Photo: The Ruby Sisson Memorial Library, in 2021.
Your Ruby Sisson Library has always been a place to explore, share, discover, and dream. But the time has come for an upgraded and expanded library…
— from the Ruby Sisson Library ‘Building Campaign’ webpage, 2025.
The Pagosa Springs community has been growing and expanding and changing, in fits and starts, since I arrived in 1993. Much of the expansion has been in the form of residential homes and commercial buildings.
A great deal of the expansion has been in government. Government facilities, government employees, and government budgets. Slightly unbelievable government expansion, in fact, in some cases.
In this editorial series, we’ll consider the notion that Pagosa Springs, as we know it, would not exist without massive government expansion. And also, the notion that this government expansion will continue long into the foreseeable future.
Much to my regret, I failed to attend the Pagosa Springs Town Council meeting on June 17 — the rock band I play in, Soul Fire, had scheduled a rehearsal that evening, and if you know anything about how hard it can be to get a rock band together to rehearse, you will excuse me for missing an occasional Town meeting.
Fortunately, the Town Council records its meetings and work sessions, thanks to the technology platform known as Zoom, and I was able to obtain a copy of the video recording from the Town staff.
The first item of business concerned a proposal to waive the building and planning fees normally charged by the Town government, for the upcoming expansion of the Ruby Sisson Memorial Library on South 8th Street. The Library is operated and funded by a tax-funded special district, the Upper San Juan Library District. Tax revenues this year will amount to about $1 million.
The Library was originally built in 1989, and underwent a major expansion about 20 years ago.
This latest planned expansion will add:
- 100-seat Library Community Room designed for a variety of options from Library programming to community use;
- Dedicated Children’s Discovery Room for early literacy programming and connected to an outdoor children’s exploration garden;
- Teen Hub for teen and tween education, entertainment, and enjoyment;
- Private Study Pods
- Collaboration Lab for intergenerational, hands-on creating and learning;
- Easy access to self-checkout and item drop off.
From the letter submitted to the Town Council from Library Director Barbara Brattin:
The Upper San Juan Library District, Ruby Sisson Memorial Library, has awarded the bid for the expansion and renovation of the library building at 811 San Juan St., Pagosa Springs, to FCI Constructors. Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2025. We are formally requesting a waiver to any building application and review fees associated with this project, pursuant to Town Ordinance no. 886 (Series 2018).
This library construction project is a public/ private partnership that provides a benefit to residents and visitors to the Town. The Town has provided funds toward the cost of the project, estimated at $5.3 million. The library has been awarded a DOLA grant of $840,000 for the project. The majority of fundraising has been from private individuals and foundations. No taxes have been levied for the project.
We sincerely appreciate your consideration of our fee waiver request.
At the June 17 meeting, Town Development Director James Dickhoff noted that Ordinance 911 allows the Town Council to “grant an exemption of development review fees for intergovernmental partnerships that provide a benefit to residents and visitors”. The requested waiver of fees: $23,250. These fees would normally reimburse the Town for staff time spent on the approval processes.
Ms. Brattin noted that the Library has not yet raised the entire $5.3 million, so the planned Phase Three — which will reportedly include a large community garden — will be delayed until additional funding can be acquired. But Phase One and Two are scheduled to break ground in August.
On the Library website, the “Building Campaign” page estimated the project cost at $4 million. Apparently, the costs have increased by about 30% since that page was created.
We noted that the Library’s property tax revenues this year will amount to about $1 million. That’s a bit of an increase from 2021, when the Library’s tax revenues were $583,000… an increase of about 70% over a four year period.
This (impressive?) increase in property tax revenues is not necessarily reflective of all local governments. The Archuleta County government’s budget increases, for example, are limited by Colorado’s TABOR Amendment. Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) is likewise controlled by TABOR. But some of our local governments — like the Library, the Pagosa Fire Protection District, and the San Juan Water Conservancy District — have been released from TABOR restrictions by voter-approved ballot measures.
This Library expansion is not the only government construction project we’ve seen over the past couple of decades.
The Archuleta County government put the taxpayers rather deeply into debt building a new County Jail without voter approval. The County also built — without voter approval — a new County Courthouse, a new Department of Human Services building, and a new Transit Center, and expanded the County Sheriff’s offices and Road and Bridge Department.
The commissioners recently bought a vacant parcel in Aspen Village as the site for a proposed Administration Building.
The Town of Pagosa Springs completed a new wastewater pipeline to pump downtown sewage seven miles uphill to the PAWSD Vista Treatment Plant, at a cost of about $10 million, which unfortunately then caused PAWSD to need a $10 million treatment plant upgrade.
The Town’s downtown sewer collection system reportedly needs $80-$100 million in repairs and upgrades. (See related story published this morning.)
The Town also built a new maintenance complex at a cost of about $6 million. Without voter approval.
PAWSD is just completing a new $40 million water treatment plant on Snowball Road. Also built without voter approval.
Disclosure: I currently serve as a volunteer on the PAWSD Board of Directors, but this editorial reflects only my own personal opinions and not necessarily the opinions of the entire PAWSD Board and staff.
The Archuleta School District Board of Education is currently discussing the construction of a new school complex at a cost of perhaps $125 million.
We should note that most the dollar figures quoted above represent borrowed money, and when you add the interest payments, the final cost is typically double.