The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted unanimously during its regular meeting held on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to direct county staff “to utilize various locations along County Road 500 corridor for gravel and coordinate with the State of Colorado.”
The BoCC discussed the matter earlier that day during a work session in which Commissioner John Ranson indicated that “we made some significant progress in standing up some gravel pits ASAP.”
County Manager Longinos Gonzalez explained that the county has been in conversations with private individuals and the U.S. Forest Service over the last few weeks about opportunities for gravel pits, noting that it is “somewhat based on the flooding.”
Gonzalez explained that, after the flooding, people around the county have property that was filled with material they can legally excavate.
“And now you have available material,” he said, explaining that people are offering it to the county to use for emergency road repairs.
“That still requires permits,” Gonzales said, noting that in order for the county to extract the material, there is a process that needs to be followed.
Gonzalez also commented that the county hasn’t received any promises yet in regard to the state potentially waiving permit fees on new gravel pits in the county.
Ranson explained that he was able to speak with a state representative during Sen. Michael Bennet’s and Rep. Jeff Hurd’s visit to Pagosa Springs on Friday, Nov. 6.
“I’m committed to not paying these fees,” Ranson said, indicating that the state is willing to listen “instead of making money off our emergency.”
Ranson commented on the importance of having gravel pits, saying, “These are a big deal.”
He explained that the county could potentially come up with three gravel pits with private property owners, and that the U.S. Forest Service has indicated that five to eight gravel pits could be possible on its land.
Ranson claimed that having these local gravel pits could help save “almost 50 percent” of the cost for the community to rebuild its roads.
He added that having anywhere from three to eight gravel pits come out of the flooding disaster “could be nice for all the taxpayers.”
Commissioner Warren Brown commented on the topic brought up during the work session about community members offering to use their equipment to assist the county with work on their property or roads.
“The county might not be able to sanction some things that you’re doing, but we all understand that you have to do what you have to do to make your property viable, passable and livable,” Brown said.
He also commented on the need for gravel, expressing a commitment to establishing the gravel pits.
Brown mentioned that he appreciates the state’s willingness to look into waiving fees and giving its permission to move forward with the matter, “but we’re going to get gravel.”
Brown also noted that he understands the dislike of gravel pits, but that “it all begins and ends with rocks” in order to build homes and roads.
“We have to do what we have to do to help ourselves rebuild and to move forward,” he said.
>