The Archuleta County Planning Department held the second of its “Road Show” meetings Feb. 25 in Aspen Springs, with a crowd that exceeded standing room only, spilled over into the next room and even included some watching through windows from outside the Metro District building.

Archuleta County again has a functioning County Tourism Commission following passage of a resolution Tuesday which appointed five individuals to two-year terms on the board.

The Skaters Coalition for Concrete will be reimbursed up to $11,000 for expenses incurred for a proposed skatepark, thanks to decisions by both the Town of Pagosa Springs Town Council and the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners.

The San Juan River Workgroup (SJRW) became reality last Thursday evening, as approximately 50 individuals attended an organizational meeting at the Ross Aragon Community Center in Pagosa Springs.

Signaling a reversal on decisions last year not to pursue the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant, the board of the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District directed its supervisor, Phil Starks, on Tuesday, to begin the application for USDA funding for a new plant.

With just over a month before elections in the town of Pagosa Springs (Tuesday, April 6), council member Mark Weiler resigned from his seat at the start of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Presenting two reports to the Pagosa Springs Town Council on Tuesday night, Town Tourism Coordinator Jennie Green reported that tourism numbers continue to improve locally, and that improvement may be how the town and the TTC has promoted the area to visitors.

Town voters may be given a chance to decide if other large format retail (Big Box) regulations should be retained or deleted from the town’s Land Use and Development Code (LUDC). If the Pagosa Springs Town Council passes a second reading of Ordinance 751 — an ordinance that would repeal Big Box regulations outside of Section 2.4.5 of the LUDC — the matter of repealing those regulations would go directly to voters residing in the town.

Town voters may be given a chance to decide if other large format retail (Big Box) regulations should be retained or deleted from the town’s Land Use and Development Code (LUDC). If the Pagosa Springs Town Council passes a second reading of Ordinance 751 — an ordinance that would repeal Big Box regulations outside of Section 2.4.5 of the LUDC — the matter of repealing those regulations would go directly to voters residing in the town.

Transitioning from the AEDA (Archuleta Economic Development Association) to the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC), the group appears prepared to hire an executive director as it determines its new direction.

The proposed Village at Wolf Creek was the topic of discussion Feb. 17 at a roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. John Salazar in Alamosa.

A lawsuit against Archuleta County, Sheriff Pete Gonzalez and Undersheriff John Weiss reached settlement last week in U.S. District Court under Magistrate Judge Kristen Mix.

Despite an appeal last month by local builders and developers asking for an extension on 100-percent fee waivers, the Pagosa Springs Town Council decided to stick to the fee-waiver plan as designed, moving to a 50-percent fee waiver in 2010.

Following a suggestion from Archuleta County Commissioner Bob Moomaw and discussions between the Town Council of Pagosa Springs and the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners, the location for a proposed skatepark was changed again at the Feb. 18 council meeting, moving it to Yamaguchi Park.

The Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County should be one large “hot spot” by the end of this year, due to a grant awarded to the Southwest Council of Governments (SWCOG) for the purposes of expanding broadband Internet in the Four Corners area.

Bob Hart, a Republican, has entered the race for the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners District 3 seat.

Signaling a willingness to move forward with a geothermal greenhouse project, the Town of Pagosa Springs signed a lease with the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) last Thursday at Town Hall, dedicating both land and geothermal water for the project.

Despite anecdotal reports by some local merchants of a strong finish in December sales, town and county December sales tax receipts were down 6.5 percent from the same month in 2008, according to a report released last Friday.

With filing deadlines for town elections just two weeks away, choices for Town Council remain slim and, in one case, nonexistent, while the mayoral race is limited to two candidates.