At Norwood’s Town Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 9, Siobhan Lavender and Emma Gerona gave an EcoAction Partners update on programming. They explained the CARE program and also the green grants, which can help with new windows, a new boiler or building a greenhouse. The program is open to all in the West End. EcoAction Partners granted five projects in Norwood last year, totalling approximately $15,000.
Gerona and Lavender requested $2,000 from Town of Norwood for their fundraising efforts.
Piggybacking off their talk, Alex Shelley, of San Miguel Power Association (SMPA), gave an energy update. He said of the Norwood-Nucla tie-in line, it’s been done a year and means that power can be re-routed, saving customers from outages.
Additionally, in the words of Eric Pottorff, manager of operations at SMPA, “Hallelujah, we’re off of one-shot.” The one-shot program was established to prevent disaster in wildfire season, and it limited the system to trying just one time to restore power, before sending a crew. Now that San Miguel County has reduced fire restrictions, the system can make more than one attempt to restore power in an outage.
Shelley said SMPA held a successful event in Silverton they’d like to replicate in the West End, educating first-responders on hot power lines.
He finished his update by announcing that the 2027 outlook was rate increases.
“Costs have exploded,” he said, adding that meant customers getting a rate increase, or SMPA borrowing.
Trustee Bernice White asked what was wrong with SMPA getting a loan to make up their wholesale purchase price increase. Shelley said it was complex. Town manager Sara Owens asked about how to bring costs down. Shelley said the large-scale solar project could do that.
The Norwood Chamber of Commerce of Wright’s Mesa will donate $2,000 to the town for the purpose of contributing to a shade device near the town’s splash pad in Norwood Town Park. Owens said it could help, as far as matching funds go, for an upcoming Great Outdoors Colorado grant.
Trustees passed a resolution to set a date, to be determined, to establish a hearing procedure, which involves removing a member of the town’s planning commission.
In the grants discussion, Trustee Michael Grady wanted to verify town funds on the Pocket Park. Town officials said $27,000 of town funds were used, but grants totalled $450,000 for the work.
The Safer to Sidewalks grant is up for discussion. CDOT has provided $450,000, and the time to use the funds can be flexible. Yet, $151,000 from the state’s Department of Local Affairs expires in January, and an extension would be needed. Town trustees are going to make a site walk of Summit Street to discuss. Mayor Candy Meehan said a work session was needed because of the amount of money involved. The school is relocating to the other side of town too.
Trustees passed a motion to pass the Norwood Hill Highway Safety Improvement Funds back to CDOT. In this way, CDOT will absorb the money and get the improvements done, with a timeline of 2028.
CDOT has other work planned for Norwood, including sidewalk extensions, bump outs and fixing curbs in various town spots. They’re looking at crosswalks too.
Trustee Liza Tanguay said it’s important to work with school representatives on the new site so the town doesn’t have to undo work, once CDOT makes improvements.
Trustees decided to dedicate the Pocket Park to Jim and Gretchen Wells with Mary Olson, because of their early work with landscaping and trees. They plan to dedicate the park at Noel Night with plaques.
On the agenda for next month, trustees will likely approve changes to the short-term rental ordinances, eliminating two restrictions: the owner having to be on site and the 90-day limit.
In her manager report, Owens said a seat is open on Norwood Water Commission, though it requires some real work. She also said the town can do more to support Norwood Community Garden with trash and watering trees.
Owens is pleased the town’s audit got better marks. In 2025, it received an audit ranking of 33 of 100; in 2026, the number jumped to 79.
The public can donate up to nine tires for free until Sept. 20 at the Norwood Transfer Station.
Town Clerk Cidney Ross said senior lunches will move from Monday to Thursday, weekly. She told trustees she’s getting a large amount of Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests at this time.
The mayor said in light of West End Family Link’s temporary closure in Nucla, it’s time to think about fortifying the Norwood Food Bank.
“Nobody in our community should go hungry,” she said.
