Bluff busy April includes dark sky, river trail

by David Boyle
News Director
Members of the Bluff town council had a busy April, finalizing a dark sky application, exploring more involvement at the cemetery and beginning talks for the next year budget at their meetings throughout the month.
The town of Bluff completed and submitted another application to be a Dark Sky town in alignment with a mid-April deadline. The designation would help further market the town as a night sky destination by aligning the town with dark sky principles including elimination of light pollution.
As part of the application, work has been done to make the town in compliance with the International Dark Sky Association which requires lighting policy. The city application was set to be reviewed in April and determination known by the month of May.
Nearby Natural Bridges and Hovenweep National Monuments, Dead Horse Point and Goosenecks State Park, as well as Canyonlands National Park, all have dark sky designations in San Juan County, as well as ULUM Moab located in northern San Juan.
Members of the Bluff town council also began discussions for the upcoming fiscal year budget.
Among the items at the April meeting members of the Bluff town council began early reviews for the upcoming budget.
With an anticipated concern about a potential decrease in tourism, particularly international tourists, staff discussed preparing for a decrease of up to 25-percent in taxes derived from sales tax and Transient Room Tax.
A staff financial report showed that revenue through three quarters of the 24-25 fiscal year via total taxes are down compared to the year previous.
The council is preparing to prioritize areas for funding and identifying areas where spending could be reduced, one identified item would be a hope to see a reduction in attorney fees.
While overall the council discussed potential decreases in tax revenue, businesses is continuing as usual. Among the items members of the council approved a $1,000 bid by Norman Lameman to complete electric work at the Bluff Community Center, with electric projects including changing lighting in the gym and other minor work in the gym and kitchen.
Bluff town council also received a report from the road committee, with a Calf Canyon road project hopefully out to bid by the end of the fiscal year 2025.
That project includes curbs on 7th west and will cost $35-$50,000 with funding coming from the class C budget and 50-percent of the project coming back to the city through the county transportation board.
An additional project to repave 4th street including speed bumps and traffic control has a $1 million price tag. Council is exploring a potential walking path as part of the project but that would come with an additional cost of $229,000.
With the significant cost of the project members of the council moved to have an in-depth discussion on the project, its funding sources and priority ranking as part of discussions around other budget and capital improvement plan talks.
At a special May meeting council also approved hiring of interns. Bluff locals Samuel Bouchard and Josie Lott were extended offers by the town. Council also discussed finding funds for a third interviewed candidate which the council hoped to hire.
Budget concerns, and a desire to complete active projects were weighed before council members Britt Hornsby, Jennifer Davila and Luanne Hook voted in favor to offer the two positions while Mayor Ann Leppanen and council member Linda Sosa voted nay, as they said they’d like to see the full budget numbers.
The town also celebrated the installation and grand opening of the Bluff river trail. A grand opening was held on the afternoon of April 25. The private and public land partnership represents a 35-year project.
Staff and council noted that while the trail runs through Bluff, no expenses were incurred by the town itself. The trail includes an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible portion near Sand Island, with signage also being installed along the path.
The town of Bluff is also exploring taking over a section of the Bluff cemetery. While some of the cemetery is managed by the Hole in the Rock Foundation and Southwest Heritage, the county also manages some of the cemetery as a special service district. 
County officials are open to the town of Bluff taking over the county section. The town plans to hold a public hearing to gather input and explore the process of transferring the service district, which would include establishment of a town cemetery board.
The town would also explore a grant from the State Historic Protection Office for cemetery work including GIS mapping for preservation. It was noted that the grant would not include funds for maintenance or beautification at the cemetery.
A fire mitigation project was also held in April. An event on the 12th and 13th allowed residents to bring organic yard waste to the old elementary school building for chipping and burning.
The event was overseen by the fire department with help from the Bears Ears Partnership and community volunteers. Staff estimated 50 truckloads were collected over the two-day period including burning brush, large pieces of wood added to a wood bank with plans to make wood chips with the branches.