At a recent hearing about Oxbow Park, LeBlanc said I should have asked better questions and was responsible for keeping the county out of the process. If one reads the city request to the county for a letter of support for the Great Outdoors Colorado grant, it speaks only to preservation and conservation of the Cameron/Sterk property (Oxbow) and an extension of the Animas River Greenway with no mention of a commercial river access. The county’s letter of support spoke directly to this and was, at least for me personally, the reason I voted to support the grant application.

The city received the grant under questionable circumstances in my opinion and the project is nothing like what was described in its application. I consider this a classic bait and switch, and I oppose the development of the Oxbow project as currently planned.

I do not believe it will relieve congestion at the 32nd/33rd street put in, it will only compound it. While I support the concept of more river access, both public and private, this project only creates more problems rather than solving the current ones. Private land owners along the river are almost 100 percent opposed. There are no answers to the law enforcement issues. There is no river corridor management plan to deal with these and many other issues. The cart is before the horse.

Should the city have been more open and transparent in its plans? Absolutely! LeBlanc and his staff need to listen to the residents.

Wally White

Durango

Editor’s note: White is a former La Plata County commissioner.