Broomfield needs to do the right thing! BUT “What is the right thing?”

Stress and anxiety is striking the residents of the City and County of Broomfield! The overreaching lockdown is destroying the physical, emotional, and mental health of all 70,000 plus of us. The use of unclear and questionable statistics and fear to justify the draconian public health orders increases the stress to the extreme levels.

The irony of these impacts on the city’s COVID mandates is not lost on us the citizens. Anxiety, stress and sleeplessness have been (and continues to be) hammered into our psyche over these last few years that certain activities are extremely unhealthy and harmful to our citizens. Over and over we have been told that the sources of anxiety, stress, and sleeplessness must be dealt with and eliminated from Broomfield. Approximately 200 people around the Livingston pad location made numerous (coordinated) complaints that oil and gas operations were causing anxiety, stress and sleeplessness. This was disrupting their mental health. In response, Broomfield has spent millions of dollars attempting to eliminate drilling in Broomfield.

Here’s the irony, for the last two-plus months, all citizens/residents of Broomfield have been deliberately placed under undue stress, anxiety and mental health pressure by being sequestered at homes and socially isolated. Citizens have been confined like animals in a zoo, while criminals have been released to “stop the spread”. Meanwhile, our elderly were more tightly contained, confined to their room, without social access to family and friends.

Have decisions passed by Council, acting as the Board of Health, increased the stress, anxiety and mental health pressure in the community? Has the Council’s process of restricting activity helped or hurt? Are all workers in Broomfield essential? What can be done by the City Council of Broomfield now to reduce the anxiety-related problems related to extended isolation? Council may mean well, but are they really doing what is best? Broomfield remains effectively closed.

When this virus was first laying waste to America and the world, we knew next to nothing about it. China had done all it could to hide facts and restrict absolutely necessary information from us. America made assumptions, resulting in mistakes, errors, overreactions, and panic. The CDC, CDPHE, and other health organizations have put out incorrect statements, corrections to those statement, changes in cases reported, and keep changing what activities and processes should follow. Once again elitist experts failed us.

Today, we know so much more about the COVID-19 virus and its risks. We must change our panicked driven reaction to a knowledgeable, defined, and scientific approach. The morbidity of this virus is very low. Yes, it kills, but over 99% of our population will not die. We know that those with other health issues, weak immunity systems and underlying problems including age are at much higher risk. Senior living facilities, account for the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths. What are we doing to further protect them?

At Broomfield Taxpayer Matters, we have continually asked what data, information and facts can you trust? Watching the media reveals that they are all over the board, and more concerning it changes everyday. But what does comes across is negative and fearful, stoking concerns and causing our communities to remain effectlvely shut down.

How do we address the current situation related to the COVID-19 virus? We must focus our resources at the most at risk and actively protect them. But without a functioning economy, we do not have the resources to fight and beat the virus. Fear is not the answer, determination and focus is. We have learned that we can not depend on China or the World Health Organization to help us. We must do what is necessary to protect our citizens while opening our economy. And, we must get back the reality that the world will never be fully SAFE.

So, what is the right thing for Broomfield to do next? The City Council needs to lessen the stress and anxiety related to safe-at-home orders and resolutions that “strongly encourage” certain behaviors, and do so to enhance the mental health of Broomfield’s residents. This includes focusing on, and doing all that is possible, for our seniors - especially those in group living facilities.

Finally, Broomfield needs to be fully opened again, so we can live normally again and put sleepless nights behind us.

Broomfield can and should lead by example for our neighboring communities on how to move forward and embrace normalcy.