Dozens of community members attended a community forum hosted by Archuleta County Commissioner John Ranson at The Springs Resort on Wednesday, March 25.
Multiple county employees were also present, along with representatives from the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) and the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC).
The event was the second community forum hosted by the county.
County Manager Longinos Gonzalez explained that the county will be hosting at least two more community forums, with one on April 13 being hosted by Commissioner Warren Brown at 5 p.m. at the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association Clubhouse at 230 Port Ave.
Ranson offered some opening comments about the state of the country before matters such as water, housing and road concerns were discussed, with community members given the chance to ask questions.
Ranson described the turnout for the community forum as “tremendous” and expressed that the point of the community forum is to get feedback from the community.
Ranson then explained that over the past year, “we went through quite a bit of management change at the county,” noting that a new manager and attorney were hired.
He indicated the county has also hired a new planning and development director, who started last week.
“We also had turnover in the Building Department,” Ranson added.
He explained the county hired a new building official, Randy Betts.
“I do understand we can’t get stuff done if we don’t have a good team,” Ranson said, emphasizing the importance of teamwork. “We just got to keep these people.”
Ranson also commended the county’s Finance Department, noting the county is $1.5 million in the “positive” on its 2026 budget.
He then indicated that the BoCC is prioritizing finding additional funds to allocate toward road projects and maintenance.
“I think it’s all of our hope that we can move that money toward the road situations,” Ranson said
Ranson then mentioned he really believes the county is “poised to do some great things,” and that the county wants to hear from the community.
“It’s your money,” he said.
Ranson also spoke about how it is the people in the county who make a difference, commending work done by the PSCDC in the housing sector, and other areas of the community.
He then explained that one of his main priorities for this year is to find an extra $1 million to save in the county’s budget that could be put toward road projects, noting that a potential raise to the county’s lodging tax could increase funding for those projects.
“I try not to make promises that I cannot keep, but I will promise everybody here that in my remaining three years we will have more money contributed and allocated directly to roads,” Ranson said.
Water
Former PAWSD district manager Justin Ramsey provided information on the district’s Snowball water treatment plant that is now up and running, and producing “clean and legal” water.
He also indicated that all of the district’s reservoirs are full, though with a “grim” snowpack this year, the district will likely enter drought restrictions early.
“We’ll probably go into drought restrictions really early this year,” he said.
Questions about an extra reservoir were then asked, with audience members asking why the district may not need another reservoir, though it anticipates early drought restrictions.
Ramsey responded by explaining that, no matter what the district does, the biggest reservoir it has is the snowpack.
More questions about adding another reservoir came up, with audience members stating that low snowpacks may become the new normal for the area.
Ramsey explained the district is planning to add a new pipeline from Stevens Lake to transfer water into Lake Hatcher.
In response to a question about leaks within the district’s infrastructure, Ramsey explained that the district is currently losing about 400 gallons per minute through leaks.
He mentioned that PAWSD is “constantly fixing” those leaks, noting that “there was no oversight” in the late 1960s into the ‘70s throughout the district, which led to poor construction and poor materials being used.
He noted that he used to teach a college municipal engineering course, “and I could teach a class on how not to do things” based off of work that was done around the district more than 40 years ago.
Ramsey commented that the district’s bigger leaks have been repaired and “right now we’re dying from 1,000 little cuts.”
One audience member then asked about potential alternate water sources, such as wells, with Ramsey responding that most of the wells in the community do not have great water quality.
He also mentioned that PAWSD is looking at other water sources, such as buying more senior water rights.
The audience member indicated that “there’s lots of water” that can be accessed by wheels, adding that he’s unsure why “that little silver thread called the San Juan River is the only source for water for Pagosa.”
County Attorney Cathleen Giovaninni asked how our local area compares to other areas across the state, with Ramsey indicating, “I think we’re doing well” and that the district has a “diverse menu” of water rights.
Questions about water use and development were also asked, with Gonzalez explaining that those elements will be included in the county’s upcoming community plan update.
“That will absolutely be part of it,” Gonzalez said, noting it “is a state-mandated update.”
Ranson offered a comment on the matter of water use and if that is considered with new development being proposed.
“It has played into some of our decisions recently,” he said.
Housing
Housing Coordinator Jeff Sams provided some information on area median income (AMI) and what those numbers look like for the county.
He explained that, based on figures from 2024, a two-person household in Archuleta County would need to earn $75,400 annually to be at 100 percent AMI.
He indicated that would mean an affordable home for that household would be $238,000, or spending $1,800 on a rental property.
He also mentioned that the county needs 1,316 affordable housing units by 2035 “just to keep up,” and that there is a current shortfall of 362 units.
In response to a question from the audience, Sams mentioned that there are many people in the community crammed into tight living quarters, with some even living in their cars.
“We do have people living in their cars,” he said.
Ranson offered a comment on the matter, bringing up “unfunded mandates” the county is dealing with.
“We’re dealing with these unfunded mandates almost every meeting coming down from Denver,” he said, noting the state is short on its budget and that is being passed down onto counties.
He commented that the county has “very little control over” some of the stuff getting passed down, “but we’re fighting it.”
He added, “We’re not gonna lay down.”
Gonzalez noted that the Board of County Commissioners will be discussing the proposals received for the upcoming community plan update at its next work session and regular meeting, which are scheduled for April 7.
Roads
Public Works Director Mike Torres spoke about the state of the county’s Road and Bridge Department.
He noted the county has more than 400 miles of dirt roads and 60 miles of asphalt roads to maintain.
Torres mentioned that he started as public works director in 2023 and “stepped into quite a mess.”
He also explained that “this year we were faced with quite a budget cut.”
Gonzalez clarified that the “budget cut” did not entail an actual cut to the annual budget for road and bridge, but that the commissioners over the past few years have “very consciously” spent reserve funds to get road projects completed.
He explained that the reserve fund is now at a point where it is no longer possible to keep drawing from it to supplement road project funds.
Torres noted that the budget for capital projects and maintenance in 2023 was $7.6 million, $5.6 million in 2024, $4.7 million in 2025 and $2.4 million for 2026.
Torres commented that an increase in the county’s lodging tax could help generate more funds for the Road and Bridge Department.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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