The Takeover continued from page 7 tion lounge, stay in fancy hotels and lounge in hot springs. All that’s necessary to get the ball rolling, he says, is some “rebranding” that would serve to alert the world to what’s going on in the valley — starting with chang- ing the name of Moffat to Kush. Biggio’s rebranding idea has been met with more than a few guffaws, but he says he’s deadly serious about it. The valley cli- mate produces a cannabis crop not unlike that found in the Hindu Kush region of central Asia, he explains, and putting Kush, Colorado, on the map would draw weed connoisseurs from far and wide. “The whole point of this is not just to be cute,” he insists. “I’ve been calling this the Kush region of the of the project, landing the contract to build the roads that crisscross the development, which were paid for by Justice. But the push for Kush rubs him and many other longtime citizens of Moffat the wrong way. “Most of the locals didn’t really care what they were doing out there until they dragged everybody into the name change,” he says. Skoglund may be the lone voice of dis- sent on the board — which, since the an- nexation, has come to be dominated by Area 420-friendly forces. Three of the six boardmembers work for or have a fi nancial interest in grow operations, and a fourth is married to a grower. The mayor, Cassandra Foxx, has spoken out in favor of the name change, describing it as a gesture of respect for “a new industry that is keeping the town alive.” In a town the size of Moffat, it takes the poorest counties in the state, Saguache County is ill-equipped to handle the infl ux of new arrivals, some of whom are living in makeshift conditions and working in gray- market operations that are far less transparent than those at Area 420. Lack of resources and land-use regulations, lack of local law enforce- ment and lack of civic engagement are often blamed for creating a situation that seems to be spiraling out of control. “There’s no land management at all,” says Michael Klein, a fi lmmaker and security con- sultant who’s divided time between Denver and the Moffat area for thirty years. “All these people who have no home are moving up to the hills, living in old mines, pitching tents.” Klein worked for years with county of- fi cials to develop regulations that require residences in unincorporated areas to have rush that’s happening there. I understand that, but I’m neither for it nor against it.” Biggio isn’t a Moffat resident, either; these days he lives in Salida, a 45-minute drive away. But as someone who once spent time in prison for growing weed, he sees the battle over Moffat’s identity in somewhat starker terms than do many of his foes. He talks about social equity issues in the cannabis trade, about how much he enjoys working with growers who are trying to “transition from the gray market” into a legal grow. Es- tablishing the town of Kush is a declaration of sorts, a way of extending legitimacy to people who, like him, were once considered outlaws. “We’re trying to defi ne a new culture,” he says. “This is the fi rst time guys like us have been able to come out of the shadows and do things legally.” Area 420 founders Whitney Justice (left) and Mike Biggio persuaded Moffat offi cials to annex their “cannabis business park,” which now has close to eighty licensed growers. United States since I started this project.” When Biggio unveiled his immodest proposal in early June, it drew bemused headlines from CNN, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, and other national and international media outlets. But it also trig- gered much outrage and pushback in tiny Moffat. Many locals fi rst learned about the proposal from an article in the Denver Post and showed up in force at a raucous town board meeting to denounce the idea. “I don’t care what you guys do,” said one man who’d lived in Moffat eleven years, addressing the newcomers from the grow operations. “It’s a free country. But I don’t need some dope smokers to come into town and tell me that there’s something wrong with the name of the town I live in.” Even some residents who had been gen- erally supportive of the cannabis industry have found themselves re-evaluating their position. “I want you journalists to learn how to spell this: Fuck No, with a capital F, on the name change,” town board member Ken Skoglund tells Westword. “It’s not necessary. It’s not proper. It’s Mike Biggio’s ego. It’s just a publicity stunt, and it’s caused a whole lot of animosity in town.” Members of Skoglund’s family have lived 8 in Moffat for half a century. He was one of the boardmembers who voted in favor of the Area 420 annexation, fi guring it would boost the town’s beleaguered economy. His excava- tion company was one of the benefi ciaries only a handful of signatures to petition for a name change, and Biggio is expected to submit such a petition to the board in the next few weeks. If it passes muster, the peti- tion would then be sent to the secretary of state for review, to be followed by a public hearing on the matter. Biggio expects smooth sailing. He argues that the town of Moffat is too easily confused with Moffat County in northwest Colorado and that the town has little in the way of a a sewage disposal system, “but it means nothing,” he says. “I can point out a hundred people who have no septic system. You can go anywhere here and camp. It’s the wild West.” Licensed grow operations, including Area 420, have attracted other kinds of com- plaints: odors, light pollution, traffi c, dust, trash and more. Biggio maintains that his operation meets state requirements and is tidier than many old-timers’ yards in town. He encourages his growers to live on the “I don’t need some dope smokers to tell me there’s something wrong with the name of the town I live in.” name-brand identity worth saving. “There is no heritage here,” he declares. “The rail- road’s long gone. People call it Methy Moffat. That’s what it’s known for. If ever there was a town that needed a rebrand, this is it.” Whether the proposal succeeds or not, many locals see the name-change controversy as a symptom of a larger problem: the rapid rise of the cannabis industry in the valley, a cultural and economic shift that local govern- ments have been slow to address and that has left residents feeling overwhelmed. One of property — in RVs, converted grain bins and tiny houses — with the aim of registering them as Moffat voters, ensuring that the pro-420 crowd outnumbers the opposition. Developer Justice, who lives in Snow- mass Village, says her company has taken no offi cial position on the name change. “I have nothing to do with it,” she says. “It’s not appropriate for a woman in the Aspen area to tell people who live 200 miles away what to call themselves. There are people who would like to capitalize on the green The town of Moffat is named after David Halliday Moffat, a banker and railroad ty- coon whose efforts to improve Denver’s access to transcontinental rail routes even- tually led to the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, a six-mile tunnel under the Conti- nental Divide leading to Winter Park. Moffat died in 1911, the same year that the town of Moffat was incorporated, but by then, train service had made the town a major hub in the San Luis Valley for nearby mining, ranching and farming communities. At one point the Moffat area boasted a population of 2,500 and a brass band that greeted visitors as they disembarked from the passenger trains that arrived twice a day. But the town’s heyday was brief. The mines stopped producing. Farms dried up, the water rights sold or diverted. The rail- road reduced service and then suspended it altogether. By 1950, Moffat had slipped into a sleepy half-life, its population hover- ing around a hundred or so. That’s where it remained for decades — until Mike Biggio came to town. Born in Queens, New York, Biggio moved to Colorado with his family in 1986 at the age of six. He spent much of his adolescence in juvenile detention or special “camps” for troubled youth. “I was a knucklehead as a kid,” he says. “I ended up going to juvie at the age of fourteen. I had an assault charge, and me and a couple of older kids broke into a hardware store.” continued on page 10 AUGUST 11-17, 2022 WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | westword.com COLORADOAREA420.COM COLORADOAREA420.COM
