Alamosa News

By: By Priscilla Waggoner, Courier reporter

Updated: 13 hours ago / Posted Aug 4, 2023

ALAMOSA — In a vote that was 6 to 1 in favor, council approved Alamosa city operations altering their schedule to a Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. schedule with all city offices closed on Fridays.

Mayor Ty Coleman and Councilors Michael Carson, Kristina Daniel, Liz Hensley, Dawn Krebs and Jan Vigil all spoke in praise of the move, citing the hard work of city employees, recognition that this is an increasing practice and the need for “work/life” balance. There was also general consensus among those in support that educating the public is advised and they “will learn and adjust” to the Friday closures.

Councilor Charlie Griego, the lone member to speak against the proposal, summarized calls he had received from constituents who opposed, including criticism that city employees “had gotten two more paid state holidays and (salary) raises in the last year. They’re saying, ‘enough is enough.’”

Alamosa City Manager Heather Brooks responded that the state holidays — Martin Luther King’s Birthday and Juneteenth — were approved by council “to recognize our history” and not requested by city staff. She also said that wage increases were “determined by the market” — not the city — in order to stay competitive in hiring “the best people.”

The change will go into effect on Aug. 14.

Councilor Krebs announced that, after speaking with her family, she has decided to run for re-election in November. Krebs serves Ward 2 and was appointed to her position following the resignation of her predecessor, Kyle Woodward.

Daniel, councilor at large, announced earlier this year that she will not seek re-election as did Griego, Mayor pro tem and councilor for Ward 3, who has served in that role for the last 40 years.

Councilor Carson, representing Ward 4, has announced his intention to run for the at-large seat vacated by Daniel. Should he lose the election, he will retain his current seat. Should he win, council will then accept applications from the public and appoint someone to take his former seat as councilor representing Ward 4.

Councilor Hensley, Ward 1, is running for re-election, as well.

With Krebs’ announcement, it is now confirmed that two of the four seats, possibly three should Krebs not be successful, will be filled by people not currently serving.

People interested in running for city council should plan to attend “candidate orientation” on Monday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m.

In other business, Rachel Baird James, director of development services, spoke to council regarding the signing of a formal intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City of Alamosa and the county that will allow engineering work to be started on repairing the levee that runs along the Rio Grande.

The IGA calls for the city and county to be proportionately responsible for the cost of engineering based upon the number of linear feet in each municipality’s jurisdiction. That turns out to be roughly a two-third split of the cost with the city being responsible for 64% of the cost to the county’s 36%.

The cost of the engineering work is $1.2 million.

Following the public comment section (no one commented), the motion to approve (Ordinance 11-2023) passed by unanimous vote.

Deacon Aspinwall, planning and development specialist with the city, briefed council on the city’s ongoing work to amend and clarify the Unified Development Code. Changes included allowing “cottage clusters as a permitted use in Campus zones to reduce barriers for housing options.”

Tobacco/vape shops and similar uses were added to the definition of “Type 2 Retail”, which have restrictions on location, including how closely they can be located to one another out of concern for concentrating too many Type 2 Retail businesses in a single area. The amendment does not impact those businesses already operating.

Medical Offices and clinics will now be allowed in the Central Business District with square footage limitations based on where the office or clinic is located. In agreement with the “Downtown Plan”, the amended code restricts a medical office to 750 square feet if it faces Main Street but allows offices located elsewhere to be any size.

Daniel, due to her association with Valley-Wide Health Sytems, abstained from voting.

“Light industry” not associated with any on-site retail outlet is now allowed in the Commercial Business District and Central Business District. Types of businesses include food production, beverage production/bottling, furniture making/refurbishing, textile printing or manufacturing, glass production, and product packaging. A lack of other property available for “light industry” businesses was cited as justification for the change.