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The nine candidates running for a seat on the Town Board addressed tough questions concerning town growth, infrastructure needs and opportunities for young people at a Meet the Candidates event Wednesday, March 19.<\/p>\n
During the election on April 1, seven challengers will face current Trustees Rovilla Ellis and Alan Rolston.<\/p>\n
Find bios of all the candidates here: http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rA2Uco<\/p>\n
At the panel, most of the candidates agreed on a similar vision for the town. While some growth is inevitable, they would prefer the town retain its character.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep it small, keep it western,\u201d said candidate Anthony \u201cJames\u201d Maestas.<\/p>\n
There were several variations on this theme.<\/p>\n
Candidate Gina Roberts said she\u2019d like to see the town become more of a destination and less of a drive-through community.<\/p>\n
Most agreed economic growth would be positive. Variations of this vision included business growth on Grand Avenue, including the addition of a hardware store and a pharmacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to see not so many people commuting out of here to make a living,\u201d said candidate Will Stone.<\/p>\n
Others were concerned about how to balance the highway business corridor against the downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow will the highway business corridor get developed. How can that be sustainable and grow and attract business, and not leave a big empty hole, right here, downtown,\u201d said candidate Tim Stubbs.<\/p>\n
The candidates wrestled with development and preserving the town when they discussed the pending construction of Family Dollar.<\/p>\n
The company has expressed interest in coming to town, but it was decidedly unpopular among most candidates.<\/p>\n
Although some candidates, including Michele Black, expressed the reality that the Planning and Zoning Board is in charge of designing the land-use code, which sets regulations for formula stores similar to Family Dollar. Writing regulations that would prevent Family Dollar from opening a business in town could prevent other formula stores from coming to town.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I necessarily want to see it come here? No. Do I want to say no to any chain store? Probably not.\u201d Black said. \u201cThere are some potentially good kinds of things that could happen. A CVS Pharmacy could decide that they want to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roberts\u2019 strong personal opinion in favor of the new store set her apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t care if Family Dollar, Ace Hardware come to our community. I researched it. The average store manager of a Family Dollar makes $42,000. That is $42,000 to possibly a resident of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she said she would listen to town residents on this issue and vote accordingly.<\/p>\n
Several candidates also mentioned lack of opportunities for young people in town as a need that should be addressed for the sake of town health.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing well-functioning small communities tend to have in common, is they have multigenerational dialogue happening. They\u2019re retaining their people,\u201d said candidate Matthew Baskin.<\/p>\n
The biggest need identified was infrastructure, particularly public water pipes, pumps and a new storage tank.<\/p>\n
There were few concrete ideas presented to solve these issues. Most candidates agreed the sale of recreational marijuana might help fund infrastructure improvements and wasn\u2019t dangerous to the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more likely just to make people schmooze around town and groove and take their time and not be in such a hurry to leave,\u201d said candidate Maddy Williams.<\/p>\n
In addition to considering the nine candidates running for the four open seats on Town Board on April 1, residents of Mancos will also consider allowing the board to place a fee of up to $10 on all marijuana transactions.<\/p>\n
Currently, the Mancos moratorium on the sale of marijuana is set to expire in June, and fees from marijuana sale could be levied in 2015.<\/p>\n
The election will be a mail-in ballot election, although ballots can be dropped off at Town Hall.<\/p>\n