As I mentioned in a previous installment, not all government “corruption” involves money, in the sense of bribes and payoffs. Another form of government corruption is the failure of governments to follow federal, state and local laws. Yet another, more subtle form, is lack of attention to the overall health of the community, due to a short-sighted focus on the government bureaucracy itself.
My initiation into local government corruption took place in 2008. I had just listened to the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners grant a ‘variance’ to the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation Distirct (PAWSD) allowing the water district to bypass the statutory subdivision process. PAWSD, in collaboration with its partner water district, the San Juan Water Conservancy, wanted to buy the Running Iron Ranch from the Weber family for $10.2 million.
The ranch was probably worth less than half that amount on the open market in 2008, considering that a 2015 appraisal valued it at $4.6 million. But the two water districts desperately wanted to purchase the ranch as the site for a future water reservoir, known at the time (perhaps appropriately) as the Dry Gulch Reservoir. The subdivision variance was necessary to facilitate the sale, because the Weber family wanted to retain a large chunk of riverfront property, and thus wanted the ranch subdivided. But a typical subdivision process can take several months, and PAWSD and SJWCD were peeing their pants to purchase the property before the Weber family changed their minds.
The only person to speak in opposition to the proposed subdivision variance was Pagosa businessman JR Ford. He pleaded with the BOCC to refuse the variance and thus delay the real estate purchase. His main objection? PAWSD and SJWCD did not have ‘buy-in’ from the community and were essentially putting the PAWSD customers millions of dollars in debt, for a real estate purchase the voters had never approved.
The BOCC ignored Mr. Ford’s advice and approved the variance. Twelve years later, we look back and realize what a bad deal this was for the community, because the predictions of massive population growth, that PAWSD assured us would pay for the new reservoir, never materialized. We look back and realize what a bad deal this was for the PAWSD customers, who have seen their water rates increase substantially because of the land purchase (and other expensive board decisions).
Following the BOCC vote, Mr. Ford pulled me aside and chastised me — and, by inference, the rest of the local media — for failing to warn the taxpayers about this boondoggle. (And it has indeed proved to be a boondoggle.) We had fallen down on the job, he asserted. It’s the media’s job to keep the public informed, he said, and we’d not measured up.
I’m thinking about this 2008 event — and the many related events that had preceded it, and the many subsequent events that finally exposed Dry Gulch as a government blunder — because the two water district boards that approved the purchase were smart, thoughtful volunteers who willingly endorsed this clumsy mistake. A dozen elected and appointed board members accepted the word of a con man named Fred W. Schmidt, the person they allowed to negotiate the deal… a person who had been in and out of various courtrooms accused of, and found guilty of, fraud… a person who’s middle name was “Weber.”
But these two water district boards were actually behaving the way local government boards are expected to behave. When I appointed to the Pagosa Springs Planning Commission last winter, we underwent a couple of “board trainings” where we were carefully instructed in good board conduct. “Get along”, we were told. “Don’t rock the boat”, we were told.
“Once the board makes a decision — even if you believe was the wrong decision — you must support the majority vote”. That was our training.
This is exactly the type of behavior I saw on the PAWSD and SJWCD boards between 2007 and 2010. The boards maintained a unified front, aligned against the taxpayers. No one asked the hard questions. No one dug into the staff reports. “Getting along” was more important that “getting it right.”
In 2010, the community elected two new PAWSD board members — Allan Bunch and Roy Vega — who were willing to rock the boat and ask the hard questions, and slowly but surely the boondoggle was revealed. Finally, we had two board members who cared more about the taxpayers and less about “being nice board members.” I’m ever so thankful for that.
A range of viewpoints and experiences are necessary to a properly functioning government board. Without at least one person willing to rock the boat, a government board is almost certain to become dysfunctional. Better yet, two or more people willing to ask hard questions.
When I was appointed to the Town Planning Commission, I assume the five Council members who voted to appoint me already knew who I was. I assume they already knew, from my 16 years of editorials in the Daily Post, that I was not afraid to ask questions, was not afraid to be skeptical about staff reports, was not afraid to challenge my entire commission if I felt they were doing something illegal. I assume the Council knew I would stand up for the taxpayers rather than for the Town bureaucracy.
Tomorrow night, the Town Council will take up a recommendation from my fellow Planning Commissioners. The recommendation is to remove me from the commission.
On May 26, my fellow Commissioners did something I considered illegal, following on the advice of Town Planning Director James Dickhoff. They approved a subdivision without, in my opinion, requiring it to meet all the regulations written in the Land Use and Development Code (LUDC). Neither I nor the Town Council know whether their action was truly illegal because there’s only one way to settle that particular question: bring it before a judge. So far, no one has brought the question into a courtroom, so we’re both making assumptions.
Awkwardly enough, the Commission decision to recommend my removal came immediately following the receipt of a letter from local developer Jack Searle, which said, in part:
I wanted to start by thanking you all for your time and dedication to the betterment of our Town. I also wanted to express concerns about the conduct of Bill Hudson regarding the proposed River Rock Estates development. As you know, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 to approve the preliminary subdivision plan. We have a short building season in Pagosa Springs and Mr. Hudson’s refusal to accept the Planning Commission’s majority vote has had a detrimental effect on my development schedule. This has cost me both money and an immense amount of aggravation. Mr. Hudson cites in his affidavit to you all that I somehow received special treatment on the Cobblestone Townhomes Development. I find this very insulting and an inaccurate representation…
So the Town Council might be in a tough spot. Fire their volunteer commissioner… and risk the awkward appearance that they are doing it to satisfy a wealthy developer…