Nucla’s Town Board of Trustees met July 22 in a regular monthly meeting, and during public comment Josh Fengel, co-owner of Split Rock Printworks, brought up the possibility of the town partnering with his soon-to-be bookstore and cafe, in order to establish a sidewalk off of 5th Avenue. Parking is not supposed to be permitted there, and tourist travel is questionable due to rain and gravel.
The board circled back to the question in their agenda, and Mayor Paula Brown said what the town did for the Fengels, it would have to do for other businesses. She said it was worth looking into and agreed sidewalks are a benefit to all.
The town is still working on testing, regarding the new cell tower and its effect on West End Public Schools. A joint work session with the school is in the works, but no date has been set.
The town discussed the Black Hills Energy franchise lease, but tabled it until September. Trustee Darla Joseph had read through the lease agreement, however. She said while the document looks like a common franchise agreement, she questioned the .025 revenue and said the town needs to look into increasing that. She said .025 to .05 is common, and such agreements should be revisited every five years. Joseph said the last time the franchise lease was updated was 2006. She said Nucla needs to see what other, similar municipalities are receiving.
Trustees had trouble agreeing on the letter to Montrose County, regarding the special use permit CampV had applied for regarding their intention to house workers for the Four Seasons Project. Trustee Aimee Tooker voiced concerns about language sounding overly prohibitive. The mayor said she’s worried about water resources, though, as is Mayor Pro Tem Tim Pierce. Joseph is still displeased with the man camp hauling in its own food and fuel. Joseph has said the man camp does not contribute to the local economy.
“If they’re not going to help our economy, why give them water?” Joseph asked.
Still, the man camp does have plans for its own water, yet trustees in Nucla want to ensure its own resources are not jeopardized, if something were to change and water is under restriction.
Pierce said special use permits are for satisfying local communities’ demands, and the Four Seasons is planning for some conditions. He said the Town of Nucla needs to makes some “asks,” requests and demands that should be met.
“Or else you’re giving them a blank check,” he said.
The letter from Nucla trustees was already late, but trustees voted to send it anyway and follow more of what the Town of Naturita wrote in response.
Trustees talked about issues at Nucla Town Park, as there is someone reportedly sleeping there. The town might eliminate lighting and start locking the bathrooms there. There is already a 10 p.m. curfew at the park.
The town has hired someone to fill the role of Public Works, Level 1 employee. Still, the town needs to hire two more people to put into place for levels 2 and 3. Town staff removed the deadline for applications and continue to review candidates.
They mayor and town manager recently attended a housing committee meeting and revisited the affordable housing initiatives from the state. The Town of Nucla has until the end of the year to apply for potential funding for housing, but if it doesn’t meet the deadline it has to sit out a year. Brown said it might be more advantageous to partner with Naturita on the housing project.
