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Jim Gunning: It's all about the people

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Contributed by: Steve Shultz/YourHub.com on 6/11/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of Highlands Ranch page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people who make this part of the metro area what it is.

Call it cliché, but Jim Gunning says what he likes most about being mayor of Lone Tree is serving the residents.

"The biggest plus is working with the people that live in Lone Tree," Gunning said.

The new mayor says he spends a lot of his time speaking with residents about questions and concerns they may have about what's going on in the city.
Prior to being elected mayor this May, he served on city council for two years. He also was in the military for 20 years -- 10 years active duty and 10 years in reserve.

"I really enjoyed my military service," he said. "I got a real sense of contributing to the society we live in. After leaving the military I didn't get the same sense of fulfillment, so I sought public service."

Gunning said he also spends a lot of time studying and working with city staff to set agendas for upcoming council meetings.

In addition to city council meetings, he regularly can be seen at the Metro Mayors Caucus and Southeast Business Partnership meetings.

"I try to make it to a number of different things, because I am the mayor," he says. "I try to attend different meetings and make sure I have an overall idea of what everyone's talking about. Every day is a little different -- it's not a full-time job."

Since being mayor doesn't pay the bills, he works full time as a pilot for United Airlines on the weekends. He has worked there for 14 years and is captain of an Airbus A320.

On June 4, Gunning attended a meeting at Lone Tree Golf Club and Hotel, 9808 Sunningdale Blvd., with South Suburban Parks and Recreation (SSPR) to discuss outstanding city projects.

It's a lunch meeting, and Gunning orders a club sandwich with onion rings. He's filling in for Mayor Pro Tem Sharon Van Ramshorst, who's on vacation.

Topics on the June 4 agenda include the park at Lone Tree Elementary, Cook Creek Pool and the tennis courts/park project.

The city plans to renovate and add to its current tennis facility at the golf club with funding from 2B, a recently-passed sales tax measure that will help finance park and recreation improvements. Planners with the city hope to replace four of the old courts and add two more.

The subcommittee is talking about construction on the tennis courts beginning January 2009, proposing it be completed by the end of June. The problem is, tennis season starts in May and residents would have to play somewhere else for a short time.

"I'm less concerned about the tennis courts slipping through the season, but I do want to get it started," Gunning says. "They voted for the money -- they want to see it started."

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