By High Country Advocate Staff
BUENA VISTA — October 28, 2025 — The Buena Vista Board of Trustees heard presentations from advisory boards, discussed environmental testing at the River Park smelter site, and revisited the debate over a proposed tax-sharing agreement with Kroger’s City Market during Tuesday’s meeting at the Community Center.
Advisory Boards Present 2026 Budget Plans
The meeting opened with a joint work session featuring reports from the Beautification, Recreation, Trails, and Historic Preservation boards.
Beautification chair Joy Dupree highlighted ongoing signage and mural updates, noting that her board’s 2026 budget request was reduced by $8,500. Dupree said the group’s “pet project,” the Midland Railroad mural restoration, was completed this summer and funded entirely through donations. She also praised Public Works for completing long-delayed paving at the dog park.
The Recreation Advisory Board, led by Mackenzie Lyle, celebrated the opening of Billy Cordova Park and completion of the “Pocket Wave 2.0” river feature. Lyle said her board’s priority is maintaining existing facilities and securing “long-term, sustainable funding” for recreation services.
Upcoming projects include replacing staircases at the River Park, resurfacing the Forest Square basketball court, remodeling the boathouse bathrooms, and refurbishing the town’s softball and baseball fields. Grant requests totaling nearly $950,000 are being pursued for those efforts.
Trails Advisory Board chair Kelly Collins reported that volunteer partnerships generated more than $108,000 worth of trail improvements this year at a cost of only 3% to the town. Projects included completion of the Chicago Ranch 5K loop and new connections linking the Rock and Roll and Walton Loop trails. Collins said the long-delayed Whipple Bridge decking replacement is finally scheduled for late 2025, with additional work planned to extend trails toward County Road 306 and beyond. CSU engineering students will assist with ADA-compliant trail design next year.
From the Historic Preservation Commission, John O’Brien outlined preparations for the “Saving Places on the Road” conference scheduled for June 12-14, 2026, which will spotlight restoration along East Main Street. He said Buena Vista’s Certified Local Government designation has helped bring in $7 million in preservation grants since 2015. The commission is also working to stabilize the historic Pearl building and support adaptive reuse of 20 West Main into a restaurant.
River Park Heavy Metal Findings Raise Health Concerns
During public comment, Tom Brown presented results from recent heavy-metal testing at the former Morley Smelter site in the River Park. According to Brown, topsoil samples showed arsenic levels up to 57 times higher than EPA health standards, along with elevated lead, chromium, and cadmium concentrations. He urged the trustees to adopt a “scientific, long-term remediation plan” to address contamination that could leach into soil and groundwater. Brown thanked Mayor Libby Fay and town staff for authorizing the initial testing earlier this year.
Kroger and City Market Incentive Debate Resurfaces
Economic Development Corporation director Debra Cameron urged trustees to reconsider rejecting Kroger’s proposal to relocate and expand Buena Vista’s City Market. Cameron described grocery recruitment as “one of the hardest projects an economic developer undertakes,” emphasizing that City Market’s proposed $30 million investment would generate construction jobs, long-term employment, and new sales-tax revenue.
She argued that a limited tax-revenue-sharing agreement—focused on infrastructure such as a required traffic light—would not drain existing town funds because payments would come from “net new” tax receipts. Cameron noted that Kroger has supported local causes for decades and warned that “opportunities like this don’t last long in a volatile grocery market.”
Several residents, including Jonathan Webwiller, Graham Litwiller, and Scott Simmons, spoke in favor of continuing talks with Kroger. Others expressed frustration with what they viewed as closed-door deliberations and insufficient outreach before the town’s earlier decision to halt negotiations.
Opponents countered that public subsidies for large corporations would harm Main Street retailers and “homogenize” the town’s economy.
After extended discussion, trustees reaffirmed the previously drafted public announcement declining the proposed tax split, though several acknowledged the difficulty of balancing growth with preserving Buena Vista’s small-town character.
Other Business
Trustees also approved routine consent-agenda items, including Resolution 68-2025, certifying delinquent water bills for collection by the Chaffee County Treasurer, and reviewed staff reports from the administrator, treasurer, and airport manager.
A public hearing followed on Ordinance 12-2025, amending town code provisions for parking, signage, accessory dwelling units, and development fees, before the meeting concluded with preliminary discussion of the 2026 budget.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent.
