During its regular meeting held on Tuesday, March 3, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously approved multiple letters of support for two different entities.
One letter is supporting Pagosa Springs Medical Center (PSMC) in its request for a $200,000 matching grant to renovate the old San Juan Rangers building located downtown at 302 San Juan St to serve as an additional emergency medical services (EMS)facility.
The other letter is in support of A Safe Place in Pagosa for a building development grant to complete construction of Aspen House, which “will provide safe, stable housing combined with meaningful supportive services for some of our county’s most vulnerable residents,” the agenda item states.
Both letters of support were included in the meeting’s consent agenda, and were discussed earlier in the day during a work session.
PSMC
During the work session, PSMC CEO and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rhonda Webb provided some information on the background of the medical center’s EMS program.
“We are one of very few hospitals in the state that own and operate EMS,” Webb said, explaining that the EMS program started in the early 1980s.
“We are very proud of our EMS providers,” she added.
Webb also explained that PSMC has been working with the Town of Pagosa Springs and the San Juan Rangers, “and the town is allowing us to use the San Juan Ranger building, after we remodel it, to have a downtown EMS station.”
Webb noted that having a downtown location will cut response times “significantly” in the downtown area and down U.S. 84.
Webb noted that PSMC is applying for a grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to help cover the cost to remodel the building.
“We’re very excited,” Webb added, noting that PSMC is fundraising for the project and still waiting for a total cost to come in for the renovations.
“That’s wonderful to have that downtown,” Commissioner Veronica Medina said.
In response to a question from Commissioner Warren Brown, Webb indicated that the downtown EMS location could cut response times by up to 15 minutes in some situations.
Aspen House
Aspen House and Aspen Services Executive Director Pattie Copenhaver provided information to the BoCC in regard to the organization’s plans and progress in getting a long-term home built for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community to live in.
“We’re fundraising and getting close to our goal,” Copenhaver said, explaining that over the past 60 days, it has received more than $255,000 in private donations.
Copenhaver mentioned that the project is going on 10 years of being in the making, “and we’re really getting close.”
“And the reason we’re getting close is because our building community has come together and gotten us over $1 million in deductions in the cost to build,” she added.
According to the letter of support, through the project’s general contractor and a “coalition of local building partners,” more than $1 million has been donated in land and materials, “significantly reducing overall construction costs.”
Copenhaver explained that with 75 percent of the project’s funding now secured, the organization will now be able to apply for a building development grant through DOLA to assist with gap funding.
“So, we are truly excited,” she said. “We’re really at that point where we’re gonna see this become a reality.”
clayton@pagosasun.com
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