The city of Durango and Durango School District 9-R have agreed to resume talks on a memorandum of understanding meant to protect Buckley Park, the prime outdoor event area and green community space downtown, from development after the possible agreement drifted into both entities’ peripheries.
What started as a tepid discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion and city projects that could benefit the school district quickly became a heated dialogue over misunderstandings about the city’s intent to pursue a memorandum of understanding that has collected cobwele since May.
The agreement was sought to ensure Buckley Park in the 1200 block of Main Avenue, which the city leases from Durango School District, remains a park free from development, said city spokesman Tom Sluis.
Specifically, the MOU represents a good-faith effort by the city and the school district to explore the potential transfer of ownership of Buckley Park to the city. The document says Durango School District is interested in selling the park for its commercial worth but is also willing to negotiate a land trade.
School board members said they were concerned the MOU, which was drafted by the city and says negotiations for Buckley Park should be completed by May 1, 2021, or another mutually agreed upon date, still has not yielded any results or a new completion date. Their concerns were amplified by the city of Durango’s recent renewal of a 10-year lease on the park, set to expire this April, without further discussion about the MOU.
Superintendent Karen Cheser said the school district received a check for the renewed lease one day after the district’s deadline to exit the lease agreement.
Erika Brown, school board member, said the city’s pursuit of the lease renewal came off as “underhanded,” but she walked her comment back after more discussion. She said it first appeared the city was acting in “bad faith” when it renewed its lease agreement knowing decisions haven’t been made on the transfer of Buckley Park.
School Board President Kristin Smith said when an organization doesn’t respect an agreement it has, that is a show of bad faith, and an MOU with the city going forward would assure the district that the transfer of Buckley Park is still possible.
Katie Stewart, school board member, said Durango School District’s funding is “vastly different” than the city of Durango’s and that Buckley Park is an important asset for the school district.
“We have very limited funding. So Buckley is a resource. It’s a collateral that we have,” she said. “And we need to act in the best interest of our families. And so we do need that good faith from the city.”
José Madrigal, city manager, said the city had no ill intent regarding its lease renewal and there is still an opportunity to pursue an MOU regarding Buckley Park.
He said the MOU was first discussed in September 2020, well before some current councilors, school board members, Superintendent Karen Cheser and himself were serving in their respective roles. He also noted that the old MOU allows for a transfer of Buckley Park on a date agreed upon by the city and the school district, meaning the agreement isn’t dead in the water just because a May 2021 date wasn’t met.
Cheser said the school district is interested in a land trade of the Carnegie Building and 15 parking spaces at 1188 East Second Ave., which houses the city’s records, transit and information technology departments, in exchange for Buckley Park.
The Carnegie Building entered the Buckley Park discussion, but that fell to the wayside in May when the city entered another MOU with Durango Fire Protection District about a possible swap of the city’s River City Hall building for DFPD’s newly purchased 9-R admin building at 201 E. 12th St. That made the future use of the Carnegie Building unclear, she said on Wednesday.
As long as city staff members still occupy the Carnegie Building, school district administrators can’t move in, Cheser said. In January, the school district confirmed to the city it is still interested in moving into the Carnegie Building.
She said the school district is moving out of its Big Picture High School building, which is attached to the administration building, in July if the city acquires the 201 E. 12th St. building from DFPD.
“There’s definitely (a path) to making this work,” she said. “ … I’m pretty sure the best for all has been identified as the Carnegie building.”
The school district sold its administration building to DFPD in December 2021. The city is interested in a potential trade of its River City Hall building at 1235 Camino del Rio to the fire district for the administration building.
Madrigal said the 2021 MOU between the city and the school district can still be explored, or a new one can be drafted that includes the Carnegie Building.
City Council and Durango School Board agreed to continue discussions, to be spearheaded by Madrigal and Cheser, on an MOU for a land trade.
cburney@durangoherald.com
