Residents urge action on courthouse repairs, water fill station and short‑term rental waitlist

During public comment on Nov. 12, residents presented three separate requests to the Town of Buena Vista trustees.

Leslie Kelly, representing Buena Vista Heritage, said a $10,000 town grant last year funded an electrical study of the 1882 courthouse and helped leverage a $151,000 state historic‑fund application that requires a 25 percent match. She asked trustees to consider an annual $10,000 town line item to help the nonprofit match larger grants for repairs. Kelly said the group has raised roughly $22,000 toward the 25 percent match and has successfully obtained multiple state historic fund grants in prior years.

Christopher and Diane Williams asked trustees to reopen the Greg Drive water fill station, which has been closed since June. They said the unannounced closure affected building permit approvals and left remote property owners without an accessible water source; the couple requested immediate reopening while rate and website language are finalized. Public works staff said the station is still off, shared recent volume data (about 14,000 gallons in October versus 86,000 the prior year and about 146,000 the year before) and advised that legal and operational questions — including whether the town can lawfully designate the station as a municipal water source for residential COs — should be reviewed with the town’s water attorney before reopening.

Online commenter Andy Petrasch asked trustees to add an agenda item so the board can consider allowing short‑term rental licenses to be issued to homeowners who were added to a waiting list before Ordinance 9 took effect. Trustees indicated the matter likely requires ordinance changes and planned to address the broader short‑term rental discussion in the spring.