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— Classified ad in the Pagosa Springs SUN, November 19, 2020
I usually have my audio recorder running while attending government ZOOM meetings, because you never know when this or that elected official will say something intelligent.
But there are times when I will shut off the recorder… during a staff report, for example. Often, staff reports address rather mundane issues, and to be perfectly honest, the Daily Post was not created to report on mundane issues. Like any good media outlet, we are constantly on the lookout for juicy controversies with which to entertain and inform our readers.
At the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners work session, earlier this week, one of the staff reports was delivered by Human Resources administrator Bob Smith, the County employee charged with recruiting new hires and monitoring employee performance. Mr. Smith was hired by Archuleta County back in January 2014, following a stint as Human Resources administrator for the City of Monte Vista, on the other side of Wolf Creek Pass.
Most often, Mr. Smith’s staff reports contain very little that might be classified as ‘controversial’. But near the end of his report, Mr. Smith’s conversation with the three commissioners started to sound a bit more interesting, and I switched my recorder back on. Mr. Smith had just suggested that the recent resignation of County Development Director Brad Callendar, the person in charge of the Planning Department, may have been related to the lack of affordable housing in Pagosa Springs.
Mr. Smith continued:
“Yeah, one of the equipment operators we just hired [for the Road & Bridge Department], when I did his paperwork, you know, he asked if I knew of any places to live. He’s from Durango. He’s got some temporary housing somewhere out in the county. And we were talking about… it’s difficult.”
Difficult for a person working for a living, that is… to find an affordable place to live.
Or even an unaffordable place to live.
Commissioner Steve Wadley: “And it’s getting worse. Short-term rentals add to the problem. But I don’t even think they are the real problem. I think it’s just that so many people are moving here now, that it’s just sucking up all the inventory that’s available.
“Also… I’m shocked at what $300,000 will buy. It’s very little, now.”
Bob Smith: “Absolutely.”
Commissioner Wadley: “And how many people can walk in and get a mortgage for a $300,000 house when they’re starting a job in Archuleta County? I don’t think a lot of them.”
Bob Smith. “That’s true. There’s just… it’s difficult. A mechanics position [with the County] — Mike’s got two of them open — and he’s had some qualified people, on paper, but they’re out of state. So, we’re very hesitant to engage in the [hiring process] with them, because of just how difficult it is to get somebody here, unless they’re in an upper income level position.
“We have employees commuting from Durango. Recent hires. And just because that’s where they came from. And so that plays a very big part in what we’re…”
Commissioner Wadley interrupted. “And that’s a really long drive. And Durango’s certainly even more expensive than we are. But maybe they’ve got some [housing] there that they don’t want to give up.”
Bob Smith: “So, using ApplicantPro has certainly helped us in getting the word out about positions… and advertising those positions. It’s helped greatly. But it’s not going to overcome the obstacles that we’re facing. That will continue to be a struggle…”
If you visit the ApplicantPro.com website you will note that Archuleta County has at least 10 job openings advertised. (I say “at least” because some of the positions listed may have more than one opening unfilled.)
Commissioner Wadley summarized the discussion:
“Life is hard.”
Commissioner Ronnie Maez: “Life is hard. And the positions we’re in, here, are difficult spots. But I guess we gotta just keep doing the best we can, with what we have.”
Bob Smith: “The recruitment time to fill positions is a lot longer. It’s just taking a long time.”
A previous set of County commissioners, five years ago, formed a citizen task force to explore solutions to the housing crisis unfolding in Archuleta County. Reports were delivered to the BOCC, suggesting that we had a serious problem with the cost of housing in Pagosa Springs. The work by that task force ultimately led to the hiring of a Denver consulting firm — Economic & Planning Systems — to quantify the extent of the problem, and that report was finally delivered in 2017, after an rather extensive delay.
Another 18 months went by before a local non-profit — Pagosa Housing Partners — saw their ‘Roadmap to Affordable Housing’ report endorsed by the Town Council.
The three gentlemen currently sitting on the Archuleta BOCC, however, rejected the ‘Roadmap’.
The BOCC did, however, agree to lease 2.5 acres of County-owned property on Hot Springs Boulevard to Archuleta County Housing Authority, to allow the construction of a 34-unit Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project. That $12 million project is now under construction across from Town Hall, and will accommodate individuals and families with a household income below 60% of the Area Median Income established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Develop (HUD). The project has been named Rose Mountain Townhomes.
Some wealthy person or corporation (we don’t know who) underwrote the project in exchange for millions of dollars in federal tax credits.
To put that project cost into perspective: If we split the $12 million project cost among each of the 34 smallish, apartment-like townhome units, each unit will cost the taxpayers about $353,000.
Like Commissioner Wadley noted, you don’t get much nowadays for $300,000.
The high cost of each unit is partly due to the cost of construction materials in Pagosa Springs, but has also resulted largely from a myriad requirements and limitations imposed upon the project by the Town Planning Department and the Town Planning Commission. In its desire to ‘improve’ the quality of buildings within the Town limits, the Town government has unintentionally made new housing affordable only to wealthy newcomers — and to tourists booking vacation rentals at $100-$300 per night.
Although the Rose Mountain units will ultimately be affordable for those low-income residents lucky enough to qualify, they are not even slightly ‘affordable’ in terms of their design and construction cost.
Meanwhile, the BOCC has been putting the Archuleta County taxpayers deeply in debt — without voter approval — to build a $20 million ‘justice center’ complex in the Harman Park subdivision.
I suppose that’s what Commissioner Ronnie Maez was talking about, when he said, “I guess we gotta just keep doing the best we can, with what we have.”