The county commissioners and City Council personnel must not read The Durango Herald! Recent lists of people who owe taxes were several pages long. How could raising property taxes be justified when so many people owe taxes they can’t pay already? Something here just doesn’t add up!
More than a dozen years ago, I sat in the courtroom listening to lawyers explain in mock-saddened tones why Durango and La Plata County regretfully had to take the Merle McCaw ranch land through condemnation in the process of eminent domain.
The oh-so-important reason they “had” to take the ranch was to ensure safety surrounding the La Plata County airport and runway. Remember, just before that, there had been the airplane crash near Gem Village; of course, everyone knew that was caused by pilot error and cocaine use, but it was a good excuse to get people stirred up about safety.
At that hearing, the airport personnel and lawyers swore that a safety zone had to be established and that no building would be allowed on that land; it was to be kept vacant as open space around the airport for safety reasons and security concerns at the Federal Aviation level.
The McCaws were to have continued life-long use of their land. (And by the way, three of those McCaws are still living.) Mr. McCaw wasn’t even in his grave when the city and county had sanctioned building on the land: Hangars, the Forest Service office, etc., were built on the west side of the runway.
Now, I’m no expert, but a crash landing in a rancher’s field sounds a lot safer to me than crashing through hangars and office buildings. So, safety was an excuse for a land grab by the county and city, pushed by airport administration and greedy land developers and tourism interests.
So what is the hidden agenda this time? What lies are being told and what half-truths hinted at? How long before more money is “required” to enrich some unknown non-residents’ pockets?
R. Marty McCaw
Ignacio
