After eight years as Mayor for the Town of Pagosa Springs, Don Volger presided over his final Town Council meeting last night, March 17.
Following the traditional recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Mayor, the meeting kicked off with a proclamation about National Vietnam War Veterans Day, on March 29.
The Mayor became obviously emotional as he read the proclamation. He then posed for a photo with representatives of three local patriotic organizations.
That celebration was followed by Mayor Pro Tem Maddie Bergon reading a proclamation thanking the Mayor for his years of service… mentioning the Mayor’s four decades of public service as a Town police officer and then, following his retirement as Chief of Police, his 13 years serving on the Town Council. Mr. Volger’s participation in various non-profit causes was likewise mentioned — including, in particular, his dedication to his church, and to teaching hunter safety classes for many years.
The proclamation continued:
“Whereas, he has set a tone of peace, understanding, and friendship, during his long career in public service; and
“Whereas, Don brings his whole heart to his work, church leadership, and activities and volunteer efforts; and
“Whereas, the Town Council and Town staff wish to express their thanks to Mayor Volger for his caring leadership, which can be described as nothing else than ‘refreshingly authentic’…”
Mayor Volger was treated to a standing ovation from the Council, staff, and audience.
The humorous reference in the proclamation to ‘refreshingly authentic’ leadership was likely inspired by some comments published on the Town website earlier this month. The Town staff posted an article, “Farewell to Mayor Volger,” on the municipal website on March 11, that included a brief ‘exit interview’ with the Mayor, wherein he stated:
…A number of years ago, a couple of special ladies came up with a “tagline” for Pagosa I really like: “Pagosa Springs is a refreshingly authentic, small mountain town.” We all need to do our best to maintain that description, especially with the significant changes and challenges expected with more growth, more people, more traffic, higher costs of living, etc. However, I believe we can do it if we work together to pursue love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control with others and ourselves. We can be better together and work harder to tear down the walls of division…”
Last night was also the final meeting for Council member Nicole Pitcher, who has served on the Council for six years. Not quite as long as Mayor Volger, but still a meaningful stretch of public service on behalf of the community.
The staff presented Ms. Pitcher and Mayor Volger with engraved glass awards.
The Town staff had brought along a cake to the meeting, decorated with the message “Thank You for your Service, Don & Nicole”.
The cake was shared around with the audience during a break in the official business.
The Mayor did the honors of cutting the cake.
During Don Volger’s first four-year term as mayor, the Council voted 5-2 to put a Home Rule Charter amendment in front of the town voters, to impose ‘term limits’ on the Mayor and Council seats. Previously, members of the Council had been allowed to serve any number of successive terms in office, and the lack of term limits had permitted the previous mayor, Ross Aragon, to serve eight consecutive terms — 32 years — to become the longest-serving mayor in Colorado.
The voters approved term limits in 2018, requiring Mayor Volger to step down after his second term.
Two candidates — Shari Pierce and write-in Sara Cole — are now running for mayor in the Town’s April 5 election. Only town residents — about 15% of the community — can vote in that election.
Mayor Volger and Council member Pitcher leave their leadership positions at a precarious time in the community. On the one hand, the Town government is awash in tax revenues, relatively speaking, compared the the belt-tightening efforts that took place during the Great Recession.
Tourist visits appear to be at record levels in recent years.
But out on the street, the cost of living in Pagosa has increased steeply over the past decade, with utility rates creeping steadily upwards… along with the price of many consumer goods… and most importantly, the cost of a median-price home in Archuleta County doubling since 2011.
For the Town government, the most serious — and financially troubling — problems are connected with the seven-mile sewer pipeline that struggles to pump all of the downtown waste water uphill to the Vista Treatment Plant. We will touch on those problems later in this editorial series.
Another troubling set of issues concern the Town’s new effort to help solve the community’s housing crisis. The Town has been ‘studying’ this crisis since at least 2004, but 2022 will be the first year that the municipal budget includes specific allocations to be used for housing programs. The Town is also advertising for an in-house ‘Housing Coordinator’.
We will share some of Ms. Pitcher’s comments, as expressed during the final moments of last night’s meeting, in a future installment.
But first, a few more quotes from the article about Mayor Volger posted last week to the Town’s newly-refurbished website.
…As Mayor Volger’s time on Town Council comes to a close, we asked him to highlight some of his favorite memories and projects. Here’s what he had to say:
Q: What project(s), initiative(s), or accomplishment(s) are you most proud of achieving as mayor?
There were no successful projects, initiatives, or accomplishments that I take credit for. It was always a team effort with the Council, the staff, volunteers, and the rest of the citizens of this wonderful town. However, I did suggest that all who attended Town meetings, especially the Council and staff, come in as friends and leave as friends. I believe it worked!
Speaking as a regular observer of Town Council meetings, since 2004, I would like to give credit to Don Volger for promoting respectful discussions among the Council members and Town staff, and between the Council, staff and the public. As he noted, the Town-sponsored ‘accomplishments’ that took place around the community during his tenure were often the work of the entire team at Town Hall, and most often, the work of the paid Town employees, as we would expect.
Mayor Volger was comfortable with allowing the credit to be given to those to whom it was due. In my experience, the Mayor rarely pushed a personal agenda. His work focused more on the goal he stated — encouraging folks to treat one another as friends and neighbors, even when they have disagreed about Town actions and policies.
The website article concludes:
After his final meeting, residents and visitors will most likely see Mayor Volger enjoying many of the recreational opportunities Colorado has to offer. He said, “I relish the outdoors, backpacking, bow hunting, fishing, hiking, being with our perfect puppy (PP) Clementine, and sharing precious time with loved ones. I also enjoy the occasional nap in the wild…”