EARLY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: We begin with a few unofficial election results from Montrose and Delta County. Results were pulled at 8 pm Tuesday, November 4th. For updated election results visit your county website under elections.
First up, embattled Montrose County Commissioner Scott Mijares was heading for recall with by 54.5% of the vote. Replacement candidate Kirstin Copeland received 6,224 votes at 8 pm. If election trends hold she will replace Mijarez for the District 1 seat.
Also, two ballot measures placed by Montrose County Library District both failed. Ballot measure 6A allowing the library district to retain a 3.85 mil levy has failed by 25 points. And measure 6B allowing the library district to grow beyond the state cap of 5.25% on growth has failed by nearly 26 points.
Montrose County School Board election has three projected winners.
District A: Neisha Balleck
District C: Scott Scarborough
District E: Tiffany Vincent
District G: Shane Daly
Moving on to Delta County, we begin with the Delta County School Board election:
The projected winner for District 1 is Sheldon Kier defeating incumbent Kristina Hines and
District 5 is Adena Kreutz over incumbent Jennifer McGavin.
City of Delta ballot measures:
City of Delta Ballot Issue 2B that would “de-Bruce” funds slated for refunds through the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Failed by 20 points. The four ballot measures asking to sell several city parks look to go down in defeat.
NOTE: Results for this newscast were from Tuesday, November 4th at 8 pm. For updated results visit your county’s website.
Montrose County Elections
Delta County Elections
LOCAL NEWS: At least two lodging and event businesses in Delta County located in rural agricultural areas are colliding with the county’s land use code. The situation has been brewing for a number of months, as owners say the county is forcing them to change from agritourism businesses to commercial.
Laurie Mitchell, owner of Sage View Ranch in Paonia, says they have operated as an agritourism business prior to the 2021 adoption of the county’s land use code. She says that until a few months ago, they were under the impression that everything was fine. Then they received word from the county that they were in violation of the land use code.
The small property located off Hwy 133 offers lodging including a large home, a small cottage, tent camping, several novelty buses and four RV spots. They also raise a number of goats and chickens on the property.
Mitchell cited the county’s Master Plan, saying it clearly emphasizes supporting agriculture and agritourism businesses. Now, she says the county is attempting to change their land use. The Mitchells and others are asking the county to ‘grandfather in’ their businesses as ‘agritourism’
Delta County responded to questions from KVNF about the situation. In a written statement, the county says there is no process for grandfathering the properties as agritourism businesses. County officials have given both Sage View Ranch and neighboring Fort Austin, another lodging and events business located in the county’s agricultural zone, until next summer to comply.
Mitchel says the change would put them out of business. The question is whether or not the two lodging and event businesses fall under agritourism or commercial business.
From the county’s perspective, Sage View Ranch and Fort Austin are primary lodging and event facilities, with some agricultural features, and as such are failing to meet the county’s current land use code. The business owners say they have always operated as agritourism and they are accusing the county of purposely targeting ‘agritourism’ businesses demanding they change to commercial.
Sage View Ranch held an event last month to raise funds for legal defense. This is an ongoing story, and KVNF will continue to bring you more.
ICE ACIVITY IN OUR REGION: The recent detention of a father and his two teen children in Durango has increased awareness of ICE actions in our KVNF listening area. I spoke with Karen Sherman-Perez of the Hispanic Affairs project in Montrose and a student at Fort Lewis in Durango.
