On Jan. 6, Town of Pagosa Springs staff informed the Pagosa Springs Town Council about the town’s ongoing flood recovery funding efforts in the wake of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) denial of the town’s request for $5.7 million to aid cleanup efforts.
Development Director James Dickhoff and Projects Manager Kyle Rickert were both on hand to walk the council through various other funding opportunities, with Dickhoff stating, “We are not counting on FEMA money to come through to us” after the denial on Dec. 21, 2025.
Dickhoff stated that staff just wanted to inform the council “on where we are at” regarding the town’s relief funding efforts from the October 2025 flooding.
The total project cost of river cleanup and restoration following the October flood event is estimated to be just shy of $6 million, stated Town Manager David Harris in correspondence.
Rickert explained that, with the FEMA funding off the table, the town is pursuing several state grants, and possibly a state loan, as well as two other federal funding programs.
Dickhoff added that if the town wanted to pursue “the loan opportunity through the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB),” the council would need to put it before the voters in an upcoming spring election to be legally eligible to take out the loan.
Ultimately, the council directed Harris to bring back an ordinance to the next meeting to place the loan opportunity on the ballot in the upcoming election.
Rickert explained that the federal Emergency Watershed Protection had awarded the town about $3.3 million and the Colorado Office of Emergency Management awarded $463,504 in funds.
These funds will go toward embankment stabilizations near the Pagosa Springs History Museum and near 6th Street, pedestrian bridge abutment stabilization at Centennial Park, restoring the River Center ponds, as well as Apache Street bridge repairs and log jam removals, all coming with a total project price tag of $4,178,038, the slideshow states.
Rickert explained that stabilizing the river embankment near the museum would be the first priority, and the other repairs and cleanups would come after.
Dickhoff added that plans for a 1st Street pedestrian bridge, near the museum, would still move forward, with “some modification of the bridge design after the flood event.”
He added, “The river is an important part of our tourism portfolio and we need to get it cleaned up” and make it safe for those recreating in the river before summer hits.
Rickert then informed the council about a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Fishing is Fun grant that the town has requested in the amount of $328,603.
This grant would go toward dredging the River Center ponds, a headgate replacement at Pond #1 (the east pond), ditch restoration, debris and sediment removal upstream of town limits to the future 1st Street pedestrian bridge, as well as rebuilding rock structures in the same area.
Rickert noted that the town was also awarded $15,000 from History Colorado Emergency Grant for its ongoing efforts to stabilize the river bank near the museum.
She sought direction from the council on if it wanted to pursue a grant opportunity through CWCB called the Diversion Management Installation Program to install river gauges upstream of the town’s limits.
One or possibly two water gauge stations would give the town an estimated two hours of warning time as water levels rise during another flood event, providing historic data as part of the U.S. Geological Survey monitoring system, she noted.
This grant application would be due by Jan. 31, so she asked the council to pass a resolution supporting the CWCB river gauge grant, which the council passed unanimously.
The discussion then moved toward if the council wanted to pursue the loan opportunity through CWCB, knowing that it would have to come before the voters in an upcoming election.
Staff recommended pursuing the loan as a way to fill the gap in flood recovery work for the San Juan River in lieu of FEMA funding being denied.
The presentation states that the loan would include a three-year zero interest period and that it could be approved for under $10 million in three to four months after the voters sign off and the town applies.
Mayor Shari Pierce asked if the council could wait until next year to ask for the loan since it had just asked voters to approve a sales tax increase to fund critical sewer system repairs or if the zero interest offer would be off the table at that point, with Dickhoff responding that the council could wait if that’s what it desired.
Council member Brooks Lindner asked if it would get “more challenging” to ask the public if it wanted to pursue the loan “the further we get away from the [flood] event.”
The town’s financial advisor, Joey McCliney, who described the loan as a good deal, responded that “right now that flood is still fresh on everybody’s mind. I think it would be easier to pass in the spring than it would a year from now.”
Council member Mat deGraaf added, “It would be foolish to wait a year,” adding, “to have a line of credit we can draw from, as we need to, allows us to still prioritize our other big ticket items and not sacrifice anything in those arenas.”
“I understand that, but we just asked the community to pass a sales tax and now we are gonna turn around and say, ‘And now will you let us get a loan?’” Pierce responded.
She added, “I know we had a flood and didn’t anticipate that, but I don’t know that we are going to be able to get the community to pass it to give us a $3 million loan in the short amount of time we have before the ballot.”
Rickert said that she thought “this was a priority we should move forward on,” adding that right now the town has enough funds, through the awarded grants, to fund about “87 percent of the project,” but warned that all of this requires matching funds that the “town might not have in its budget” in the future.
She added, “It seems that it would be smart for us to have the loan available to complete this project.”
The council ultimately decided to direct staff to bring the loan idea back in an ordinance form to the next meeting, when the council will vote on if it wants to ask the voters in April’s election if they want the town to pursue the CWCB loan to help pay for river restoration.
derek@pagosasun.com
>