The question of whether to extend a 2005 half-cent sales tax to fund a new joint city hall and police department will fall to Durango voters in April.
Durango City Council voted unanimously this week to place a question about reauthorization of the sales tax on the city’s April 1 election ballot.
In addition to the sales tax question, voters will cast their votes for three candidates for City Council. Councilor Melissa Youssef’s second and final term on City Council ends in April, as well as the end of Mayor Jessika Buell’s and Councilor Olivier Bosmans’ first terms.
The 2005 half-cent sales tax is scheduled to sunset in 2026. Should voters reauthorize the sales tax, it would be extended at its current half-cent rate for 30 years to 2056. The sales tax currently dedicates one quarter-cent to parks, open space and trails acquisitions and maintenance; and one quarter-cent to the Durango Public Library and development of Florida Road.
If the sales tax is extended, one quarter-cent would continue to fund parks, open space and trails acquisitions and maintenance.
Another quarter-cent would be dedicated to financing capital improvements, particularly but not only to pay for the construction and renovation of a new city hall and police station at the historic former Durango School District 9-R administration building at 201 E. 12th St. and the former Big Picture High School building next door at 215 E. 12th Street.
The sales tax reauthorization would also allow the city to raise its debt by up to $61 million with a repayment cost of $123 million for the construction, renovation and restoration of the historic school buildings, according to the ballot language.
The city acquired the former school district properties from Durango Fire Protection District in November 2023 with plans to turn them into a new joint city hall and police station. Currently, Durango’s Community Development and Engineering departments inhabit the former Big Picture building where police would relocate.
The city originally planned to place the sales tax reauthorization on the November ballot. But because of competing ballot measures from the school district and La Plata County, councilors decided to postpone the ballot measure until the city’s April elections.
Some residents on Tuesday spoke in favor of reauthorizing the sales tax, saying the current city hall and police station are insufficient.
Meanwhile, some residents spoke in favor of reviving the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Such a board could prioritize capital projects and provide community members another avenue to participate in city discussions about parks and trails.
Durango resident Seth Furtney said city amenities like the Horse Gulch trail system and Dalla Mountain Park might not exist without the 2005 sales tax. Likewise, the city’s accomplishments funded by the sales tax, including Durango Public Library, are “extraordinary,” he said.
He said the sales tax, if extended, would raise several hundred million dollars over the next three decades. Not only would the sales tax contribute to a new joint city hall and police station, but it would sustain continued investment in parks, trails and open spaces – the “free recreation that we all love and enjoy and for which many people came here,” he said.
The ballot language included in the Tuesday City Council agenda said all parks and recreation project expenditures that would be funded by the extended sales tax are to first be submitted to “a citizen advisory board for a recommendation to the City Council.”
Furtney said the ballot language leaves the definition of public involvement – an advisory board – vague, and asked councilors to invite residents to participate in prioritizing parks, open space and trails projects and investments, noting the absence of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board since its dissolution in 2023.
“The public wants to be engaged in these really high-value, high-interest areas, and to invite them to that reflects their contribution to pay the taxes for the next 30 years,” he said.
Resident Sweetie Marbury said the current city hall and police department buildings present redevelopment opportunities should staff members relocate. She also asked for the creation of a new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Durango resident Karen Anesi said the former 9-R administration building is the “crown jewel” of historic buildings, it is beneficial to have police and city hall staff unified at one location, and the sales tax revenues that would be collected over the next 30 years would be money well spent.
Councilors expressed understanding for residents’ positions on advisory boards.
Durango resident Cathy Metz, speaking on behalf of an issues committee called Opt In Durango, said developing a new joint city hall and police station would promote public safety and city governance; enhance quality of life in Durango through continued support for parks and recreation; and allow for future development of projects such as Durango Mesa Park and the completion of the SMART 160 Trail linking downtown Durango to Three Springs.
She said Opt In Durango is interested in helping address misinformation about the 2005 sales tax ballot measure.
“By supporting this ballot issue, we are investing in safety, parks and community,” said Metz, who oversaw the city’s parks and recreation department for 25 years. “This is not a new tax nor a tax increase. Developing a city hall and police facility will help promote public safety and city governance.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
