Photo: Archuleta County officials reviewing the blueprints for the vacant Wyndham offices on Talisman Drive in June 2025. Clockwise from left, County Clerk Kristy Archuleta, County Treasurer Elsa White, County Assessor Johanna Tully-Elliot, County Attorney Cathleen Giovanini, Commissioner Warren Brown, Commissioner Veronica Medina.
Yesterday, in Part Three of this editorial series, we shared Archuleta Count Commissioner John Ranson’s comments on Tuesday, September 16, suggesting that while he supports a long-range plan of building a new County administration building in Aspen Village, he believes that the current Pagosa Springs economy cannot support the level of local taxation and fees currently proposed by the Archuleta School District, the Town of Pagosa Springs, LPEA, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD), and other local governments.
He suggested that the negative impacts of any additional County debt would fall heavily on the Road & Bridge department.
He announced that he would vote against spending $314,000 on design and engineering for a proposed $20 million office building, and he urged his fellow commissioners to, instead, pursue the purchase and remodeling of the former Wyndham offices on Talisman Drive, where several County departments are currently being housed.
His fellow commissioners, Warren Brown and Veronica Medina did not fully agree with Commissioner Ranson’s assessment, nor with the arguments made by several taxpayers who had spoken during public comment.
Commissioner Brown explained why he wanted to spend $314,000 on the administration building design, at a time when so many other governments are proposing tax increases and fee increases:
“I appreciate everybody being here, and their comments. Our community needs are vast.
“I guess the question to you is: when was the last tax increase that we voted in for the County?”
Fair question. The taxpayers have voted in tax increases for the School District and the Fire District within the past 8 years, but not for Archuleta County.
But it’s not clear why Commissioner Brown was asking that question. Was he implying that he wants to build the administration building without voter approval, as was done with the County jail?
He continued:
“We’re trying to make a decision on how we move forward, and whether that’s a ‘wait and see’ or whether that’s a ‘move forward as a whole’. That’s the decision that’s up here. I can answer that rhetorical question. ‘More than 30 years’.
“More than 30 years. Are you living on the same amount of money that you were living on 30 years ago? I’m not. None of us are, because we can’t.”
Again, I’m not clear what point the commissioner was trying to make, in reference to the proposed expenditure of $314,000 for design services.
20 years ago, Archuleta County’s General Fund budget was $7.2 million. This year, the General Fund budget is $29.6 million. All of that increase came out of the taxpayers’ pockets — which is part of the reason Commissioner Brown cannot live on the same income he previously lived on. Even without voting in a tax increase, we have been hammered with increased taxes.
But is a typical family in Archuleta County now earning four times the income they earned 20 years ago? I suspect not.
Commissioner Brown continued:
“The easiest decisions is to say, ‘No, let’s not do it.’ Because the Town has a real need? The County wasn’t included in the Town’s sewer issues, nor were we included in the decision to pump their sewage uphill. Nor were we included in the schools’ decision… because that’s not within our purview… And I know PAWSD has needs…
“But each agency has a responsibility to make sure we’re doing the best we can, by the community and for the community…
“If we put this off, today, will we be able to do it in five years? In ten years? In 20 years? Or are we going to continue to spiral down, where we have nothing work with? Much like where we’ve come from?”
Once again, I wonder about the phrase “spiral down” … when the County now has 400% of the General Fund money they had 20 years ago.
And the rest of us don’t.
A few minutes later, Commissioner Medina referred to the use of Certificates of Participation (COPs) — a common but problematic way for local governments to put the taxpayers in debt without voter approval.
“We have talked about this a lot, saying, first, we will not do a COP. I too have said I will not go along with a COP, no matter what. We need the community buy-in.
“And we said we would do community meetings, and we have done maybe two meetings. Maybe one? But we will still continue to do those community meetings to get the buy-in, because this does have to go on the ballot. It does have to go before the people.
“A COP is not an option.”
Commissioner Medina said she understood why the County had used COPs to build the County jail, and she agreed that the community has other pressing needs that the taxpayers will be asked to fund. She said she didn’t see the administration building as an emergency need.
“But to Commissioner Brown’s point, we were elected to continue to move the County forward… And contrary to what has been said, no one is planning on building a Taj Mahal. That is not the goal…”
Commissioner Medina has made that statement numerous times in the past: that a ‘Taj Mahal’ is not the goal.
So we might wonder why the firms responding to the ‘design and engineering’ RFP were referring to a 22,000 square foot building costing approximately $20 million. According to my pocket calculator, that suggests a building costing $900 per square foot.
Contractors in Pagosa Springs are building attractive homes for less than $400 per square foot.
When Commissioner Medina called for the vote on spending $314,000 on design drawings for a building that the community presumably cannot afford and will likely refuse to finance, Commissioners Brown and Medina voted ‘Yea’ and Commissioner Ranson voted ‘Nay’.