Voters in Montezuma and Dolores counties, as well as the town of Dolores, chose to allow those entities to research the feasibility of building infrastructure for broadband Internet service. The smallest margin on those votes, in Montezuma County, was greater than 40 percent.
The wins are no guarantee of future broadband service. If research proves that broadband projects are doable, an additional vote will be required to approve funding to construct them. Once voters realized they weren’t being asked to approve additional funding at this time, they were overwhelmingly supportive.
The measures were Senate Bill 152 opt-outs, freeing local governments from a 2005 state law that prevents them from competing with the private sector on such projects. City and county leaders reasoned, and voters agreed, that private businesses have moved into lucrative major markets and have ignored rural areas and smaller cities. Economic growth depends on fast, dependable connectivity. This is a smart and important move to aid local economies.
Cortez was exempt from SB 152 because it had begun its Internet infrastructure prior to 2005. Mancos voters opted out in 2015. This year, Dolores and the two counties joined them. They are in good company; this year’s election brings the number of Colorado cities and counties to opt out of SB 152 to nearly 100.
Voters in Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 easily approved a measure that will allow the district to tear down the retired high school building on Seventh Street.
Re-1 asked to repurpose $1.872 million, previously approved to construct the new high school, to abate hazardous materials and demolish the old building. Doing that now enables the district to retrieve more than $400,000, previously unused and returned to the state when the new building was completed. Funds left over from the demolition project will be used to improve the existing football stadium, Panther Field.
Opposition came mainly from individuals who believed that in approving the new high school, they had been promised a new stadium. The language was not specific, referring only to athletic fields, but district leaders believed asking voters to redirect the funds was the right thing to do.
One other criticism came from a letter writer who alleged that the district had illegally used taxpayer funds to promote the ballot issue. The effort was funded by donations from businesses and individuals.
This vote, by a 64-36 margin, will prevent the district from having to expend money to maintain and repair the old high school building, and will allow redevelopment of the property. That’s definitely a move in the right direction.
The other winner in local elections was the Mancos Library District, which earned voter approval for a 2-mill tax increase to enable staffing and programming to continue at current levels. This was the only ballot issue that included a tax increase.
Mancos schools do not have their own libraries, so the public library is essential for them, and it is an extremely valuable asset for the local community, providing much more than just books. Voters rightly concluded that supporting it is worth a slightly higher tax bill, and they are definitely right.
All these measures will be good for their communities, and voters were right, and forward thinking, to approve them.