The city of Durango has never given its stormwater infrastructure the attention or care it requires, Mayor Jessika Buell said last month. In consequence, flooding, failing infrastructure and soil erosion are frequent problems for the city.
Interim Durango Public Works Director Bob Lowry said the city lacks proper funding and staff to properly maintain its stormwater infrastructure, but a long-term funding source could turn that around.
Now, the city will recruit residents to a stakeholder committee or focus group to research the feasibility of implementing stormwater fees. Lowry said the fees, if implemented, would appear on property owners’ utility bills and contribute to a maintenance fund for stormwater infrastructure.
Lowry said every dollar the city spends on stormwater maintenance is “totally reactive”; it performs no preventive maintenance, does not routinely clean inlets where debris collects and dams after heavy rains, and it has no idea what condition the majority of its nearly 55-miles of underground pipe system is in.
“It’s what we don’t know that is as much concern to us as what we do know,” he said.
He said additional funding would allow Public Works to televise the entirety of its pipe system, establish and carry out a routine maintenance program, and address issues when they arise.
The city spent $2.8 million on stormwater maintenance over the last decade, he said last month. He proposed the city should spend nearly that much – $2.5 million – per year on its stormwater system.
Stormwater fees would help the city pay for the annual expense, including staff salaries, equipment, and to address known needs such as repairs and maintenance.
Lowry said the city could spend twice that amount on stormwater maintenance and still not accomplish all it needs to.
Councilors were supportive of Lowry’s proposal to form a city-appointed focus group, except for Councilor Olivier Bosmans.
He disagreed with allowing the city manager and staff to assemble the focus group and said City Council should appoint the committee members. And he said the city has enough funds to pay for stormwater maintenance without implementing stormwater fees.
He suggested some councilors are using the city’s stormwater maintenance needs to justify Durango Downtown’s Next Step project to widen sidewalks, install bulb-outs, and increase pedestrian safety and the downtown experience.
City Manager José Madrigal said the Durango Financial Advisory Board, a volunteer board appointed by City Council, would review recommendations by the focus group and provide its own recommendations to council as well.
Councilor Dave Woodruff noted examples of infrastructure improvements that could be made, such as replacing corrugated pipes with concrete pipes and generally making sure infrastructure is up to state and federal standards.
“That’s correct, councilor,” Lowry said. “All the money we spend on maintenance is totally reactive. We have done no preventive maintenance, we have not cleaned any inlets, unless they were so blatantly clogged that they caused flooding in the vicinity of the inlet.”
Buell dismissed Bosmans’ comment that councilors are using stormwater issues to garner support for the Next Step project.
The city has identified the need for utility upgrades below Main Avenue, but while officials have said accomplishing Next Step and upgrades simultaneously would avoid multiple construction projects later on, they’ve also been explicit the two projects are separate.
She scolded Bosmans and said Next Step hasn’t been part of the stormwater discussion at all.
“It must be exhausting to constantly twist and turn things into a conspiracy theory” and accuse fellow councilors of trying to fund initiatives through unrelated projects, she said.
Buell said since she began her term on City Council in 2022, transportation and stormwater maintenance have been two areas in need of funding sources.
She told Lowry he is the first person to present a real funding plan for stormwater maintenance to City Council.
Durango Community Engagement Specialist Klancy Nixon said interested residents can apply for a spot on the focus group by visiting the project’s Engage Durango webpage at engage.durangoco.gov/focus-groups.
Applications will be accepted through the end of day Jan. 8, and applicants will be notified if they’ve been accepted by the end of the day on Jan. 10, according to Engage Durango.
Meetings are expected to last about two hours, with about five meetings to be held from January to the end of May. The first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22, the city said.
Nixon said the focus group is scheduled to present its findings to City Council in June.
cburney@durangoherald.com
