Over the din of a family reunion being celebrated on the other side of a wall divider at the Durango Community Recreation Center, city councilors, La Plata County commissioners and their staff members squabbled like a family around a dinner table Friday.
City Attorney David Smith said it was a “fact of life” that the county commissioners and their staff members routinely violate the state’s Open Meetings Law, a charge vociferously denied by county officials.
Smith then backed off, saying his only point is that the county operates much differently than the city. The city does not always understand how county decisions are reached.
“I want everybody in the room to know the perception it creates,” said Smith, who later muttered during a break that he needed a whiskey.
As part of a planning retreat, officials were trying to reach consensus on a way forward for a new intergovernmental agreement to regulate development on areas just outside the city limits, a policy matter that has baffled local officials for years.
The county has set a goal of completing the agreement by Dec. 31. County Attorney Sheryl Rogers suggested that the city was dragging its feet, saying the city was not as motivated in getting it done.
New county planner Damian Peduto said the city was not giving him much direction.
“Just tell us, and we’ll get it done,” Peduto pleaded.
County Commissioner Bobby Lieb was exasperated, too.
“We keep going in circles. I’m losing patience,” said Lieb, who also vowed not to vote for another extension of the current intergovernmental agreement if a new agreement is not reached by the end of the year.
“I’m going to say, ‘Forget it,’” said Lieb, who added that he has a problem with Durango exerting its influence beyond its jurisdiction.
Durango Mayor Dick White said he was “confused and perplexed” by the county’s version of events, recalling that the city and county had a meeting about a new IGA map a year ago.
City Manager Ron LeBlanc said the county was under an ambitious schedule to hold public meetings within the next two months to get feedback about its proposals. City officials said they were wary of a rushed product that would have to be fixed later. They don’t want to be stuck with another “Animas View Drive,” a former county road that was annexed into the city and that city officials have called “substandard.” The road has become the “poster child” of the city getting stuck with bad development.
In the complicated dance of two governmental bodies trying to coordinate public hearing schedules and adopt legislation, city officials said they did not want to hold a public hearing about something that’s already been decided by the county.
But officials also made conciliatory gestures to improve communication. County Manager Joe Kerby was invited to give updates at City Council workshops. LeBlanc was extended the same courtesy for county workshop meetings.
They pledged cooperation in getting a new IGA map and transitional standards approved.
When someone asked the consequences of not finishing this year, Commissioner Julie Westendorff said, “That’s not going to happen. We’re going to get it done.”
jhaug@durangoherald.com
