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April 12, 2001 By Janelle Holden Shotgun holes in the ceiling of a century-old bar, a hotel built by one of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, and a park named after a popular Baptist minister are just a few of the historical nuggets found in downtown Dolores. On Monday night, the Town of Dolores came one step closer to preserving the town’s historic architecture. After a presentation from Jill Seyfarth, the consultant hired to plan the downtown Dolores Historic District, the town board held the first public hearing on the designation. The board will make a final decision at the May meeting. Funded by a $16,000 grant from the Colorado Historical Society, the town and the Galloping Goose Historical Society, the designation will include historic structures located in the town center, and some adjoining Central and Railroad Avenues. Some of the more familiar buildings are the Dolores Town Hall, Rio Grande Southern Hotel (which is already listed on the National Historic Register), the U.S. Forest Service complex, the Dolores Food Market, and the Galloping Goose Museum and Depot. Historically speaking, the architecture of the district reflects both the booms of the old West and the modern necessities of the twenty-first century. To gauge local opinion, Seyfarth conducted a survey last spring, and received support from almost all of the property owners involved. Some of the property owners have chosen to list their properties on the town’s historic register, such as the Webb Ford building which currently houses Rustic Furniture, and the Dolores Mall. "The historic designation never affects the use of the building," explained Seyfarth. "The designation is only related to maintaining the outside historical appearance of the property." The town suggests a review when property owners wish to change the outside aesthetics of their buildings, but will not require it. "It’s a great draw in tourism as well as for downtown development," said Seyfarth. Part of the grant includes working with property owners who wish to apply for grant money to preserve their historic structures in Dolores. Seyfarth said there are currently four historic structure assessments occurring in Dolores. In other town business:
Williford estimated that Le Pew would dump "at the most five loads in the summer and two in the winter." Since Mountain Sun dumping as much organic waste, Williford suggested the dumping to offset town costs for the treatment plant. Mountain Sun is continuing to pay to use their entire permit for 375 pounds of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at $5,600 a month. Mountain Sun is disputing the billing because they want to be charged based on how many BODs they actually use, which according to Mountain Sun officials is "at the high end" 200 pounds of BODs per day. In the past, the town has argued that they must charge Mountain Sun the full amount since other businesses cannot use those BODs if they are reserved for Mountain Sun.
Following concerns raised by Marianne Mate, the board is allowing each individual resident (not just one per household) to fill out the surveys. Mayor Jim Moore promised to vote according to the will of the majority. The majority at this time is in favor of the leash law by 82 residents to 56. Gary Hansen, the animal control officer, said that the written warnings, tickets, and repeat offenders violating the current dog running-at-large ordinance have dropped dramatically since January.
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
