Crestone man invites homeless workers to Valley

SAGUACHE COUNTY — According to a letter to the editor published in the Colorado Springs Independent Jan. 8, a Crestone man is inviting some 50 Colorado Springs homeless men to the Valley to work at local “ranches.”
“I don’t pretend to understand all of the subtle nuance of the plight of the homeless in El Paso County, but I would like to extend an invitation to the San Luis Valley for legal camping and steady work for 50 men.” Don Naegele writes in his letter. He goes on to list the advantages these homeless men will enjoy if they agree to come to the Valley:
1. A local church will provide transportation.
2. Work will be available at five or six ranches in the area.
3. The men camping at the unspecified location(s) will be given donated bicycles. Naegele says the property is close to the Great Sand Dunes.
4. “Valley Bucks” which can be spent at a “special” general store and other local businesses will be given to the workers. Valley Bucks can also pay for laundry services. Workers will have access to showers and lockers.
Concerned county residents forwarded the letter to the Center Post-Dispatch.
Little information is available on Naegele; he is not listed in the phone book. A general online search for the name brought up a document from a Saguache County commissioners’ meeting and several other Saguache County property records documents.
The property records document shows a quit claim deed from a Santa Fe Community School to Shiloh Church in 1998. Another property record lists an affidavit for the Naegele Family Trust in the name of Ray and Rosamond Naegele for a property in the Baca Grande Chalet I, also in 1998. This record seems to be for only the one parcel.
The BoCC minutes for May 3, 2016 shows approval of a religious retreat property represented by Angie and Earl LeRoy, former mayor of Moffat. The Naegele name is not mentioned. The minutes list the same property description as that transferred from the Santa Fe Community School, which appears to be located in Santa Fe, N.M. The Naegeles lived in Albuquerque, N.M.
The address of the property is at County Road Z in Moffat. The minutes show it is 1,086 acres, but the LeRoys told commissioners they would only be using 40 acres of the property. Four residence were reported as already existing on the property.
The minutes read: “This request is for a religious retreat center, will be for small groups and/or individuals who will be given very personal time and attention. There will be larger groups periodically but will also allow ministers who need to be refreshed and rejuvenated to be able to return to their ministries in their own regions with new and uplifted enthusiasm. No letters of support or objection have been received for this application. The Saguache County Planning Commission recommended approval …by unanimous vote.”
No other objections were reported and the water well permit was said to allow for such use. Commissioners approved it unanimously and it was recorded in the clerk and recorder’s office May 17, 2016.
A Don Naegele is listed as operating a business in Colorado Springs. A Shiloh Chapel also is located in Colorado Springs. The chapel’s website offers “life skills and life coaching with a focus on starting over after incarceration.” It also provides a support group for those struggling with addictions. It is not known, however, if the chapel is connected to Shiloh Church in Moffat.
The persons questioning Naegele’s letter are concerned that the invitation could be recruiting the workers for local marijuana establishments and housing them at the Shiloh Church or some other church in the area. One tipster reported that the church has an arrangement for people of faith to buy property on the acreage and erect permanent residences.
The arrangement alarms these residents who see a pattern not unlike that of the Potch LLC/420 development in Moffat, which plans to sell small acreages to buyers for marijuana and hemp sales/cultivation. Residents worry the homeless men could bring addictions and criminal pasts to the town. Michael Biggio, listed as sales/consultant for 420, has publicly stated his intent to employ former felons in marijuana cultivation for the business.