Thursday, May 10, 2007

County cuts staff, budgets

By James Robinson
Staff Writer

With unprecedented financial pressures and revenue shortfalls bearing down, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners wielded a heavy pen Tuesday, making budget cuts topping $1.6 million, including laying off 22 county employees.

Archuleta County Commissioner Bob Moomaw described the county’s financial predicament as a “crisis situation” and said previously implemented cost saving measures, such as eliminating travel, training and capital purchases, and suspension of hiring, had not alleviated the shortfalls; thus, more drastic measures were necessary.

“This took a lot of gnashing of teeth and soul searching, particularly by (county administrator) Bob Campbell,” Moomaw said. “This is not taken lightly.”

Among the 22 forced layoffs were the public works director, a lieutenant in the sheriff’s department, a detention officer, five administrative assistants from a variety of departments including fleet, transportation, development services and the sheriff, and seven staff from the assessor’s office.

Moomaw and Archuleta County Commissioner Ronnie Zaday voted in favor of the budget reductions, while Archuleta County Commissioner Robin Schiro was absent and did not vote.

In an e-mail and telephone conversation, Schiro said she has been vacationing in Alaska with her husband since May 4 — “I took off for the working days of last Friday, this past Monday and today” — and said she was registered for, but may or may not attend, a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference scheduled in Fairbanks for May 9 to 11.

Moomaw described Tuesday’s proceedings as, “one of the most important meetings we’ve had, no question.” And added, “In fact, it’s probably one of the most important meetings in years due to the magnitude of the problem we are dealing with.”

Previous estimates put the county’s financial shortfall at $2.4 million, with the inability to meet payroll June 1.

The proceedings drew Zaday to tears as she reviewed the budget cuts and the prospect of laying off 22 county employees.

“There is nothing harder than having to let people go. Because mistakes have been made, people’s lives are going to be hurt,” Zaday said.

Schiro said she takes the county’s financial situation seriously, although following last week’s coup, when Moomaw and Zaday stripped of her post as chair, she said she feels her “vote doesn’t count on the board,” and she described her colleague’s actions as illegal.

“I’d rather be there, but eventually I have to take care of my family. My family was hurt by what Moomaw and Ronnie did last week, and eventually I need to make them (my family) a priority,” Schiro said.

The Archuleta County Commissioner’s Rolling Calendar indicates Schiro had scheduled the NACo Alaska convention since Jan. 10, 2007, and the NACo Alaska trip appears on the most recent iteration of the document

Schiro said she has offered to forfeit her take-home pay for the remainder of the year and would provide engineering services to the county to assist with cutting costs.

Moomaw also forfeited his take-home salary for the remainder of 2007, and Zaday took a voluntary 20-percent salary cut.

In addition, Campbell said Treasurer Lois Baker, County Clerk June Madrid, Sheriff Pete Gonzalez, sheriff’s department administrative staff members, the county administrator, members of the administration department, airport staff, information systems staff and the county finance director had taken voluntary pay cuts or agreed to work reduced hours for the rest of the year. Campbell estimated the cumulative savings at $165,000.

In addition, the county is cutting $700,000 in operating and capital purchases, and Campbell estimates that the decision to not fill 21 full-time, seasonal positions will result in an additional savings of $358,000. The savings from forced lay offs is estimated at $421,000. Campbell estimated that the cuts amount to a $1.7 million budget reduction and would result in a balanced budget for 2007.

According to a prepared statement issued by Archuleta County administrative staff, the forced layoffs will take effect immediately and are permanent cuts, with affected employees being given administrative leave, with pay, through June 8.

“We don’t expect to refill any of these positions during this year,” Campbell said.

Campbell added that those laid off could apply for similar job openings, should openings arise in the future, however, there are no employment guarantees.

And although administrators and the board hope Tuesday’s cuts will solve the county’s financial crisis, presentation of the state mandated 2005 county audit, brought forth a whole new raft of questions and financial concerns.

Karla Willschau and Kristi Lopez of the certified public accounting firm Wall, Smith, Bateman & Associates Inc. presented their findings to the board, and many of the financial problems encountered in 2003 and 2004 continue to plague the county in 2005.

According to Willschau, “The county has not maintained certain records and supporting documents which, reconcile differences in cash and investment balances since the end of 2004 between the treasurer’s office and the accounting general ledger, reconcile capital assets, depreciation and capital outlay for governmental and business-type activities, reconcile the Human Services Fund general ledger to the Colorado Financial Management System, reconcile the Employee Benefit Fund general ledger to data provided by the third party administrator, and resolve significant deficit balances in internal service funds, which is a departure from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, also the county’s internal controls were not adequate to provide safeguards over county assets and to assure the proper recording of transactions.”

In addition, Willschau said the county can’t account for $648,000 in cash in 2005, fleet services and the self insurance fund ran six-digit deficits — a violation of state statute — fund balances are about a month off and can’t be trusted because of significant internal service fund deficits, key treasurer’s documents needed to complete the audit had been shredded, and complete general ledgers for 2004, which may provide data needed to solve 2005 and subsequent audit discrepancies, can’t be located in totality.

County Finance Director Bob Burchett said he had access to about 10 months of 2004’s general ledgers.

“It’s a departure from generally accepted accounting principles to have such deficits in internal service funds,” Willschau said. “These fund balances are not something you can rely on.”

Responding to Willschau’s assessment, Zaday said, “Based on what you’re telling me, we don’t know where we are today.”

To make matters worse, Willschau said in 2005, “For budgeting purposes, you planned to spend a million more than you actually had.”

And the spending continued into 2007, with commissioners John Egan, Schiro and Zaday approving a budget that was prepared to overspend by $611,000 from the outset.

Campbell said the county will reassess its financial situation in mid-June.

For the complete story on the 2005 audit, see next week’s SUN.

james@pagosasun.com

CSAP reading scores improve

By Louis Sherman
Staff Writer

School district administrators announced high CSAP reading scores among third-graders at Pagosa Springs Elementary school as part of a report at the Archuleta School District 50 Joint Board of Education’s monthly meeting Tuesday. The administrators also discussed the district’s response to other issues, including security, changed grant funding and a wellness policy.

Assistant Superintendent Bill Esterbrook told the board that third-graders at Pagosa Springs Elementary school outperformed most of their peers across the state in reading on this year’s CSAP standardized test.

The scores for third-grade reading are made available to schools before other scores are tallied, as part of a statewide push to improve childhood literacy. The Colorado Basic Literacy Act legislated the goal that all students be literate at grade level by the third grade. If students do not achieve grade-level proficiency, schools must construct individual literacy plans. CSAP results for third-grade reading are released in the spring to make it possible for schools to prepare individualized plans for students who have difficulty reading.

Last year, 70 percent of Colorado third-graders were evaluated as proficient or advanced in reading by the CSAP exam. This year, the state average among third-graders increased to 71 percent.

By contrast, 78 percent of Pagosa Springs third-graders were proficient or advanced last year, and 83 percent of third-graders reached the mark this year. Impressive, said Esterbrook, is that the literacy level of third-grade Hispanic students in Pagosa Springs Elementary School climbed from 45 percent last year to 77 percent this year (above the state average for all students).

In response to the positive results, elementary school principal Kate Lister said, “It’s all about RTI.”

RTI or “response to intervention” is a data-driven approach to discovering the individual needs of students and developing plans for targeted, individualized instruction to address student needs.

District CSAP results for other grade levels and subject areas will be available in late July, said Esterbrook.

Archuleta County School District was noted for its RTI practices by the Colorado Department of Education this week. The district was asked to present its RTI plan at the CDE’s 2007 Colorado Reading Summit in Denver. In addition, it was one of 15 districts across the state to receive an Award of Recognition for Exceptional Service Toward Student Achievement.

In his report to the board, Superintendent Mark DeVoti discussed school security, a wellness policy and reduced federal grant funding.

In response to four recent school burglaries at the elementary, junior high and high schools, the district contracted a security firm to tour and map district facilities and construct a proposal for the administration and board.

DeVoti said one of the key considerations will be access to buildings — including physical points of access and the extent of individual access to buildings.

According to DeVoti, the district’s security concerns contrast with the security focus of many districts. Whereas much attention has been given to the security of students and staff during the school day, the local school district’s primary issue is break-ins during the night, when buildings are empty.

DeVoti also reported the district will have to reorganize its 2007-2008 finances in response to a $40,000 reduction in Title I grant funds from the federal government. DeVoti credited district grant writer Terry Alley with finding a way to reallocate funds to address the grant reduction, without eliminating staff positions.

Finance Director Nancy Schutz said the district will respond to the funding reduction by making cuts to a professional development fund, which is possible since all district educators are considered to be highly qualified as defined by federal No Child Left Behind legislation. In addition, said Schutz, some administration expenses will be met by funds other than the Title I funding.

DeVoti announced the district will revive its Wellness Committee next fall. The committee met last school year and summer to construct a wellness policy, under the guidance of former Superintendent Duane Noggle. It will meet again to reconsider and revise the policy, upon the request of the CDE.

DeVoti said the CDE commended the district for changes it has made to improve the health of students, but the department also asked the district to revisit the wellness policy, which is considered to be overly vague in areas.

DeVoti said the district will compare its policy with those of other districts, in order to produce a well-considered policy to prompt effective wellness actions.

louis@pagosasun.com

Valuations mailed, protest period underway

By James Robinson
Staff Writer

With many property owners having received their Notice of Valuation from the Archuleta County Assessor’s Office, many of them may be suffering sticker shock, or in this case, valuation shock; however, there is a process to dispute the valuation and to have one’s concerns heard.

According to Archuleta County Assessor Keren Prior, vacant land values increased an average of 90 percent, residential values an average of 45 percent and commercial property 18 to 20 percent, although Prior noted some property owners will see their values increasing 100 to 200 percent.

With such increases, Prior anticipates a flood of protests, although she said protests must go through a formal process.

According to Prior, on the back of the Notice of Valuation there is a section for property owners choosing to protest the assessor’s valuation of their property. Property owners must fill out the form and, after doing so, should tear off the lower portion for their records. Prior said the top portion must be submitted to the assessor either in person or via mail.

All pertinent documentation supporting the property owner’s protest should be included with the form. Copies of all information submitted to the assessor should be kept for the property owner’s records.

Protest forms and documentation must be submitted to the assessor by May 31, 2007.

The assessor then has until June 30 to respond to the protest, and a Notice of Determination will be mailed to the protestor.

On Aug. 1, the Board of County Commissioners, acting as the Board of Equalization, will begin protest hearings.

The assessor’s office is open 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., but is closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.

Prior said due to recent budget cuts and layoffs in the assessor’s department, she is evaluating changing the office’s hours of operation. She advised county residents to call ahead for an up-to-date schedule before driving in from outlying areas of the county.

The assessor’s phone number is (970) 264-8310.

Protests sent via mail should be addressed to: Archuleta County Assessor, P.O. Box 1089, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

james@pagosasun.com

The hills are alive ... with bears and deer

By Chuck McGuire
Staff Writer

With the arrival of spring, the hills and valleys of Pagosa Country have awakened. Grasses are emerald-green and growing. The tender young leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs are bursting forth, and colorful wildflowers have sprung up everywhere.

Of course, as the countryside flora has stirred, so too, have the black bears and mule deer. With that in mind, now is a time for common sense and caution.

Jim Drexinger certainly agrees.

Stepping from his Hidden Valley home early Sunday morning, he quickly noticed an upset trashcan with contents scattered about, and an array of large muddy tracks around — and on — a rental car he’d parked out front the evening before.

Upon closer examination, Drexinger found that a marauding bear had shattered the driver’s side window of the automobile, climbed inside and ransacked it in search of food. In the process, the animal ripped a seat, ravaged the steering wheel and left bemired prints over the entire upholstery.

Evidently, the hungry bruin was drawn to the area by the exposed refuse, but then detected the remnants of a fast-food meal left in the car. A spokesperson for the auto-leasing company that owns the vehicle said they’ve never experienced anything like it before.

On the other hand, Winston and Mary Marugg are the proprietors of Sonlight Camp just north of Hidden Valley. They have encountered bears over the years, including one just a week ago. As their confrontations have unfolded, they’ve learned to take precautions, such as utilizing a bear-proof trash receptacle, removing bird feeders during the warmer months and taking care not to leave human food, or pet food, out and available to bears, or other wildlife.

As a result, the adult bear that has occasionally visited the Maruggs in the past couple of weeks has only managed to peer through windows, disrupt a recycle bin of cleaned plastic containers and remove the cover from a hot tub. Aside from minor damage to the cover, muddy tracks adorning the Dumpster were the only tangible signs of the bear’s visit.

With an olfactory system containing nearly 100 times the number of scent membranes found in the average human nose, bears have an incredible sense of smell. As omnivorous creatures, they’ll eat most anything, and will often travel great distances to find decaying animal carcasses. They can detect seed or sugar water in birdfeeders, rotten fruit beneath fruit trees, and when the wind is right, they’ll even pick up on grilling chicken or steaks, three to five miles distant.

In Colorado, it is illegal to knowingly feed bears — or any other big game animals — and anyone caught doing so faces a minimum $100 fine. Fed bears quickly associate human habitat with food and may become aggressive. Unfortunately, the Colorado Division of Wildlife is often forced to trap and euthanize aggressive bears, in order to prevent attacks on people.

Consequently, those of us living in bear country — and all of Archuleta County is bear country — must take certain precautions to avoid attracting bears, or inadvertently feeding them.

Barbecue grills should be cleaned thoroughly and, if possible, stored in a garage or shed, until needed. Again, birdfeeders should be taken down nightly, and fruit should be harvested as soon as it ripens. Trash cans should be stored in a garage or shed until the morning of pickup, or replaced with bear-proof containers. Trash cans and recycling bins should be cleaned regularly with ammonia, thus eliminating food odors and discouraging bear visits.

Upon meeting a bear face to face, the DOW offers no definite rules about what to do. Most often, bears will detect you first and leave the area. Statistically, true attacks are rare, compared to the number of close encounters.

Nevertheless, if you meet a bear and it hasn’t seen you, the DOW suggests you stay calm and slowly move away. Talking aloud will alert the animal to your presence.

If the bear sees you, back away slowly. Avoid direct eye contact, which it may perceive as a threat, and give it plenty of room to escape. Never run or make sudden movements. Do not attempt to climb a tree, but stand your ground. Speak softly and try not to show fear.

A black bear may leave or try and intimidate you by charging to within a few feet before withdrawing. But if attacked, fight back with whatever is available, including rocks, sticks, binoculars or bare hands.

While mule deer pose only a minimal threat of attack, they too, will aggressively protect themselves and their young, if cornered. Every year, a few unfortunate souls are battered and bruised by aggressive deer, elk or moose, and upon rare occasions, human fatalities have been recorded.

Nevertheless, the greatest danger involving wild ungulates stems not from their behavior, but from sudden traffic encounters. By now, mule deer are moving from winter to summer range, and many are crossing county highways and primary arterial roads, where auto traffic is heaviest.

In recent days, at least two deer have already been struck and killed on Put Hill, and innumerable others have been seen wandering along either side of U.S. 160, U.S. 84 and Piedra Road. Only minor property damage has been reported thus far, but as more animals make their way to, and across, local roadways, and as spring and summer tourism increases, more collisions will occur, possibly resulting in escalating property damage, significant injuries and death — both human and animal.

In the 11 years of 1993 through 2003, the Colorado Department of Transportation reported 22,387 animal-vehicle collisions resulting in property damage, and the average cost per vehicle repair was $2,000. In the same period, 23 motorists were killed in similar accidents, and thousands more were injured.

In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that automobile accidents involving animals cost 200 human lives per year, nationwide. Meanwhile, State Farm Insurance says some 700,000 annual animal-vehicle collisions leave 10,000 people seriously injured, and cause approximately $1.2 billion in damage.

The environmental group, Defenders of Wildlife, says a million animals are killed on the nation’s highways every day, claiming more wildlife than any other human activity.

Patt Dorsey, an area wildlife manager in Durango, says stretches of U.S. 160 between Pagosa Springs and Cortez are “major kill zones,” where deer and elk carcasses constantly litter roadsides. U.S. 84 south to New Mexico and Colo. 151 south to Arboles also suffer considerable carnage, and U.S. 160 from Pagosa Springs to South Fork, particularly either side of Wolf Creek Pass, is also treacherous in the nighttime or twilight hours.

The best advice anyone can give motorists traveling through forested mountain areas is to pay attention to wildlife warning signs, slow down and always remain alert. When possible, scan ahead for movement or the reflection of an animal’s eyes in the headlights. When one becomes visible, watch for others, and if a large animal darts in front of the vehicle, avoid swerving to miss it — better to hit it head on and suffer front-end damage to the vehicle, than to roll it and risk serious personal injury … or worse.

chuck@pagosasun.com

INSIDE

Board hires Lisa Hudson as intermediate school principal

By Louis Sherman
Staff Writer

The Archuleta School District 50 Joint Board of Education made several personnel decisions at its monthly meeting Tuesday — including the approval of a contract with Lisa Hudson (extending her term as intermediate school principal) and extra duty personnel (including coaches who also serve as administrators in the district).

Hudson was appointed to the position of interim principal by the school board this March to replace Mark DeVoti, after DeVoti was named superintendent. Principals are reviewed on an annual basis, and Tuesday’s decision officially extended Hudson’s contract.

Hudson served as intermediate school counselor during five school years before taking the new position. She received her administrator certification last year and filled in for DeVoti on occasion until his appointment as superintendent.

DeVoti credited Hudson with helping to create an effective culture of learning in the school and said that hiring her as principal would ensure a smooth leadership transition in the school.
Board member Linda Lattin moved that the board go into executive session Tuesday to discuss extra duty contracts — including coaching positions.

After returning from executive session, the board voted four-to-one to approve the extra duty contracts, with Lattin voting nay.

In a statement following the vote, Sandy Caves (vice president of the board) made it clear that the issue was whether or not the district should hire administrators to fill roles as coaches.

Caves explained why she voted in favor of the extra duty contracts, which included contracts with administrator/coaches, when she had once considered the idea of such contracts to be problematic. She said that she had once thought it could create a conflict of interest to hire an administrator as a coach. However, Tuesday’s affirmative vote, she said, was based on her trust in principals to make good suggestions regarding whom to hire. She also said she trusted the principals and potential coaches to determine if the extra duties would create conflicts of interest.

In addition to being an issue at the time of extra duty contracts approval, the issue of administrator/coaches has been brought up as a topic of discussion at school board meetings this school year.

The approval of the extra duty contracts effectively hired high school Assistant Principal Sean O’Donnell to continue as head varsity football coach, high school Athletic Director Jim Shaffer to continue as head varsity boys’ basketball coach and junior high Assistant Principal Jason Plantiko to continue as head football coach and assistant track coach at that school.

louis@pagosasun.com

Walt Lukasik to leave PLPOA for North Carolina job
By Chuck McGuire
Staff Writer

Walt Lukasik has been general manager of the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association for the past seven years. He’ll continue working in that capacity — for eight more days — before voluntarily stepping down May 18.

Coming from Denver in 2000, Lukasik arrived in Pagosa Springs with several years of comparable management experience and immediately assumed the PLPOA lead role.

In the time since, he has supervised five association departments with a total staff of 15 full-time personnel and six part-timers, while working with a seven-member board of directors, several subcommittees and an annual budget of approximately $1.8 million.

Managing an organization of such size is no simple task. After all, the PLPOA covers 21 square miles of territory (14,500 acres), and has roughly 6,800 properties with 3,600 residences in 26 separate subdivisions.

Add in three commercial communities, four lakes (with dams) ranging between 40 and 130 acres, and a full recreation center (18,500 square feet), and you have a job on your hands. Just the recreational aspects keep several staffers busy, particularly with an active fishing program and an annual stocking budget of $85,000. The clubhouse hosted more than 500 meetings, club gatherings and other events last year, alone.

Apparently, Lukasik arrived in the nick of time.

“He’s been a savior,” said former PLPOA board president Dave Bohl. “The association brought in a management company eight years ago, and they proceeded to screw up the finances and everything. They had bank accounts scattered all over the state, but Walt came in a year later, stabilized things and turned it all around. He’s going to be a hard person to replace.”

Another former board president, Richard Manley, attributes the PLPOA’s current success to Lukasik’s knowledge and experience.

“Walt had just gotten here, when a disagreement occurred over whether or not to retain their own police force,” Manley said in a recent phone interview. “When they voted to disband, a couple of board members walked out and resigned. It was left to Walt’s delicate touches to bring people back together and restore some kind of professionalism to the board and staff.

“He’s a real good manager and a good people person,” Manley continued. “He’s done a good job and has been a good friend.”

Lukasik and wife, Ellen, will leave for New Bern, N.C. later this month, where Lukasik will assume responsibilities as community manager of the Fairfield Harbour Property Owners Association, by June 4. The 35-year-old gated community lies off the Neuse River, 35 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

According to Lukasik, Fairfield Harbour has roughly a third as many residential properties as Pagosa Lakes, but its staff is nearly the same size. With 40 different clubs representing a multitude of interests and activities, including sailing, golf, tennis and gardening, recreation opportunities seem endless. And, it’s near sea-level elevation offers relief to those suffering complications from life at altitude, a condition that has plagued Ellen Lukasik for some time.

The Lukasiks plan on leasing a home in Fairfield Harbour while their Pagosa Lakes home is on the market. Once it sells, they’ll look to purchase a home in their new community.

When asked about the change, Lukasik said, “We regret leaving a lot of good people behind. We have lots of friends and I’ve worked with a good line of directors here.”

Meanwhile, the PLPOA board of directors has formed a search committee to find Lukasik’s replacement, and a notice has been posted on the Web. For now, the search extends as far as Phoenix, with 14 resumes already received, by late last week.

Though time is short for long goodbyes, the entire Pagosa Springs community is invited to a farewell get-together in honor of the Lukasiks, Monday, May 14. The affair will run between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse, 230 Port Ave.

chuck@pagosasun.com

Mandatory meeting for 2008 Red Ryder royalty candidates

There will be a mandatory meeting for girls interested in becoming the 2008 Red Ryder Rodeo Queen and Princess at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at the Fair Building Extension Office.
The princess contest is open to girls ages 8-15, and the queen contest is open to girls ages 16-21, who are not married and do not have children.

Participants will have several practices during the month of June, at which time they will be coached in horsemanship and be given an opportunity to run through what the actual contest will entail.

The written test and horsemanship part of the contest will be held Saturday, June 30, and the personality portion will be on Sunday afternoon, July 1. The girls will be required to ride in this year’s rodeos on July 2, 3 and 4, in the grand entry each day, and the 2008 queen and princess will be crowned on July 4.

If chosen to be the 2008 Red Ryder Royalty, the girls are required to ride in the Little Beaver Parade in Dulce, N.M., as well as the Fiesta Days Parade in Durango, the Chama Days parade, and in our local St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

League of Women Voters annual meeting open to public

By Ellen Wadley
Special to The SUN

The League of Women Voters of Archuleta County will hold its annual meeting 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room at the Archuleta County Courthouse.
As always, everyone is welcome.

The speaker will be Colorado State Rep. Ellen Roberts who will look back at this year’s legislative session (her first) and look forward to what she hopes to accomplish next year and in the future.
The League’s annual meeting is one of its three core events every year. This one embodies the spirit of the other two.

The signature event, naturally, is the candidates’ forum held before all general elections and most primaries. Voter Services Chair Mary Beth McAuley has organized the forums for the last three years, a steadily growing job considering the growth of our community and the more-and-more complicated issues in state and national elections. Next year we expect a free-for-all. The third League event of the year is the Holiday Party in December. It is always well attended and the only chance some of us get to see each other all year.

The annual meeting is a social event, with a learning opportunity. New directors will be voted in and welcomed. New members have an opportunity to meet other new and old ... er ... longtime members. If you aren’t already a member, this is a good chance to see what it’s all about and consider joining. If you are a member, consider getting more involved next year.

For more information about the local League of Women Voters, visit our Web site at www.lwvac.org.

Grant to help pay for county facility in Arboles

Archuleta County has received a $259,227 grant from the Department of Local Affairs (DoLA) Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program to build a small satellite facility on the county transfer station property in Arboles. This property is located at the intersection of County Road 973 and Colo. 151.

The 3,600 square-foot facility will consist of two equipment bays for road maintenance equipment storage and maintenance, an office for a sheriff’s deputy, a small conference room and a bathroom.

There is currently no secure location for road maintenance equipment storage in the Arboles area, and the construction of such a facility will increase the efficiency of road maintenance crews by decreasing transportation time for equipment. There is also currently a lack of patrol coverage in the Arboles area which has seen a rapid rise in sheriff’s deputy response calls; an office to serve as a base for a patrol officer will enable the sheriff to provide more coverage to this area.

Energy Impact grants are awarded for projects that assist in curtailing negative impacts of energy and mineral development. With the majority of energy development in the county affecting the Arboles community, the facility project was viewed by the DoLA grant application review board as the type of project the program is set up to fund. The project was given unanimous recommendation for full funding at review board hearings in late March.

The county will go out for bid on this project in the next few weeks. In addition to the grant, the project will be funded by in-kind labor (site clearing and preparation) and the Road Capital Improvement Fund, a restricted fund for capital improvement projects. The total project cost is estimated at $430,000.

Prescribed burn planned Friday

Fire managers at Pagosa Ranger District are planning to conduct a prescribed burn Friday, May 11, on Bureau of Land Management lands on Vigil and Abeyta mesas, 25 miles south of Pagosa Springs.

The intent is to burn about 200 acres over one to two days in units that have been hydromowed.

Conditions allowing, burning will continue on Forest Service lands on 170 acres in the Lower Middle Mountain area about 12 miles west of Pagosa Springs.

The goals of this treatment are to reintroduce the role of fire to this fire-dependent ecosystem, to reduce ground fuels, prune lower branches of trees, provide for nutrient cycling, and encourage biological diversity.

For additional information about the proposed burns or other fuels-reduction efforts, residents are invited visit the local San Juan Public Lands office, Pagosa Ranger District, at 180 Pagosa St., or call 264-2268.

Pagosa’s Cherie Clodfelter receives prestigious award

Cherie Clodfelter, a Pagosa Springs resident and chair of the education department at the University of Dallas, has been selected as a Piper Professor of 2007 by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. Clodfelter is one of 15 college and university professors selected this year to receive this prestigious award for superior teaching at the college and university level in the State of Texas.  As a Piper Professor, Clodfelter will receive a certificate of merit, gold pen and $5,000 honorarium. 

Dr. Frank Lazarus, president of the University, said, “Doctor Cherie Clodfelter is a truly deserving recipient of the coveted Piper Professor award.  The outstanding quality of our education faculty and teacher education program testifies to Cherie’s exceptional leadership and dedication to her students and to the Education Department at the University of Dallas.  Over the last three decades, she has influenced the development of more than 1,000 students who have become respected teachers in the Irving Independent School District, the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond. Her legacy of service extends well beyond the university as these teachers, her former students, touch the lives of literally thousands of students every day.”

Clodfelter said, “I’ve had the opportunity to have golden moments as a teacher, working with so many talented and scholarly people.  My students and fellow teachers have helped me to become the teacher I wanted to be.  I tell stories.  That’s who I am.  It is an honor to be included with so many outstanding educators who’ve received the Piper Professor award over the years.”

Clodfelter has chaired the education department for 33 of her 37 years with the university, and has taught education courses and been an education scholar specializing in children’s literature, reading and linguistics throughout her career.  In recent years, through her leadership, the education department has earned a reputation for 100 percent of its students passing the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) exam.  These students are now teaching throughout the Metroplex, the State of Texas and the nation.

Clodfelter developed one of the nation’s only programs that integrates the requirements for an education major with an extensive liberal arts core curriculum, which is a hallmark of the university’s undergraduate program.  She was recognized by her colleagues with the university’s highest honor, the King Fellow award (1985) and with a special tribute event on April 17.  As she approaches her planned retirement this June, Clodfelter is extending her legacy of support for her students through the Cherie A. Clodfelter Scholarship Fund at the University.

In addition to her many contributions to the UD Education Department, Clodfelter has authored an 18-volume basal reading series for K-6 grades that was adopted in 49 states; received a U.S. Department of Education grant, and a National Science Foundation grant to improve the teaching of earth science for elementary teachers; contributed to the “Art of Living Well: A Values-Based Curriculum”; wrote a bi-weekly column in The Dallas Morning News on “Children and Their Books” for 21 years; and conducted major educational research projects about the oral traditions and storytelling of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe.

During a sabbatical in 2002, Clodfelter compiled a list of classic children’s books that became “Clodfelter’s Classics,” which was first published in 2003. This summer a revised edition will be published, “Perpetuating the Voice: Stories that Children Should Hear and Read.”

Clodfelter earned her doctorate in early childhood education and language development and her master of arts degree in reading/science from Texas Woman’s University, and her bachelor of science degree from Oklahoma State University. 

Why have an historic preservation plan?

Colorado Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month is a celebration of our state’s heritage held each year in May.

As a part of preservation month in Pagosa Springs, the Town of Pagosa Springs Historic Preservation Board is offering a series of articles on various aspects of historic preservation to help inform the public about the importance and benefits of preserving our past.

The following article is the second in this series. This article is an excerpt from “Preparing a Historic Preservation Plan” by Bradford J. White and Richard J. Roddewig, and was published by the American Planning Association, March 1994.

Why preservation planning?

The historic preservation movement in America came of age in the 1970s and the 1980s as evidenced by the explosion in the number of communities that adopted historic preservation ordinances to protect historic resources. A 1975 study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation found 421 communities with local programs to protect historic resources. By 1983, that number had soared to about 1,000. A September 1993 survey by the National Park Service, and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions identified 1,863 communities with historic preservation commissions across the country.

The surge in local interest in historic preservation laws has been accompanied by a new wave of planning at the local, regional, and state levels for the preservation and protection of historic resources. The proliferation of state planning and growth management laws has also increased the importance of preservation planning. Some of these laws mandate that preservation plans be included in comprehensive plans, and most of them require at least consideration of historic preservation issues. Especially promising is the move to make preservation planning “comprehensive.”

Consider the traditional comprehensive plan. It has four principal characteristics. First, it is future oriented, establishing land-use and development goals that will be attained incrementally over time through regulations, individual decisions about zoning and rezoning, development approval or disapproval, and municipal expenditures for capital improvements, such as road construction and the installation of municipal utilities.

Second, planning is continuous in that the plan is intended not as a blueprint for future development that must be as carefully executed as the architect’s design for a building, but rather as a set of policies which must be periodically reevaluated and amended to adjust to changing conditions. Third, the plan must be based on a determination of present and projected conditions within the area covered by the plan. Fourth, planning is comprehensive.

A comprehensive preservation plan should have similar overall characteristics. The preservation plan may “stand alone” outside of the state, regional, or local comprehensive plan, or it may be adopted as a discreet element of the comprehensive plan. Preservation values may also be integrated into other comprehensive plan elements, such as housing, transportation, and public improvements. However, the most effective preservation plan is adopted as an element of the comprehensive plan complete with goals, definition of historic character, summary of past preservation efforts, survey of historic resources, explanation of legal basis, discussion of the relationship between historic preservation and other land-use and growth management authority, explanation of public-sector responsibilities, discussion of incentives, summary of the relationship between historic preservation and local education programs, and a statement of an agenda for future action. In addition, other elements of a comprehensive plan should be reviewed to eliminate conflicting goals.

A “noncomprehensive” preservation plan may actually exist in some form in a community’s land-use management tools and other public policies. For example, objectives that may be part of a preservation plan can often be found in a community’s zoning ordinance or historic preservation ordinance. However, these ordinances do not typically provide the community with a complete, well-thought-out, and comprehensive plan.

A preservation plan will vary depending on the community’s stage of development, the size of the community, the number of historic resources located in the community, awareness of local historic resources, and existing protection and incentives for the preservation of historic resources. However, in all cases, a preservation plan is a proactive means of planning for the preservation and protection of a community’s character and historic resources.

Purposes of preservation planning

There are at least 13 — and likely more — good reasons why a community should have a preservation plan. Not every community adopts a preservation plan for the same reason or group of reasons. A preservation plan provides the basis for development of a preservation program where none exists, strengthens existing preservation programs, and helps to resolve existing and future conflicts between competing land-use goals.

Among the reasons for having a preservation plan are the following:
1. To state clearly the goals of historic preservation in the community.
2. To comply with state zoning or planning enabling legislation requiring local governments to have comprehensive plans and requiring that there be a mandatory (or optional) historic preservation element in that plan.
3. To let current and future property owners and residents know in advance how the community intends to grow and what the community wants to protect.
4. To help provide a legal defense against lawsuits alleging unfair treatment of property owners or arbitrary decisions by government.
5. To eliminate uncertainty or confusion about the purpose, meaning, and content of an existing local historic preservation ordinance.
6. To form the basis for adoption of a new historic preservation ordinance or to strengthen the legal basis of an existing historic preservation ordinance.
7. To ensure consistency, or eliminate inconsistency, between various local government policies that affect the community’s historic resources.
8. To educate and inform citizens about their heritage and its value to the community.
9. To create an agenda for future preservation activities and to create a way to measure progress in protection historic resources.
10. To provide a basis for interim protection of historic resources while steps are taken to adopt a formal preservation ordinance to protect those resources.
11. To comprehensively address issues relating to tourism, zoning, traffic patterns, development patterns, and design that affect historic resources.
12. To encourage economic development through the preservation of historic resources.
13. To strengthen the political understanding of and support for historic preservation policies.