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Durango, La Plata County officials touch on housing, infrastructure and economy during quarterly forum

Local leaders discuss state of the community at Eggs & Issues
Durango Mayor Kim Baxter explains future water supply projections and said the city is optimistic that the College Mesa plant will meet the population’s demands for the next 28 years. She said technology will continue to develop between now and then and she is optimistic those developments will help in addressing future supply challenges. (Christian Burney/Durango Herald)

The city of Durango is in an “excellent” position to support housing and economic development, said Mayor Kim Baxter. And La Plata County is working to develop a managed homeless camp and doing what it can to foster the development of affordable housing, said County Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton.

The local leaders spoke Thursday at Durango Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues, which invites speakers to discuss current topics affecting public policy and local businesses. They were joined by Christian Reece, executive director of Club 20, a nonpartisan political advocacy group.

Thursday’s theme was the state of the community.

In addition to housing, speakers touched on the future of Durango’s water supply; economic development opportunities; and issues that will appear, or may appear, on November’s ballot.

Baxter

Baxter said the city is in a stronger financial position now than it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the city is making data-driven decisions that are helping to save money and better direct resources.

As an example, she said the city evaluated future water needs and was able to determine that expanding and upgrading the existing College Mesa water-treatment plant would help meet the city’s needs more so than building a new $70 million plant.

She also touted the city’s OpenGov platform that allows the public to review the city’s financial data, filter through the results and analyze how city money is being spent.

The city is primed to support housing and economic development, Baxter said. The city is moving forward with plans to convert a 71-unit Best Western hotel on U.S. Highway 160 into workforce housing. She credited several partners and factors for making the conversion possible, including:

  • U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, who helped secure a $2 million bond for the project.
  • A favorable tax-credit program.
  • $7 million in Department of Local Affairs funding.
  • The housing expertise of Project Moxy and its president Jenn Lopez.

Durango’s urban renewal authority, called the Durango Renewal Partnership, which was established in May 2020, is at work promoting private-public partnerships with the Business Improvement District, Durango School District 9-R and La Plata County, Baxter said.

One example of the urban renewal authority’s work is the creation of the urban renewal area on north Main Avenue that City Council approved last month.

About transportation, Baxter said it is the city’s goal to “get everybody on the bus instead of in their cars” to mitigate the traffic impact of planned housing developments in the Three Springs area. The project consists of 202 apartments and nine townhomes in the Three Springs area.

Porter-Norton

Porter-Norton said public trust in government agencies is at an all-time low, so La Plata County is focusing on rebuilding trust within the community.

She spoke to seven key issues that La Plata County is working to address. They included: rapid growth in terms of urban development; addressing a so-called housing crisis with a focus on creating affordable housing; care for natural resources; pandemic response and recovery; the need for oil and gas regulations; economic development; and the installation of weather radar at Durango-La Plata County Airport.

Other issues the county must address include the “exponential” growth of the homeless population and the expected closure of the Purple Cliffs homeless camp in favor of a managed camp.

She said the county is bringing on Project Moxy for assistance in planning and developing affordable housing.

Also, because of new state oil and gas regulations aimed at balancing support for the industry with the health of people and communities, the county must initiate a “substantial rewrite” to its regulations for the industry, Porter-Norton said.

Christian Reece, executive director of Club 20, spoke about ballot initiatives that could affect businesses Thursday at the Durango Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues meeting. (Christian Burney/Durango Herald)

Reece traveled from Grand Junction to discuss ballot initiatives that could affect businesses either favorably or unfavorably.

She said 590 bills have been introduced in the current legislative session, with six weeks remaining in the session. The bills address issues with education, mental health, the workforce, economic development, and water and drought.

One bill she addressed was House Bill 22-1026, which proposes an alternative transportation tax credit of 50% to employers. The bill, if passed, would replace an existing income tax deduction for expenses to employers when providing alternative transportation options to employees, according to the state Legislature’s website.

Another bill, HB 22-1149, would prolong an investment tax credit for advanced industries, such as automotive, aerospace, machinery and advanced electronics industries for another five years. It would increase the yearly maximum amount of tax credit from $750,000 to $4 million.

The bill would also increase the tax credit “from 30% to 35% of a qualified investment in rural or economically distressed areas,” according to the Legislature.

Reece said Club 20 is a nonpartisan political advocacy group with a presence in 22 Colorado counties. The group welcomes people from all political backgrounds with the goal of finding consensus-driven solutions to the issues Coloradans face.

cburney@durangoherald.com



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