The owner of a downtown Salida liquor store has one year to sell or face permanent license revocation. City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to hold that penalty in abeyance for Chad Thornton, owner of Arlie Dale’s Jug Liquor at 220 North F Street, after Police Chief Russell Johnson testified that Thornton had been operating the store while drunk, was arrested, and blew a .0192 blood alcohol content at the Chaffee County Jail. Colorado sets the DWAI threshold for driving at .050.
Johnson told council that on February 28, Thornton got into a street confrontation near the store with a passerby, allegedly grabbing the man by the shirt collar and yelling vulgarities before following him across the street. A bystander called 911. Officers arrived, found Thornton on duty and visibly intoxicated, and placed him in custody.
Johnson described additional complaints gathered after the arrest. He said Thornton allowed a man known to police as a habitual drinker to remain in the store — and that man later grabbed a female customer by the waist as she tried to leave. Johnson also reported Thornton had been found passed out at the register while the store was open and accessible. A second woman, Johnson said, reported that Thornton had touched her inappropriately on a separate visit.
Thornton addressed council and confirmed he had been drinking and that the breathalyzer reading was accurate. He disputed that the confrontation included a physical assault, arguing the security footage did not capture the alleged moment.
Council voted 6-0 that substantial evidence existed of a conduct-of-establishment violation — failure to operate in a decent, orderly manner, and permitting disturbances offensive to the average citizen. A second 6-0 vote classified the offense as a Level 4 violation, the only category that allows revocation.
Council declined outright revocation, with members saying they did not want to strip the store’s resale value, given that Thornton would need those proceeds to move forward. The final penalty — revocation held in abeyance for one year, conditioned on a council-approved transfer or sale, with immediate revocation triggered by any new legal violation — passed 6-0. Thornton has 28 days to appeal.
In the night’s second major action, council voted 5-1 to lower the affordable housing minimum for Phase 1 of the South Ark Neighborhood, the city-owned development on the former Vandaveer Ranch south of U.S. 50. The new floor is 33 percent. The original standard, adopted through a 2023 public engagement process, required 50 percent. Council Member Wayles Martin voted no.
The South Ark Neighborhood is planned for up to 400 housing units built across three phases. The residential footprint covers approximately 32 acres, with another 64 acres set aside for parks and open space. The city is currently installing Phase 1 backbone infrastructure — water, wastewater, and streets — across 55 lots.
Community Development Director Bill Almquist told council that affordable units cost approximately $400 per square foot to build — equal to market rate — but must be sold below that cost. The reduction, Almquist said, was designed to attract private developers through an upcoming request for qualifications. Owner’s representative David Starns said Front Range developers he had approached were interested but waiting for final, approved requirements before committing.
The Planning Commission had recommended keeping the overall project at 50 percent and limiting reductions to Phase 1 only. Staff recommended reducing Phase 1 to 33 percent and cutting non-income-based workforce housing to 10 percent for Phase 1. The existing requirement for that category is 25 percent. Council approved the staff recommendation.
Chaffee Housing Authority Executive Director Marjo Curgus warned council during public comment that the plan’s 90-day local-buyer right of first refusal carries significant legal complexity — implicating fair housing law and the commerce clause — and that defining who qualifies as “local” is among the most procedurally involved provisions in the packet. Another speaker warned that Proposition 123, the state’s primary affordable housing grant program, is expected to be largely unavailable for the coming fiscal year due to state budget pressures.
Council Member Joey Rovinsky moved to approve the ordinance with an amendment: any affordable units lost by reducing Phase 1 below 50 percent must be recouped through an equivalent percentage requirement in Phases 2 and 3. Council Member Shelley Schreiner seconded. Martin voted no, saying the cost of reduced affordability always falls on those least able to protect themselves. Motion passed 5-1.
Earlier in the meeting, the city attorney’s office asked council to pull two agenda items tied to elected official conduct. Ordinance 2026-11, which would have established removal and sanction procedures for elected officials, and Resolution 2026-12, which would have added parallel decorum policy to the council handbook, were tabled indefinitely after a drafting error was discovered. Both items are expected back within a month, revised to mirror each other. Council Member Alisa Pappenfort moved to table; Council Member Martin seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Several residents used citizen comment to object to recent enforcement of the leash ordinance at the Vandaveer open space adjoining the South Ark site. Speakers said community service officers had issued citations to dog walkers on land that has functioned as an informal off-leash area for years. Martin later asked the city to clearly communicate to residents what is permitted at the site.
Treasurer Ben Gilling warned that Salida faces a historically extreme drought — one that directly threatens the Arkansas River tourism economy the city depends on for sales tax revenue. The Finance Committee will take up the situation formally at its next meeting. The city also received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fifth consecutive year.
Tuesday’s actions left one business with a deadline and a neighborhood with a reduced promise — both decisions the council framed as the price of keeping things moving in a community that can no longer afford to wait.
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