Polston Property Annexed
Alamosa city councilors annexed the controversial Polston school property in a unanimous vote, according to the Valley Courier.
A group of Alamosa citizens had attempted to purchase the fertile piece of land to create the Rio Grande Healthy Living Park (RGHLP) with botanical gardens, a commercial kitchen and a production greenhouse as well as small farm plots. This past April the Alamosa Board of Education signed a non-binding letter of intent with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national organization which had partnered with RGHLP, to sell the property for $755,000. Shortly afterwards, a local surveyor, Dan Russell, who also serves as the elected county land surveyor, presented a plan to purchase the property and develop it into a “high-end RV park.”
The 38-acre parcel is situated near the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 160 and Hwy. 17, next to the Rio Grande River. In late May, the Alamosa School Board voted 6-1 in favor of selling the land to Russell for $500,000 – $255,000 less than the offer by the TPL. A new group then formed, Keep Polston Public (KPP), which raised over $30,000 to fight the sale.
In the weeks leading up to the sale, the school board had discussed the sale of the property in at least six executive sessions, leading KPP to claim a violation of state open-meeting laws, and the board was forced to release the primitive cassette tapes of the meeting, according to lengthy article in Westword magazine. One of the school board members, Bill Van Gieson, is quoted on the tape as saying “… this garden thing, that’s not gonna generate anything.… Just a bunch of hippies from Crestone…. It would be the summer campground for La Puente.”
A potential land exchange is being negotiated with the city for the proposed RV park.
The entire article from Westword can be found at:
www.westword.com/2013-11-21/news/healthy-living-park-alamosa/full/
AT&T Denied
A conditional use for a 95-foot cell tower near South Fork was denied by the Rio Grande Board of County Commissioners. AT&T had applied for the location and was informed by the county attorney that they could not reapply for that location.
Man Sentenced Again
An Arapahoe County District Court jury convicted former San Luis Valley resident Michael J. Medina of first-degree murder on Nov. 15.
Medina was already serving prison time for the death of his 16-month-old son Degan. In the recent conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison for the death of his former wife, Kimberly Greene-Medina, 19, in 1996.
Brandt Honored
Dorothy Brandt, chairman of the San Luis Valley Museum Board, was honored before 800 attendees at National Philanthropy Day, held Nov. 15 in Denver.
Brandt was recognized as the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser for her commitment to philanthropy, the only honoree from outside the Denver area, according to the Valley Courier.
Shorts
• Bacterial contamination was identified in the Del Norte water supply during testing earlier in November, prompting a boil-water advisory. The advisory has since been lifted.
• Elizabeth Quintana was elected by acclamation to a four-year term on the Monte Vista School Board at their Nov. 14 meeting.
• Dave Martinez Park was dedicated on Oct. 19 among a gathering of citizens in downtown Saguache. Martinez was with the volunteer fire department for 32 years.
