Mancos is moving ahead with backyard farming, highway corridor planning, and emergency preparedness.
Backyard farming guidelines to raise livestock in town limits are being considered.
At a recent meeting, the Town Board directed town staff to send out a survey to random households and to hold public meetings on the issue.
Meetings were held May 7 and May 12, and information from the meetings and responses from the survey are being compiled.
U.S. 160 corridor
A successful kick-off meeting was held on April 23 with over 30 members of the community in attendance to discuss potential options for the Highway 160. A presentation by CDOT Traffic and Safety Engineer Mike McVaugh informed the audience about the background of the corridor's access-control plan and possible options to improve bike and pedestrian safety, aesthetics, signage and vehicle flow on this stretch of road. Breakout stations with topics such as "multi-modal design" and "aesthetics" captured public comments. The next steps will be to begin honing feedback into options to present at a future "polling" meeting with the community. Planning and design assistance is provided on this project by Russell Engineering of Durango. For more information, or to make a comment on the project, please visit the project web site at: www.mancoscolorado.com/hwy160.
New deputy
The Mancos Marshal's Office welcomes Jason Spruell to fill a vacancy as a Deputy Marshal. Jason has sixteen years of policing experience, including several years with the Montezuma County Sheriff's Office. The Marshal's Office will now have three officers. Jason is certified through Colorado POST (Peace Officers Standards and Training). He has experience in investigations and patrol.
Emergency plan
The Town is partnering in many ways with other local jurisdictions to plan for emergencies and to address potential natural and man made threats.
First, a consortium of Montezuma County governments is working collectively to create a Hazards Mitigation Plan. Focusing primarily on natural hazards such as fires, floods, and drought, the plan identifies critical facilities, likely hazards, and approaches to mitigate those problems.
The plan will be submitted to the state Office of Emergency Preparedness and will be adopted by each jurisdiction.
The town is also partnering with other emergency services agencies and Mancos Schools to host a "tabletop" disaster response exercise. This full-day exercise will help identify strengths and weaknesses in our collective and individual capacities to prepare for, and respond to, disasters.
Third, the town is participating in a Scenario Planning grant with Western Lands and Communities through the Southwest Colorado Council of Governments to plan for environmental concerns such as drought through the year 2040.
Finally, the town is one of several governmental jurisdictions that are part of an application for a grant to the Department of Local Affairs to fund construction of two 800 MHz radio towers in Montezuma County. Current radio signals are spotty in the Mancos Valley. Investment in additional towers will increase communication and assist in quicker response times and first responder safety.
Spring beauty
In an ongoing effort to make downtown more inviting and comfortable for residents and visitors, the town will again plant flowers in and around downtown. Positive feedback has been heard from downtown business owners, community members and tourists about the addition of planters and greenery. Collaboration with the Creative District will include a "branding party" to apply local ranchers' brands (with their participation) to upcycled wine barrels for use as planters. Artistic benches and bike racks are also planned for this summer. If you are interested in participating in the beautification project and would like to plant flowers or help with their maintenance, please contact Leslie or Andrea at Town Hall.