Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Mancos Public Library Named Enterprise Zone Project

The Mancos Public Library has been named an Enterprise Zone Contribution Project by the Colorado Economic Development Commission. The Mancos Library was approved at the March 8 Colorado Economic Development Commission meeting for their downtown building project. This designation allows any contributions to the Mancos Public Library to receive a 25 percent state tax credit on cash donations, and a 12 percent state tax credit on in-kind donations.
Currently 20 projects are designated in Southwest Colorado including Southwest Conservation Corps, the Dove Creek Community Health Clinic, area economic development groups, and Southwest Memorial Hospital.


In 1986, the Colorado State Legislature approved the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program to assist economically distressed areas of the state. The southwest Colorado, all of Montezuma, Archuleta, San Juan and Dolores Counties are designated enterprise zone areas. La Plata County, however, is more of a checkerboard with some areas considred not distressed and thus not included.


Information about eligible businesses, programs, investments, and donations to Enterprise Zone development projects are available by calling the Region 9 office or going online at www.scan.org.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Thanks from the Library

Letter to the Editor of the Mancos Times

Dear Editor:

The Mancos Public Library board of trustees and the capital campaign committee would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the following people for their contributions to the successful and enjoyable "Sights and Sounds of the New Community Library" event: the Mancos School District for the use of the Performance Center and Mancos School District staff - Jeanette Hammons, Peggy, Ben, and Tracy; Peter BrindA'mour for arranging the musical entertainment; the musical entertainers including Terry Wells, Lee Bartley, Peter BrindA'mour, Bob Newman, Marilyn Kroecker, Tony Littlejohn, and Jennie Akers; Pete Lloyd and P & D Grocery for cooking and donating the delicious brisket; the Mancos Friends of the Library for their participation; the set-up crew; and the clean-up crew. During the evening, attendees enjoyed the musical entertainment and potluck meal, listened to an update on the building project, viewed preliminary designs, and visited with library representatives about the project. Thank you to everyone who attended and for the generous donations which brought in $336 for the building fund.

Sincerely,
Patsy Smith,
Mancos Public Library Director

Monday, March 19, 2007

*Library Project Waits for Zoning Changes, Flood Plain Study



The new library project for Mancos is moving along, but the library board and director are jumping through hoops to keep the project on track. Currently, the board is waiting for a second reading for zoning changes at the March 28 town trustee meeting. At this time, the proposed site south of the Mancos River is zoned two-thirds commercial and one-third residential. The proposed zoning status will be public, will require onsite parking, which would dramatically change plans and limit available space for the structure.


"It was the board's recommendation that we change to public zoning. The process has been confusing, but the town has been helpful with getting us on meeting agendas," said Library Director Patsy Smith.


The land was originally owned by Empire Electric. "Weh we started looking at properties, we had certain criteria, such as being close to downtown and the school, and large enough for a facility that would meet the needs of our populations. We looked for two year," said Patsy Smith. The library board approached Empire, which agreed to the sale, the purchase of which was completed in January 2006.


The library board will not proceed with further design work for the new building until a flood plain study is completed. The study is being done by a Durango firm, Wilbur Engineering, and should be done in the next two weeks.


The library board plans to hire a construction manager/general contractor (CM/GM). "Instead of a design-bid-build process, we're doing the CM/GM project. The contractor will work directly with our architect during the design process and recommend materials and help with cost management. We believe it's an easier way to control costs and build a building we can afford," Smith said.


The proposal deadline is April 7; proposals will be evaluated during the week of April 9 and the selected contractor will be notified the week of April 13. "Hopefully, before the contrator comes on board, the flood plain study will be completed," Smith said.


On March 17, the board previewed some conceptual designs at a corned beef dieer. Jean and Clay Bader were named Capital Campaign Chairs for the library project. "We had three music groups - about 100 people attended," Smith said. She added that the P & D Grocery donated the corned beef and the school district provided drinks and table service. "It was a feel-good night, " Smith said. "Our goal was to present some design ideas to residents, but we raised over $300 for the building fund. Every dollar counts," she said.



From the Mancos Times

*Library Project Waits for Zoning Changes, Flood Plain Study

The new library project for Mancos is moving along, but the library board and director are jumping through hoops to keep the project on track. Currently, the board is waiting for a second reading for zoning changes at the March 28 town trustee meeting. At this time, the proposed site south of the Mancos River is zoned two-thirds commercial and one-third residential. The proposed zoning status will be public, will require onsite parking, which would dramatically change plans and limit available space for the structure.

"It was the board's recommendation that we change to public zoning. The process has been confusing, but the town has been helpful with getting us on meeting agendas," said Library Director Patsy Smith.

The land was originally owned by Empire Electric. "Weh we started looking at properties, we had certain criteria, such as being close to downtown and the school, and large enough for a facility that would meet the needs of our populations. We looked for two year," said Patsy Smith. The library board approached Empire, which agreed to the sale, the purchase of which was completed in January 2006.

The library board will not proceed with further design work for the new building until a flood plain study is completed. The study is being done by a Durango firm, Wilbur Engineering, and should be done in the next two weeks.

The library board plans to hire a construction manager/general contractor (CM/GM). "Instead of a design-bid-build process, we're doing the CM/GM project. The contractor will work directly with our architect during the design process and recommend materials and help with cost management. We believe it's an easier way to control costs and build a building we can afford," Smith said.

The proposal deadline is April 7; proposals will be evaluated during the week of April 9 and the selected contractor will be notified the week of April 13. "Hopefully, before the contrator comes on board, the flood plain study will be completed," Smith said.

On March 17, the board previewed some conceptual designs at a corned beef dieer. Jean and Clay Bader were named Capital Campaign Chairs for the library project. "We had three music groups - about 100 people attended," Smith said. She added that the P & D Grocery donated the corned beef and the school district provided drinks and table service. "It was a feel-good night, " Smith said. "Our goal was to present some design ideas to residents, but we raised over $300 for the building fund. Every dollar counts," she said.

From the Mancos Times

Saturday, March 17, 2007

St. Patrick's Day Potluck Fundraiser

Many Mancos Valley residents came to enjoy the potluck, listen to the wonderful live music, and to socialize about the new library plans.

Honorary Chairs of the Capital Campaign, Jean and Clay Bader


Kate Kearns (with Adeline) and Susan Stamets


Representatives from the Friends of the Library, Jean and Dale