BY DAVID GRANT LONG

Several Cortez City Council members have accused Councilwoman Darlene Denison of deliberately misleading people at a recent meeting of a landowners’ group and making their job more difficult.

During Tuesday’s meeting, they said Denison had distributed an extremely tentative draft of a proposed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Montezuma County and implied it was about to become law, which sparked unfounded rumors that such an agreement was nearly a done deal.

The proposal, which City Manager Hal Shepherd explained was only a working document developed by city staff, concerns zoning and building regulations for properties in the Urban Service Area on the fringe of the city that may someday be annexed, should property owners request annexation. (All annexations must be initiated by the property owner.)

The IGA is intended to ensure construction standards are consistent with those of the city and that street planning is compatible, and the city has been trying to work out such an agreement with the county for nearly a decade.

The draft, which was distributed to council members, was also to be sent to the county commissioners so they could suggest changes before any proposed agreement would become the subject of public hearings conducted by both the city and county, Shepherd said.

But Denison had taken copies to a recent meeting of the Southwest Colorado Landowners Association, a group adamantly opposed to just about all land-use regulations, before the county commissioners had received their copies. This in turn caused some property owners to upbraid the surprised commissioners for what they saw as an underhanded attempt to impose regulations on them.

"The release of that document by (Denison) is tantamount to undercutting the council," charged Bob Diederich, who said he’d been working toward the IGA for all of his eight years on the council. "The commissioners were upset that it got to the county citizens prior to them getting it."

Denison hotly denied this had been her intent, declaring she had made it clear, during a brief presentation at the landowners’ meeting, that the document was only a draft, and that she had only been alerting the people that it was under consideration.

"I know how quickly legislation can happen," she said. "It would put city law in the county (and) I felt responsible to let them know what was in the works.

"I have a responsibility to share (such information) at all stages."

Cheryl Walkenhorst charged Denison had used "scare tactics" to create "paranoia" among county residents.

"No one on the council has a desire to do anything underhanded," she said, adding that she was "shocked and hurt" by Denison’s action.

And Mayor Joe Keck pointed out that the council has always gone to great lengths to encourage public involvement on any land-use issue, as has the county.

"To imply that we’re trying to do something without public input after hearing me rant and rave (about its importance) is ridiculous," Keck said.

Don Denison, the councilwoman’s husband, then leaped to her defense during public participation, accusing the other members of "raking her over the ground."

"The city is not welcome outside its limits after what you did to us inside the limits," he said. Both Denisons have long contended that the city’s revised zoning regulations were illegally adopted four years ago without adequate public notice.

Denison then spent much of the evening voting "no" on a number of matters that passed 6-1. They included:

• An ordinance eliminating "redundant if not confusing" city regulations on liquor licensing.

City Attorney Jim Hatter explained that state law takes precedent over any more stringent local laws, so they were irrelevant at any rate.

• A resolution expressing opposition to a pending bill in Congress that would prohibit sales taxes from ever being collected on Internet commerce.

Keck explained the bill could ultimately cause a 10-percent decrease in local sales-tax collections, by far the city’s main source of revenue, which last year amounted to about $5 million and pays for street improvements that Internet companies use to deliver their goods.

This would mean either a reduction of services or higher taxes for Cortez residents, he said.

But Denison said Internet companies pay other taxes on telephone and electric service and this was sufficient.

"If the economy is doing fine, why mess it up?" she said.

• The first reading of an ordinance that would require general contractors to have licenses to perform work in Cortez on jobs of more than $5,000. The ordinance is intended to ensure quality work and prevent "gypsy contractors" from getting paid for work and then either leaving it incomplete or doing a shoddy job.

The ordinance was proposed by the Montezuma County Homebuilders Association and will be the subject of a public hearing March 14.

Denison did go along with the majority on a few other issues:

• The first reading of an ordinance that would repeal a provision in the city’s pet-licensing ordinance requiring that cats wear collars with rabies tags. Cats will still be required to be vaccinated against rabies and their owners must show proof upon demand. The ordinance was passed 7-0.

• An IGA, which was also approved 7-0, with the Montezuma County Clerk for providing services in the April 4 municipal election.

• An ordinance that expands the area in which historic-sign designation is possible to include the Commercial Highway Zone, also unanimously approved on first reading.