BAYFIELD – A social media post pertaining to Bayfield’s Dove Ranch subdivision created quite a stir, and left mayor Tom Au visibly irked.
At the start of Tuesday’s town board meeting, in front of a packed crowd that overflowed a bit into the back-left corner and the doorway area, Au took a couple minutes to dispel the Nextdoor.com post made last week, which claimed that the town’s updated Master Drainage Plan – which now costs $4.5 million – was excluding the Dove Ranch subdivision, located on the north side of town near Pine Valley Church.
The post, written by Bayfield resident Cindy Hemphill, also claimed that in being excluded from the town’s stormwater plan, the subdivision could be on the hook for hefty fees – reportedly between $667 and $833 per month over the next five years – to address stormwater issues.
Au called the post “irresponsible” and told the audience he was sorry they were “duped.” One man attending the meeting told the other attendees that he was “embarrassed” and all he could do was shake his head.
Au told The Durango Herald the town board discussed how to deal with each of the areas included in the stormwater plan separately rather than as a whole, adding that Dove Ranch has a big financial component.
That $4.5 million plan will cover areas including Dove Ranch’s detention basin and outfall system, a town-county maintenance yard, a new storm drain inlet on South Mesa Avenue, a gas station inlet, a detention basin system on East Colorado Drive, and a curb and gutter system on South Church Street. Of that price tag, about $1 million will go toward Dove Ranch.
“(Dove Ranch) always was included. We never talked about just taking it out. That was never part of the discussion,” he said. “… I think (the post) was purposely put out there in order to stir people up and get them mad. … Somebody was feeding into that post to make everybody else mad, and it worked.”
Au confirmed with Trustee Laura MacLaurin at the July 29 meeting that Dove Ranch was annexed into town before houses were built, leading McLaurin to question why repairs weren’t made beforehand. McLaurin learned via the water report that pipes weren’t big enough and detention ponds weren’t cleaned out, adding it’s a separate issue. Because there’s infrastructure within the ditches at Dove Ranch, Au asked whether it should be solely the town’s responsibility to oversee that subdivision, which Town Attorney Michael Goldman replied that it’s a private facility and would need to be discussed further.
Multiple Dove Ranch residents used the general public input period to address the claim the subdivision is being excluded.
One woman claimed Dove Ranch is getting “flooded out,” while another woman told trustees the subdivision should be part of the plan because it is within town limits, which Au told the Herald that is already the case.
More people continued to voice their displeasure amid the claim, and tensions started building.
When Au reiterated for a second time that the town is not excluding Dove Ranch from the stormwater plan, attendees began to calm down.
Au told the Herald the post “probably” originated from someone who may have been unhappy about something related the stormwater plan, but declined to go into further details.
The Dove Ranch subdivision is located in north Bayfield, near Pine Valley Church.
“Nobody cared until the lies on the fake post on social media came up, and then everybody showed up (to the meeting). Before that, nobody seemed to care,” Au said, adding that he’s unsure whether there may have been some misunderstanding about the stormwater plan.
Au also believes if more residents attended town board meetings, it’ll help better inform them of what their local government is doing and help prevent fiascoes like the one that transpired Tuesday.
The town voted 5-2 – with Au and Mayor Pro Tem Alexis Hartz voting “no” – for a resolution to implement a $10 monthly townwide fee to help with the process of obtaining U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to pay for stormwater infrastructure improvements.
Trustee Kat Katsos told the Herald she hopes that resolution will be signed at the next town board meeting.
A town report from 2014 revealed the infrastructure is 50% below standard, and the 2024 master drainage plan reinforced that data point, Katsos said during the July 29 meeting.
To get the funding, the town must meet two key stipulations. Those stipulations include adopting a stormwater enterprise fund, which was done in late 2023, and adopting a $10 fee to show good faith to the USDA that the town is committed to improving or updating the stormwater infrastructure.
Katsos, who called the fee “equitable and fair,” told the board that enacting USDA funds would tell the federal government agency that the town is serious about addressing stormwater infrastructure.
“We just got everything put together, and now we have to present that to the USDA. … So, it’s a process, it’s not an immediate process. It takes time,” Katsos told the Herald, adding that the timeline for the USDA to review documents and get back to the town is unknown.
Trustee Brenna Morlan told the board the fee would help upkeep the stormwater areas and any ongoing issues involving those areas.
Hartz noted the $10 fee would increase water fees by 10% and sewer fees by 10-15%. Au said he wants to pursue more non-matching grant options before going further.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
