advertising and [is] not allowed....".

As we are sure you are aware, members of INC and city-wide Registered Neighborhood Associations are vitally interested in all projects slated for the City's parks. City-wide Registered Neighborhood Organizations have not been included in the planning process for these dog waste stations. Therefore, the Delegates of INC hereby call for a moratorium on implementing the pilot project for dog waste which would include advertising in Denver parks. This moratorium would be in effect until such time as RNOs, other interested parties and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board have been included in a process to discuss the proposed pilot project. In the process, information could be shared on the assessment of the impacts and desirability of the dog waste project, the exploration of other alternatives that would help with the management of dog waste in parks and the project's adherence to the intent of the City laws, regulations and policies."

... Hitting the Fan

Folks are getting their knickers all twisted in the comments section of a recent Denver Daily News article on the Dog Poop Dispenser problem. Fake comments were posted under other’s names by parties unknown (and subsequently removed by DDN). Attributing comments such as this one to Larry Ambrose is ludicrous to anyone who knows Mr. Ambrose. Likewise for comments falsely attributed to Mr. Felice.

"It's about time this administration started listening to us and abiding by our demands! We run this City! These are our parks, not Kevin "Satan" Patterson's! What we say goes!"

When I read that I laughed out loud. What would compel someone to sign in under someone else’s name and say things that that person would never say? Do they purposely want to look stupid? Didn’t they expect us to see through it and wonder who would be motivated to do this? Did the creator of this false post want to trick us into thinking that the commenter was most likely Mr. Airy, who just lost “$100,000” on this ill-conceived idea, who would be driven to such depths? Ah….who can say? I personally don’t think Mr. Airy would be that stupid. I should hasten to add that I have not met the man. What strikes me as strange is not the uproar over the proposed advertising pollution in our parks but the lack of uproar over the 26,000 gallons of actual toxic water pollution being pumped PER DAY into the lakes in Washington and City Parks, and then sprayed onto the grassy fields where our children play. If only I could make these 158 pollutants and 10 radionuclides visible to our eyes. If the 26,000 gallons per day from Lowry Landfill were turned into dog poop we would all run screaming back into our homes. If it weren’t shut off within hours, we would storm city hall. Instead, we fight over advertising pollution in the parks, while the really deadly stuff pours out sight unseen and with little comment.

Woman Fights Bully, WINS!

Ed: Way to go, Jane

Just came out of three years of HELL and want to thank all my friends that kept encouraging me to fight injustice and for believing in me. I agreed to settle my law suit against a guy named Bill Airy, owner of Poo Free Parks, a company that promotes advertising in public parks. Imagine, I'm a former Parks and Recreation Director that has continued to work for the common good and preserve nature. This guy filed false charges against me all of which were dismissed. To recoup my legal fees and damages I filed a civil suit for malicious prosecution, I WON, can you believe it?!!! I WON my suit!!! Woman fights bully, WINS! THANK YOU to all for believing in me. This is a good thing and it will set a precident for future cases.

Jane Parker-Ambrose

Poo Free Parks Proposal

Kevin Patterson, Denver's Manager of Parks and Recreation, responds to a question by Councilman Charlie Brown regarding the postponement of a decision on the Poo Free Parks proposal by Bill Airy. See also. Video from Denver's Channel 8.

Neighborhoods Oppose Plan for Advertising Signs on Dog Waste Bag Dispensers in Parks

Some say dogs insufficiently trained

by Dave Felice for DenverDirect 


Denver, Colorado (April 11, 2009) By a vote of 18 to nothing, with five abstentions, Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) delegates are seeking a moratorium on a plan to put up advertising signs on animal waste bag dispensers in several city parks. INC is a city-wide association of many of Denver's largest and most active registered neighborhood organizations. The request for a delay in implementation of the pilot project comes in a letter to be sent to Parks and Recreation Manager Kevin Patterson. His assistant, Angela Casias, attended the INC delegates’ meeting Saturday to explain and defend the proposal.


Casias says the plan focuses on the areas with the greatest problem of animal waste, the Rivers and Trails District and the Northwest District. City Park is not on the original list of parks to get the dispensers with advertising but, “all parks are still under evaluation.” The letter says the requested moratorium would be in effect “until RNOs (Registered Neighborhood Organizations), other interested parties and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board have been included in a process to discuss the proposed pilot project. In the process, information could be shared on the assessment of the impacts and desirability of the dog waste project, the exploration of other alternatives that would help with the management of dog waste in parks and the project's adherence to the intent of the City laws, regulations and policies.” Casias claims dealing with dog waste in the city’s parks may cost the city up to $100,000 per year. She explains that the company called Poo Free Parks would be “totally responsible for maintaining signs and dispensers, and keeping the dispensers stocked with biodegradable bags.” Sign advertising presumably would pay for operating the dispenser program and the city would get no additional revenue. Casias acknowledged that Parks and Recreation policy prohibits “permanent” signs, but the signs to be placed on the poles holding the bag dispensers are “temporary” because “the contract requires the company to offer only six-month sponsorship agreements.” 


Because the bag dispenser operation is what Casias calls “kind of a new business,” the company headed by Bill Airy was selected without competitive bidding. She says the project would be open to competitive bidding after the first year if there are any other interested operators. According to Casias, the City Attorney's office has been asked for and has given its blessing to these unusual interpretations of city ordinances and regulations.


Some of those attending the meeting indicated they didn’t think “voluntary” homemade bag dispensers set up by concerned residents were effective. “I’d rather see a well-maintained sign instead of plastic bottles full of newspaper wrappers,” said non-delegate Ken Beaudrie. A northwest Denver delegate, Bill Johnson, says the “integrity of our parks system” is the real price. “The overriding issue is, and has been, private advertising in public parks,” comments Johnson. “Are we going to be crossing the Rubicon (by allowing the signs)?” 


Several members of the INC Parks Committee and other critics contend the plan to allow advertising signs conflicts with Parks Department guidelines. Opponents also say the bag dispenser project could be contrary to the City Charter’s language which grants decision-making authority to Parks administration. 


In spite of the resolution to seek a moratorium until the plan can be fully and publicly discussed, Casias maintains Parks representatives have met with various neighborhood groups and “we’ve gotten positive response.” She says samples of the signs were not previously available “because the contract was just finalized last Friday (4/10).” Casias did not present any example of the signs. She also did not explain why the proposal is not presented on the Parks and Recreation web site. Casias says Parks did not want to present the plan to the citizens’ Parks and Recreation Advisory Board until the contract is finished. The original proposal calls for up to 150 signs in five to ten parks. Casias says it’s more likely there would be 100 signs, meaning each of the ten parks in the pilot program would get approximately 10 signs. More...