In the past, proposals to sell marijuana within Bayfield town limits haven’t just been met with a “no.” It was more like: “heck, no.”
This was because dozens of people would pack town board meetings to voice their opposition to pot dispensaries.
But Tuesday night, a vastly different kind of gathering took place. At the town board meeting, five people spoke in favor of selling pot legally in town, and no one spoke against it.
Town trustees, after a 7-0 informal poll, asked Town Manager Chris La May to look into what retail sales might look like in Bayfield and what sales taxes and fees they could generate.
Jackie Morlan, a resident of Mill Street, asked the trustees to consider overturning their past decision, which banned sales and commercial cultivation of marijuana.
“We are losing huge amounts of tax money to Durango,” she said, and to some extent Pagosa Springs.
Downtown Bayfield needs an economic boost, particularly after the drugstore moved north of the highway, she said.
Cortez has five dispensaries, Mancos has two, Durango has 10 with more possibly coming and there are four in Pagosa Springs, Morlan said. Durango now earns more tax money from marijuana dispensaries than liquor stores. The town of Mancos has a transaction fee of $3 per sale, which has brought in $143,000 this year, and a total of $366,000 in taxes and fees from pot is projected this year.
Such a boost in tax income could fund more recreation in Bayfield, along with police officers and senior services, she said.
At the beginning of the meeting, during public comments, people said pot sales would benefit the town.
“I’m very pleased to see this reconsideration,” said David Black, who recalled he was about the only person who spoke in favor of it during past discussions.
Another resident noted that a majority of voters in three of Bayfield’s precincts supported Amendment 64 in 2012, which legalized recreational marijuana sales in Colorado. People who are traveling to Durango to buy pot would rather buy it in Bayfield, he said.
Mayor Matt Salka said he would like more information for the board to consider.
“I’d like to take it really slow,” said Michelle Yost, who is the only trustee who was on the board when the previous requests were considered. “I don’t want to screw it up.”
If the board does decide to vote on the issue, a public hearing will be required.
Poll: Should the town of Bayfield allow retail marijuana sales?
Yes - 781 - 52.14%
No - 717 - 47.86%
