At a Nov. 7 special meeting, the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) Board of Directors voted to reject an offer to purchase the Running Iron Ranch, the proposed site for a future reservoir.
The site is jointly owned by the SJWCD and the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD).
PAWSD has recently been taking steps toward selling the property, which the SJWCD has repeatedly objected to.
Those steps include voting to file a lawsuit to determine whether it can sell the property despite SJWCD’s opposition under the three-way agreement between PAWSD, SJWCD and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) that governs the use of the property.
The Nov. 7 vote follows the PAWSD Board of Directors voting to instruct the potential buyer to submit their offer to the SJWCD at the PAWSD board’s Oct. 30 meeting, with board members Glenn Walsh and Bill Hudson commenting on the attractiveness of the offer.
Following an executive session at the SJWCD meeting, SJWCD president Candace Jones explained that the SJWCD received an offer by email for sale of the ranch and highlighted that PAWSD had not shared the terms of the offer it negotiated with SJWCD despite the districts being co-owners of the ranch.
Jones stated that the SJWCD board members reviewed the offer and discussed it with the district’s legal counsel in the executive session.
The board then voted unanimously to not pursue the offer and to communicate this to the potential buyer.
In a Nov. 9 statement, the district reiterates its rejection of the offer, adding that the offer does not commit the buyer to the creation of a reservoir at Running Iron Ranch as PAWSD board members “publicly stated the offer would.”
It continues that the SJWCD cannot sell the reservoir project water rights it holds and that it has a fiduciary duty to maintain ownership of the water rights and to manage them for public benefit.
The statement concludes by explaining that the district was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement, but that SJWCD is subject to Colorado open records laws and will manage its records in accordance with those laws.
On Wednesday afternoon, PAWSD announced a work session and possible special meeting for 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, with several agenda topics related to the selling of the ranch, the SJWCD and the potential reservoir.
Those agenda items include:
• “Discussion Regarding San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) Contract Rejections, SJWCD Tenure as Project Leader of Dry Gulch Reservoir Project, and Vote of No Confidence Regarding SJWCD as Project Leader.”
• “Discussion Regarding Contract Negotiations Towards a Revised Dry Gulch Reservoir Project and SJWCD Participation.”
• “Discussion Regarding a PAWSD Board Declaration to Actively Sell Running Iron Ranch.”
• “Discussion of Disclosure, by PAWSD and SJWCD, to Potential Funding Agencies of the PAWSD Board’s Intent to Sell Running Iron Ranch.”
• “Discussion Regarding Formation of a Public Outreach Subcommittee Regarding the Sale of Running Iron Ranch and a Tentative Budget for Customer Outreach Efforts Regarding the Same.”
The meeting is set to be held at 100 Lyn Ave., with a Zoom option available using meeting ID 858 3161 6392 and passcode 983476.
josh@pagosasun.com
