Last week, we ran an article on the front page about the fact that the Pagosa Springs Planning Commission had approved the sketch design for the planned regional workforce center — a big step forward for the years-long project.
Then we shared the story out on social media and, unfortunately, social media did its thing.
Oh, the (incorrect) conclusions people jumped to.
While some commented that they didn’t care for the style and character of the proposed building, others immediately began demanding answers as to how we the taxpayers would be funding this project and questioning why we don’t get to vote on it if we’re paying for it.
The short answers are: you’re only funding it if you want to donate toward it, and you don’t get to vote on it because no local governmental entity is looking at taking out a bond or raising taxes to complete it.
This project is being driven by a local nonprofit, and it isn’t new.
As one person retorted, “It took you longer to complain than it would to actually read the article.”
It’s a shame that people jumped to poor conclusions and so quickly bashed a project that will bring value to our community.
The regional workforce center — and Build Pagosa, the nonprofit behind it — were born out of business owners, educators and others who saw a need for opportunity and learning in our community that they felt would pay dividends both for individuals and the community as a whole, immediately and into the future.
Since, they’ve poured their blood, sweat and tears (probably literally) into making this become a reality, even securing a $1 million Congressionally Directed Spending grant toward it, meaning its value has been seen from a local level up to the federal level.
They have worked with the school district to build career and technical education options already, they’ve held an annual dinner and auction to fundraise, and they’ve helped students find good jobs right out of school and build skills they can use throughout their life regardless of their future professions, to name just a few things.
And they’ve done it without raising your taxes or saddling you with public debt.
We call that a win.
You can find out more at www.buildpagosa.org, or by searching for previous stories about the project and organization at www.PagosaSUN.com. You might just be pleasantly surprised at what’s happing in our community.
If you choose to not tune into the news all the time, that’s fine. But, when you’d like to voice your opinion or immediately jump to anger, remember that you’ve chosen to not be informed.
There’s a lot in this world that continues to be big, heavy and incredibly divisive, but we need to remember not everything has to be. Sometimes we can just celebrate the wins and the hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Randi Pierce
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