The Pagosa Springs Urban Renewal Authority — the generally unpopular new commission created, in November 2019, by the Pagosa Springs Town Council at the request of local developer Jack Searle and Texas-based developer David Dronet — will hold a special meeting this evening at 5pm. The public can attend the meeting ‘in-person’ at Town Hall, or via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/92465426737 (You can also dial in by phone at 1-669-900-6833 using Meeting ID: 924 6542 6737.)
It appears that most of the meeting will focus on a proposal from Durango, Colorado-based SEH Design and Engineering to assist the Town Council and staff in repairing the PSURA’s somewhat tarnished image, at the affordable price of $4,968.
From the Council’s agenda packet:
Following the presentation given by Andrew Arnold with SEH Design and Engineering on April 22, the Town Manager reached out to their firm to request a proposal for planning assistance. The PSURA could use some expert assistance in identifying project areas throughout the community, conducting public engagement with the community, and related services. Attached is a proposal letter and the Town Manager’s request. SEH has experience in assisting the City of Durango in their Renewal Partnership that could be valuable to the Pagosa Springs community.
Also attached are Mr. Arnold’s presentation from the April 22 URA meeting and copies of two products (conditions surveys) that the firm provided for Durango. The scope of work requested and proposed would not be a full conditions survey, but would help move the URA forward with identifying project areas and a more holistic assessment of the potential for these areas in a URA, including increasing public and stakeholder awareness and participation.
SEH costs for the scope requested include 24 hours @ Planner I (Arnold), 8 hours @ Senior Planner (Dosdall). The time includes a maximum of 3 trips to Pagosa Springs with mileage. Total cost would be hourly, not to exceed $4,968.
You can download Andrew Arnold’s April 22 Power Point presentation here.
One of the images from Mr. Arnold’s Power Point presentation:
It would appear, based on the illustration above, that the Town Council and its staff seriously fumbled the ball in November 2019, when the Council voted 4-3 to create the Pagosa Springs Urban Renewal Authority, at the request of two wealthy developers, without first getting the community behind the proposal.
According to Mr. Arnold, a “successful” URA is fully backed by “The public.” Additionally, a “successful” URA is fully backed by the business community, and by “local taxing bodies.”
In November 2019, representatives from the community’s other taxing entities were voicing clear opposition to the URA proposed by Mr. Searle and Mr. Dronet. In particular, opposition to the plan was expressed by four local taxing bodies: Archuleta School District, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation, the Upper San Juan Library District, and San Juan Water Conservancy District.
Members of the public spoke both in favor and in opposition to the commission’s formation. Members of the business community did likewise. Clearly, the Town Council and staff had not done the work of getting the community on board, supporting the new Authority. Some members of the community (myself included) felt that the URA was being shoved down our throats, to benefit a couple of developers.
During his recent April 22 presentation, Mr. Arnold had described a very different process that had taken place in Durango, when the City Council there created a new Urban Renewal Authority, with clear endorsements by the Durango business community and the school district.
Mr. Arnold’s presentation had focused largely on ways that a URA might help address Pagosa’s affordable housing crisis. Here’s one of his slides, showing the disparity between an average employee wage in Pagosa, compared to the median price of a home.
It was perhaps remarkable that, in November 2019, the proposal from Jack Searle and David Dronet — asking for up to $79.6 million in local tax subsidies — had specifically rejected the idea of building even a single unit of affordable housing within their proposed 27-acre development project.
Last July, the voters within the Town of Pagosa Springs overwhelmingly approved, by a 3-to-1 margin, a new legal requirement that the URA and the Town obtain voter approval for any large “Tax Increment Financing” (TIF) subsidies proposed within the town limits. “The public” seemed to be expressing a lack of support for the idea that Mr. Searle’s vacant 27 acres on Hot Springs Boulevard was an example of “dangerous urban blight” — even though Town Planning Director James Dickhoff had determined that the vacant property was exactly that.
Tonight, we may hear suggestions from Durango-based SEH on how they can help the Town government and the Urban Renewal Authority can repair its earlier missteps.