Photo: A very short dead-end road named Catwalk Avenue, in the northeast corner of the Cloman Industrial Park subdivision.
Higher taxes have been in the news lately, here in Pagosa Springs. The November ballot will ask voters to increase the Archuleta County Lodging Tax from 2% to 6%, and Archuleta School District is asking for a property tax increase for a bond issue, with a repayment cost of up to $156.5 million.
Pagosa Springs Medical Center is asking to have their tax revenues to be exempted from TABOR limits, in perpetuity. The Town voters approved a new 1% sales tax last April to address the municipality’s struggling sanitation system.
Speaking as a taxpayer and a voter, I support the general idea that taxpayers can pool financial resources to benefit the community, and to provide important public services and infrastructure that private businesses cannot or will not provide. But as we know, sometimes the benefits are not spread around equally.
Also, I recognize that governments do not typically subscribe to the notion of “downsizing”, even though many of us in Pagosa Springs have already “downsized” our lifestyles as the cost of most everything continues to rise.
Speaking as a volunteer member of the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) board of directors, and as a member of the Pagosa Peak Open School board of directors — two tax-supported agencies — I understand the inclination of public boards to constantly seek more revenue in order to improve the services they provide.
Governments want to “do better”. And that often means, “more money”. That is, more taxes, or more fees, or both. In short, more “government”.
When I chatted with one of the Cloman Industrial Park property owners the other day, I heard about a couple of interesting developments in that subdivision, and nearby.
I was told, for example, that government grants were used to install fiber optic cable throughout the Industrial Park — something we might consider necessary in a modern industrial area — but that none of our local internet providers have yet offered to hook up the properties. So the cable sits in the ground, unused.
I was also told that a group of property owners proposed to revive the subdivision’s dormant HOA, but when the rest of the property owners learned that the HOA would begin collecting assessments from the member properties, the proposed revival was rejected.
Which brings us back around to the idea proposed to the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners on September 8: the creation of a metro district or other type of special district in our industrial park. A special district is a government entity with an elected board that can collect taxes from property owners — similar to the assessments that might be required by an HOA board — but a special district board has the advantage that it may be eligible for state and local grants for which an HOA is not eligible.
At the September 8 meeting, Emily Lashbrooke — Executive Director for the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) — estimated the cost to finish paving the subdivision’s primary road, Industrial Circle, at around $500,000. This estimate might be on the low side, but the project might qualify for a Colorado Department of Local Affairs block grant, to cover part of the cost, according to Ms. Lashbrooke.
My friend also told me that the County has not been maintaining the roads in Cloman Industrial Park. Which should come as no surprise.
I reported, last month, on a presentation to the BOCC by County Public Works Director Mike Torres, where we were treated to some background history about County Road & Bridge and why certain roads are maintained by the County — and some are not. Except the distinction is not exactly clear. According to some documents, the only roads that Archuleta County “officially” maintains are:
ARTERIALS
CR 500 (Trujillo Rd)
CR 600 (Piedra Rd) – Hwy 160 to FS boundary
COLLECTORS
Buttress Ave – S Pagosa Blvd to Cascade Ave
Cascade Ave
CR 119 (Light Plant Rd)
CR 335 (Lower Blanco Rd)
CR 359 (Coyote Park Rd)
CR 700 (Cat Creek Rd) – Hwy 160 to Orange Ct
Meadows Dr
Mission Dr
N Pagosa Blvd
Park Ave – N Pagosa Bivd to Carlee Pl
Pinon Causeway
S Pagosa Blvd
Trails Blvd – Hwy 160 to Ranger Park Dr
Vista Blvd
AGRICULTURAL ACCESS
CR 391 (Edith Rd)
CR 542 (Montezuma Rd)
CR 551 (Juanita Rd)
CR 700 (Cat Creek Rd) – Orange Ct to CR 500
RECREATIONAL ACCESS
CR 113 (Fawn Gulch Rd)
CR 146 (Turkey Springs Rd)
CR 166 (First Fork Rd)
CR 200 (Snowball Rd)
CR 302 (Mill Creek Rd)
CR 326 (Blanco Basin Rd)
CR 382 (Upper Navajo Rd) – to FS 731 Price Lakes Rd
CR 400 (Fourmile Rd)
CR 982 (entrance to Navajo State Park)
CR 988 (entrance to Navajo State Park) – South of Hwy 151
Eight Mile Mesa Rd
If we look at that list, we might note that neither Cloman Boulevard nor Industrial Circle are officially “accepted for maintenance” by the County. Yet somehow, Cloman Boulevard — formerly a gravel road — was paved with asphalt in 2022, even though it is not on the “accepted for maintenance” list.
The timing of this unusual Cloman Boulevard paving project was (curiously?) aligned with the 2022 purchase of the historic Archuleta County Courthouse by Ronnie and Terry Urbanczyk, a wealthy couple from San Antonio, Texas, who have been buying (and selling) Archuleta County properties over the past several years. The Urbanczyks reportedly paid $550,000 for the Courthouse, one of the largest buildings in downtown Pagosa, but as part of the deal, they also made the Archuleta County government “10% owner” of a 60-acre parcel adjacent to the County airport.
Cloman Boulevard provides the access to the Urbanczyk’s 60-acre parcel, and to the County airport. It’s now nicely paved, all the way from Piedra Road to the County’s (mostly-undeveloped) public park at the end of the boulevard.
Meanwhile, only the northern half of Industrial Circle is paved. That pavement could now use crack sealing and/or a chip coat, judging by my recent inspection. (I’m not an asphalt expert.)
The southern half of Industrial Circle, where most the businesses are located, is still mostly gravel.
Of course, some roads get better treatment from the County, than other roads do.
Read Part Three… tomorrow…