News

• County Shares Updates on Affordable Housing Projects
• The Town Office Shuffle
• Summer Cat with Risho Unda

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County Shares Updates on Affordable Housing Projects

San Miguel County is moving forward with its pursuit of more affordable housing. Drea Araiza, the county’s housing specialist, presented updates on two projects — Deep Creek and Pathfinder — at a Board of County Commissioners meeting on July 23.

“Okay, so for our Deep Creek update, just a brief reminder, the county is working in partnership with a workforce housing planning agreement aimed at collaboratively developing a site plan and advancing to 80% construction documents,” Araiza said. “Our last update with the CDOT team was July 1. They encountered some year-end fiscal delays on their end, but they’re working with their controller to have that internal review of the draft agreement that the county prepared. So we’ll be following up with them later this week for an update.”

The Deep Creek project would provide up to 45 workforce housing units along Colorado Highway 145 near the highway maintenance station.

Araiza also provided an update on the Pathfinder project, which could supply up to 73 units just north of San Bernardo.

“Moving on to Pathfinder. Reminder on this project, the county is working on an MOU with San Bernardo HOA to evaluate the water supply capacity and assess the feasibility of future development at both the San Bernardo HOA and Pathfinder sites,” she said.

County Manager Mike Bordogna said discussions are ongoing with the San Bernardo HOA about access to water. If an agreement to use San Bernardo’s well water cannot be reached, the county may use an alternative.

“There was an incredible sufficiency of water to serve both communities, both San Bernardo and the county’s future parcel, but not on our site,” Bordogna said. “If we were to look at using water from our site, we would likely have to go to surface water that exists in the stream, which we do have the ability to do.”

Assistant County Manager Jarod Biggs added that the county may fall short of qualifying for state Proposition 123 housing funds, which require a jurisdictional commitment to construct housing — 11 units for San Miguel County.

“I did at least want to convey, you know, there is some minor concern that we won’t be able to make those 11,” Biggs said. “What would happen in that case is we would have to take a year off of requesting any sort of Prop 123 resources. Then we would submit another filing and have another two-year window to meet that filing. And so that’s kind of the consequences. You get a one-year time out effectively. And I think that the state legislature is going to be grappling with that a little bit, because there are some local governments that have really kind of shown their ability to achieve their commitments with one or two projects, and then there’s a lot of others that have not.”

With a new Regional Housing Needs Assessment underway and multiple Town of Telluride housing projects in development, affordable housing in the region remains an active and evolving issue.

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The Town Office Shuffle

Office space for the Town of Telluride is shuffling.

As the local government grows and its needs shift, the town is planning to move departments to different buildings and update offices through a Facilities Master Plan.

“As we embarked in all the phases for the municipal facilities master plan, [we] were looking at colocation of departments. Getting as many town departments in one place for efficiency and collaboration,” said Jessica Ginther of HOK Architects, presenting to Telluride Town Council on Tuesday.

Here’s how the shuffle is planned: Town Council Chambers will move from Rebekah Hall to Town Hall. The Telluride Marshal’s Office will relocate to Rebekah Hall. Offices in both Town Hall and Rebekah Hall will move to a new building going up at the Fruen Building on the corner of Main Street. Parks and Recreation offices will remain in place but undergo a remodel.

Town Hall Renovation

“For those familiar with the Town Hall building, right now, it’s very segmented on the interior,” Ginther said. “The intent with this layout is really to open up this space and provide a larger council chambers.”

The new chambers would have 55 seats for the public — more than double the current capacity. Plans include a conference room, lobby space and bathroom.

“Town Hall being a historic building, we did not change anything about the exterior. That would be repaired as needed. Being an older historic building, there are needs for structural updates, foundation updates, building system updates, and upgraded electrical — bringing everything up to code — would be part of this renovation,” she said.

The estimated price for the Town Hall renovation is just under $1.3 million.

Parks and Rec Remodel

Designers also plan to relocate the current workshop for Parks and Recreation.

“So we’re taking over the entire space for their offices — six offices, conference rooms, pantry/multipurpose space, as well as parks crew space,” Ginther said.

The Parks and Recreation remodel is expected to cost around $1.3 million.

Both the Town Hall and Parks and Recreation projects received unanimous support from Town Council.

Discussions about Rebekah Hall and a new building at the Fruen site prompted more in-depth conversation.

Rebekah Hall Overhaul

For Rebekah Hall — the future home of the Marshal’s Office — Ginther said they’re proposing an adjustment to the exterior wall to allow for off-street parking for deputy vehicles.

“This would require relocation of the KOTO dish that exists in the rear of the lot — a relocation hasn’t been identified as part of that project, but to get that fifth space and use behind the building, that would be investigated,” she said. “We’re also noting the use of two street spaces out front of Rebekah Hall and a space at Town Hall.”

The design includes spaces for evidence and uniform storage, as well as interview rooms.

“This renovation meets their interior program and provides some of their ‘nice to haves.’ They get a fitness center and two shower rooms, as well as a sleeping room,” Ginther said.

However, the design does not accommodate the department’s request for eight secure vehicle spaces. That’s a concern for Chief Marshal Josh Comte.

“Having secure parking is huge. We’ve had our tires slashed while parked at our station, in front of our department. We’ve had bottles thrown at our cars, bottles thrown at our department,” Comte said. “Being able to have secure parking, covered parking — especially during winter — is hugely helpful.”

To provide those secure spaces, the town would need to consider a full rebuild. Charles Cunniffe of CCA Architects recommended exploring that option.

“The Marshal’s vehicles need to be able to move and operate immediately in the case of an emergency, and that includes on a winter night,” Cunniffe said. “The vehicles contain computers, weapons — things like that — that should not be available for public tampering. The site can hold a lot more square footage than it would the way we’re looking at it now.”

With a remodel price tag of over $2.5 million, Council members expressed concern about the costs. However, they ultimately agreed to explore what a full rebuild would entail.

“I’d rather look and make sure we’re making the right decisions for the future of this community, rather than try to save a few dollars now,” said Councilmember Meehan Fee.

New Fruen Building

Plans for a new Fruen Building, at the corner of Aspen and Main Street, would combine town and county offices.

“Feedback from HARC was focused on providing additional setback on the third floor along both Colorado and Aspen to reduce visibility of the third from street level,” Ginther said.

HARC is the Historic and Architectural Review Commission.

The building design includes an outdoor patio garden space on the second floor, retail on the first floor, and conference rooms.

The new construction would displace the food pantry, but James Van Hooser of the Town of Telluride assured the public that the pantry will find a new home.

“I refuse to be personally responsible for displacing the food bank. It’s not going to happen,” Van Hooser said. “We don’t have a selected location, but we will find one whether it’s in this building or somewhere else.”

Town Council is supportive of moving forward with the plans and expanding their analysis to include what a rebuild of Rebekah Hall could mean. Next steps include another work session with HARC, refining designs, and narrowing down costs.

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Summer Cat with Risho Unda

Before too long, the new school year will be upon us. In the final Summer Cat at the Telluride Farmer’s Market, Telluride High School’s Risho Unda chats with Phoenix Albrecht with Telluride Popcorn.

Story begins at 9:21

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Lone Cone Library Seeks Board Members

The Lone Cone Library is calling on community members to run for a seat on the Library District Board.

The library, which offers daily programming, brings stories to life and sparks imagination, is looking for candidates who live in the Norwood R-2 School District.

Applications are available at bit.ly/SMCBoardApplications.

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Free Screening of ‘Materialists’ in Mountain Village

It’s time for a movie night!

In partnership with the Telluride Film Festival and Telluride Mountain Village Owner Association, the town will host a free screening of Materialists, starring Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans.

The comedy follows themes of love, wealth, and modern relationships in elite Manhattan circles.

The screening will take place Monday, July 28, at 7 p.m. at the Telluride Conference Center. Concessions will be available for purchase.

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Colorado River Talks Stall Despite Early Optimism

Negotiations over how to share the shrinking Colorado River are facing new setbacks.

“There was a glimmer of hope,” said John Fleck, a researcher at the University of New Mexico, “but people across the basin are scared there’s less water, and they are scared about the future of their communities, and they’re afraid to engage in the sort of compromises that are going to be needed to share this river across seven basin states.”

The river, which serves about 40 million people in the Southwest, continues to shrink due to climate change. States must agree on a new framework for sharing the water before current guidelines expire in 2026.

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Lawsuit Challenges New Colorado Overtime Tax

A conservative group is suing the state to block a new law that would require workers to pay state taxes on overtime. This comes as a temporary federal law will do away with overtime taxes.

For the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, Bente Birkeland has more.

Story begins at 13:46

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County Fairs Showcase Rural Colorado’s Youth

It’s county fair time here in Colorado, communities are hosting rodeos, livestock shows, carnival rides, and more. But, beyond the funnel cake and prize ribbons, these fairs play a vital role in rural communities. They’re a place where kids, many of them involved in 4-H, showcase months of hard work raising animals and learning responsibility.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KVNF’s Brody Wilson brings us this story about the Montrose County Fair.

Story begins at 14:39

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