Photo: The Archuleta County commissioners discuss government decision-making at a January 2025 work session. From left, Warren Brown, Veronica Medina, John Ranson, County Manager Jack Harper.
I was pleased to see, yesterday morning, that the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN had also published most of the resignation letter from Development Director Pamela Flowers sent to the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners on July 14. Reporter Clayton Chaney also reached out to Ms. Flowers via email, and shared additional information in his article, that aligns with what Ms. Flowers told me during our Daily Post interview on July 20.
Mr. Clayton also noted that Commissioners Warren Brown and Veronica Medina declined to comment on the resignation. Commissioner John Ranson, however, was quoted as saying that the appointment of Owen O’Dell as acting Development Director is the “best thing to happen since I took office.”
At the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners work session on Tuesday, July 22, Commissioner John Ranson implied that the BOCC might want to reduce the staffing at County Development Services.
During our interview on Sunday, July 20, I asked Ms. Flowers to comment on that idea.
Ms. Flowers:
“In the Building Department, when I got there, we had three people. We had a person at the front desk, we had the permit tech, and we had a Building Official who did all plan reviews and all the inspections, and who was responsible for interpreting the code. So the person who was supposed to interpret the code was continually out of the office doing inspections when a customer would drop in without an appointment and say, ‘I have a couple of questions about this house I’m building, or that I want to build, and I don’t know if I can do this thing. Can I do it?’
“I wanted the person who answers that question to be the Building Official — the same person who interprets the code — not the permit tech or the person at the front desk. So we worked to add a person who worked as the inspector, so the Building Official could do all the plan reviews and be present to answer questions. And also, so the Building Official could also do onsite inspections when we have multiple inspections in distant parts of the county on the same day. So we could meet all of those requests for inspections within a day…
“So we added one person to the Building Department…”
“So… in Planning. When I started as the Community Development Director, I did all of the planning work. I was the planner, and I had an assistant on staff. So we divided up the labor and did what we could. I was really slow, because there are a lot of other things that the commissioners and the public demand of the Director. Preparing public notices, reading the applications, meeting with applicants, creating the annual budget… All the letters that have to be generated, all the work that has to be done to keep a project moving forward, to get approved…”
“So I was doing all that, and projects were taking many months to get to final approval…”
Once the BOCC handed over the new Water Quality Department to Ms. Flowers — with three new staff people — and also put her in charge of writing and administering housing grants, the BOCC moved Ms. Flowers into a more supervisory position called Development Director.
These changes occurred, in part, because the BOCC finally realized that Archuleta County is in the the midst of a serious housing crisis, and the private housing market isn’t going to solve the problem.
So, yes, Development Services grew in staffing over the past five years — as authorized by the BOCC, and as supported by budget allocations. In Ms. Flowers’ opinion, the department is much more functional than it was five years ago, and several important housing grants have been obtained. Archuleta County was, for example, the first county in the state to fully complete the new ‘Housing Needs Assessment’ recently mandated by the state legislature.
Ms. Flowers:
“It’s not about ’empire building’. It’s about providing the right mix of people who can keep processes moving, so that the public doesn’t have to wait an inordinate amount of time. Because they’re trying to fulfill their dream, whatever that is. [The County] is standing between them and their dream…
“It’s also important to note that all of the new positions, other than mine, are covered by fees paid to the department. So we weren’t tapping into the General Fund to have more people. We had enough revenue coming in to cover all the staff. The only position coming out of the General Fund was mine.”
Makes it all sound like a well-oiled, self-financing machine.
So one more question.
Why did Pam Flowers decide to resign, rather suddenly and effective immediately, on July 14?
I received an email yesterday.
Hello, please keep the following tip confidential, do not use my name.
The County commissioners threatened to fire the County Manager if the County Manager did not fire Pam.
This was not the first time I had heard this claim, from persons connected to the County government — that Ms. Flowers resigned on July 14, in part, because County Manager Jack Harper’s continued employment was under threat, due to his refusal to fire Ms. Flowers.
But this is second-hand (or third-hand) rumor, and not confirmed.
Still… it’s food for thought… especially in light of certain comments made by Commissioner John Ranson on July 22, during a work session. I was seated in the audience, recording the discussion for a possible future editorial.
Commissioner Ranson expressed his appreciation for the staff of the Pagosa Springs SUN, and then addressed his next comments to me. He was obviously riled up.
Ranson: And secondly, I haven’t read the [Daily Post], but I understand there’s something in there about Jack Harper. I think you owe him an apology. Is there something in the Daily Post about “Jack Harper is next?”
Hudson: Are you asking me? I don’t think Jack has been mentioned.
Ranson: Well, I’ve been told he was mentioned…
This editorial series, up until June 22, had not mentioned Jack Harper… which Commissioner Ranson would have known, had he taken the time to do his research. And I had not written anything even remotely suggesting that “Jack Harper is next.”
Where did Commissioner Ranson ever get such an idea?
Ranson: Well, you owe [Jack] an apology if you go that direction. We don’t need speculation, Bill. We need facts!
Hudson: I did do an interview with the person who resigned, and they shared their ideas with me.
Ranson: Well, that’s… that’s… I think you owe him an apology.
Hudson: Who?
Ranson: Jack. You think he would enjoy reading stuff like that?…
Hudson: I haven’t made any mention of Jack.
Ranson: Well, there have been, in emails.
Hudson. In what emails?
Ranson: The emails that we’ve received.
What emails has Commissioner Ranson received? From whom? And why was Jack Harper mentioned in those emails?
Ranson: I’m just asking you. Why don’t you stick with the facts, instead of speculation and things you don’t know about? That would help the whole community.
Apparently, there are some facts related to County Manager Jack Harper, that someone knows about, and that have appeared in emails… but that Commissioner Ranson would prefer not to have covered in the local media.
Are we curious? And also, perhaps, concerned?