A June 12 act of arson at the county’s offices at 449 San Juan St. left the county working to relocate those offices and meet deadlines related to property valuations and property tax payments.
At approximately 1:19 a.m. on Thursday, June 12, the Pagosa Springs Police Department (PSPD) and Pagosa Fire Protection District (PFPD) responded to a burglar and fire alarm at 449 San Juan St., according to a press release from the PSPD. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered an active fire inside the east end of the building.
The press release explains that crews entered the structure and successfully contained and extinguished the fire, which was limited to two office areas on the first and second floors.
It notes the offices are home to the Archuleta County assessor and county clerk.
Both sustained moderate to severe fire and smoke damage, according to the PSPD. Fortunately, the building was unoccupied at the time, and no injuries or fatalities were reported.
“Preliminary evidence collected at the scene indicates that the fire was intentionally set,” the press release states.
A joint arson investigation is now underway involving multiple agencies, including the PSPD, PFPD, Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
PSPD Chief William Rockensock reported Monday that the investigation is continuing, with no additional information available for release.
Authorities are urging anyone with information related to this incident to contact the PSPD via Archuleta County Combined Dispatch at (970) 731-2160.
County offices remain closed, services still available
The offices located in the San Juan Street building will remain closed until further notice, but services continue to be available.
Motor vehicle registration renewals can be done online at https://dmv.colorado.gov/registration or at a DMV kiosk in La Plata County: https://comvexpress.com/locations/durango-city-market.
Treasurer Elsa White extended the second-half tax payment deadline to today, Thursday, June 19.
White encourages constituents to bring their coupon, leave a phone number and make sure physical addresses match paperwork.
White will also be accepting walk-in payments at the county’s administration building at 398 Lewis St.
The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) also unanimously approved numerous deadline extensions for the assessor’s office during its regular meeting held on Tuesday, June 17.
During the same meeting, county officials indicated plans for other departments to relocate.
Additional updates will be posted at www.PagosaSUN.com as they are available.
Call the main county office line at (970) 264-8300 with questions and check www.archuletacounty.gov for more updates.
Special meeting
The BoCC held a special meeting on Monday, June 16, at which County Manager Jack Harper provided updates on the condition of the old courthouse building, along with possible options of temporarily relocating county departments.
“We did get to walk the building,” he said, explaining that 100 percent of the portion of the building the county currently leases has smoke damage.
He mentioned there were two broken windows and that a Molotov cocktail resulted in some burned and charred papers.
He also noted the office in which the Molotov cocktail was thrown was extensively burned, adding that only two offices “really sustained fire damage.”
Those two offices were the elections office, which Harper mentioned “did have some valuable equipment in the room that was melted,” and the assessor’s office.
He noted that the assessor’s office is 100 percent lost.
He further explained that the insurance company has been contacted and that nothing can be removed from the building until the adjuster is finished evaluating the damage, noting the county is moving all of its staff out of the building.
Harper also noted that a total of 27 county employees have been impacted by the incident.
Harper then began to present potential temporary solutions, noting that the owner of the building — Ronnie Urbanczyk — met with him and Commissioner Warren Brown on-site and invited the county to move its offices from the current space to the other side of the building.
Harper noted that the other side of the building has been restored and wired, but that there is no furniture.
Harper also indicated that Brown had spoken with Urbanczyk about “potentially leasing the west side parking lot as well.”
Harper mentioned that it would take about four days for the county’s Information Technology (IT) Department to handle issues getting computers and networks set up.
Harper went on to mention that the county won’t know the extent of the damage in the building, including its computers and furniture, until the insurance adjuster finishes evaluating the building.
He noted the county was already in the process of getting a few new computers.
Commissioner Veronica Medina then asked for input from other county elected officials, noting it is “very generous” of Urbanczyk to offer the space, “but I would like to hear from the elected on whether or not they would like to move.”
Clerk and Recorder Kristy Archuleta explained she would prefer to stay in her current motor vehicle office, claiming her office’s equipment can’t be moved.
“I don’t know that moving over to the other side would work for us,” she said.
White also expressed desire to stay in her current office “if at all possible.”
Assessor Johanna Tully-Elliot expressed that it is important for her team to stay together, explaining that her biggest concern is meeting upcoming deadlines.
She noted those deadlines are for mailing out notices of determinations and values.
“So, all of these deadlines are quickly approaching, so that’s my biggest concern,” she said.
She noted that she would be before the BoCC again to ask for extensions on those deadlines, and that she has reached out to the state.
Tully-Elliot explained that she wants taxpayers to know, “we will do everything possible to make sure that they have their due process.”
IT Coordinator Gabe Cersonsky explained that the county has about six laptops that could be distributed amongst employees, but noted that access to some information may not be possible and that departments may be competing for those laptops.
“I think everybody realizes the gravity of the situation and the limited resources we have and the situation,” Medina said, explaining that the county is trying to make sure the public “understands where we are and the stuff we’re trying to do to make sure we’re still serving the constituents in the best manner possible.”
Commissioner John Ranson asked if moving the assessor’s office would be helpful, and what kind of delay that might have.
Medina explained that moving just one department may not be an option.
“If the two biggest departments don’t want to move, I don’t know if that’s an option,” Medina said.
She then mentioned that there may be an option to move the assessor’s offices upstairs where the Human Resources (HR) Department currently is, and have HR move elsewhere.
“We’re really at the mercy of the insurance company right now,” Medina said, explaining their findings will dictate if the county is allowed to stay in the building at all.
Harper noted that “one of the good things” about moving the offices to the other side of the building would be keeping the same address for those offices.
Medina commented, “But I think that’s not an option … so, can you move on?”
Harper then explained another option is to move HR to the Department of Human Services building, and other employees to a recently vacated space at Nick’s Hanger.
He noted another option is to utilize space in the commissioner’s chambers at 398 Lewis St. “for one of the offices.”
He also explained that if the Mountain Express Transit (MET) were to stay in Nick’s Hanger for a temporary amount of time, that would leave the new MET building available for use.
Harper noted the new MET building is a “true public-facing building” that is wired and ready to go.
The last scenario Harper mentioned was that the county could lease modular buildings and place them in the far west corner of Harman Park.
Medina then explained that another “big question” that has been asked by staff is if staff will be paid during this time.
Finance Director Chad Eaton explained that the county may possibly be able to be reimbursed through its insurance, noting it is the commissioners’ decision to keep paying staff or not.
Medina noted that it is typically written into the insurance policy, noting that it’s not the county’s or staff’s fault as to why they are unable to keep working.
“But we definitely need to address the issues,” she added.
The BoCC unanimously approved administrative leave pay for employees whose offices are located at 449 San Juan St. during its regular meeting held on June 17.
During the June 16 special meeting, Brown expressed thanks to county staff and responders to the fire, explaining that “it was just coincidental, frankly” that he and Urbanczyk were meeting to discuss extending the lease on the property.
“Which, Mr. Urbanczyk graciously indicated he would be willing to do under the same terms and conditions that we currently have,” Brown said, explaining that was “just verbal” and would need to be finalized.
During a regular work session held by the BoCC on Tuesday, June 10, Brown informed the board that he was planning to meet with Urbanczyk to discuss the possibility of the county extending its lease at the building for one more year.
The county sold the old courthouse building to Urbanczyk in April 2022 for $550,000 and five years of free rent, valued at $80,000.
During the work session, Brown explained that the extension would give the county the option to stay housed in its current location throughout the U.S. 160 reconstruction project.
“Good job if that comes to fruition,” Ranson said.
“It’s exciting,” Medina added.
Brown also added, “It’s very promising.”
During the June 16 special meeting, Brown mentioned “there is certainly smoke damage” and that he is concerned staff would be “working in conditions that are less than favorable.”
Brown also commented that it’d likely be two weeks, or longer, for the insurance adjuster to finish evaluating the damage.
Medina mentioned that many services for constituents are still available online, “and constituents are still being served.”
She also mentioned there is a “very rough plan” for employees in the assessor’s office to work remotely.
“So, there is still county business being conducted, just in a different way than it has been,” she said.
Brown acknowledged the preferences of other elected county officials wanting to stay in their current office, while noting the departments could be relocated to the other end of the building in less than two weeks.
He mentioned it is not his preference “that this happened … but again I really think that we ought to consider that as an option because we’re going to be in limbo for a time, going the other route.”
Ranson mentioned the county needs to take into consideration what the electeds prefer, noting this may also help speed up the process in developing a new administration building.
“I think we’ve got to move forward,” Ranson said.
“I would definitely like to respect the electeds opinion on what they want to do,” Medina added, but reiterated it may not be the county’s decision based on what the insurance adjuster finds.
“We don’t know until we hear back from insurance,” she said.
