The Buena Vista (BV) Board of Trustees (BoT) met on Tuesday, March 12 for a public hearing to conduct their annual review of the town’s Water Allocation Policy. In addition to approving some updates to the policy, the board approved two liquor licenses and officially shelved the Arizona Street Trail and Bridge Project by returning grant funding received years ago.
Public Hearing on the Water Allocation Policy
A work session on February 13 proposed some potential changes for the required annual review of the Water Allocation Policy. The public hearing on March 12 reviewed the policy and ultimately the BoT unanimously voted to approve the proposed changes.
Photo by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash
Updates focused on clarifying the policy by adjusting categories, re-allocating some water from different buckets based on upcoming projects, clearing up the language of the policy itself, and outlining how the 50 acre-feet (AF) of water recently secured from the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District (UAWCD) will be used.
The allocation of the 50AF of water includes all 5 AF, which equals 35 Single Family Equivalents (SFEs) to the general bucket in 2024, the addition of 5 SFEs to infill, economic development, affordable, and multifamily rental buckets in 2025 with the remaining 15 SFEs going to general, and then a repeat of this pattern in subsequent years.
The update also added conditions for what constitutes an “emergency” for use of water allocated to the emergency bucket.
Different projects will be able to acquire water from different applicable buckets depending on their scope and what they will provide for the town.
A breakdown of the updates to the Water Allocation Policy is available in the packet linked at the end of this article.
Arizona Street Trail and Bridge Project Back to the Drawing Board
The Arizona Street Trail and Bridge Project has long been in the works for Buena Vista. The grant for the project originated in 2012 when the estimated work to complete it was $611,000. Unfortunately, bids for the actual work exceeded this estimation by nearly $2 million.
Due to the costs of the project far exceeding expectations and the timeline required by the grant received, the BoT voted unanimously to revert the received funds back to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and place this project on the back burner again.
Town Administrator Brian Berger said he was pleased to report that CDOT will not be requiring the town to repay anything even though the project was completed. CDOT reported to Berger that the funds would go to the San Luis Valley (SLV) Transportation Planning Region (TPR) and remain somewhat local.
The Trustees recognized a remaining need for work in that area to make pedestrian and bike traffic safer; however, they also acknowledged the project was not attainable in its current form and would need to be reworked into something more affordable before it could be pursued again.
Liquor License Permitting
The BoT held two public hearings on permitting for two liquor licenses in town. The first was for Simple Eatery at 402 East Main, which sought to upgrade its existing license from Beer and Wine to Hotel and Restaurant.
Buena Vista restaurant. Simple Eatery. Courtesy image.
Spoon-Fed LLC Owner Ryan McFadden spoke to the Board about his desire to expand the unused frozen yogurt area in Simple Eatery into a bar. To do so, he will need to expand the restaurant’s current liquor license beyond the wine and beer it is limited to now. McFadden explained that they’ve had their Beer and Wine license for eight years.
“COVID killed frozen yogurt, so I have a dead space and there’s a plan to remodel and enhance our services,” explained McFadden.
When asked how the pandemic impacted frozen yogurt, McFadden explained that the self-serve style of getting toppings from a communal area was banned due to COVID restrictions. He also admitted frozen yogurt may have been on the way out already.
Though they are applying for the new license now, Simple Eatery won’t be serving any other liquor until the remodel is finished. Simple Eatery is already in compliance and the updated license won’t require new features.
There was no public comment during the hearing and the motion to approve the change in licensing passed unanimously.
Next up came Coyote Mezcaleriay Cerveceria. Owner Steve Trujillo applied for a Tavern Liquor License to serve drinks and small bites. The business will be running in partnership with Black Burro Bikes, who have long offered drinks from their location at 801 Front Loop, Unit 1A. Now Trujillo will be serving out of the same location.
Trujillo explained, “Mezcal is more like wine. It’s not a dive bar. It’s more a place where people come and sit and talk and laugh together.”
He also clarified the setup would not be changing from what Bike Burro already has concerning outside seating, just that it’s a different business that will be offering drinks and snacks. Trujillo noted the snacks will include things like chips and salsa, empanadas, queso, and guacamole.
There was no public comment for this hearing either, and the license was approved unanimously by the Board pending approval from Chaffee County Fire and Chaffee County Building Department inspections.
Presentations, Consent Agenda, and Staff Reports
Kim Marquis spoke on behalf of Envision Chaffee County’s Forest Health Council (FHC) regarding the Chaffee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Marquis outlined what treatments had been completed and what was still to come.
The goal is to treat 30,000 acres by 2030 and, thus far, 10,531 acres have been addressed. In 2023, they treated over 5,000 acres, which doubled what had been done in prior years.
Salida U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Ranger Perry Edwards explained that low-intensity burning is more effective than tree thinning for fire mitigation. He said that they were looking at areas of Trout Creek and Fourmile for prep and possible burning this spring. He also mentioned the Chalk Creek area has a high level of fuels and is currently under analysis for future burning.
Marquis explained that $33 million has been spent on the plan so far. $4.2 million of that was from Chaffee Common Ground.
From Page 36 of the meeting packet, “In addition to targeted forest treatments, the 10-year county wildfire plan also outlines goals related to community preparation. It is important that residents and homeowners remain personally prepared for a wildfire. The best protection is achieved by creating defensible space around your home and having a family evacuation plan in place.”
Marquis also highlighted the importance of Everbridge, through which members receive alerts via email, telephone, and text. In 2023, 583 additional county residents signed up for the service. Those interested in signing up for the emergency alert system can do so online here.
Mayor Libby Fay thanked everyone involved for paying attention and mitigating risks of wildfire in the county.
Reports were delivered by the police chief, planning director, and public works director to update the board on their departments. Police Chief Dean Morgan reiterated concerns mentioned at a recent Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) meeting about the strain special events, such as the proposed second large concert at the Meadow, places on emergency personnel.
Candidates for the Planning and Zoning Commission, Tina Bennetts and Michael Westheimer, took some time at the start of Tuesday’s meeting to introduce themselves to the Board. The trustees were excited about the chance to meet them and expressed interest in more connections like this with the commission moving forward.
The consent agenda was unanimously approved. It included minutes from the BoT on February 27, the Airport Advisory Board on January 30, and the Beautification Advisory Board on January 4 and resolutions appointing Laura Turk as an alternate member of the Recreation Advisory Board and renewing Kelly Collins and Colleen Fitzgerald’s terms as voting members and appointing Jennifer DiCiesare as an alternate member of the Trails Advisory Boards.
The full video of the March 12 meeting is available on the Town’s YouTube channel.
The full agenda and packet is available on the Town’s website.
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