Ignacio town trustees voted on Dec. 7 to buy the old Shur Valu slaughterhouse property on County Road 320B from the Ignacio Community Church.
"We offered $115,000. They thought that was too low," Interim Town Manager Mark Garcia advised. "We offered $120,000 and they accepted." The property is around 20 acres, he said.
The ordinance was approved as an emergency, to take effect immediately, because the church wanted the closing to happen in 2016, Garcia said.
The slaughterhouse building is still there. Garcia said the roof leaks, but there are coolers that seem to be in good condition, and meat processing and other equipment.
"That's history of this town," trustee Tom Atencio said. "Can any of it be saved?" He suggested it could be part of the town branding that's now in the works.
Town Treasurer Diana Briar commented, "My grandfather used to take us out of school to take beef to the slaughterhouse."
Garcia said he asked town public works staff to look at the roof and do something to keep the water out.
Town staff don't have any specific use in mind for the property, although Development Director Dan Naiman said it could open the way for possible access to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's Cedar Point housing area southwest of town, to get those kids to school more directly.
Also on Dec. 7, Public Works Director Jeremy Schulz advised that clean-up around a public works underground fuel tank that was removed in October is taking more work than originally hoped. "All the solid wastes have been removed," he said.
But Garcia said soil contamination measurements were just above the threshold for state-required further attention. "For being slightly over the limit, it's fairly expensive," he said. "It's a minimal spill up there. It wasn't leaking."
A contractor did the actual tank removal, Schulz told the Times.
The town has hired Envirotech, a geological testing company from Farmington NM, for the next phase called site characterization. It's to document that there's no further contamination and is part of getting a letter from the state that no further action is required, Schulz told the Times. "It's pretty much standard," he said.
Envirotech proposes three 20 foot deep monitoring wells with sampling once a month to determine whether any springs or groundwater have been affected, Schulz said. Envirotech will file reports with the state. He listed a cost estimate $26,500.
The town will seek reimbursement from the state underground storage tank fund for costs above a $10,000 deductible, Schulz said.
Trustee Atencio was leery. He advised getting clarification from the state up front on what their requirements will be and take those to Envirotech. He wanted to get the state more involved "so we can get more help. This could run $100,000. I don't know."
Schulz said, "We were barely over the limit. We've filed the tank closure report. The state recommends we go into the next phase," which the site characterization.
Atencio commented, "Prepare for the worst."
