La Plata County Releases Amended Letter of Intent With Oakridge Energy
After holding discussion with several community groups, La Plata County has revised the “letter of intent” with Oakridge Energy, Inc. The amended letter of intent removes the proposed Horse Gulch road alignment identified in the original draft, and calls for the identification of final road alignments as part of the subsequent public process.
County Manager, Shawn Nau stated that “Our conversations with several community groups indicated a strong desire to look at some alternative route options for the roads being considered under the letter of intent, primarily to avoid the trails in the Horse Gulch area.” As a result, the County has worked with Oakridge Energy to remove the Horse Gulch alignment from the proposed letter of intent.
Commissioner Kellie Hotter, who has served as Board liaison on the project, also commented, “While we will continue to look at possible ways to reduce traffic coming into Durango via County Road 240 (Florida Road), our meetings with community groups and other interested individuals demonstrated a strong desire to avoid the Horse Gulch area. Given that the letter of intent is not binding on either party, it simply makes sense to allow for the identification of the final route alignments through the public process that will follow approval of the proposed letter of intent.”
A “letter of intent” is a document that county governments use to begin a process that is designed to conclude in a final contract. The letter of intent is not binding on either party. It is a starting point for public discussion, which, in this case will require the direct involvement of important partners such as the City of Durango, Colorado Department of Transportation, Bureau of Land Management and other community groups, to determine whether a contract can be reached, and if so, what its final details look like.
The proposed letter of intent is scheduled for formal consideration by the Board of County Commissioners at its business meeting on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
