Last week, the San Miguel Basin Forum ran a lengthy story about the Nov. 8 meeting at Norwood Town Hall, a meeting held for community updates on the Four Seasons’ workforce housing plans, as well as impacts to West End communities. That meeting featured community leaders — county commissioners, mayors and others — who gave the latest on Four Seasons construction in Mountain Village and West End housing plans for workers, plus potentials risks to infrastructure on Wright’s Mesa and in Nucla and Naturita. The meeting allowed for pubic comment.
That story, titled “Locals question man camps, infrastructure in community meetings,” was published Nov. 12. Afterward, Beth Lakin, of Ridgway, who was featured in that story, contacted the Forum for a correction. The Forum reported that she’d reserved rooms at the Ridgway hotel, which was sold to the Four Seasons group for workforce housing. Lakin said it’s important to note that she intended to book a block of rooms for her wedding in Ridgway this summer, but she had not reserved them.
Additionally, San Miguel County Sheriff Dan Covault messaged the Forum in reply to the story’s post on social media. The Forum reported that Covault had first-hand experience with man camps as a law enforcement officer in North Dakota. Covault said that statement should be corrected. He did not police man camps in North Dakota; rather, he has family there that experienced negative impacts of man camps, and that has been his experience.
And, Ray Cossey contacted the Forum Nov. 13 to clarify his part in the story. The Forum spoke with Cossey by phone Nov. 14. Then, Cossey said he was the property owner in Montrose County who had been considering developing a man camp.
Community leaders and others did speak in the meeting about a potential man camp in Redvale, but said that it was no longer a possibility.
Cossey told the Forum last Friday he never submitted an application to Montrose County. Therefore, he was never denied a permit.
“We were just exploring,” he said.
He did say he could have established such a camp for the Four Seasons legally. He said he could have done individual septic systems and have stayed within the state’s water and sewer guidelines. For Cossey and his family though, it was not the right decision.
He said people in West End communities are important to his family, and they’ve done business with many of them over the years. He said he wants clarity on his decision to forgo the man camp; he’s completely backed out of the the idea.
“We knew it would be a strain on our immediate neighbors,” he said. “They were not fans, and we didn’t want to push something uphill.”
Cossey said the West End is his home too, and he doesn’t want to negatively impact anyone’s life.
He said he still has 14 vacant lots. He will proceed with houses on those lots in the subdivided neighborhood he’s established.
At the Nov. 8 meeting, community leaders said they weren’t sure where in Montrose County the camp could go at this point, or if it would. They did say they’d heard Rico could be an option.
