Durango, CO: **Councilors will vote to accept recommendations by the Durango Immigrant Immigration Task Force that would be taken into consideration by council when discussing future initiatives related to immigration and multicultural issues.
The action, scheduled on the consent agenda for the council’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, focuses generally on:
Expanding multilingual communication across city departments;
Creating culturally responsive outreach efforts; and
Launching bilingual civic education workshops to help residents better understand local government, public safety, and emergency preparedness.
The task force also recommends establishing bilingual community connector positions, enhancing cultural responsiveness training for city staff and police officers, modernizing the city’s 2004 Immigrant‑Friendly Resolution, and developing a public guide to peaceful protest rights and local safety expectations. Recommendations also include a focus on improving collaboration between the Durango Police Department and immigrant communities, strengthening resource navigation, and reducing misinformation.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 5:30 p.m., held at council chambers, 949 East Second Ave., councilors will also:
Hear an update on electric bicycle use on city-owned trails and paths. The update will include which shared-use paths and open space trails allow electric bicycles. Paved, shared-use trails like the Animas River Trail allow class 1 and 2 e-bikes. Certain open space trails like Twin Buttes allow for class 1 electric mountain bikes.
Hear a monthly update from Police Chief Brice Current on Flock camera usage in Durango for June. In June, there were 929 Flock camera searches by Durango Police Department users. Motor vehicle theft accounted for roughly 32% of Flock searches in June. Twelve stolen vehicles were reported in June, and all were recovered.
Receive a water supply update from Public Works Director John Harris. The College Mesa Water Treatment plant is currently meeting water demands using the Florida River, but the Florida River water supply is declining. It is expected that the city will need to use its supplemental water supply from the Animas River one to two months earlier than usual.
Vote on whether to approve six recommended Durango Creates! grants which would allocate $15,025 across the projects. The Durango Creates! grant program, implemented by the Durango Creative District, encourages creative projects that the public can enjoy through creative placemaking.
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Media Contact**Tom SluisPublic Information Officer Phone: (970) 375-5090Email: Tom Sluis