Out of 30 public commenters, only one spoke in support of the pending sale of the Durango School District 9-R Administration Building to the Durango Fire Protection District at a public forum held Tuesday.
Public agencies involved in the sale attempted to answer questions from residents Tuesday night about the transaction.
More than 800 people signed an online petition requesting the forum to provide more transparency about the school district’s plan to sell the administration building to the DFPD, which wants to turn the building into a new fire station.
The city of Durango also participated in the 1½-hour conversation.
Durango school board member Kristin Smith said the school district has received questions asking if it acted unlawfully by not holding a review process that included public input about the sale.
“We complied with all laws and regulations regarding the sale of this building,” she said. “Colorado school districts function under Colorado school law, and those are a little bit different sometimes than our city and county laws. We followed all the laws and regulations for a school district selling a building.”
Smith said when looking to sell the Administration Building, the district hired a broker that specializes in selling historic public buildings. She said the district was unable to share details about the purchase proposals it received because of an agreement with the broker.
“We were told and understand that this is pretty standard in real estate transactions of this nature,” she said.
DFPD Chief Hal Doughty explained the need for a new fire station, which would allow the fire department to move out of Station No. 2, at 1235 Camino del Rio, next to River City Hall. He said the fire department needs a larger facility.
“The current building has a lot of issues for us,” he said. “It doesn’t meet the needs from a space or size perspective for the people that we have to serve the downtown area, nor the vehicles that we have to house.”
Doughty said DFPD must find a new downtown station by 2028, as stipulated in its service contract with the city of Durango.
“When DFPD consolidated and contracted with the city of Durango in January 2014, the contract that we signed into with the city of Durango clearly anticipated the need to replace that station,” he said.
Doughty then read the contract, which said that by the expiration of the contract at the end of 2028, DFPD must acquire an appropriate site to design and construct a new central station in the city to replace its current station.
According to Doughty, the plan for transitioning the Administration Building into a fire station includes remodeling the historic building and constructing an apparatus bay building.
Durango Mayor Kim Baxter said the city has received a number of questions from residents about whether the city would be willing to discuss selling River City Hall to the fire district to use as its new fire station.
“We absolutely have expressed willingness to have a conversation about that property as well as other properties in the downtown area that would fit the needs of a fire district,” she said. “Council and the city are open to that conversation, but we have yet to have been taken up on that.”
Baxter said during her time on the council she is unaware of any conversation with the DFPD about its specific needs for a new facility, which would aid the city in looking into what property it might be able to make available to the fire district.
“I, personally, am troubled that we haven’t had better conversation about where that fire station would be, how it would be done and the impact it would have on the community. For me, that’s a little bit frustrating,” she said.
Some of the concerns brought up by public commenters include lack of information about the historic preservation of the Administration Building, and what the fire district will do if it is unable to get proper permits from the city to develop the building for its needs.
Only one person spoke in support of the sale of the 9-R building to the fire district.
“My son was hit by a car on main street last month and suffered very serious injuries, and the speed of the response by the fire department was critical,” said Durango resident Diana Vernazza “I disagree with the critics who believe that a neighborhood is not the appropriate place for a fire station. Actually, you really want a fire station close by and you don’t want to learn that the hard way.”
Vernazza said she lives near the current fire station, and feels the fire district would make great neighbors to Buckley Park, as she often sees firefighters playing games with local children.
But many residents said the Administration Building is not the right location for a downtown fire station.
“I think we’re all sympathetic to the fire district. I think we all want a good downtown fire station,” Durango resident Tim Wheeler said. “The issue is specifically why the rush? And why this location?”
The school district announced it would hold the public forum shortly after an online petition asked for it. Hundreds of residents signed the petition, and as of Tuesday evening, there were more than 800 signatures.
However, the format of Tuesday night’s meeting was not what the petitioners had in mind when they called for a public forum.
“We’re trying to be collaborative, but with a forum where they stifle us by saying you can speak for two minutes per person and there will be no response is not a forum to me,” said Greg Hoch, a former planning director for the city.
Many residents who spoke echoed Hoch, saying the meeting was not set up like a forum.
Some residents said beyond purchasing the building, DFPD has no plan for the property that has been shared publicly.
“Can you imagine buying a property for upwards of $4 million and with no plan and without permitting? It sounds reckless,” said Durango resident Thomas Egolf. “If any of us were to buy that property on a private basis, the first thing you’d do is make sure you can get the permits that you need. Otherwise, you wouldn’t close.”
Durango resident Lars Hanson, who lives close to the Administration Building, said the community around the building wasn’t properly notified or taken into account before 9-R agreed to the sale.
“Nobody received a notice. I didn’t receive a letter or a phone call or anything like that,” Hanson said. “My bedroom is 50 yards away from the engine bay.”
njohnson@durangoherald.com
