We think we know what we’re doing… but we don’t pull the strings
It’s all in the past now; money changes everything…
—’Money Changes Everything’ by Tom Gray, recorded by Cyndi Lauper in 1984
Pagosa Springs — once a working class town in the midst of a scenically beautiful landscape — grew up in an age when “community” was not simply appreciated — it was essential for survival. People helped people. News and information traveled mouth to mouth. The town didn’t count many millionaires among its residents. No one could even imagine a “gated community” that locked out neighboring citizens.
Money changes everything.
Here’s a quick chronology of a subtly corrupt subdivision approval process undertaken by the Pagosa Springs Town government. And yes, it does involved corrupt streets — and the cost of corrupt streets, financially and socially.
On March 31, Planning Director James Dickhoff presents, to the Town Planning Commission, a ‘sketch plan’ of the proposed River Rock Estates subdivision, provided by Jack Searle’s development company, BWD (“Beyond Your Wildest Dreams”). The plan includes one single street, instead of the minimum of two streets required by the Town Land Use and Development Code (LUDC). The single proposed street is gated and private, again in violation of the LUDC. Mr. Dickhoff is unclear about how this can happen while following the Town’s land use laws, but he argues that it will save the Town Streets Department from having to maintain the street.
The Planning Commission approves the sketch plan with a 4-to-1 vote. (I vote “No”.)
On April 1, the following day, I meet with Town Manager Andrea Phillips and James Dickhoff, and I am promised a legal opinion on the several LUDC regulations that the River Rock Estates street plan seemed to violate. (I never receive that opinion.)
On May 26, the Planning Commission sees the Preliminary Plan for River Rock Estates (RRE). The “gate” is gone, but the single street is still described as private. Mr. Dickhoff provides a (totally unsatisfactory) explanation of why the plan does not include a minimum of two streets (as required) and why the single street should, in his opinion, be “private” — once again citing the potential savings to the Town government. He provides no legal opinion that such an approach is allowed. The existed street right-of-way (South 3rd Street) that accesses the property is ignored.
The Planning Commission votes 4-to-1 to recommend the River Rock Estates plan with a single private street. (I vote “No”.)
On May 27, I contact the Town Clerk’s office to find out if the Town as an adopted ‘whistle blower policy.’ I am told they do not.
On June 1, I submit a 9-page affidavit to the Town Council, explaining in some detail my uneasiness about possible violations of the LUDC in the River Rock Estate street design.
On June 2, the Town Council holds a regular meeting and ‘tables’ the RRE decision… and directs the Planning Commission to reconsider its recommendation. (The Planning Commission never reconsiders its recommendation.)
On June 10, James Dickhoff suddenly announces a special Planning Commission meeting, to vote on a recommendation that Bill Hudson be removed from the Commission. That meeting is held barely 24 hours later, and indeed, the Commission votes 4-to-1 to recommend my removal.
On June 18, the Town Council holds a public hearing on the River Rock Estates subdivision plan. Planning Director James Dickhoff explains to the Town Council that the subdivision actually has no streets at all. All it has is a single “private driveway” accessing the exclusive new neighborhood. Mr. Dickhoff defends the complete lack of public streets in the proposed subdivision by claiming that the “driveway” — if dedicated to the public and maintained by the Town Streets Department — would cost the taxpayers a surprising amount of money. From the Council packet:
The Town’s Public Works Director has estimated the cost associated with accepting and maintaining the 1500 lineal foot roadway will be: $3,191.00 (surface maintenance and plowing) annually plus after the useful life of the asphalt surface a $94,444 cost to resurface the roadway (totaling $132,736.00 over a 20-year period).
(As far as I can tell, the Town government has never spent a penny maintaining the asphalt in front my downtown house since it was installed in 1994… and it shows. They have, however, diligently plowed the snow every winter, a task which is funded — I assume — by the sales tax Archuleta County residents pay every time they make a purchase locally or online.)
Some Council members agree that the subdivision’s single right-of-way should probably be considered a “driveway” rather than a street, and they prepare to approve the new subdivision without any “streets” at all.
The Council is thrown a sudden curve ball, however, by the River Rock Estates development team. The developer wants to dedicate the single subdivision street to the Town, as required by the LUDC, and asks the Council to approve the plan with that dedication included. (The LUDC requirement to have a minimum of two streets is ignored by everyone, however.) The Council kindly accommodates the developer, and quickly decides that the “driveway” is in fact a street after all, and that it should be dedicated to the public… and approves the subdivision Preliminary Plan.
On June 25, the Town Council holds a special hearing and removes me from the Planning Commission, “without cause.” During the hearing, developer Jack Searle describes me as “despicable.”
“I see Bill Hudson — and this is my opinion — as a destructive force who tends to see only the negative in his fellow man, particularly government officials and business people. His negativity feasts on the carcass, plans and dreams of those who strive for the betterment of Pagosa Springs. His false statements and wild, imaginative innuendos are the result of a decrepit and suspicious mind, in my opinion.”
Well, we’re all entitled to our opinions.
Even the Town voters are entitled to their opinions.