Noticias

• Mountain Village Implements Water Restrictions
• Coming Up Next, Telluride
• Lawmakers Talk Housing, Conversion Therapy, and the Budget

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Mountain Village Implements Water Restrictions

The Town of Mountain Village is implementing water restrictions effective immediately in anticipation of a dry spring and summer, officials announced Monday.

Mountain Village Communications Manager Kathrine Warren said the town is starting the measures earlier than usual.

“While the town usually implements these restrictions in the summertime, the public works department felt it was prudent to begin water conservation measures earlier this spring to reduce water usage as we go into what we anticipate will be a very dry summer,” Warren said.

The conservation efforts will be effective in Mountain Village, Ski Ranches, Elk Run and Skyfield.

Under the water restrictions:

• All properties north of Mountain Village Boulevard and Elk Run residents may only water their landscaping on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m., with irrigation clocks set to 70–75% of normal water consumption.
• Properties south of Mountain Village Boulevard, plus Ski Ranches and Skyfield, may only water their landscaping on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m., with irrigation clocks set to 70–75% of normal water consumption.

All exterior water features must be turned off, and trucked-in water cannot be hooked up to existing irrigation systems.

New landscaping installed since spring 2025 may apply for additional watering permission.

Mountain Village officials noted that if weather conditions do not improve, the town could ban all exterior watering from the municipal water system.

The water restrictions went into effect Monday, March 30, and will remain in place until lifted.

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Coming Up Next, Telluride

The Telluride Town Council returns Tuesday with an update on 2026 construction projects and a housing resident advisory committee on the docket. In this installment of Coming Up Next, Telluride, Communications Manager Lindsey Mills shares what to expect.

Julia Caulfield (JC): Town Council is going to start with a work session in the morning having to do with some construction projects for 2026. What is this work session talking about?

Lindsey Mills (LM): [This is] an overview of everything that’s happening in 2026 as far as summer construction goes. We all loved Summer Construction Festival 2025, and we’re looking forward to a lighter year this year. Still, there are some things that we’re buttoning up from last year with the sewer lining project and the Pacific Avenue improvement project. We’ll be gearing up to overhaul Mahoney Bridge and a handful of other projects that are going to be fairly low impact and low visibility. This will be a really good time to really see what is coming down the pipeline and how you can get updates and information over time if you want to sign up for text notifications or go and engage and learn more about the project. This is a really good place to start.

Also, a quick update. We are ahead of schedule for the Pacific Avenue Improvement Project to get buttoned up this spring. There was still some work that was left unfinished last year, and we are in a period of, sadly, dryness and warmth, so TGI found some space in their schedule to start a week early. So Pacific Avenue is closed from Mahoney to Tomboy. You can access Carhenge on Tomboy. The Galloping Goose will be routed but will still pick up on Davis and Pacific. You can access all businesses in that area via Davis Street as well. That closure is expected to go through Friday, May 1. Fingers crossed we can button that up earlier.

JC: After that work session, there is going to be the manager’s report, which you always like to plug, and it has a lot of really great information in it. Then in the afternoon, there’s going to be the standard administrative presentations, proclamations and the like. I think the next big thing that folks are going to be interested in is actually going to be in the Telluride Housing Authority meeting having to do with a resident advisory committee. Can you talk about what this is and how it came about?

LM: This came about with the overhaul of the rental housing policies. So it was brought up in council’s goals and objectives for this year and really is going to give residents in our rental housing more of a say, more of a voice at the table and more direct involvement in the work that’s going on so that there will be kind of a point person involved for each building, if you will, that will be a subject matter expert on all things happening with the Telluride Housing Authority and the policies.

JC: Will town council be appointing people to this committee on Tuesday, or is it more just kind of creating what the structure framework will be?

LM: [It will be] creating what the structure and framework will be. So if you live in rental housing and you have an opinion on how you might like to get involved or like to see your leaders in your building get involved, please come on by, make sure you’re involved in this conversation and see what council has in mind.

JC: Those are the top points to hit for town council specifically. Is there anything else town government related that you think listeners should know about?

LM: Council is also covering the sale of a couple deed-restricted units that are currently open for lottery. Head to smrha.org/lottery to learn more about the current housing lottery. We have three units: one three-bedroom, two-bath and two two-bedroom, one-bath units up for lottery right now. Those lottery application meetings conclude next Friday, April 10, at 12 noon. So definitely put your name in the hat, give yourself an opportunity to make Telluride your home long-term.

Also opening up tomorrow, we will have council petition packets available over at the clerk’s department. Those will be available beginning Tuesday, March 31. You can visit bit.ly/totelection to learn more about the two council seats that are up for election this June on our coordinated election with San Miguel County. [It’s] definitely a really good time to put your name in the hat, make your voice heard and get involved deeply in the community. There’s great health benefits, great compensation. And it’s a really wonderful way to get involved and help impact the future of Telluride as you see fit.

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Lawmakers Talk Housing, Conversion Therapy, and the Budget

Lawmakers are busy at work in Denver, tackling housing, conversion therapy and the state budget. This week on Capitol Conversation, statehouse reporter Lucas Brady Woods shares the latest.

Julia Caulfield (JC): The first bill that I wanted to chat with you about actually already made it through the process. There’s been a signing with Gov. Jared Polis, and it has to do with how school districts are able to build housing on their property. Can you share a little bit about what this bill does?

Lucas Brady Woods (LBW): School districts are just one piece of this bill, but a very important piece. Like you said, this bill was signed into law by the governor last week. It would essentially make it easier for public schools, colleges and universities — along with some other groups like transit agencies, local housing authorities and some other nonprofits — it would let them build housing on their properties regardless of what the local zoning is, whether the zoning is for residential construction or not. At the end of the day, this bill is another piece in Democrats’ and Gov. Polis’ strategy to increase the housing supply, and especially that of affordable housing, and a lot of that revolves around increased density in communities, and this fits right in. So it’s now law.

JC: The bill was signed into law this year, but actually, a similar bill didn’t make it through last legislative session. Can you talk a little bit about what the differences were there that helped this one get across the finish line?

LBW: Last year’s bill, like you said, it didn’t make it through, and it had one big difference in that it included religious institutions — churches, temples, synagogues, et cetera — to build housing on their land as well. They took that out. The sponsors said that it was just too hard to come to a consensus with all the stakeholders involved in the religious community and others, so they took that part out for this year. Another note about this year’s bill is it won’t go into effect until 2028. So that’s when these requirements kick in.

JC: The next bill I wanted to chat with you would actually expand Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy. Can you talk about what this bill would do?

LBW: Let’s start with what conversion therapy is. Conversion therapy is essentially an effort to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity through therapy or other therapeutic practice. That’s been banned in Colorado since 2019, largely because all leading medical organizations have discredited the practice and actually say it’s harmful psychologically. Now lawmakers want to expand that ban. What that means is under current law, victims of conversion therapy can sue their mental health professionals who conducted that conversion therapy within two years. This bill would extend that statute of limitations forever. So there would be no limit on when people could bring lawsuits regarding their conversion therapy. Another piece of this that’s really key is that the U.S. Supreme Court is actually considering a case as we speak challenging the ban here in Colorado on conversion therapy. They could rule against the ban and actually say that Colorado’s ban is unconstitutional. It is, in some ways, a response to that case as well.

JC: Finally, we spoke about this before, but a major task that lawmakers have in front of them is the budget. I know they are kind of finalizing what that looks like as we speak, so we’ll know a little bit more in the coming days. But can you give a little bit of an overview as to what’s going on with the budget?

LBW: Oh, the budget. You’re right, this is a big item this year because, as we have talked about in the past, Colorado’s facing a $1.5 billion shortfall. So the thing about the budget this year: lots of cuts, and a lot of these cuts are going to be painful, whether it’s health care or other things. People are going to feel the impacts of these cuts. We’ve heard about some cuts so far, and some of those are to Medicaid programs, and this is because a lot of this budget deficit is driven by health care spending and the state budget not being able to keep up with that. We’ll see what this means, but lawmakers are working hard to get this done, and it’s definitely going to be quite a significant budget this year because of those cuts.

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Farm to Community Program Returns for the Summer

Nothing beats a newly picked carrot, or a tomato straight from the vine. Fresh produce is one of the glories of summer.

While it may already feel like summer, the Town of Mountain Village is gearing up for the actual season with its farm to community program. Each summer, Mountain Village partners with the Fresh Food HUB in Norwood to supply produce shares to local families.

Through the program, families and individuals will receive fresh produce for 14 weeks over the summer.

To qualify, residents must live in deed restricted housing in Mountain Village with a parent and at least one dependent, or meet annual income qualifications. Participation in the program is on a first come first served basis, applications are available at townofmountainvillage.com/farm-to-community.

Food shares will be available for pick up at Mountain Village’s Market on the Plaza – each Wednesday in Heritage Plaza from June 10^th to September 9^th.

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Navajo Nation Opposes SAVE America Act over Voting Access Concerns

The Navajo Nation has formally opposed the SAVE America Act, saying the measure would disproportionately affect Navajo voters and other Indigenous communities across the country.

The bill passed the U.S. House in February but still requires a vote in the Senate.

As KSJD’s Gail Binkley reports for Rocky Mountain Community Radio, the legislation would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and to cast ballots in federal elections. Acceptable documents would include a U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate, along with a photo ID such as a driver’s license.

In a news release, Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley said many tribal elders were not born in hospitals and could face long travel distances to obtain a birth certificate.

Under the act, birth certificates would need to meet specific criteria to be considered valid.

About half of U.S. residents have passports, according to the State Department.

Supporters say the measure would help prevent undocumented immigrants and other ineligible individuals from voting. Critics argue voter fraud is extremely rare and say requiring people to pay for documents such as birth certificates or passports effectively creates a poll tax, which is illegal.