Nearly a dozen Mancos residents spoke up April 8 at the Mancos Town meeting about everything from water, farm animals in town, marijuana and ongoing dust and debris.
Vicky Maestes, a neighbor to Western Excelsior, told the board that she is concerned about the ongoing problem of debris and particulates coming from the manufacturing company.
"I think it's important we start to clean up Mancos," Maestes said.
Tom Nunn passed out black sheets of fabric he had put outside his home.
They were all covered in dust and debris.
"Some days are worse than others, but the overall problem is serious," Nunn said.
Trustees told the residents that they are aware of the problems at Western Excelsior and encouraged those who spoke out about the company to take their case to the Montezuma County commissioners because most of Western Excelsior is outside Mancos city limits.
"If anything is going to happen, it will have to be an effort between us and the county," trustee Michelle Black said.
Water concerns
Mancos resident Bob Becker told the board they need to get busy and start talking about water problems.
"This year is not going to be good firewise again," Becker said. "I think it's time the town board got off their butts and did something about conserving water."
Water conservation is the key, Becker said, especially since Jackson Reservoir is about 46 percent full, with little snowpack left to melt.
"If we don't get summer rains, we are going to be hurting," Becker said.
Trustee Will Stone reminded Becker that the town recently contracted with a company that will come in and find leaks in the water system. Currently, the town estimates a loss of about 30 percent of its treated water.
"That's a big number and will help a lot," Stone said.
Becker told the town they need to come up with a plan.
"This town is looking to grow," he said. "You need to look at water rights and look at how much more growth you can sustain."
Marijuana talk
Once again, board members said they needed more time to look at the 38-page marijuana code and its changes.
Trustee Matthew Baskin agreed that the town needed to increase fees.
"I think our fees are awfully low," he said.
Phillips told trustees they needed to start thinking about what they wanted Mancos to look like.
"There is potential for more shops coming in," she said. "Do we want to set a limit on how many marijuana shops Mancos has?"
The town board decided to look at the marijuana code during an in-depth workshop on May 6.
Board members also approved the ownership license transfer from The Shop to Green Kiwi LLC. The previous owner of The Shop, Nate Fete, had nothing but good things to say about Green Kiwi, a large marijuana business based out of Denver.
"This is probably one of the No. 1 companies as far as compliance and how they treat employees," Fete said.
The company offers employees free health benefits and because it is such a large company, allows for promotion.
"Green Kiwi 5 is a very reputable company," he said.
Backyard farming
And once again, the town of Mancos will discuss backyard farming. In 2013, a survey was sent out, and in the end, the town board voted to keep everything the way it is, and that means, not to regulate farm animals at all within city limits.
"Our code currently does not have any restrictions on the number or types of animals," Phillips said.
Phillips asked trustees if they wanted to move forward and set some restrictions, possibly regulating noise, odor and setbacks.
"I really hope you are going to do something this time. Quit kicking the can down the road," said James Justice. "Can you have six chickens or 60? If you do allow livestock in town, let's regulate it."
Randy Smith said he was in favor of setbacks for neighbors with chickens.
Also ...
Town Administrator Andrea Phillips said the town staff was able to purchase a water truck on an online auction for $6,000. The water truck is old, but runs better and is a little newer than the nearly 40-year-old the truck has now.
Board members also voted 5-0 to pass the changes made to the historic preservation code. Trustee Todd Kearns was absent. The changes, for the most part, created a separate historic preservation board. In the end, the board decided to make structures that qualify meet a minimum of 50 years old, not 30 as proposed last month.
Board members also read a proclamation recognizing April 17 as Arbor Day.