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County tries for solution with roads

Seeks to address city's concerns with connectors to Grandview

La Plata County officials are seeking to smooth ruffled feathers at the city of Durango about a proposed route across Ewing Mesa.

On Jan. 26, county commissioners, against the city's wishes, approved a letter of intent to begin negotiating a possible deal with Oakridge Energy Inc. for rights of way across its Ewing Mesa property, located between Durango and Grandview.

City councilors, in a letter dated Jan. 25, asked commissioners to delay action on the letter to give them time to study the proposal. The county has argued that the letter is nonbinding and merely a means to open the discussions.

Sandra Pautsky, Oakridge Energy president, also signed the letter.

At the commissioners' regular meeting today, they will consider a response that addresses the city's concerns and seeks a diplomatic solution.

“We sincerely hope that these initial misunderstandings can quickly give way to a renewed sense of collaboration," reads a draft letter posted on the county's Web site.

In a phone interview, Commissioner Wally White, chairman of the board of commissioners, said, “I'm hoping that we will get their support and be able to go into a public process with a unified approach that will be able to benefit all of us."

Mayor Leigh Meigs, after reading the draft letter, said it was a gesture well-taken.

“I think it really represents that we're getting on the same page with this," she said.

She said the city plans to hold a study session on Ewing Mesa today.

The proposed roads, which would be built in phases, would connect the roundabout at the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere" with Colorado Highway 3 in two places: near the Walmart intersection on South Camino del Rio and at the existing Ewing Mesa Road, south of downtown.

The county has argued that the road is needed to alleviate congestion along the U.S. Highway 160/550 corridor and to provide an alternate route to the hospital in case of an emergency.

Critics have said the road will contribute to sprawl; the county argues it will do the opposite by encouraging dense development adjacent to the city.

Hikers and mountain bikers have expressed concern about the road's potential impact on the Telegraph trail system. In response, the county altered its original proposal, nixing a connector to County Road 237 at Horse Gulch.

Also at the meeting, commissioners will consider the county's contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services. The funding helps pay for a wildlife specialist to assist farmers and ranchers with problem wildlife, such as sheep-eating mountain lions and canal-blocking beavers.

The USDA has asked the county to pay $20,000 in 2010 for the service - about the same as last year.

Some have criticized the program's mission and the size of the expenditure relative to the number of beneficiaries. But ranchers argue that without the service, they could be put out of business.

Another item on the agenda is a letter of opposition to a bill being considered by the state Legislature that would require all nongovernmental employers in the state to electronically verify the work eligibility status of new employees. The county attorney's office could be responsible for investigating complaints.

“We believe that this bill places an overly burdensome and time-consuming process on county attorneys, and that it is not an appropriate role for the county attorney's office to be obligated to enforce Colorado employment eligibility or federal immigration laws," a staff report on the bill states.

kburford@durangoherald.com