City of Glenwood Springs officials say they will issue more information soon about a possible lapse in permitting for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to operate out of a West Glenwood commercial plaza.
Two members of the public, including the new chair of the Garfield County Democrats, Mae Gray, and resident Ashley Stahl, appeared before Glenwood City Council at its regular Feb. 19 meeting calling attention to the issue.
Gray and Stahl alleged the ICE facility located in the Midland Center at the intersection of Midland Avenue and Wulfsohn Road, based on their research through an open records request, has been operating for many years without a valid occupancy permit.
The situation was known by the City but never corrected, they said.
Especially if the facility is being used for detention purposes, even temporarily, there’s likely a zoning violation that the City should investigate, Stahl said.
Detention facilities are strictly regulated, and should something happen involving injury to or death of a detainee, the City could be liable, she warned.
With the lease for the space coming due at the end of March, Gray said it’s an opportunity to “get rid of ICE” presence in Glenwood Springs in response to the national outcry over immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.
“We appreciate and love our Latino community,” Gray said. “They are invaluable, and we would like to not see our friends, our family and our neighbors continue to be kidnapped.”
Gray added that on-site security for the federal government, which also operates a Social Security Administration office at the same location, has blocked a side access to the nearby pedestrian bridge where demonstrations protesting ICE have been held in recent weeks.
City Attorney Karl Hanlon said the permit situation is not exactly as it was being presented but that the City is researching the matter further and will publicly share more information, perhaps as soon as this week.
As of deadline for this report, no additional information had been disseminated.
Regular business…
Meanwhile, all Council members were present for the second regular meeting of February.
During Council announcements, Mayor Pro Tem Erin Zalinski, who sits on the City’s Airport Board, reported that Glenwood will host the June 2027 conference of the Colorado Airport Operators Association.
“It will be a great opportunity to showcase our town, and our airport,” she said.
Following unanimous approval of the consent agenda and an alley right-of-way encroachment for electrical utilities associated with the new beer spa that is expected to open soon at the corner of Eighth Street and Cooper Avenue, Council heard a report from City Parks and Recreation Director Rod Tarullo regarding special events for the coming year.
The City is on track to either sponsor or host several special events or series, including Pride Fest, a Fourth of July celebration, Noon Year’s Eve (an early family celebration on New Year’s Eve), Movies and Music Under the Bridge, Noche Latina and Latino Conservation.
Many of those events are put on by the City, while others are organized by outside groups that make use of public spaces, he said.
The question, Tarullo continued, is whether the City has the capacity to offer or host any more events within a reduced $100,000 budget. That’s $50,000 less than last year, he said.
Council members suggested that spending for events should be relative to attendance. Some events are better-attended than others, they noted.
As for outside events, Council encouraged Parks and Rec to actively entertain any other requests, and generally agreed, “the more the better.”
Council also unanimously approved on first reading a state-directed Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code for new residential and commercial building construction.
The code deals mostly with the use of fire-resistant building materials and maintaining defensible space around structures when it comes to vegetation, City Fire Marshal Robin Pitt said.
The new statewide code came about following the most active wildfire season in the state’s history in 2020. That was the year of the Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon.
While the initial code directive comes from the state, the City does have leeway to make the code even more stringent in the future, he said.
“As a community we know we live with a wildfire risk every year, and especially with this low snow year,” Pitt said.
Municipalities are required to have the new code on the books by April 1.
“Once we adopt the code, we’ll hit the ground running to get the word out to the community,” Pitt said. The new code was approved 7-0.
Also unanimously approved was an increase in the maximum amount victims of crimes in the City can request under the Victims and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) program, from $500 to $1,000.
The fund is limited to about $25,000 per year, and the payouts only compensate for a small amount of losses in most cases, City officials said. Doubling the amount per request does help, they said.
Finally, on a 5-2 vote, Council authorized Public Works Director Matt Langhorst to make an offer on 97 “unbuildable” lots on the east side of Glenwood Springs that are owned by Garfield County.
The lots, which have no access, dot the steep hillside east of Palmer Avenue, from about 12th Street north to Ninth Street. The County has offered over the years to sell the lots to the City, but formal negotiations never proceeded, Langhorst explained. The County now has a real estate representative working on its behalf and has listed the lots for sale.
The City is willing to pay $500 per lot, or $48,500 total, to take ownership and responsibility for the land. There is some benefit to the City, in that the lots abut City land to the east, and ownership would help the City with maintenance needs associated with the 12th Street water tanks and ditch, Langhorst said.
It remains to be seen if Garfield County will accept the City’s offer.