By Derek Kutzer
Staff Writer
At an Oct. 21 meeting, the Pagosa Springs Town Council decided to go in a different direction from a town staff recommendation for the official naming of a new public river park, being proposed at 1040 E. U.S. 160.
The property formerly housed Bob’s LP.
Projects Manager Kyle Rickert explained that staff’s proposed name for the park — Gateway River Park — came after staff had solicited public feedback through MyPagosa.org and then brought 11 names before the Combined Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for its recommendation.
Some of the suggestions brought before the parks and rec board included East Gateway River Park, Gateway River Park, San Juan River Park, Rivergate Park, Old Sawmill River Park, Maiku River Park, San Juan Headwaters Park, Osprey Point Park and Blue Heron River Park.
Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis explained to the council that staff has “gone through a lot of names,” and now it’s “time to make it official.”
Rickert explained that Gateway River Park received the most positive feedback from the parks and rec board, but that none of the 11 names garnered majority support of the board.
She said that, for those on the board who liked the name, it represented the “gateway into town,” and an entry into the town’s public waters on the San Juan River, which will now stretch from the new east-end park to the river access point at Yamaguchi Park South.
But some on the council suggested that the name was not exciting enough, with council member Madeline Bergon saying, “There’s a lot of gateways out there.”
Mayor Shari Pierce added, “That’s not always going to be the gateway to our town. We are growing. We have already grown and annexed that way.”
Council member Mat deGraaf explained that he didn’t have any major problems with the name, but that it seems “a little bland.”
Lewis explained that the proposed name “was just a recommendation,” and that “no one’s feelings would be hurt” if the council decided to go in a different direction.
Council member Leonard Martinez wanted to know about the two Southern Ute names on the list, Maiku River Park and Paa River Park, to which Rickert responded that these were suggestions made by someone through the MyPagosa.org website.
Rickert explained that “Maiku is a friendly greeting that means ‘welcome,’ and then the Southern Ute word for water is paa.”
Martinez said, “I have been thinking about the fact that half of our county is part of the Southern Ute Reservation and the idea of doing something with the Southern Utes, in a way that’s collaborative and beneficial to both of us, something that’s welcoming and using one of their words would be a way to say, listen, we’re serious about this relationship.”
He added, “I’m not sure I want to change the vote or the process” on naming the park, “but if it did get that” he would choose Maiku River Park for the name.
Council Member Gary Williams asked, “When do we need a name?”
Rickert explained that the town is currently using “funds from tourism” to change signage throughout town and that staff would like to be able to have the river park as part of the order for the new signage, “but other than that it is nice to refer to what the name is gonna be.”
Council Member Brooks Lindner noted that only “three out of seven” members of the parks and rec board wanted the recommended name before the council.
Pierce asked, “Why can’t we just say Maiku River Park?”
“I like that,” deGraaf replied.
Bergon suggested that the town should “reach out” to the tribe and “ask for verification” on the pronunciation and meaning of the word, as well as securing its blessing.
“We don’t want to be insulting,” she said.
Martinez added that “the process would have to change if we go this direction,” warning the council that “many mistakes have been made, including one by New Mexico using the Zia sun without ever asking for permission.”
Going through the correct process with the tribe could “garner so much respect. I would recommend that we not only learn how to say it, but that we modify the process, to go out and ask for permission to use it, and then that process will begin the relationship … to say, hey, listen. We’d like to do this, but we want to do it the right way,” he said.
“We can definitely look into that,” Rickert replied.
Pierce asked the rest of the council if it would want to go forward with Maiku River Park if “we get permission from the Ute tribe to do it.”
A consensus emerged to go forward with the process of using the Ute name, and the council gave direction to town staff to pursue the avenues of using the tribal name.
As of press time Wednesday, Town Manager David Harris explained that there have not been any updates on the process of gaining permission from the tribe to use the name.
“With all the flood recovery, we really have not had the time to do any more work on it,” he explained.
On Sept. 9, the Pagosa Springs Planning Commission approved a recommendation for the council to rezone the river property as Open Space/Parks.
Following this recommendation, the council, on Sept. 16, approved an ordinance to zone the future river park as Open Space/Parks.
Town Development Director James Dickhoff explained at a previous meeting that the rezoning would be in congruence with “the intended use of the property,” which is slated to become a river access park, accommodating boaters and other river recreationists.
Dickhoff added that phase one of developing the property would include a boat ramp, gravel parking area and portable toilets coming in spring 2026.
He added that the parking area would be somewhere between U.S. 84 and the Town of Pagosa Springs sign, but its location wouldn’t be finalized until the town received an access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Future phases, pending funding, would include a permanent bathroom structure, a paved parking lot, a fishing pier and the expansion of the Riverwalk trail connecting the property with the existing trail and the Pagosa River Domes, Dickhoff explained.
derek@pagosasun.com
>