As mentioned in Part Two, the Pagosa Springs Town Council, on June 6, endorsed a proposal from the non-profit Seeds of Learning Early Childhood Education Center to extend a future playground beyond their lease parcel into the community park known as South Pagosa Park. The proposed playground — which might not be built until perhaps 2027 — would occupy about 2,000 square feet of a field currently used for practice by local children’s soccer teams. The Council did not fully endorse the parking and traffic patterns suggested by the Seeds organization… asking for further study of those issues.
The Seeds proposal was one of two requests brought before the Council that evening.
The other proposal came from the non-profit Pagosa Multi-Purpose Pavilion (PMPP) which has been managing, somehow, to provide ice skating rinks in downtown Pagosa for the past nine years. (Has it actually been that long?)
The outdoor, winter-only rink was originally hosted on the athletic field at Town Park in 2014, but was relocated a few years ago to the underutilized (and poorly maintained?) basketball courts at South Pagosa Park. The volunteer-run Pavilion organization fills the rink, typically in December each year, and with any luck, are able to host recreational ice skating and local hockey events for maybe 30 days each winter.
The amount of work put in annually by the volunteers, for a few weeks of skating, has been somewhat unbelievable. The primary enemies of a successful winter program has been our typical sunny Pagosa weather, combined with our annual winter snowfall events.
Those same two issues have led to ‘volunteer burnout’.
The Pavilion folks would like to construct a permanent building to address those two key issues. PMPP’s preferred structure was a white, 46-foot tall clear-span structure; the one presented to the Council was from Iowa-based Williams Building Group, projected to cost about $645,000. The group told the Council that, by installing a permanent structure (in two phases), the ice skating season could be increased from about 30 days to about 120 days.
The calculations for that extended season were not shared with the Council. I’m personally a bit skeptical of that claim, unless the PMPP folks are planning to install some type of cooling unit beneath the ice.
Phase II of the plan includes a new concrete surface, with would purportedly make the building useful in the spring, summer and fall for other recreational and community purposes.
A real ‘multi-purpose pavilion’, in other words.
The proposal heard by the Town Council last week:
NOW (2023)
Secure South Park as the ‘permanent’ home for PMPP. Collectively agree on the design, size and scope of the structure.
Due to timing, the 2023-2024 winter season will operate under existing model requiring new shade, sand and maintenance.
Pagosa Tourism Board allocated approx. $33,000 for upcoming skating season.
THE FUTURE (2024 – forward)
Phase 1: Gain full alignment and commitment on phased-investment approach for PMPP vision which allows for fundraising to begin. Approve funding from City, County and Tourism Board for 2024-2025 to add roof and extend skating season to120 days. (Investment estimates provided.)
Phase 2 : Initiate funding drive for roof structure extension to support all year round for all PMPP uses
2023-2025 Projected Calendar and Milestones
- Install Roof Extension, remove and replace broken concrete.
- Multi-Purpose Use begins.
The funding for the building, as proposed by PMPP, looked like this, with the lion’s share coming from taxpayers.
The proposal also mentions the Town’s Parks & Rec staff maintaining the facility.
My hat is off to the PMPP staff of volunteers, for keeping this project alive for nearly 10 years. They’ve put in an astonishing amount of unpaid effort into their winter programs.
I feel compelled to mention, however, that the future pavilion was originally going to be funded by PMPP through fundraising, rather than being funded largely by the taxpayers.
That being said, the Town Council did not seem to have questions about using taxpayer funding to move the project forward. The Council questions were around location and ongoing maintenance. Was South Pagosa Park the best place for a 46-foot tall building? That question was posed at the meeting to Pagosa Parks & Recreation Director Darren Lewis.
Mr. Lewis brought up, on the video screen, a map of where a future multi-purpose pavilion might fit on the 26-vacant-acres now known as ‘South Yamaguchi Park’ — appropriately enough, considering the parcel is directly south of the existing Yamaguchi Park and considering that the Council has adopted a $15 million plan to convert the parcel into a park. (It formerly saw use as sewer treatment lagoons prior to the construction of the Town’s uphill sewer pipeline.)
This placement would conflict somewhat with the plan adopted two years ago. But since the plan has already been modified by the construction of new outdoor pickleball courts adjacent to the existing Yamaguchi Park… maybe further changes to the plan are not a big deal?
Here is PMPP founding board member Brian Collabolletta, reacting to Mr. Lewis’ suggestion that South Pagosa Park might not be the best location for a multi-purpose pavilion.
“When we met with [Town Manager Andrea Phillips] back in March, and brought up this idea to her, the initial conversation was South Pagosa Park. And it seems like it changes every week.
“The County Commissioners had offered us [a location in Cloman Park]. They pretty much said, ‘You can do whatever you want.’ But it’s kind of an island out there; there’s no infrastructure. The more we looked into it, the more expensive it appeared to be. We really feel it needs to stay in town, or near town, where it has a community feel to it.
“As of yesterday morning, I thought South Pagosa Park was it. I met with [Town Community Development Director James Dickhoff] and I met with Darren.
“And now, all of a sudden, South Yamaguchi is in play?
“I think it’s a good location down there. It wouldn’t be phased; we’d go full bore on it. Full size roof, full size rink. I don’t think the height would be an issue, because it’s not near a residential area. So we’ll talk about it, amongst ourselves as a board…
“We do like where we’re located now. But I understand the issues, with how cramped the park would feel. But it gets us there quickly…”
Mr. Collabolletta said he thought the change of location would delay the project, but would not derail it. The overall cost, however, would likely be higher, he said.