MONTE VISTA — The Monte Vista City Council held a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 15, and heard separate presentations from the Rio Grande County Museum and from a doctor.

Lyndsie Ferrell, the Director of the Rio Grande County Museum, gave a presentation and requested that the City of Monte Vista allow the museum to house the Barlow and Sanderson Stagecoach.

The Barlow and Sanderson Stagecoach is a mud wagon, the coach is like functioning historical coaches from the era of the 1870’s and 1880’s. Before the development of railroads, stagecoaches were used to carry mail, passengers, and other items from one city and town to the next.

The Barlow and Sanderson Stage company had an office in Del Norte. Sometime before 1947, the Monte Vista Commercial Club, a club that was a forerunner to the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce, purchased a Barlow and Sanderson stagecoach. The stagecoach was the only local representation of its kind. The coach was donated to the Monte Vista Historical Society, and it stayed for many years in the Fort Garland Museum.

In 2014, the stagecoach was brought back to Monte Vista, and is now being stored, pending restoration, to be displayed again as a historical artifact.

“We would like to request of the board, the honor to be able to house the stage in our museum,” Ferrell said. “We have the resources and the means necessary to take care of it properly, and potentially preserve it back to its original state. We have temperature and humidity-controlled facilities, this is important when preserving historical artifacts because the elements can be one of our worst contenders when keeping things in appropriate condition.” 

Ferrell explained that the museum also had staff members and people that could help properly restore and fix artifacts.

“This process actually begins because we are actively pursuing the Barlow and Sanderson stage office,” she said.

Ferrell spoke of how the Rio Grande County Museum would like to preserve and move both the office and stagecoach to the Rio Grande County Museum.

“Eventually we would like to have both,” Ferrell said.

After the presentation, Mayor Dale Becker said that once a document is written up with the information regarding the request, and this is given to City Attorney Eugene Farish, the council could decide.

“I am all about preserving history, “said Becker.

City Manager GiGi Dennis advised the council of the possibility of Dr. Concetta DiRusso and her husband Paul, moving to the San Luis Valley and trying to open a new lab in Monte Vista.

Dr. DiRusso joined the City Council meeting via Zoom and gave a presentation on the lab, and what it could offer to Monte Vista.

“My company Kennebec Analytical Services is a testing lab,” DiRusso said. “My prior life I was an academic scientist. I was looking for something new to do. The state of Nebraska had developed a hemp program. I started a testing lab, since there wasn’t any there, and since we had the expertise. The purpose of testing is basically to protect public health. So, it does two things, pre-harvest, the testing helps to distinguish and prove whether you have hemp or marijuana.”

She explained how hemp and marijuana are different and the importance of testing.

“This testing is key not only to know those levels of THC, but also to say that the products are safe for use,” DiRusso said. “There are all different ways that they can be used, smoked, rubbed on their bodies, ingested, but it is our job to make sure that they are safe.” 

Dr. DiRusso talked about her staff and team and spoke in more detail about her company and lab.

“We have spent the last two years applying our credentials, so that we can be used both nationally and internationally depending on the rules of both cannabis and marijuana,” she said. “We have a certificate of accreditation specific to testing laboratories. As a hemp testing lab, we are also registered with the DEA. We can also have government contracts. We are also registered with the USDA. For pre-harvest plant testing we do this for hemp specifically. We do report the levels of THC to the state as well as to the USDA. We also do tests for growers. We can test lavender. We test for processors and extractors. We can test tinctures, and soaps. We measure contaminants, pesticides, and heavy metals. We are in Lincoln, Neb.”

DiRusso showed pictures of her current lab in Nebraska and explained some of her plans for opening a lab in Colorado. Dr. DiRusso also said she would also like to test lavender in accordance with essential oils.

The council then discussed any items that are prohibited in labs for testing in Monte Vista with the Planning and Zoning committee. Members of the committee stated that the only item prohibited for testing currently is marijuana.

Councilwoman Martha Lock encouraged the council to not say no to the idea of the lab, making it clear it would not be a dispensary.

Councilman Jason Lorenz said Monte Vista fought over marijuana in previous years. The issue had torn the city in half, and he didn’t think this was a good idea, based on the way the vote went before.

“I can’t in good conscience say that I am OK with that, just because a lab brings a few jobs to Monte Vista. The voters decided that marijuana is not good for Monte Vista,” Lorenz said.

Lock said, “We are talking about the legalization of marijuana, we have gotten off the topic, the issue at hand regardless of what they are testing is, do we want a new lab to be put in Monte Vista.”

Mayor Becker said that he wants to investigate the wording on the previous ballot for Monte Vista, regarding marijuana, before doing anything.

In other council business, students from Monte Vista High School, Alyssa Campos and Casandra Lopez, asked the City Council if they would agree to a bonfire on Oct. 5, for this year’s upcoming homecoming week.

The students also said they asked the Monte Vista Police Department if they could block off 1st and Adams streets, down to Second Street and over to Davis Street, and then into the high school parking lot for the homecoming parade on Oct. 6. The girls explained that the parade would start at 3:15 p.m.

The council approved the bonfire and parade route requests.

The next City Council meeting will be held on Oct. 6.