sensetalk2000
Registered: 11/10/08
Posts: 109
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| #121 |
Georgeho paints a dark picture for the future of Pagosa, unless you own a business that is dependent on tourism or a service industry for the same. If you are a wage earner, then, good luck. The writer is correct on Pagosa's isolation and lack of mainstream, business, attractibility.
On the other hand, it is obvious to me that Pagosa has been engaged in self-destruct mode for some time. Now they are talking about another tax, levied on building materials. Excessive impact fees, artificially escalated tax valuations and hundreds of vacant homes, should be a sign of serious illness but it doesn't seem to be.
A friend of mine unsuccessfully protested his tax valuation, about double on a five acre lot. They claim his lot is now worth five times what he paid for it, even though it has no road, no utilities or improvement whatsoever. How is that common sense, when very little is being sold? He has tried to sell this lot for years.
I am sorry but it just seems that every decision being made these days is taking Pagosa to a slow death. The absolute worst part for me is that all these meetings, calculations, projections and hogwash presentations, exclude the human cost to you and your disappearing friends, neighbors and family members.
If you lose all the sociological factors that make up a community, then you may as dissolve government and just become a corporation.
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Ded
Registered: 10/05/08
Posts: 39
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| #122 |
It looks like the ongoing saga of "How To Make Money In Pagosa" was well outlined by Georgeho. I can't help it, but all this cracks me up. Did anyone moving to Pagosa from the beginnings of Eaton/Fairfield ever stop to look and see just what opportunities for employment there was in PS? I doubt it.
All through the 70's, 80's 90's and mid 2000's, there was a lot of money to be made in construction and realty. The problem is that realty doesn't contribute much to the local tax base or economy, but oh man did it ever drive up prices of land. I remember looking at offerings in the county and there were houses that were in the $1 million+ range that were nothing spectacular. There must have been a lot of these "ranchitos" sold, or property valuations would not have increased.
That said, you have to consider who moved into PS and AC. Lots of people who just knew they had found Paradise and immediately put up No Trespassing and Keep Out, Private Property. They also brought the NIMBY Syndrome which means you will never get any industry in PS to support the monetary needs of PS or AC.
I keep waiting for the National White Water Rafting Championships hedld on the raging San Juan, but ABC, CBS and NBC don't seem to be covering that event. Maybe some more creative river re-arranging will help, provided the gov't. won't make you take it out like it did the last time.
Don't tell anyone, but there was a greenhouse heated by geothermal energy in PS. It was in ruins the last I saw of it, but hey, if you have cretins that think they can grow enough food for everyone, go for it! Follow the money and find out who knows there are cretins in PS gov't., then ask them just where will you put this edifice. There will be money there too.
Since Georgeho referred to mining, the only mining aourd PS and in AC was the coal mine on St.Hwy 151, but that got closed down. Too bad, because there are large deposits of coal located throughout AC. Since we will not be using fossil fuels according to the current occupant of the WH, oil drilling is not viable either. Cutting down trees is a no brainer. No mill to cut them up, too expensive to transport, too hard on the roads....need I go on?
Same as the current kerfluffle over the gravel pit on the Little Blanco. NIMBY NIMBY NIMBY! There was no complaint by Pagosaites when they were drilling that diversion tunnel. Nope, lots of jobs, spending intown, etc. Now I see that those opposed to the pit are pulling that "pristine" crap trying to shut it down. News flash...that area has been populated for about 100 years, logged, so it is not "pristine" anymore than the old Job Corps site where one individual opposed to whatever they were going to do with it claimed he saw a lynx there (It's in the Sun Archives if you want to research it) which just goes to show you people will lie to get what they want and do it unabashadly.
You have problems in PS, but don't count on the tourists. You can get to better accommodations by driving an extra two hours or stay in Durango and just drive through PS. There isn't really anything to stop for, the Hot Springs is polluted, nothing to do but shop, so why not go on your merry way.
Best of luck. Ded.
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sensetalk2000
Registered: 11/10/08
Posts: 109
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| #123 |
I tend to believe that today, Pagosa is on life support. Recent conversations with business professionals have led me to believe that even the most staunch believers in revival have given up. One of them said to get out while you can.
As my wife and I walk in the evenings, we are saddened by empty houses, for sale signs and empty buildings. We are even more concerned by the futile efforts to bring back the bubble, which now, is a distant memory. There has to be much more than buying, selling and building houses. They alone do not make a community.
This last ditch effort to waive fees is mollified by the efforts of PAWS, which has literally broken the backs of all but the wealthy. Whether it was by design or by accident, the impact has been severe and life threatening.
Where do we go from here? I don't have a clue and it seems, neither does anyone else. I am all for finding solutions but it appears that collective agreement is improbable, if not impossible.th
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planatlaw
Registered: 10/15/08
Posts: 21
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| #124 |
There was a good letter to the editor last Thursday in the Sun from a gal from Fort Worth TX. She recognized that for the town to know where its going, it needs to have a good understanding of where its been, where it is, and where it wants to go. So far the town has been unable and unwilling to devote the time and attention needed to developed those three components to a good strategic plan for the future. Until it does, the events beyond control of the town will continue to dictate it's future, and it will continue to be dependent on people who simply want to milk it for short term gain they will take elsewhere.
Bill Hudson is doing a good series of articles on how the world has changed, and how PS has failed and refused to change with it. Bill offers few solutions, but he sure has a handle on the problem. |
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