Residents remain frustrated with the public input process for the Head Start relocation

Site plans for a new building are presented in the library

Residents on East Third Avenue near the Durango Public Library remain frustrated after a public meeting Tuesday over the planned relocation of a daycare center and its potential impact on the neighborhood.

At the meeting, the site plan for a new Tri-County Head Start building on East Third Ave. was approved. Presented in 2019. A new brick-and-mortar building has been proposed for Head Start across the street at 1917 East Third Ave. The new location is a city-owned parking lot, which the city says is rarely used.

The presentation covered building orientation, city regulations and fire department requirements, parking, conversion of an alley into a parent pick-up and drop-off zone and state-mandated standards for child care facilities, as well as building colors, material aesthetics and landscaping details.

Many residents were not impressed.

“I don’t give a fuck what color the facade is,” Library District resident Eve Presler, who lives in the “epicenter” of the proposed development, said after the presentation.

Other residents said the same thing, curse words and all.

Jackie, another nearby resident, declined to give her last name. She said expressing her opinions at previous public meetings about the proposed Head Start site has damaged some of her relationships with others.

“The city is asking for feedback on pieces that we’re really not worried about, like these architects are going to do a great job (in terms of aesthetics),” she said. “…But there’s pretty much consensus that there are concerns about the alley, and we’re not being asked about the impact on the alley.”

The site plan details a new 7,500-square-foot Head Start building with outdoor play areas, employee parking and a parent and child loading area in the alley on the west side of the parking lot connecting 20th Street North and 19th Street to the south.

A site plan for the proposed new Head Start building at 1917 East Third Ave., facing west, shows a west-facing alley for parents and children and an employee parking lot with general parking to the south and green space and landscaping surrounding the property . The address is currently a sparsely used municipal parking lot near the Durango Public Library. (Courtesy of the City of Durango)

City Engineer Keith Dougherty answered residents’ questions about the alley and recorded residents’ feedback in a notebook during the breakout session.

In response to a resident’s question, RAA’s Davis said Head Start doesn’t anticipate much more traffic capacity than it already receives, and expects up to about 100 vehicles per day; For safety reasons, the alley was designated for pick-up and drop-off services to prevent parents and children from walking across a public street.

Some residents, including Jackie, were confused by the decision to place the parent and child loadout in the alley, especially given the amount of traffic and busyness expected due to the daily drop-off and pick-up schedules.

Residents also had a bad impression of the city’s inclusion of the library district. Jackie, Presler and others said the breakout session format gave the impression it was designed to divide meeting participants.

Durango Library District resident Bill LeMaire examines a site plan for a proposed new Tri-County Head Start building in a city-owned parking lot at 1917 East Third Ave. while city engineer Keith Dougherty explains the site plan. (Christian Burney/Durango Herald)

On Monday, a member of the Library Neighborhood Association emailed the city requesting that Tuesday’s public meeting be divided into two 45-minute segments, with the first half reserved for RAA and the second half reserved for public comment.

“We ask for old-style public comments, where the community is allowed to comment and everyone can hear the responses,” the email said. “It is important for all community members to hear each other’s concerns and the city’s responses. We believe that breakout groups and group circles do not enable this and are not as effective in sharing group information.”

Nixon said in response the city heard concerns about alley access and traffic congestion, parking, lighting, snow removal and landscaping that were addressed or mentioned during Tuesday’s presentation.

She said the city’s priority is to get feedback from residents on design elements of the site plan that could still be changed.

Responding to similar calls for a consistent question-and-answer format at the meeting, Oswald said the breakout session format was chosen out of consideration for some residents who are uncomfortable with public speaking. Additionally, the breakout session allows for more in-depth conversations about specific elements of the site plan.

cburney@durangoherald.com

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