The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) and Pagosa Springs Town Council held a joint work session on Monday, July 28, at which an update was given on the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District’s (PSSGID’s) Saving our Sewers project.
Town Manager David Harris explained that the town has been performing community outreach efforts and has a survey available online for residents to fill out.
He noted the town has a dedicated webpage where residents can access the survey: https://www.pagosasprings.co.gov/home-page/page/saving-our-sewers-sos-investing-future-our-wastewater-system.
Harris also encouraged residents to subscribe to the town’s newsletter.
When talking about responses received from the survey concerning transparency and communication from the town about the project, Harris stated, “We do encourage you to please go on our website and subscribe to our newsletter, because that is where this information is regularly carried.”
Harris explained that the survey presents three options for potential funding mechanisms for the PSSGID to address its sewage system issues, which included a fee increase, a 1 percent sales tax within town limits or additional property taxes.
“The survey, first and foremost, it is not statistically valid,” Harris said, explaining there is a small sample size and a lot of “what we’re taking are just people’s opinions.”
Harris noted that, as of July 28, the town had received 113 survey responses.
The proposal to raise the fee from $71.25 to about $201, “almost tripling that rate,” was not well received, with 66 percent of respondents indicating they “were very unsupportive of that,” Harris explained.
He then noted that 61 percent of respondents expressed support for a 1 percent sales tax within town limits.
The third option proposed raising property taxes, which Harris noted that 75 percent of respondents indicated they would not support.
The survey also asked which of the three proposed options is the most appealing, with 82 percent of respondents indicating the most appealing option is a 1 percent sales tax, Harris explained.
He also explained that an open-ended question was included in the survey for respondents to provide additional feedback, and that concerns about equity were brought up, with some suggesting a “resort tax … to distribute the financial burden more equitably, especially targeting non-local or short-term visitors.”
Harris noted that a sales tax would be paid for by both locals and visitors.
“There were some concerns raised over property taxes,” Harris added, noting specifically that property taxes disproportionately affect long-term owners and retirees.
He went on to mention that something not included in the survey, but a sentiment being expressed by constituents, is that “there’s a sense of urgency.”
“We need to get moving on this sooner than later,” he added.
Council member Leonard Martinez commented that the town is still in the listening phase, suggesting that the community listening sessions have been productive and successful in terms of informing people of the situation.
He explained that the town now has data it can review after acquiring the needed equipment to properly assess the sewage system.
“We really began to understand what is that we’re looking at,” he said, adding, “The numbers were hard to swallow.”
He went on to mention that a “real” and “systemic” solution needs to be put forward, while thinking about how to use as many resources as possible from as many sources as possible.
Martinez also mentioned that the majority of people attending the listening session were town residents, but that about 30 percent of attendees were county residents.
He said that people were “very honest about the notion of taxation without representation and things like that.”
Commissioner Veronica Medina explained that she also attended a listening session and that another sentiment being expressed is that “The question for the ballot should really be for the whole county, not just necessarily for the town.”
She noted that she understands the reasoning for the town wanting it to be just a town ballot question, “but it affects the whole county.”
Medina referenced Martinez’s comments about taxation with representation, saying, “That’s how a lot of people in the county feel.”
Harris then explained that with the current lodging tax rates in the town and county at 4.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, roughly $1 million is being generated.
He noted that if the county were to double its lodging tax, that would theoretically double the revenue.
He explained that the PSSGID would need approximately $3.6 million annually to address everything.
“So, a lodging tax would only get us part of the way,” he said, explaining that adding other initiatives such as a fee increase or sales tax would mean multiple ballot initiatives, claiming that “muddies the water.”
Harris also noted that the town council is planning to begin talking about considering calling an election for this November at its next regular meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 5.
He mentioned that the “one common denominator” of the sewer system is, “people come to town to go to school, they come to town to go to church, they shop here, they dine here.”
He commented that all over the country jurisdictions have some sort of mechanism to help fund their communities with their visitors.
“You’re helping pay for amenities in that community,” he said, explaining it is through lodging or sales tax and using the example of Durango’s sales tax.
“You’re helping support that community,” he added.
He went on to mention that when considering a sales tax, part of that money helps pay for the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District’s (PAWSD’s) needs, and that the PSSGID contributes about 25 percent to PAWSD’s sewer treatment load.
“There are benefits to our larger community that are felt by our sewer operations here in town,” he added.
In response to questions from Commissioner John Ranson, Harris explained that the long-term plan is to build a sewage treatment facility at Yamaguchi Park South, which he noted is a seven- to 10-year process, and that the town has initiated conversations with the state on permitting.
Harris also explained that the $80 million to $100 million needed is in “today’s dollars,” warning that prices will likely only go up.
“It’s a tough situation that we’re in, but here is a solution,” Harris said.
Council member Matt DeGuise expressed that the council does not want to be in the sewage business as the long-term goal is to be able to hand off the system to PAWSD in a working condition.
Mayor Shari Pierce commented, “There’s kind of an urgency to the situation,” explaining that the town recently got $4.5 million in bonds to address priority problems with the sewage system, and then systems failed.
She commented that it cost approximately $140,000 per pump that went down.
“So, that takes a lot of our funding that we just put together,” Pierce said.
Pagosa Springs Public Works Director Karl Johnson explained that at one point there were four pumps down.
“We have to have spares on hand,” Pierce said, explaining the town did not when the pumps failed and was forced to rent a pump.
Johnson noted that it costs roughly $30,000 to rent a pump to keep the system functioning.
“But is it meeting the duty that it’s been asked to do?” Johnson asked rhetorically, explaining that it’ll cost approximately $85,000 to purchase a new pump, and the town needs two of them.
“So, you see how the money is just going out the door quickly,” Pierce said.
She went on to comment that the town can raise rates or go to the voters with a sales tax or property tax increase proposal, but if the town waits to do it jointly with the county, then the ballot question will be pushed out a year.
If it is just a town ballot question, “I think that helps us get more in place where we need to be to have the funding to get us through, what I consider, to be a pretty urgent situation in the town,” Pierce said, noting that the urgency of the situation is the main reason for not waiting and working in conjunction with the county.
Martinez commented that it was expressed to him by Johnson that the pump manufacturer has Pagosa Springs on its wall for three things that occur nowhere else in the world, which include pumping sewage 7.5 miles and up 500 feet in elevation.
“We sure took on a lot of risk here,” he said, explaining he is not interested in “bashing” previous decisions, but that the town is at a point where it could get the right system in place to benefit the whole county.
Pierce also expressed that it is an economic piece because schools and downtown businesses need to have properly functioning sewage systems.
“It is a community issue, in my opinion,” she said.
U.S. 160 construction update
During the same meeting, the BoCC and town council heard an update on the U.S. 160 construction project from Meredith Greene, one of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT’s) public information managers for the project.
Greene explained that, as of July 28, construction crews were on working day 84 of 324, which is approximately 25 percent.
She explained that “quite a bit” of the utilities from 1st Street to 3rd Street are complete, in conjunction with the town’s additional utility work.
“We are supposed to start paving overnight on [July 31],” Greene indicated, explaining that is barring any inclement weather.
She noted paving will begin from 1st through 3rd streets.
She also explained that she would be meeting with businesses in the area to inform them that some driveways will be closed for a matter of days while the concrete sets.
Greene noted that CDOT is working with a few different concrete mixes to assess the dry time, but that “of course, we want it done correctly.”
She also noted that she was informed by the CDOT engineering team that “if anybody tries to write their name in the concrete, or tries to get cute and do that, then it will delay the project a month, so please don’t.”
Greene went on to mention that geothermal work is also happening along with the rerouting of sidewalks near 5th Street and Lewis Street and that new storm water system installation is occurring at the intersection with 4th Street.
“There’s a lot of moving parts right now,” she said.
Greene explained that along with weekly updates published in The SUN, she is encouraging people to sign up for CDOT’s email blast.
She noted that people have to sign themselves up and that CDOT can’t sign people up for it, otherwise it would be considered solicitation.
Greene mentioned the email blast is the best way to receive project updates “on the fly” for things like an emergency water shut off that is not included in the weekly update.
CDOT will be hosting an open-house event at the Ross Aragon Community Center, located 451 Hot Springs Blvd., on Aug. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. to provide “big updates” and celebrate project milestones, Greene explained.
“All are welcome,” she added.
Martinez asked about the project’s progress and what things are expected to be completed by the end of this working season.
“We are going to have this whole entire north side complete by the time we have project shutdown in November, Decemberish,” Greene said, noting that a lot of it depends on the weather.
She noted that CDOT still has 4th Street through 8th Street to pave, along with the town’s work on infrastructure in the area.
“The reality is we hope to have the Hot Springs [Boulevard] intersection open shortly after we finish this paving here on 1st through 3rd,” she added.
Ranson asked if CDOT is purchasing its concrete in Archuleta County, with Greene replying that the “short answer is yes.”
She explained that CDOT is preparing a poster for the open house event “to show economic return on investment for Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County.”
Greene added that is “in addition to the fact that we have full-time staff living here throughout the course of the project.”
She explained CDOT is planning to talk about that at the open house.
Ranson also asked when sidewalks would be completed, with Greene explaining that CDOT’s scope only goes so far in from the side of the highway and that it is working in conjunction with the town on sidewalks, but that they should be completed on the north side by the end of this working season.
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