During a regular meeting held by the Pagosa Springs Combined Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday, Aug.7, Town of Pagosa Springs staff provided updates on six park projects in the works for the remainder of this year and going into next year.
The project updates were presented by Development Director James Dickhoff and Project Manager Kyle Rickert.
Yamaguchi South river improvements
The first project discussed was the Yamaguchi South river improvements, which will “enhance the recreational experience for both anglers and river enthusiasts, improving public access to recreational features, upgrade fish habitat quality and promote sediment movement through the section of the San Juan River flowing through the Town’s Yamaguchi Park,” according to Rickert’s presentation.
Dickhoff explained that the improvements will be to the east of the existing pump station, noting that the whole area will be graveled.
Rickert’s presentation notes that there will be a new river access, parking area, riparian floodplain planting, trail improvements and tree planting.
“The intent is to have this opened up by next river season,” Dickhoff commented, explaining the town’s Public Works Department is also assisting in making the improvements.
He also explained that a new irrigation ditch will be constructed coming off of the river that will feed an existing wetland area, along with a new “wet well” to move the pump off of the wetland “so that it reduces the amount of sediment the pump currently picks up.”
Dickhoff clarified that the wet well is not part of the project, but that the town is “designing it to accommodate that,” and that the wet well will be budgeted separately.
Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis explained that the intention is to have two vaults with a pump to get clean water into a vault and then be able to pump water from there, “and it should be much more efficient.”
He explained that currently the vault is “too high” and cannot be filled when the river level is low.
“It’ll be totally redesigned,” he added.
Dickhoff explained that Southwest River Engineering was awarded the contract for the design and build of the project, indicating that construction will likely start in the first half of October and should be completed this year.
He also commented on the “old lagoon” in the area, noting the town is waiting on test results to come back from the state to determine if the lagoon has been cleaned up. He mentioned the original intent was to fill the lagoon to have more flat space, specifically for the new bike park project.
Dickhoff also noted that old barbed wire in the area will also need to be removed and that the area for a “potential future [wastewater] treatment plant” will be fenced off.
In response to a question from the board, Dickhoff explained that the town is reserving about 10 acres of land on the southwest corner of the property for a future wastewater treatment facility, noting that 10 acres “is plenty” and that the facility may only need about five acres.
Lewis commented that if the facility is able to be constructed on just five acres, that leaves the town with more park space to develop later on.
Dickhoff compared the project to Santa Rita Park in Durango, in that there will be public park spaces in the same vicinity as a wastewater treatment plant.
Pagosa Gateway project
Rickert then presented the Pagosa Gateway project, noting the town is working with the Watershed Enhancement Partnership on this project. She explained the scope of the project includes about 2.1 miles of the San Juan River immediately north of town.
She noted the goal of the project is to preserve aquatic habitats and recreation opportunities, “especially because of warming temperatures and declining river flows.”
According to Rickert’s presentation, funding for the project comes from a total of 10 local and regional entities, including: the Town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Bureau of Reclamation, Pagosa Springs Area Tourism Board, Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Upper San Juan, Southwest Conservation District, San Juan Water Conservancy District, the Nature Conservancy and the Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership.
Rickert also indicated the project would begin in September and last through November, “at least the construction portion of it.”
She indicated that there may be some work left to do in the spring, and that there will be a five-year monitoring period to see how the interactions and construction affect the environment.
Dickhoff commented that funding for the project accumulated around $1.1 million and that an additional $300,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board is “really gonna help us include all of the elements in this project that the public wanted to see through our public engagement process.”
He also clarified that this project and portion along the river is not focused on providing recreational features such as more man-made waves, but rather the focus is on enhancing aquatic habitats, replanting, bank stabilization “and things like that.”
“But, it will benefit recreation as well, and all river users,” he added.
Dickhoff mentioned that the improvements will also include a “low-flow channel” in areas where there may only be half an inch of water stretching for a distance of 50 feet, indicating fish passage will be easier when river flows are around 20 cubic feet per second.
Rickert also indicated that there will not be “much” public access along this stretch, with Dickhoff explaining the upper end of this project terminates at the west end of the Running Iron Ranch.
Dickhoff advocated for the town to work with both entities that own the Running Iron Ranch — the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District and the San Juan Water Conservancy District — for “hopefully possible opportunities for public access there in the future.”
East Gateway River Park
The town acquired a four acre parcel of land at 1040 U.S. 160 in May and currently has a request for proposals (RFP) advertised for the site design of a three-phase improvement project at the site, Rickert explained.
She noted that the first phase will hopefully start this fall with creating a new river access point, parking, landscaping, portable toilet screening, removing existing structures and site cleanup.
She noted the removal of the existing structure probably won’t happen until next spring, as there is currency a tenant on the property.
Phase two of the project will include adding restrooms, changing rooms, shade structures and a paved parking lot, Rickert indicated, while phase three will include the construction of a Riverwalk trailhead and connectivity to the existing trail that currently ends at Riff Raff on the Rio.
Rickert also noted that phase three will include the construction of a fishing pier that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with some final landscaping.
It was noted that funding for this project is being provided through a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant, the Land Water Conservation Fund, and Conservation Trust funds provided by the town and Archuleta County.
Board member Jenny Highum asked about how interests could be combined with a separate project that was looking to have “tuber stairs” installed where the Riverwalk trail will be connected.
Dickhoff explained that once an RFP is selected, one of the first steps in the process is holding a community stakeholder meeting.
He went on to explain that the property line extends all the way to the pavement of the gas station between the project’s property and Riff Raff, noting that the stairs may be included in the design plans if it ends up not going forward this year.
“This is an important project,” Dickhoff added, explaining this was the last property in the master river corridor plan the town developed in 2012.
He also mentioned that access to the property will likely be via a left-hand turn pocket where the double yellow lines currently begin heading east on U.S. 160 at the intersection with U.S. 84. The property will have a one-way passage, exiting where the current access is located.
Dickhoff noted this is likely the easiest design for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to approve without having to add acceleration or deceleration lanes or widen the roadway.
“Which is not an item we can afford,” he added.
1st Street pedestrian bridge
The 1st Street pedestrian bridge will bring pedestrians off of the vehicular bridge crossing the San Juan River on the east of town, with a 10-foot-wide concrete base, Pratt truss-style bridge being installed just to the north of the existing vehicle bridge.
The bridge will connect the existing river trail from the west side near the museum to the east side near the Malt Shoppe, Rickert explained.
She explained it will be a pre-fabricated bridge that is being put out for RFP to have it installed next spring, “is what we’re hoping for,” noting the bridge will connect the trail from 1st Street to the Riverwalk on the east end.
“Basically the entire project is getting funded by CDOT,” she added, noting the bridge will look similar to the 6th Street bridge and the Town Park bridge.
Dickhoff explained that the project is being funded through CDOT’s Multimodal Opportunities Fund, highlighting that the town scored the second highest in the last grant round.
He noted the town was just beginning to get into its East End multimodal planning efforts and “this bridge came up as a really important pedestrian connection.”
Dickhoff also explained that the concrete deck will provide a “more maintenance-free” option, noting that the town has been replacing wooden decks every eight to 10 years.
Towns-to-Lakes Trail
The Town-to-Lakes Trail project is still in the design phase, Rickert indicated, noting this portion is for the section stretching from 10th Street to Great West Avenue.
She explained the town was awarded a CDOT congestion mitigation air quality grant for $662,000 that had a local match of $137,000 that covers the design and part of construction of the trail.
She also noted that the town is working in partnership with the Pagosa Views development on this portion of the trail.
Dickhoff commented that the project is still in the design phase through the Colorado Mobility and Action Coalition program.
“We have enough awarded funds to do the design,” he added, noting that it costs around $100,000. That will include constructing two “green trails” that are technically part of the Pagosa Views subdivision.
“Technically, Pagosa Views is responsible for constructing the trail along their boundary,” Dickhoff said.
He explained the trail will be 10 to 12 feet wide in order to accommodate more modes of travel such as electric bicycles.
“The intent always is to do a concrete trail,” he said, noting that it provides about a 40-year lifespan.
Dickhoff mentioned that concrete is a bigger upfront cost, “but I think it’s well worth it.”
“Absolutely,” Lewis commented, indicating that he is budgeting about $35,000 next year to seal some of the town’s asphalt trails.
“Big cost up front, but savings down the road,” Lewis said.
Dickhoff went on to explain that the town applied for a “very large grant,” but did not receive it, and that the goal is to find enough funding to complete the trail, with each segment costing around $1.5 million.
Highum asked about easements on all of the properties needed to complete the trail, and if those are already confirmed if that would help in a grant application.
Dickhoff indicated that it may help a grant application, but that the process in getting easements requires each party to know exactly where the easement will be in order to have accurate legal descriptions.
Highum mentioned this project has been on the books “for awhile” and that there’s been “opposition to the Town-to-Lakes Trail because people didn’t want to provide the easement for us.”
Skyrocket Park
The last project presented to the board was the new Skyrocket Park, which Rickert indicated is not the official name of the project and is just being used as a temporary title.
She explained that the town submitted a proposal for the Conservation Service Corps grant from GOCO and the Colorado Youth Corps Association, with an award to be given in December.
She explained that a plan was put together to have fire mitigation performed over a three-week period by the youth corps on the northeast side of Reservoir Hill.
Lewis explained that this is the former Goodman’s property that was purchased by the town, located behind the Tractor Supply.
Rickert noted that preliminary work will include putting in a small park and trail connector, along with a wayfinding kiosk, signage, picnic area and a parking lot.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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