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January 31, 2002 By Janelle Holden A frustrated crowd of Dolores library supporters managed to make some headway with the Dolores Town Board at its Monday workshop. After much discussion, the board agreed to appoint three members to a joint library-town committee to help decide the fate of the library. "We want to keep this project alive, and we want to keep it moving, and that doesn’t mean you have to vote on the amount of money you’re going to give us. It simply means you need to decide whether you’re going to continue to work with us," said Shawna Valdez, president of the Dolores Library District. The library and the town board share a 2,200-square-foot building. The library had sought a 1.8-mill increase in the mill levy last November, but it was rejected by voters. At the last town-board meeting, the library district had asked the town to consider three options: continuing with the original plans for expanding and renovating the library and town hall by asking the voters to reconsider the mill-levy increase this November; scaling down the planned expansion and remaining in the town hall; or moving the library. The district is anxious to move forward because of it has a $300,000 energy-impact grant for the project that is only good for a year. Mayor Jim Moore said the board had passed an ordinance last July in support of the library, and the ordinance still stands. The question is whether there is any room in the town’s budget to contribute monetary support. Originally the town had pledged $100,000 if the mill-levy increase passed last November. It failed by 15 votes. "We do have an ordinance with the library board that says we would support them. What I think we should do is look at next year’s budget very closely, and see whether we can donate something," said Moore. "We understand that it’s too early to act on financial decisions, but we have to keep the ball rolling. Rather then vote on money or not, we would like you to do some discussion or give us a decision on whether we’re staying in this building. We can’t do that without your permission because it is your building," said Valdez. Several citizens in the audience pointed out that the library draws county residents to town, it provides invaluable services, and the district is growing. None of the board members denied this, but said that it was too soon to decide whether the town could find any money outside of what is needed to fix town utilities this year. But eventually, Moore and members Val Truelsen and Tazewell Vass agreed to serve on a committee. In other business, the town discussed: • Three bids that have been submitted to fix the post-office access. Town Clerk Ronda Lancaster said the bids range from $36,900 to $45,500. Rep. Kay Alexander (R-Montrose) has been serving as an intermediary between the town, Colorado Department of Transportation, U.S. Postal Service, the developer, and property owners to work out who is responsible for fixing the access. Lancaster said she plans to submit the bids to Alexander. • Asking the county commissioners to appoint at least one town representative to serve on the county’s Dolores River Valley committee. The commissioners hope the committee will help guide growth in the pristine valley. The board is concerned about the number of septic systems in the valley, and whether more development will ruin water quality. "This is Dolores and we’re at the head of the river and everybody gets to drink this water. How many is going to be too many?" asked Vass. The town board has expressed interest in providing sewer service to the upper-valley residences in the future. |
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