The Fox News story in May about the homeless vagrants flooding the sidewalks in Durango has had a direct effect on my vacation rental. I recently lost a $3,000 booking directly relating to the news coverage.
I do not blame Fox News for reporting a fact of life downtown; I blame the progressive city council for not addressing the problem. Yes, I understand the threats coming from the ACLU but, by the same token, it appears that the city council would rather lay down than look for creative ways to solve this problem.
As much as the Durango Police answers to the city council, I’m curious to know exactly what measures are being undertaken by the police department at the direction of the city council to work on a solution.
For the record, I have a county license to operate a vacation rental and collect lodging tax. There is a loss of county revenue thanks to the inaction on this issue. I suspect that there are quite a few others in the city and county that have lost revenue due to this media coverage.
I shall be looking forward to hearing the responses from the police department and the city council as to how this problem will be addressed.
Also, it’s rumored that the empty building that burned on Camino del Rio (Herald, May 22) was being used by the homeless for shelter. If the building contained asbestos, the cleanup will cost two or three times as much due to the water and fire damage.
John Sobers
Durango
