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Downtown Bayfield gets ideas

Revitalization could extend to other areas of town
Katherine Correll, left, the executive director of Downtown Colorado, Inc. joined with her staff and Chief Bruce Evans, right, of the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District, at a meeting Monday at Bayfield Town Hall to brainstorm ideas for economic expansion in Bayfield. Evans raised the possibility of a new downtown fire station that could be built in conjunction with a community recreation center and an indoor gun range.

Bayfield has some strengths as a community and can build on those to attract some business to the area, an economic development team told business people and the public on Tuesday night.

A few things that some residents want - a chain supermarket or a motel - might not happen, they said.

Staff and volunteers from Downtown Colorado, Inc. visited Bayfield on Monday and Tuesday, touring the town and visiting with several groups of residents. They presented some preliminary findings on Tuesday and will complete a more detailed report in six to eight weeks.

Bayfield's strengths include its focus on family, youth and community values, said Katherine Correll, executive director of DCI.

She said many small towns want to appeal to tourists, often at the expense of residents, and that doesn't work in small communities.

She recommended building on existing resources to help build or expand industries in the area. These include the Bayield Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Alliance and Region 9 Economic Development, and La Plata County. Talking with residents at community potlucks organized by the Bayfield Femily Center and Pine River Shares could be a good way of reaching out to find more volunteers for local activities.

Instead of building something from scratch, Correll and her team recommended building on what Bayfield has: sheep and cattle, horses, and fresh food.

Bayfield might be able to tap into the agritourism market, she said.

Several ideas were tossed out at a brainstorming session held Monday afternoon at town hall.

The Upper Pine River Fire District station on Clover Drive can be used for a few more years before it needs to be replaced, said Bruce Evans, the district's chief. He said the district might be able to partner to build a new station and community recreation center in downtown Bayfield, using some of the old middle school campus. An indoor shooting range could be a possibility, he added.

The school district wants to keep the historical building and classrooms for an administration building and perhaps a district preschool, said Superintendent Troy Zabel. It might not need the old community gym and wing of classrooms to the east.

Evans also believes local food production could be expanded. Greenhouses in town that grow flowers and starter plants in summer could be used to grow produce year-round, he theorized.

At Tuesday night's presentation, different landscape and urban designers showed signs and maps used in other communities that could help visitors find downtown, they said. Improving the look of the median on U.S. 160 would let drivers know this is a friendly community and invite them to stay.

A river trail and more fishing access would be a huge asset in Bayfield and would appeal to both residents and visitors, Correll said.

Other ideas: a climbing area in Joe Stephenson Park, and covering the downtown horse arena so it could be an ice rink in the winter.

The town needs to upgrade its facebook presence and have a central calendar of events, a marketing expert recommended.

A marketing campaign could focus on "Heart of the Pine River Valley," with a harvest theme. A couple of other ideas tossed out were "Bayfield: Quiet. Simple. Safe" and "Bayfield of Dreams."

That one elicited a chuckle from the 30 or so people in attendance.

A downtown bed and breakfast, perhaps with a restaurant, or RV spaces in a new river park were ideas presented for lodging.

The presentation will be available on the town website, www.bayfieldgov.org.

"I thought it was a good process," said Chris La May, Bayfield town manager. Some of the ideas would take a lot of money, so those could be longer-term projects. But there are some things that the town and other groups can accomplish, he said.

Mayor Rick Smith said he foresees the entire process taking five to 10 years.

"We would like to get some people engaged and interested," LaMay said. "It won't be one entity or person. It needs to be a collective group."

LaMay said anyone interested in joining the effort should contact him at town hall.