(Editor’s Note: This article “EDITORIAL: Your Thoughts About Water? Part Two” was originally posted on the morning of September 7, 2020 — as I recall? — but somehow disappeared from the Daily Post on the morning of September 8, 2020. This new version of the article is based on what I remember writing in the original Part Two. Also, my disclosure: I currently serve on the San Juan Water Conservancy District board, but this editorial reflects only my personal opinions, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the SJWCD Board as a whole, nor of any individual SJWCD baord members.)
This morning, Monday, September 7, 2020 is the deadline for submitting public comments on the San Juan Water Conservancy District’s (SJWCD’s) new draft “Strategic Plan.” You can download the draft Plan at the SJWCD website, here.
Comments can be sent to Board Secretary John Porco at jporco.sjwcd@gmail.com
Many Americans embrace the idea of “democracy.” Perhaps even most Americans. But some people have the impression that “democracy” means little more than “the opportunity to cast a ballot, whenever the government allows us to vote.”
A few months ago, a group of downtown Pagosa Springs residents circulated a petition, requesting a special Town election to let the municipal electors weigh in on a proposed amendment to the Town’s Home Rule Charter. The proposed amendment would allow the Town voters to approve, or reject, large tax subsidies given to private developers by the recently-formed ‘Urban Renewal Authority.’ When the ballots were counted on July 14, the electors had approved the amendment by a 3-to-1 margin.
As a result, the Home Rule Charter has been changed, and the operations of the ‘Urban Renewal Authority’ have become subject to a measure of taxpayer control. A limited measure, yes… but perhaps a financially significant measure, nevertheless.
I mention this recent event, because it illustrates, I think, the fact that “democracy” can involve much more than making some black marks on a paper ballot once every year or so.
Other aspects of “democracy”, in which citizens and taxpayers might become involved, are worth mentioning:
- Staying informed about local and national political issues
- Calling up your elected leaders, or emailing them with your concerns
- Writing letters to the editor
- Running for office
- Circulating a petition to make changes to a government’s operations
- Marching in a protest demonstration
- Ensuring that our children are educated in civics, with exposure to a variety of political and social philosophies
- Sending you comments to the San Juan Water Conservancy District, with suggested improvements to their draft Strategic Plan
I numbered the list above, but the numbers do not imply any particular ranking or level of importance. In fact, you can — if you wish — rank your political activities based on temporal ‘deadlines.’
The comments on the SJWCD Strategic Plan, for example, must be sent today, September 7. Other activities will have their own deadlines. Some may have no deadline at all.
To get back to the Strategic Plan — with the reminder that the following are my opinions, only, and not necessarily those of the Conservancy District — I will note that this particular 40-page draft was written primarily by the six Board members who were serving during the past two years. That fact makes the plan somewhat unusual in the annals of local “plans’ and ‘assessments’ and ‘reports.’ Typically, here in Archuelta County, a government looking for a ‘plan’ will hire a consultant from Denver or Colorado Springs or Boulder — from some big city that bears little similarity to Pagosa Springs. The cost will typically run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
After the plan is delivered and approved by the government board, it will then sit on a shelf or in a file cabinet somewhere, for several years, and be referenced on rare occasions, but will probably not play a significant role in day-to-day operations of the government in question.
The SJWCD took a different approach, by deciding to have the draft plan written by the volunteer board members themselves. This process expanded the timeline for creating the plan, but it had two benefits. The cost did not run into tens of thousands of dollars, and the board members, in the process of gradually writing (and criticizing) the document, became much more familiar with the issues facing the District.
Since SJWCD was created in 1987 by a vote of the district electors, its focus has been on the creation of new water reservoirs. In 2003, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) received a report from two consultants — John Davis and Steve Harris — that described seven projects that could enhance the water resources in Archuleta County. On pages 51-53 of that report, the two consultants recommended against the construction of a reservoir in the Dry Gulch Valley.
Two months later, consultant Steve Harris wrote a rather different report at the request of SJWCD and PAWSD, recommending a Dry Gulch Reservoir as the most affordable choice for future water supplies.
Sometimes, the reports coming from out-of-town consultants contain accurate and useful information.
Sometimes, not.
SJWCD had written a much more condensed ‘Strategic Plan’ back in 2013 — a 4-page document focused entirely on the proposed reservoir at Dry Gulch, and the numerous steps SJWCD could take to move the project forward. You can download that plan, here.
This 2013 plan includes the following goal:
Identify funding/revenue sources to implement this project. Key on funding/revenue opportunities to mitigate or eliminate local taxpayer burdens that might occur as a result of the Dry Gulch Project.