How many times have you heard someone say
“If I had his money, I could do things my way?”
But little they know that it’s so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind…
— ‘A Satisfied Mind’ by Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes
We’re interesting animals, we human beings. Those of us who have the most, are often the least satisfied, and are constantly trying to acquire more. That tendency can apply to whole groups of people, as well.
It can apply to government agencies, for example. A school district, perhaps. Or a county government.
I’m thinking this morning about the Pagosa Springs Town Council work session held on Tuesday afternoon, June 26. The discussion was centered around vacant parcels — or parcels that could become vacant in the near future — and how the Town Council might choose to utilize those vacant parcels in the future, for the benefit of its employees and the community at large.
Several parcels were discussed. And they were discussed with two key concerns in mind. One concern was the perceived need for affordable housing in the community. The other was the perceived need for a brand-new multi-million-dollar Town maintenance shop.
The first parcel that appeared in the informational packet distributed to the Council was the site of the now-decommissioned sewer lagoons. You can download the full packet here.
The ‘Lagoons Property’ is situated just south of Yamaguchi Park and just east of the Pagosa Springs High School campus, and measures about 26 acres in size.
It was used to accommodate three large settling/treatment ponds, when the Town was treating its own wastewater. (The Town now pumps its sewage uphill through a problem-plagued 7-mile pipeline, to be treated by the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District.)
On Tuesday, Town Manager Andrea Phillips shared a map showing a recent survey of the Lagoon Property:
This map shows the “Floodway” of the San Juan River — in purple. No construction of facilities or homes is allowed in a river floodway, under federal law. The map also shows — in light blue — the “100-year Flood Plain.” Buildings can be constructed within a 100-year flood plain, provided the foundation raises the building above the potential flood level. Thus, building in a flood plain can be more expensive than on other types of parcels.
The map also shows, in light yellow, the “500-year Flood Plain.” I’m not sure what the building requirements might be for those areas.
Here’s the map again, showing, in green, the area recently vacated by the Town sanitation department and potentially available for some type of development.
As we can see from this survey, much of the Lagoon Property is outside the 100-year flood plain — making it feasible for either affordable housing or for Town facilities. (A new recreation center was once proposed for this site, but the Town voters rejected the tax increase that would have partially funded the project.)
The next parcel considered by the Council on Tuesday is a vacant 6-acre lot — narrow and steeply sloping in places — located in the southwest corner of downtown, off of Trujillo Road. (County Road 500.)
This parcel has been the subject of considerable discussion recently, as the possible site for a low-income housing project. The Archuleta County Housing Authority (ACHA) has been working on very preliminary plans for a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) development and has picked this parcel as a likely location for that project… if only the Town Council would simply donate the property to ACHA.
I find this to be a curious situation, because in recent years, ACHA has been directed mainly by former County Commissioner Clifford Lucero and his girlfriend, Executive Director Sara Ward… and more recently, by Mr. Lucero’s daughter, Anissa Lucero, as an administrative assistant.
Mr. Lucero sold the 6-acre Trujillo Road parcel to the Town of Pagosa Springs in 2005, for $150,000 — with the idea that it might be suitable for affordable housing.
The Town has yet to make any definite decisions about donating the Trujillo Road property — to ACHA or to any other housing organization — because affordable housing is only one possible use for that parcel. The parcel could also be used, potentially, for storage of machinery used by the Town Streets Department and Parks Department.
Several other parcels were discussed on Tuesday. But before we look at them, let’s take a moment to think aloud about community priorities.
The Town Council is in general agreement that the current Town maintenance shop — which has been cobbled together in pieces, over the past 75 years — has become too small and too inefficient for the needs of 2018. The population of the Town itself has grown hardly at all during those 75 years, even though the population living in the unincorporated Archuleta County has increased about 5-fold.
The number of streets within the town limits is somewhat greater than what it was 75 years ago, due mainly to annexation of commercial areas. Also, the Town has added a couple of new parks to its workload. So the needs of the Streets Department and the Parks Department have grown, without much in the way of new storage facilities.
So it’s pretty easy to make the case for newer and bigger maintenance facilities, to serve the downtown community.
One estimate for the new maintenance shop set the price at $9 million, not including the land. If the Town can use existing vacant land — or perhaps, build a new shop on the existing shop site on South 5th Street — that will eliminate the need to purchase additional property.
As I mentioned, the population of the Town — within the Town limits — has increased very little over the past 75 years. But the Town’s tax revenues have skyrocketed during that same period, thanks mainly to skyrocketing sales tax revenues, and the Town has invested the windfall into a number of new facilities.
1. A new Town Hall
2. A new park near the High school — Yamaguchi Park
3. The new Ross Aragon Community Center
4. A new riverwalk trail — still under construction
5. The new Bell Tower Park
6. The new South Pagosa Park
7. Improvements to Reservoir Hill Park, Town Park and Centennial Park
8. Paving of all the Town’s streets (but usually without sidewalks.)
9. Other Town-funded improvements, too many to mention
Pagosa Springs has a much improved downtown, compared to 75 years ago, in terms of business activity and amenities that serve both locals and visitors. We could pretty easily build many more new government facilities over the next decade, if we want to focus or financial resources on government improvements.
But our community also has hundreds — maybe even thousands — of residents who are paying half their monthly income on substandard housing, or living without community sanitation services or running water, or sleeping in cars or tents or RVs.
Where to focus our attention and financial resources, in 2018? On our governments?
Or on our citizens in need?
Or… what?