July 2022

Welcome to City Currents

• Durango Celebrated Fourth of July this year with a Drone show put on by the drone light show artists Verge Areo. Several other events  happened over the holiday weekend, including tons on live music and the annual parade
• On July 29, the City will host a very special Movies in the Park, where residents and their families can gather in Buckley Park to view the hit new Disney Pixar film Eancnto presented in Spanish. Before the movie begins Durango Parks and Rec invites residents to come enjoy Latin music and other activities in the park. 

• A number of street paving projects took place throughout July. One of the standout paving projects that many residents have likely noticed is the new pavement on Ninth Street between Main Avenue and Second Avenue downtown. 
• Many of the parking spots alongside streets downtown from 12th Street to College Drive have been restriped for better visibility and a cleaner look. 

• Signs that were allowed during the COVID pandemic as a temporary measure need to be removed within city limits.
  Two orders were implemented by the city’s Community Development department: To allow for additional temporary signage, and the other to allow for businesses to use a portion of their parking lots for seating.  

• Be part of Durango’s parking future by participating in a city-wide survey designed to help the city identify parking solutions. To ensure that current parking programs and regulations are meeting the mobility needs of residents and visitors, the city has partnered with Walker Consultants to develop a proactive and forward-thinking Comprehensive Parking Master Plan.
• Public transit agencies around Colorado are joining together to take part in the Zero Fare for Better Air initiative. This collaborative initiative is designed to reduce ground-level ozone by increasing use of transit in August.
• The city of Durango was designated as a Bronze-level Walk Friendly Community on June 21, 2022 by the Walk Friendly Communities program. This was the city’s first application to become a Walk Friendly Community. Walk Friendly Communities is a nationally recognized program that evaluates communities based on a set of criteria looking at programs and infrastructure and designates them a level based on how well they meet the criteria. There are 5 designation levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention. Durango is now 1 of 4 designated Walk Friendly Communities in Colorado. 

• Durango Police Officer Ron Wysocki retired after 28 years of service with the Durango Police Department. Most of his years with DPD were spent as a traffic officer, where he obtained all three levels of accident investigator which includes Accident Reconstructionist. Ron also received his Motorcycle Officer Certification and has been the Department’s only Motor Unit for several years. Please join us in congratulating Ron on his retirement.
• The Durango Police department welcomed officer Irvin Blais to the Durango Police Department in July. In addition to his service with DPD, Blais is also currently serving active duty in the US Army Reserves and is a prior service Marine. 

In July 1960 the city of Durango welcomed Robert Rank as its city manager. Rank served as Durango city manager from 1960 to 1982, and is the namesake for Rank Park (near Durango High School). He died in 1992. 

In this newspaper clipping welcoming Rank in 1960 it says "He will find that we are not the easiest people in the world when dealing with city affairs." 

To read more, search the Public Records Access Portal. Select Minutes - INDEXED SEARCH as your Search Type, selecting City Council Regular Meeting from the dropdown menu for the Meeting Type, and entering the Meeting Date that was mentioned above.

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