Apparently, we want to know about selling marijuana, who underbid us for that city contract and what agreements the city of Durango has made with outside groups.
The city of Durango processed 87 requests for public records in the past year, denying only three, according to the city government’s own records.
The Durango Herald recently requested an accounting of all records requests received by the city from Nov. 1, 2013, to Oct. 31.
The requests shed light on residents’ interactions with city government and the issues that animate them.
Documents related to new marijuana businesses were a popular topic of requests. So were business and residential developments. Several requesters wanted to examine bids for city contracts.
The Colorado Open Records Act allows anyone to request documents held by government agencies, with some narrow exceptions. Government agencies generally have three working days to respond.
According to the city’s policy, the first 10 pages of any request are free. Additional pages are 25 cents each. If research and retrieval takes more than one hour, the city begins charging $30 per hour for staff time.
The city also forbids photographing of public records.
Many of the requests came from lawyers, business people or members of the media. Eighteen of the requests, or about 20 percent, were submitted by Herald reporters.
The only media request from another organization came from the Montrose Daily Press, which requested annual salaries for city of Durango staff members.
Many of the requests came from businesses seeking information on their competition. For example, a Waste Management representative requested the contract between the city and WCA, a competitor, for operation of the Durango Transfer Station.
Rocky Mountain Recycling also asked for recycling-related contracts.
Industrial Systems Inc. asked for a spreadsheet of bid quotes from all competitor firms for a minor city project.
Ron Guffey asked for the city’s information about his own business, Santé Alternative Wellness, a medical marijuana dispensary. Another person asked for a map of approved locations for retail marijuana businesses.
Chris Paulson, a former city councilor, asked for communications to the Planning Department regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. Paulson, who owns an ADU, has advocated for the rights of ADU owners.
One man, Steve Doob, requested the lease agreement between the city and the Durango Gun Club. The lease came up as an issue when the gun club required members to also join the NRA; the gun club later reconsidered.
The city’s lease with Hillcrest Golf Club also was requested.
All three requests that were denied by the city came from Nikki Garrison of iSqFt, a Web-based information service for construction companies. The requests were for bid information on certain city projects.
The city denied the requests because they came before the bid date, and were therefore not yet public records, according to the city.
Most of the requests were fulfilled without charge. The most expensive request by far came from a Westminster law firm, Smith, Shellenberger & Salazar. The firm’s request for a former employee’s records was fulfilled for $392.89. The former employee, Candido Gurule, said he did not want to discuss the matter.
In total, the city charged $968 for records during the one-year period.
Rod Barker, owner of the Strater Hotel, requested a list of business that have closed since 2012. He said he’s working with the Durango Chamber of Commerce to compile a dining guide, and wanted to purge any defunct businesses.
The city was “very efficient” to work with, Barker said.
Barker said requesting the same information for defunct businesses from the state was a hassle.
“It is kind of like dealing with the Kremlin,” Barker said. “The state is not really user-friendly.”
cslothower@durangoherald.com
