On Oct. 17, the Pagosa Springs Town Council heard an update from Development Director James Dickhoff on properties within town limits that are out of sequence with regard to their numbered addresses.
An agenda document on the matter states that town staff has “identified 28 properties within the Town that are out of numbering sequence along the street in which they are located.”
The document adds, “We are preparing letters to mail out to these properties to notify them of the issue and for them to contact us to discuss the correct address for their property.”
Dickhoff explained that the issue is really “a public safety concern,” saying that correcting the property addresses would ensure that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response times would be as fast as possible.
“We really want to correct these addresses,” Dickhoff said, adding that “it can be complicated since a lot of these families have been using these addresses forever.”
He added, “But when you have a 325 [address] between a 356 and a 360, it’s out of sequence for EMS response, and every second counts.”
He clarified to the council that this was not something that the town was going to send out a notice for that “we are renumbering” the properties, but instead the town is seeking the cooperation and consent of property owners to change the addresses.
“We want to have a conversation so they understand the reason we are proposing this and how it will benefit them, their family members, and future property owners,” he said.
Most of the incorrect addresses have been in place since before the town had addressing standards and prior to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) standards being developed, the agenda document states.
Realizing the inconvenience that these changes could impose on property owners, town staff is “requesting a discussion with these property owners to achieve an agreement of the newly assigned address number,” the document states.
It adds, “Once new addresses are determined, the assignment process includes notification to numerous agencies, including: The U.S. Postal Service, Archuleta County, Road Mapping Services, Pagosa Fire District, Emergency Dispatch, Emergency Medical Services, Utility Companies, etc. This will ensure that deliveries, EMS and other vital agencies can update their database as soon as the new address is assigned.”
Council member Gary Williams suggested that the town “should set aside some money” to “assist” people through the difficult process of “changing their deeds, their title insurance — there’s a lot of stuff that’s not listed here that people have to consider, and a lot of people might not have the resources to deal with these things, if we are going to do this.”
“I could very well see this becoming onerous and overwhelming,” council member Mat deGraaf added.
Council member Leonard Martinez suggested that the number of addresses needing changed “is a manageable number.”
“I’m more concerned with the elderly that are affected here, and I think we should step into that space to make sure we can get everybody to the same place,” Martinez said.
Council member Madeline Bergon described a proposed letter to be sent out to the property owners as a “first step in having a conversation.”
“This letter is saying, ‘Hey, we have something to talk to you about. Please call us,’” Bergon said, with council member Matt DeGuise adding that some people would “embrace” the change of address.
Dickhoff explained that the town really can’t “force” the owners to make the change.
“We want to explain the rationale of why we want to do this … our pitch to them is that this is for safety reasons,” he said.
Council member Brooks Lindner said that he thought the tone in the proposed letter “doesn’t really sound like you are just starting a conversation. I mean the language in it says … the address should be reassigned.”
Martinez agreed, suggesting it’s more in the town’s interest to reach out to the owners and ask “how can we do this together?”
Lindner noted that at the moment he didn’t have any specific suggestions on how to change the language of the letter.
Mayor Shari Pierce also suggested that town staff revise the letter to be more “short and simple,” suggesting some small edits to achieve this end.
derek@pagosasun.com
