Section 7. Public Hearing. Public hearings on [Ordinance 994] shall be held on the 23rd day of March, 2023, at 5pm in the Ross Aragon Community Center located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd…
The Pagosa Springs Town Council will hold a regular meeting tonight, Thursday, March 23, at 5pm at the Ross Aragon Community Center.
The consideration of Ordinance 994 may provide the six Council members an opportunity to spend a nice chunk of taxpayer money on downtown real estate. (The Council currently has only six members, following the resignation of Council member Jeff Posey earlier this month.)
A 3.46-acre parcel adjacent to the San Juan Motel, at the east end of town and bordering the San Juan River, has been offered to the Town for $1.25 million.
From the agenda:
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
On February 27, 2023 the Town Council directed staff to negotiate the purchase of 3.46 acres of vacant land located at the SE corner of the intersection of the San Juan River and Hwy 160 and owned by the Hummer Thomas J Revocable Trust and Pagosa Opportunity Funds, LLC. Staff contacted the property owner and then initiated the offer to purchase contract with the Town’s Real Estate Firm, CBRE…
FISCAL IMPACT:
Purchase Price: $1,250,000.00.
Real Estate Commission $18,750.
Closing Costs $1,900.
Phase One Environmental Assessment $2,850.
Total: $1,273,500.00
TOWN COUNCIL GOALS & OBJECTIVES:
Parks, Trails, and River Access
Some Daily Post readers may wonder about the price. According to the Archuleta County Assessor, the property has been appraised at $160,140.
It appears, from the Assessor’s website, that a company called Pagosa Opportunity Fund LLC purchased the property in 2010 for $62,000 in a “WD” (Warranty Deed) transaction.
If we look at the real estate history, the parcel apparently sold for $835,000 in February 1988… for $199,000 in July 1996… for $200,000 in December 1996… for $63,000 in June 2006… and for $62,000 in December 2010.
The Assessor’s website suggests that the perceived real estate value of the property has declined markedly since 1988.
The contract included in the March 23 meeting packet indicates that the Town Council intends to pay $1.25 million in cash to Pagosa Opportunity Fund LLC.
Plus about $23,000 in incidental fees.
We have no idea why the six members of the Town Council apparently plan to spend $1.27 million for a property that’s appraised by Archuleta County at $160,140. We have no idea, because the Council has been discussing the proposed purchase only in executive sessions, behind closed doors.
We know almost nothing, at this point, about what the Town Council thinks will be done with a 3.46-acre parcel, half of which reportedly lies in the floodway of the San Juan River. According to FEMA regulations, no permanent structures can be built within a river’s floodway, due to the risk of flood damage.
What little we know about the reasons for the purchase is summarized in Ordinance 994.
WHEREAS, the Town Council hereby finds and determines that acquisition of the Property is appropriate and necessary to the function and operation of the Town and wishes to enter into the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate with Sellers for the Property attached hereto as Exhibit A…
So it appears to be appropriate and necessary to the function and operation of the Town.
Something to do with “Parks, Trails, and River Access“, apparently. The property directly across the river from this parcel is already owned by the Town, and provides river access. So we probably are safe in stating that this property will not provide a significant improvement to river access. There are no trails that connect to this property. But there is a park — Cotton Hole Park — directly opposite on the west side of the river, with a nice paved trail that connects to downtown.
We can imagine some kind of park could be built on this parcel. But does Pagosa really need another park, in 2023? With all the other problems facing the community…?
I shared the map below a couple of weeks ago, showing the proposed 3.46-acre property purchase in ‘pink’… and all of the other recreational properties in the downtown area marked in blue.
How many parks does Pagosa Springs need?
How many parks can Pagosa Springs afford to maintain?
I am asking those questions because I have no idea what our six Town Council members think about the above map. We, the community and the taxpayers, have no idea what was discussed behind closed doors.
As mentioned, this real estate purchase will be discussed — for the first time, publicly — tonight at 5pm at the Ross Aragon Community Center. The Council will welcome public testimony, but typically limits testimony to 3 minutes per person.
Also on the agenda is January Sales Tax Report.
CURRENT MONTH SALES TAX REVENUE
This report represents sales tax information for January 2023. Total Town and County sales tax receipts for the month of January were $1,271,248. At this time, the data shows a slight decrease of -1.12% in total sales tax compared to January 2022. Total sales tax revenue for the month for the Town is $635,395… In January 2022, the total amount received by the Town was $642,042. The Town sales tax received in January 2023 is $6,646 less than the same month in 2022.
The Town of Pagosa Springs has been seeing stunning sales tax increases over the past 6 years. The Town collected $4.9 million in 2017 and collected $9.1 million in 2022. The Town Council may have become accustomed to having more money than they know what to do with.
A decline of 1% this past January, compared to January 2022, is not statistically significant. January is never a big month for sales tax collections.
But could a decline of 1% — after five years of steady increases — be an indication of things to come?