On Monday, July 14, the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners received a letter of resignation from Development Director Pamela Flowers.
The resignation was “effective immediately.”
I have seen letters of resignation that politely thank the employer for providing a supportive work environment, and express regret that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the employee regretfully must leave her position.
Ms. Flowers’ letter is not such a resignation letter.
July 14, 2025
Archuleta County
Board of County Commissioners
PO Box 1507 / 398 Lewis Street
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
RE: Letter of Resignation
Commissioners,
This letter serves as my resignation from the position of Director of Development, effective immediately.
I have dedicated the last 5½ years of my working life to ensuring that development in Archuleta County moves in the direction set forth by the Board through the various standards, regulations, codes, and ordinances you have adopted. As I staffed the Building, Planning, Water Quality, and Code Enforcement teams, I have been blessed to find intelligent, thorough, and measured professionals who have enthusiastically joined me in that effort. Each of us is self-taught and I would put our expertise up against anyone anywhere! We all have worked every day to create a level playing field for everyone in Archuleta County, regardless of who they are or who they know.
Our team has avoided accepting any risk or legal liability for the County by focusing on the words in the governing documents you have given us and mandated that we enforce. Our daily mantra is “what does the regulation say?” That is how every single decision is made by our staff. If it is in the regulation, we must do it and if it is not in the regulation, we cannot do it. No emotions, no favoritism, no looking the other way. That is the job!
We also understand that the citizens we are dealing with will bring emotions to the conversation. They are coming to us to build their dream home, open a business they believe will contribute something to our community, or maybe because they are worried about something their neighbor is doing. Each of these individuals have an important and relevant perspective and an experience that matters, and they must be treated with the utmost patience, care, and respect.
My team understands that it is a core tenet of their job to explain the rules and standards adopted by the Board that apply to their circumstance. We hear them out, we empathize with their feelings, and we educate them about the meaning of the various rules. Then we strive to find a way to help each person get to ‘yes’, if possible.
But common sense should tell you that in some situations, a ‘yes’ for one person may amount to a ‘no’ for another…
That’s Page One of Ms. Flowers’ three-page letter, specifically addressed to the three County commissioners.
We will share Page Two tomorrow.
In a well-managed government, it’s “best practice” for the elected governing Board — in this particular case, the Archuleta BOCC — to avoid the pitfalls of trying to micro-manage the organization. “Best practices” require a governing Board to focus on overarching policy and financial decisions, and steer safely clear of trying to control the day-to-day, boots-on-the-ground activities of the organization.
This is typically accomplished by hiring an executive officer — in this particular case, the County Manager. In a well-managed government, the Board gives instructions to the executive officer and relies upon him or her to assign the work to the appropriate department heads, who then assign the work, as appropriate, to whatever individual employee has been specially trained to handle that type of job.
It does not normally bode well for any organization when the Board starts sticking their noses into the day-to-day efforts of individual department heads or employees.
There’s more to come, on Page Two and Page Three, that will help explain why Ms. Flowers’ decided to resign “effective immediately” without giving the customary two-weeks notice, in the middle of a busy construction season that depends heavily on Development Services.
I’ve had numerous conversations with Ms. Flowers during her 5 1/2 year tenure with the Archuleta County Building & Planning Department — better known as Development Services — and have found her to be highly intelligent and dedicated to her job, which was essentially to interpret the rules and regulations adopted by the BOCC and the State of Colorado and make sure they are applied in an ethical fashion, without favoritism, and with consistency, to development projects in the unincorporated county.
We’re talking here about books full of rules and regulations. It is, right from the start, a thankless task. Many people, who run up against a challenging land use regulation they don’t like, would like to see the rule “bent” just enough to allow them to proceed.
But Ms. Flowers has gone beyond merely enforcing the County Land Use Code and International Building Code and Colorado state laws . When she has found County regulations that were ambiguous or hard to interpret, or that seemed unfair or ultimately counterproductive, or that are — heaven forbid — unenforceable with a limited County staff, she has regularly brought those issues directly to the BOCC and suggested changes to the rules, so that the regulations can function successfully — in real world situations — to achieve the goal of a safe, respectful community while allowing the maximum amount of individual freedom to property owners.
Not every Development Director goes that extra mile.
Only the BOCC has the power to change the County’s Land Use Regulations, however, and Ms. Flowers has often seen her recommended amendments rejected by the BOCC.
Based on my observations, Ms. Flowers’ dedication to following the rules-as-written — and requiring her staff to do the same — has made her, often, the subject of criticism and contempt.
How much contempt can a person take, before they finally write a resignation letter?