OURAY COUNTY BRIEFS

RIDGWAY – Second Chance Humane Society Executive Director Kelly Goodin told the Ouray County Commissioners on Monday that the nonprofit animal shelter is no longer considering a special district mil levy to raise funds for its goal of securing three years operating expenses before building a new animal shelter.

Because the Second Chance animal shelter serves communities in Ouray and San Miguel counties, the organization was considering a mil levy increase for a special district that would include areas of both counties. But on Monday, Goodin said the organizers of the nonprofit have reconsidered this idea.

“We reviewed and looked in depth at pursing a mil levy for a special district and decided it was not the direction we wanted to go in,” Goodin told the commissioners. She did say they would consider a mil levy for Ouray County if the commissioners thought it would pass.

“Off the cuff,” Commissioner Heidi Albritton said, “it would be difficult. It would be very, very challenging to be successful with.”

Commissioner Keith Meinert agreed.

“I think a mil levy would go through smoother in San Miguel County rather than Ouray County but this year, it is not going to go smoothly in any county,” Meinert said.

Second Chance Secretary/Treasurer Kevin McNeill added that trying to pass a mil levy at this time could work against the organization’s capital campaign to build a new shelter. “The right thing might be to continue the capital campaign and make sure we’ve got the money for the building,” McNeill said. “Then we try to raise two to three years of operating costs, maybe with a mil levy.”

Second Chance Business Manager Dick Caldwell also attended Monday’s meeting to discuss possible locations for a new Second Chance animal shelter. He said the organization has looked at county-owned land on Hwy. 550 and Mall Road. While the currently vacant land could be leased from the county, Caldwell said it might not be the ideal location for an animal shelter given the vicinity to the highway and access to the river park.

The commissioners suggested getting a hold of the Ouray County Fairgrounds Master Plan to see if a location might be available for a shelter there. Albritton cautioned that there are a lot of fairgrounds user groups that would have to accept an animal shelter at that location and that the notion of building one there is only preliminary.

Visual Impact Regulations Taking Longer Than Expected

The original timeframe required to rework Section 9 of the county’s Land Use Code is taking longer than expected, the commissioners reported at Monday’s meeting in Ridgway.

Commissioner Heidi Albritton plans to draft a letter to the Chair of the Ouray County Planning Commission to inform them that they will not be able to meet the Feb. 16 deadline.

The commissioners are still in the work session process of reworking the regulations in Sect. 9 that deal specifically with visual impact regulations for future development. Once the commissioners are able to come up with a new draft, it will go to the Planning Commission for a public hearing/approval process. The Planning Commission’s review of the draft will then be sent back to the commissioners for final approval. While progress has been made on revising the regulations during recent commissioner work sessions, Albritton said it is taking longer than expected.

“We have not finished with our work sessions and we need to formally acknowledged that we are not on the timeline we set out for,” Albritton said, adding that once a draft is complete, she would like to hold a a town hall forum on the regulations before sending the document to the planning commission.

The next work session on the Sect. 9 regulations will be held Dec. 4 at 9 a.m.

Holiday Bazaar a Success

Despite the frigid economy and a reluctance by some to attend public events because of the H1N1 flu virus, Ouray County 4-H Event Center Manager Susan Long told the Ouray County Commissioners that last weekend’s second annual Nonprofit Holiday Bazaar was a success.

At Monday’s meeting, Long reported that visitor numbers were down compared to 2008 but the number of vendors attending increased this year. The bazaar, which was held at the 4-H Event Center in Ridgway, is a holiday gathering where nonprofit organizations can set up booths to advertise their mission and raise funds for their programs.

Of those nonprofit organizations that participated this year, Long said most plan to return next year.

“Everybody that was here said they would be back again next year if we had it again,” she said. “I think it worked out well.”

“I totally agree,” Commissioner Heidi Albritton said. “It is a great event and a positive thing for us to do.”