School annexation still in the works
DEL NORTE- During a meeting held by the Town of Del Norte and the Upper Rio Grande School District that was held on Wednesday, September 11, it was decided that the annexation of school property would have to be put on hold while some legalities are being worked out.
The school district has been working with the town for several weeks trying to come to terms for an annexation agreement and were in the final stages after a joint meeting with the county that took place on September 5. During that meeting, the two entities came to an agreement that the school would be able to move forward with the annexation with the stipulation that the district would pursue funding to pave French Street in the future.
At the time of the earlier meeting it was also discussed that the school needed to finalize the annexation agreement and have the annexation petition into the town by the Sept. 11 meeting. School officials were able to submit both the agreement and the petition but were made aware of another issue that would stop the annexation until another agreement could be made with the county.
In an annexation, a piece of land must abide by the 1/6 continuance rule in order to qualify for annexation. One large parcel of land where the new football field sits and a small track of land in the middle of the school property do not qualify for the annexation because it does not follow the continuance regulations.
Under the advisement of both the town and school attorneys, the annexation proposal was tabled for further discussion for the time being. “Everything has been submitted, but the school will need to speak with the county before we can move forward,” said Del Norte Town Administrator Bernadette Martinez.
The Rio Grande County Commissioners were approached by the county land use administrator during their meeting on September 11, but no decision was made pertaining to the annexation issue. According to a statement from Upper Rio Grande School District Superintendent Chris Burr he stated that, “We are working through some of the legalities of trying to annex such a large piece of property. The town has been very supportive and instrumental in this process and we hope to have an agreement complete in the very near future.”
The school currently sits on a piece of property that sits along the town/county line. Having the entire property annexed into the town would alleviate several issues that could arise in regard to law enforcement coverage, utilities and other services that would otherwise have to be split between who would provide such services between the county and the town.
The school is still scheduled to be open and operational after the Christmas break.