Proposals to improve traffic signage at Boyle Park and create a separate historic preservation board were discussed at the Mancos town meeting Wednesday.
Boyle Park is behind town hall and adjacent to the Conoco, a busy gas station.
The concern is that unfamiliar visitors trying to access downtown from the gas station from Park Avenue end up at the parking lot for Boyle Park.
"I think we lose a lot of tourists because the park does not have a through road to Grand Avenue," said board member William Stone.
A solution for now is to install "Not A Through Street" signs on Park Avenue. Board attempts to reword the phrase so it leaves out the negative "not" were unsuccessful, as the other option was "Dead End."
Also signage will be installed to direct traffic onto Bauer Street from Park Street to funnel visitors into downtown from the gas station.
Boyle's layout stems from a master park plan created in the 1990s. The board plans to revisit the park road access at a future workshop.
Planning and zoning chairwoman Cindy Simpson gave a presentation on the P&Z board's plan to revamp the town's historic preservation program. The recommendation is to create a three-person board specifically for promoting historic sites in town. Currently the P&Z board also acts as the preservation board.
"It will be easier to attract Mancos historians for a smaller board that does not meet as often," she said. "History buffs don't necessarily want to sit through development proposals."
The idea is to have a volunteer program where residents sign up to have their historic homes part of a historic register. Each site would ideally be documented with photos and history.
"We want to tell the history of Mancos while these places are still here," Simpson said.
Simpson, who has a background in preservation and planning, reassured the board that the plan for Mancos is not restrictive.
"We don't want to have the situation where a certain kind of mortar or color is required," said mayor Rachel Simbeck.
Not at all, Simpson said. Those type of requirements only apply if a homeowner has a specific agreement with a grant organization funding historic renovation.
The proposed Mancos historic register is voluntary and would just focus on documenting Mancos history. There would be no building restrictions related to the historic preservation register.
"You could still do whatever you want with a historic home or building. Our point is to capture the past before it is torn down or completely changed," she said.
Eventually, the list can be used to create a tour of historic sites and homes in Mancos. Sites could also be archaeological, or even a site of a dramatic event - the location of a Western shootout perhaps?
"There are clubs that go from town to town and take the historic tours, and they spend money," Simpson said. "It's a sidewalk tour, appreciating the outside of these old homes or barns, historic buildings."
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com