Brief by Marcia Darnell
San Luis Valley – March 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Drought Details
As of late January, the snowpack in the Rio Grande Basin was 103 percent of normal. The water level in the unconfined aquifer, however, is low at 6,000 acre-feet below the 1976 level.
Alamosa sales tax revenue was up only 1.4 percent in 2003 over 2002, a stagnant situation blamed on drought and depressed agriculture. Unrelated to tax revenue, Alamosa residents will face a 10 percent hike in base water rates beginning in April, the first hike since 1990.
Also, more deer have been spotted in towns and cities throughout the Valley, which may be due to drought.
Business Plans
The Alamosa City Council is working with the city planning commission and the Alamosa Community Development Corporation to develop plans to attract new businesses to the city. They say Alamosa has a business-unfriendly atmosphere, and they want to change that. Possibilities for attracting growth include incentive packages, annexing new land areas, and improving infrastructure and utilities.
Probe Prep
District Attorney Pete Comar has asked, with state Attorney General Ken Salazar, to convene a grand jury in the Valley, the first here since the 1970s. The DA and district judge will empanel 23 people to investigate criminal activity. Comar said he and Salazar have been working on this project for over six months, and expect to have the jury in place within two months.
Water Work
Ralph Curtis was honored as the Wayne Aspinall Leader of the Year by the Colorado Water Congress. Curtis has been general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District since 1980 and is known as an expert on water issues in the Valley.
Davis Goes Down
The former president of Eastside Energy, Joe Davis, got 15 years for fraud. Eastside, which purported to convert biomass into energy, went under and Davis started stealing from individuals, businesses, and even a charity in the Valley. Davis, 65, has a history of this sort of behavior going back over 20 years.
Adding insult to sentencing, District Judge Pattie Swift called Davis a con man.
Brief Briefs
— Staff at the Great Sand Dunes say the deal to acquire the Baca Ranch may be closed before spring.
— The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Alamosa city workers are responsible for the fire that claimed the Rialto Theater. The historic structure and adjacent businesses went up in flames after workers used an acetylene torch to thaw a broken water meter.
— The restoration of the Windsor hotel in Del Norte (featured in the March, 2001, edition of Colorado Central) got a $241,300 boost from the Colorado State Historic Fund. The matching grant will help restore the hotel’s first floor.
— Antonito has too many no-shows at town board meetings. Frequently, over the last 10 months, there is no quorum, and projects can’t move forward. Four board members have been named as chronic slackers.
— The San Luis Valley Southern Railway Trestle in Costilla made it to the National Register of Historic Places. The 190-foot bridge dates from 1910.
— The Alamosa County Commission is being asked again to ban smoking in public places throughout the county.
— The federal justice department said it won’t appeal the decision vindicating Alamosa County’s practice of electing commissioners at large. The suit claimed the policy fostered racism. However, the method is required by state law, so Alamosa County didn’t institute the system, and could change it only by going to home rule.
