Letter to the Editor: Big price tag

Dear Editor:
People of our great county, I would like to tell our county officials how poorly they our helping our local businesses thrive. I recently had a discussion with the owner of Big D’s Pumping about his new shop that he is building in Rangely. I was asking why he was building a new shop when there was nothing wrong with the old one. He then informed me his property was not in the correct zoning for the type of business that he was conducting. The county inspector informed him of that and then gave him 90 days to close his business. The owner of Big D’s then tried to change his zoning. The county said that they would not do that. The owner of Big D’s then scrambled and pleaded and did get some extra time to figure out what he was going to do. Luckily over the past years he has run a very successful business and could afford to build a new building in the city limits and continue doing business. As a business owner in Rangely this was a very concerning story to hear. Our county officials were going to close a business that employs 20-plus people and has 20-plus vehicles and trailers. I understand that zoning is important in our county, but there are shops all along the White River that are doing more than just agriculture. I thought that these officials were elected to help bring new businesses to our community and support the ones that are here. Other communities are thriving right now in the oil and gas fields but it seems our county officials have put too big of a price tag on our county. When they do this it affects all businesses, local governments and property values. These lost tax dollars are going to other areas, instead of helping our schools, our towns and maintaining our county roads.
A concerned citizen
and business owner,
Brad Casto
Rangely