The town of Mancos kicked off 2020 by approving a contract to help residents navigate the municipal code online.
At their first board meeting of the year on Jan. 8, trustees also continued a hearing for a new Grand Avenue subdivision, approved a resolution supporting school choice, added a new deputy for the Marshal’s Office and approved a raise for the town administrator.
The board unanimously approved a contract with the company Municode to update the town’s municipal code.
The contract’s cost is $13,236 plus freight and shipping.
Town Administrator Heather Alvarez said the municipal code hasn’t been updated since 2016.
“With the land use code update, we have made changes of some type to more than 77% of our code,” she said.
The majority of municipalities across the state use Municode, she said.
The update will include five new code books, along with an electronic version of the code for the town’s website. It will also allow citizens to always have access to a current code; as ordinances are approved, they will be uploaded to the website.
“Our public will always see a completely current version of our code, which I think is a big deal,” Alvarez said.
Trustees were in favor of this option, saying it would make the code much easier to navigate online.
“We just went through this whole land use code revision to make it easier for people to use,” Trustee Cindy Simpson said. “I think if we fall down at the 11th hour, final mile if you will, that would be silly.”
The public hearing on the new Grand Avenue subdivision was continued to the Jan. 22 board meeting.
The proposed five-lot subdivision would be at the site of the old Enchanted Mesa Motel. However, the plan has run into delays, primarily because the developers are still waiting on Colorado Department of Transportation access permits.
Both Alvarez and Tim Hunter, owner’s representative for the project, said they contacted CDOT and were told the permits would be received soon. Hunter asked for a conditional approval, but the board opted to issue a continuance.
The extra time would allow developers time to provide the required information, including the CDOT access permits, updated title policy, final construction plans for the subdivision’s infrastructure and an irrevocable letter of credit, according to town staff.
Simpson questioned whether an application should be accepted without a CDOT access permit.
Alvarez agreed, saying that for future projects they would make sure to wait for access permits.
The board approved a resolution proclaiming Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 as Mancos School Choice Week.
“School Choice Week is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective educational options,” Mayor Queenie Barz read aloud from the proclamation.
National School Choice Week is a nationwide organization that promotes having multiple options available in K-12 education.
After the regular meeting, trustees broke into an executive session to finish conducting the employee evaluation for Alvarez, who serves as the town’s administrator, clerk and treasurer.
After the executive session, trustees unanimously voted to raise Alvarez’s annual salary from $24,480 to $27,200.
ealvero@the-journal.com
