After being presented a slew of options on how to address the ongoing Western Excelsior pollution issue, the town board and citizens in attendance of the Aug. 25 meeting expressed hesitance with hiring a trained facilitator.
The goal of the facilitator would be to have a locally enforceable agreement between all sides and stakeholders: Western Excelsior, the town of Mancos, Concerned Citizens of Riverside and other town residents.
The feasibility of coming up with an agreement that all parties could endorse was met with skepticism at the Aug. 26 town board meeting when the issue was discussed.
"Everybody's got to buy into the process and try to make it succeed. Without that, I don't think it's worth it," said trustee Todd Kearns.
The quote received from a Durango-based trained facilitator was $7,000 for six meeting sessions, a sum that some argued should be shared with Western Excelsior.
"I think we should invite them to the table (for facilitator talks), but I'm against us paying for the whole thing," said trustee Queenie Barz.
Western Excelsior neighbor Tom Nunn echoed those sentiments.
"I'm concerned town funds would be spent on this. I feel Western Excelsior has used every opportunity to stall on any solution that might be had. This is an enforcement issue rather than one of negotiation," he said.
Other options include seeking grant funding opportunities on behalf of Western Excelsior to help the company acquire a bag house for its particulate-emitting cyclone; starting a Mancos Environmental Health and Safety Group to monitor broader environmental issues; and relocating the company's eastern gate and constructing a landscaped windbreak.
Town Administrator Andrea Phillips said she has already engaged the company in talks about relocating the gate on the eastern side of the building further south, which they responded to favorably.
"The gate could be done in the next 30 days," said Phillips.
