When you’re living a journalist lifestyle in a small mountain town in the middle of nowhere — as I do, these days — you can find yourself looking forward to Tuesday mornings, when you can settle down at a cozy County Commissioner work session, and listen to discussions about improvements to our community, generously funded by local and state taxpayers. Or maybe even by the federal government?
One of those discussions, this morning, will concern the placement of ‘Transit Shelters’ at four locations.
Actually, ‘bus shelters’, if we want to be more casual. That’s really the main type of ‘transit’ we have in Pagosa.
Buses.
We might someday have other types of ‘transit’ in Pagosa Springs — maybe a Monorail, like the one in Disneyland’s ‘Tomorrowland’ — connecting uptown to downtown?
But maybe not so modern-looking? I’d prefer something that looked more like an old steam locomotive.
Anyway, speaking of modern-looking, the purchase of four modern-looking bus shelters might be approved by the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners today at their afternoon ‘regular meeting’. As is typical of such items, the primary discussion about the purchase will probably take place in the morning, at the 8:30 work session.
The County Transportation Department, which operates the Mountain Express Transit (MET) bus system, has obtained a grant through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Colorado’s Senate Bill 09-108, also known as the ‘Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act of 2009’ and more affectionately known as ‘FASTER’, was signed into law on March 2, 2009. FASTER allows the state of Colorado to improve roadway safety, repair deteriorating bridges, and support and expand transit.
The bill has been generating about $200 million every year for state transportation projects across Colorado. Additional revenue is provided for city roads (approximately $27 million annually) and county roads (approximately $33 million annually). This revenue is generated through several vehicle registration fees and fines established or increased by FASTER.
In the case of the four proposed bus shelters, the MET has been granted $55,296 through the FASTER fund, to be matched with $13,824 in County funds, for a total of $69,120.
Each five-foot by ten-foot shelters will include a five-foot bench (with “anti-vagrancy bar”) and a solar lighting package. Some of the installations will include bike racks.
The shelters will be manufactured by MODSTREET.
From today’s agenda packet:
MODSTREET is proud to submit the following proposal to provide transit shelters to Mountain Express Transit located in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, We applaud your plans to enhance your customers’ mass transit experience and believe that our high quality, steel-fabricated modular system will provide a long lasting, safe and attractive feature to benefit visitor and resident alike.
MODSTREET is a Woman Owned Business, founded, headquartered and manufactured in Durango, Colorado. MODSTREET was created to help businesses and towns manage the pandemic, but have found that our unique, clip based system can be applied to a variety of outdoor uses. Our product has been used not just for on street dining but for transit, parklets, stages, and more.
Maggie Kavan is the Co-Founder and Majority Owner of MODSTREET, as well as the Chief Marketing Officer and the Director of Sales. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Administration from Fort Lewis College. Michael Carrier is the company’s Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, and holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from Montana State University. Roger Zalneraitis is the company’s CEO and holds a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Virginia Tech; he lives in Durango and enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, biking, and visiting Anasazi ruins in the Four Corners with his family.
Another type of ‘shelter’ will be on the agendas for today’s two BOCC meetings.
In 2021, Archuleta County was awarded approximately $2.7 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), and the BOCC has been using those funds to award ’emergency funding’ to various local entities. At a regular meeting last month, the BOCC awarded five entities funding from the second ARPA distribution. Each entity was provided a Grant Subrecipient Agreement to complete and return.
Archuleta Housing Corporation was among those local ‘Subrecipients’, and had requested funding to pay for improvements, replacements, and repairs to its three low-income housing complexes in downtown Pagosa.
From the request letter from AHC Executive Director Carol Riley:
In March of 2022 we were granted $282,050.00 as a subrecipient of funds from the American Rescue Plan. These were to cover the estimated costs of capital needs at Archuleta Housing Corp.’s 8 buildings. Specifically replacing furnaces, water heaters, insulation and installing newly required backflow preventers…
…Total cost $329,584, an additional$,47,534 above the first round of ARPA funds received. I am humbly asking that you consider our short fall of $47,534 be considered in the granting of additional ARPA funds.
Our Capital Needs Assessment (CNA) has also identified the need for new siding as it is at the end of its useful life and chipping and breaking in many places, This condition leaves us open to safely violations at our next HUD physical inspection. The CNA earmarked $424,942 for this project. We have 3 one-story buildings and 5 two-story buildings. I have had two one-story buildings sided at a cost of $43,000… I believe I can get the remaining siding (6 buildings) done for under $300,000…
Archuleta Housing currently houses 52 low-income families all living under 50% Area Median Income (AMI).
It is our mission to provide safe affordable housing and utilize that housing as a platform for improving quality of life promoting self-sufficiency and building community. Our mission with your vision to sustain a community rich in natural beauty where families, individual and businesses can thrive, creates the support that families in our community need to survive thrive and build a better community.
The BOCC appears to have allocated $268,330 from its ARPA funding to address this request.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.