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The San Juan Basin Farm Bureau hosted a forum Oct. 6 featuring the candidates for the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners.<\/p>\n
Republican Joel Stevenson and Unaffiliated Rebecca Samulski are seeking the District 3 seat. Candidates gave opening statements, then answered questions from the audience about economic development, water, county land use and public lands.<\/p>\n
Stevenson introduced himself as a fourth-generation resident whose great-grandfather homesteaded the land he lives on. He is a brand inspector for the Colorado Department of Agriculture and a rancher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m running for county commissioner because I want the people of Montezuma County to have the same opportunities I have had, and I want the younger generation to be able to stay here to support their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has served on the Southwest Colorado Livestock Association board, the Montezuma County Fair board and is on the county planning and zoning board.<\/p>\n
Samulski grew up in Montezuma County and has a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Fort Lewis College and a master\u2019s in political science from the University of Denver.<\/p>\n
She worked on planning projects for the towns of Cortez and Mancos, founded the Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest collaborative and is the executive director for Fire Adapted Colorado organizing wildfire mitigation projects.<\/p>\n
She is running for commissioner because \u201cI enjoy public service, and am good at finding opportunities and bringing people together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stevenson: His priority as commissioner is to restart the local economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, our biggest challenge is getting this economy back up and running,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said it was unfair that smaller businesses were forced to close under Colorado governor orders but that big-box corporate stores remained open. Stevenson\u2019s goal is to support agriculture, tourism and the economic benefits of area natural resources such as water, timber, oil and gas and outdoor recreation.<\/p>\n
Samulski: \u201cWe need to plan ahead and pay attention to the growth that is happening to us, and to the economic hardships that people in our community are enduring.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key component of economic development is informing visitors about local businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses need an internet presence that is where people look when traveling. At recreation areas, there should be signs that connect people stopping here to local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stevenson: He would fight to prevent local water from going outside the area, and wants to review whether there are ways to store more water in McPhee Reservoir.<\/p>\n
On logging, Stevenson wants the National Forest to conduct more salvage logging in beetle kill and wildfire burn areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of dead standing timber in our mountains that need to be taken care of,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore cutting green trees, they ought to work on the dead standing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samulski: On public lands, she has advocated for a revived timber industry for forest health, and said the larger logging projects of live timber will help reduce the spread of the beetle kill hitting Montezuma and Dolores counties.<\/p>\n
Regarding water issues, Samulski said the commissioners\u2019 main influence is in land use decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we grow and where new homes and business are put based on water availability. It is basically a giant mapping exercise and is really important to figure out,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now, it is unclear.\u201d<\/p>\n
She wants to work more closely with wildlife and public land managers to improve hunting opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is becoming challenging to hunt on public lands. It used to be this time of year everyone was wearing an orange vest. Now all you see are campers with bikes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Stevenson: He opposes a current land use code proposal to drop the minimum residential lot size from 3 acres to 1 acre in the county. He said there are already ways for developers to get to a 1-acre lot through the subdivision process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork needs to be done to figure out where the water will come from to support new development and homes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On governing, Stevenson said he \u201cis the type of person that always will educate myself before making a decision. I will go out and talk to the people, and I am here for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Major changes to the land use code should be put to a vote of the people, Stevenson said.<\/p>\n
Samulski: On the land use code, she is against reducing the minimum lot size from 3 acres to 1 acre, as proposed. She encourages more planning for the future for the county.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time for long-term visioning for Montezuma County. I want to get the community engaged in revising the 25-year-old comprehensive plan so we are not a ship without a rudder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As far as challenges the county faces, Samulski said she wants to keeping up the level of current county services in the midst of tightened budgets because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to serving the county and working on all the complex issues we deal with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n