by Eric Mullens
WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg City Council met in a three hour long regular session Tuesday and heard an update on the proposed Love’s truck stop from corporate VP of Real Estate and Development Rick Shuffield.
Shuffield told city council the proposed convenience store/truck stop to be located adjacent to I-25 was still a viable project, however, at least one small property issue remains in effect. He said Love’s legal representatives have found the parcel has not been on tax rolls for some years and a title search has tentatively shown the last owner is deceased, and no living heirs can be found. Shuffield says the corporation is seeking the city’s help, possibly through a condemnation action, in securing the necessary piece of land. Council consensus appeared to be favorable to the suggestion and recommended Love’s representatives meet with city attorney Dan Hyatt to begin work on the issue. Shuffield said there were no other land issues standing in the way of the project, as other adjacent land owners have been willing to work with the company. He indicated to city council that the business would be willing to pay for, or share costs of legal work involved in the condemnation process.
Shuffield, who gave his update during the council work session, said the store, once open and fully operational, could employ up to 50 full time staff, and, if business grows, that number could climb to 70 employees.
Photo by Eric Mullens
After nearly two years in the making, the city council this week approved the 2018 Walsenburg Strategic Plan on a unanimous 7-0 vote on Resolution 2018-R-03. Council members praised the work done on the plan by the planning and zoning commission, staff past and present and volunteers who assisted in research and presentation of information in the book.
Following a public hearing Tuesday night, the city council, sitting as the local marijuana licensing board, approved a Tier One (1,800 or fewer plants) retail marijuana cultivation operation that will be located north of the hogback at 1351 Hwy. 85/87. The owner operator of the grow, Dylan Hunt, said the operation will begin with two buildings that will be brought to Walsenburg from Pueblo and augmented by construction of greenhouses for the indoor grow.
After much discussion, and public input, the city council passed Ordinance 1114, which amends section (5) (v) of Ordinance 1057 concerning distances between retail marijuana dispensaries. The amendment was brought forward by councilman Greg Daniels and originally proposed decreasing the distance between retail marijuana shops from 3,000 feet to 300 feet. The original concept was voted down, but council voted to reconsider the proposed ordinance, voted to amend it to 1,000 feet, and passed it on first reading with another vote sending the proposed ordinance to the city planning and zoning board for their review and recommendations prior to any scheduled second reading and final adoption.
City council decided to schedule a work session next Tuesday, March 27 at 5:30 pm to review the proposed Walsenburg Personnel Management Manual. The manual was written, for the most part, by former interim city administrator Steve Rabe, who used a great deal of copy and paste from other municipal personnel documents to protect both the city and its employees. However, council members had found some mistakes and agreed to meet in a work session dedicated to reviewing the manual.
