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Montezuma County Commissioners' Mancos Town Hall Meeting Heats Up With Locals' Questions

David Long

A feisty crowd of about 65 peppered the Montezuma County commissioners with questions and commentary during a town-hall meeting in Mancos Monday night.

A number of questions involved the notion of transferring federal public lands to states. The commissioners favor the idea, but the speakers in Mancos did not. When the commissioners voiced concern about the amount of public land in the county and complained about the Bureau of Land Management adding 12,000 acres to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, M.B. McAfee of Lewis said the land was purchased from willing sellers. When the commissioners criticized public-lands management, saying agency personnel claim they don’t have funds to do the job properly, audience members suggested the Forest Service and BLM be given bigger budgets. Other questioners worried about the impact to county residents and Southwest Memorial Hospital of the likely repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Several people were critical of the oil and gas development, something the county strongly favors. The commissioners were also asked about broadband expansion, solar energy, and recreation, all of which they have taken steps to encourage. Chairman Larry Don Suckla thanked the audience, which was the largest so far for any of the commission’s quarterly town halls. He said, “We’re going to disagree on certain things but we all live here together.” Suckla said the next town hall will likely be in the Lewis area.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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