To quote the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association’s volunteer Board President, Lars Schneider, (who made it clear he was speaking for himself and not necessarily on behalf the volunteer board, employees, or committees of the PLPOA): “The proposed PLPOA Gym has the community divided…”
While I agree that it appears the community is not unified in favor of the proposed gym, I have to disagree that those opposed to the gym — also to quote Mr. Schneider — are “anti-everything.” In fact, vigorous discussion has happened in local Pagosa Springs social media groups in regards to the Gym/Recreation Master Plan proposal and alternatives.
The PLPOA also held an informational meeting in-person and via Zoom on January 8, but unfortunately some who wanted to participate were not able to access the meeting online, as it had reached its 100 person capacity before the meeting began, due to an unusual amount of public participation. (The meeting was recorded and is available for viewing, here.)
The PLPOA encourages anyone with additional questions to please contact them directly, or ask your question at a regular board meeting. The PLPOA also has created a presentation for the proposed gym, available here.
Although I don’t live in the PLPOA, I have heard many reasonable complaints that a gym that supports local school teams and other sports teams should not be funded by private association members, and this should be a County responsibility. Most of the people commenting are not against the community enhancement of a new facility, but believe the responsible entity should not be certain private homeowners, but the County government.
I agree this is a fair position, and would like to propose an alternative solution to this issue that encompasses the entire community: PLPOA members who could use more space, residents outside of the PLPOA, and even our influx of tourists, second-home owners, and short-term rental owners.
Yes, I mean everyone who enjoys Pagosa Springs.
The Solution: Let our community vote in 2026 to diversify the County lodging tax and use the $500,000+ a year in tax revenue to fund a Recreational Center and other community enhancements.
In 2022, Governor Polis signed HB22-1117, a law that allows a statutory County’s commissioners to place — via a resolution — a measure onto a general election ballot, for vote by county electors, an initiative that would give the county the ability to spend up to 90% of lodging tax revenue on Visitor Enhancements, Workforce Housing and/or Workforce Childcare, with at least 10% of lodging tax revenue continuing to be reserved for marketing.
This law gives wide discretion to the voters and the BOCC as to how to break up the funds. Below is an example of how the ballot language could look:
Other counties have already diversified their Lodging Tax.
La Plata County ballot language, which was passed by the voters in the 2024 general election, looked like this:
The reason for the proposed ballot language for Archuleta County that I have included is because it allows for yearly budget discretion on behalf of the commissioners that would closely follow a Capital Development Improvement Plan. That plan could include Visitor Enhancements, Workforce Housing, and/or Childcare.
The use of the funds under these three categories is fairly discretionary as well, with the law stating visitor enhancements include, simply, “capital improvements related to facilitating or enhancing visitor experience.” It is up to the Commissioners to place on to a ballot language that most of the community would support.
Diversified funds, therefore, could be used to fund a loan to build a new YMCA (as local resident Maggie T. suggested on Nextdoor) or Recreation Center that represents Pagosa values, with amenities such as a gym that converts to a roller skating rink, indoor pickleball courts, swimming pools, and an ice skating rink, just to name a few ideas I have heard the community discuss.
Further, the gym would be supported by everyone in our community, not just those belonging to a private membership association. Admission fees — such as those charged for Durango’s Recreation Center — would be charged to every visitor, and visitors could be residents or non-residents, members, one day visitors on vacation, or someone who has rented a short term rental for three weeks who wants to keep up with their gym time. Memberships could be discounted for those on social security, veterans, or low-income families.
This would be considered a Visitor Enhancement under HB22-1117 with wide discretion on behalf of our county commissioners on what the recreation center would offer. Commissioners could be inspired by the imaginations and aspirations of people within our entire community to attract visitors with more than just advertising, instead reaching them through the heart of Pagosans through our own community-tailored experiences.
Other capital improvements that could possibly be paid for with diversification of the lodging tax include the paving of primary roads in Archuleta County, the creation and maintenance of trails in Archuleta County, and the creation of a Destination Management District that administratively oversees the funding of new trail systems, a new recreational center, and other visitor enhancements our community is inspired to share with the tens of thousands of visitors that come to Pagosa country every year.
The best part about the diversification of the lodging tax is that it does not place a single additional burden on residents of Archuleta County. In fact, freeing these funds allows our community to come together and build our future in ways that celebrate what Pagosans love the most and imagine for our own community.
The town can also participate in the diversification of the Lodging Tax and — as a homerule town — Council can pass an ordinance to diversify and bring in their over $1 million yearly revenue to partner with the county on all of these potential future enhancements.
It’s a win-win-win for all involved.
The government entities looking to expand services in our community do not have to find ways to fund them — in ways that many feel are a burden as they are on fixed incomes and working families. Lodging Tax funds are readily available and are currently used by the county to fund marketing and advertising, as allowed by law. The part-time and full- time residents also get to enjoy the enhancements made for visitors to experience, and we get to expand reasons to visit Pagosa (and market them to tourists), often referred to as a small slice of heaven by word-of-mouth, which is always a very effective form of marketing.
For more information on the proposed PLPOA gym, please visit: https://www.plpoa.com/gymnasium/
For more information on how Archuleta County can diversify the Lodging Tax, download a presentation here.