As I mentioned in Part One, this story began, for me, with a May 11 presentation by the non-profit Archuleta Housing Corporation to the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners. As noted, Archuleta Housing provides Section 8 housing options for about 178 residents in downtown Pagosa Springs, in three apartment complexes that are nearly 50 years old, and in a somewhat newer elderly housing apartment building.
As a community member concerned about our current housing crisis, I found the presentation intriguing, and it led me to request interviews with former Archuleta Housing executive director Ross Aragon, and with the current director, Nicole Holt.
The story had started for Archuleta Housing a few months earlier, when executive director Nicole Holt pulled some money out of the corporation’s savings account and paid for an energy audit. The audit found areas that lack insulation; problems with the inefficient, 35-year old furnaces; and concerns with 35-year-old water heaters. Additionally, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) has informed the non-profit that they need to install backflow preventers on all their buildings.
The total for the upgrades and repairs in 52 apartment units — which will ultimately save the organization money, over the long run, in reduced energy costs: $565,000. Would the BOCC be willing to help out, to keep these 52 affordable housing units from falling out of service… during a housing crisis?
Ms. Holt noted that the BOCC is expecting more than $2.5 million from the federal American Recovery Plan allocations. Could some of that money be used to match available grants, for example?
Talking with Ms. Holt following her presentation, she mentioned that the apartments had originally been constructed with flat roofs, and that I could learn more from the previous executive director of Archuleta Housing, Ross Aragon.
Which led me to Mr. Aragon’s home a few days later.
Mr. Aragon:
“The person who initiated the project was Father Bernard. He was the one who said, we needed housing for people. At that time, the housing [in Pagosa] was remnants of the early 1900s. We didn’t have a sewer system until 1960, and that’s about the time we got TV. We were kind of sheltered, I guess you could say. We didn’t know much about the outside world…
“But by 1974, there was a demand for housing, mainly because of the sawmill… there had always been small sawmills here, that employed five or six guys… but when John Hudspeth came in, from Oregon, his sawmill employed 200 people. It stimulated the economy; and that was the good news. But about that time, they noticed that they needed housing, and Father Bernard — all the guys on the board were Catholic, so of course they listened to Father Bernard. They were all very loyal to him…
“And now, we’re looking at the same thing — a shortage of workforce housing. Some things repeat themselves… it’s going to get to the point, where a lot of people aren’t going to be able to afford to live here.”
As it turned out, Mr. Aragon and his family were introduced to the Archuleta Housing apartments in a very personal way, when their house on Lewis Street burned to the ground in 1974 — just as the apartments were beginning to accept families.
“Scott Kleckner was the administrator [of Archuleta Housing] at that time, and he called me an told me, he said, ‘Ross, I understand your house burned down.’ He said, ‘We’ve got some vacant apartments here.’ I had no idea where I was going to go…
“A lot of people don’t know the number of Pagosans who have been helped. I could tell you their names — a lot of people who went on to be prominent, who lived there. I could tell you the names. Really prominent people. There were teachers, who lived there.”
Of course, Ross Aragon himself went on to become one of the town’s most prominent citizens, serving on the Town Council, and then as mayor, for 36 years.
The following year, in 1975, when Scott Kleckner resigned, Mr. Aragon applied for the job of Archuleta Housing executive director — and suitably impressed the hiring committee. He remained the director for 42 years.
At the very beginning of his tenure, the apartment roofs had already sprung serious leaks.
“They had built the apartments with flat roofs. We had 55 gallon drums in the rooms…”
“A guy named Charlie Taylor had built the apartments. He was from Albuquerque. And the architects were Garcia and Associates, also from New Mexico. So they had built these like you do in New Mexico — you’ve been to Santa Fe, you know how it looks — and you can do that, there. But you can’t, here. Because you’ve got freezing and thawing, and a lot of snow. And when you get up to shovel the snow off, you damage the roof.”
Fortunately for the housing project’s future, Mr. Aragon had also become involved in local politics — and in particular, had become the chairman of the local Republican Party. By 1986, he was able to use his political influence in Denver to solicit a HUD loan worth nearly $1 million for repairs and improvements to the apartments, including all-new appliances and furnaces — and brand new peaked roofs.
We will hear more about that $1 million loan in Part Three.
Mr. Aragon retired from Archuleta Housing in January 2017 and was replaced by Leslie Shepard — daughter of Ross’ long-time administrative assistant, Nancy Shepard.
“She didn’t last very long — maybe a year?
“And I didn’t even know Nicole [Holt]. And she called me one day and asked me if I’d meet her at the office. But I didn’t want to try and influence her, or anything like that. I wouldn’t want to interfere.
“Even with the Town Council — I don’t ever go to the meetings. I did my time, and I did what I thought was right. All you have to do is look at my record. That’s all I have to say…”
My next stop was Nicole Holt’s downtown office, upstairs above TBK Bank. I wanted to know more about the $565,000 repair bill, and her plans to get help from our local governments, or from wherever. On behalf of 178 low-income residents of Pagosa Springs…