The Archuleta Board of County Commissioners and the Pagosa Springs Town Council held their monthly ‘joint work session’ at Town Hall yesterday, and shared their collective perspectives on a range of local political issues, including the regulation of STRs (Short Term Rentals), a recent “recreation survey” conducted by the Town, and a bit of discussion about our affordable housing crisis.
At one point, the meeting chair, Town Council mayor pro tem David Schanzenbaker, asked the County officials to share their thoughts on the County jail issue.
County Administrator Bentley Henderson:
“We convened a committee a couple of months ago, with the intent of having them morph into a campaign committee. And this morning at their work session, the County Commissioners essentially agreed that going to the ballot with a question for the voters this November is an appropriate next step for us, in this process. So we’re going to go ahead and formalize the processes and decisions of the Facilities Committee and get them started on the campaign… on the campaign trail, if you will… and get started educating folks on need for additional facilities for the County…
“The project that was presented last fall will be the same one that we will be taking to voters again this year.
County Commissioner Ronnie Maez:
“The [Facilities Committee] has recommended that we include Dispatch in the building.”
We heard that the latest cost figures for the proposed Sheriff’s administration-jail-dispatch offices would be in the $21 million range. That compares with the $18 million facility proposed last year.
Mr. Schanzenbaker asked what type of financing the BOCC might be considering. The Town Council had passed a resolution last year, asking the BOCC to avoid seeking a sales tax increase and to use a property tax mill levy instead, for funding facilities. The Town government is almost totally reliant on sales tax for its funding, while the County is funded mainly via property taxes.
Commissioner Steve Wadley explained that the voters are more willing to fund government expansion through sales tax increases, due to the belief that tourists contribute a sizable percentage of the sales tax revenues. (The Daily Post has written about this issue in the past, here.)
Commissioner Ronnie Maez shared his thoughts about the difference between property tax-funded bond issues and sales tax-funded revenue bonds, particularly during difficult economic times — with an explanation that I personally found thoroughly confusing. (I will make it a point to sit down with Commissioner Maez and get some clarification.)
Commissioner Wadley issued a plea to the Town Council:
“I know that we had our differences last year, but we would really appreciate your support going forward on this. We lost by a short amount [last November] but I would ask you to appreciate the position the County is in. The time that we’ve lost in this process, you know, we’re probably another $2 million to pay for the same [proposed facility.] Time is money, but with steel prices up and everything, that’s a lot of it.”
The proposed facility — as I understand it — does not include any space for the 6th Judicial District. So that’s another piece of the puzzle about which the taxpayers still have very little information.
Especially, perhaps, the taxpayers have no information about what it might cost to thoroughly renovate and expand the existing Courthouse to include the necessary facilities — rather than abandoning that historic building for something new (and perhaps, cheaply built?)
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.