At its July 9 work session, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) heard an update from Airport Manager Chris Torres on ongoing work and issues at the airport.
Torres opened his update by explaining that traffic at the airport has been down from last year and that gallons of fuel pumped was generally down, though the amount pumped for May was up over the figure for May 2023.
He added that traffic at the airport is “starting to pick up,” with the busiest months for the airport being June through October.
There are a variety of projects occurring at the airport, Torres explained, including a geotechnical analysis of the airport runway occurring in response to a pavement index study showing that the airport runway is “horrible.”
He added that the geotechnical analysis will determine what work is necessary for a runway reconstruction to be scheduled for 2026 or 2027.
Torres indicated that the weather station for the airport has also been replaced, with the new station providing additional information to pilots compared to the old one.
He stated that the airport received a water model from the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) and sent it to Davis Engineering.
As previously reported in The SUN, work on this water model started due to concerns raised by the Pagosa Fire Protection District (PFPD) in 2023 about the flow of water near the hangars being insufficient for hydrants and firefighting in the area.
Due to these concerns, the PFPD refused to approve plans for additional hangars, pausing hangar construction until the issue is resolved and causing the county to work with PAWSD to perform a water study to determine what solutions might exist.
Torres explained that Davis Engineering will indicate what improvements are needed and provide an estimate of the cost for improvements.
He added that, once the airport receives the plans from Davis Engineering, it will work with PAWSD and the PFPD to determine a solution.
Torres indicated that the issue “is what it is,” but that he currently has eight people interested in building hangars who are currently unable to do so.
Commissioner Ronnie Maez pointed that that PFPD allowed the construction of hangars with the “current water flow.”
Torres added that this occurred until last year, when the PFPD began raising concerns.
Commissioner Veronica Medina asked if all the hangars have bathrooms or sinks.
Torres stated that many do not.
Medina asked if construction of hangars with no bathrooms or sinks will be paused.
Torres commented that these hangars have to wait due to problems with fire hydrants in the area not meeting the gallons-per-minute requirements.
Medina asked if PAWSD determined if providing the required amount of flow is possible.
Torres stated that this was the goal of the study and that it determined that the airport would need to run an additional 10-inch water line and to tie it into the existing 6-inch water line at the hangars, which would increase the flow.
He added that Davis Engineering is determining if the flow provided by this arrangement will be sufficient for the fire hydrants.
Maez stated that he would like to know more about how the fire code applies to the county “being a government entity, too, as well.”
“I’d like to have more details on that and see what is absolutely necessary or what we have to comply with,” he said.
The commissioners then discussed how the proposed changes would increase flow volume, with Maez and Commissioner Warren Brown expressing skepticism about if these improvements would increase flow.
Medina raised the issue of if water would be useful in fighting fires at the hangars, which could involve planes, electricity and aviation fuel.
She asked if aviation fires would be fought with water or foam.
Maez stated that foam is often used on such fires and that many planes contain compounds such as magnesium that cannot be put out with water.
Medina commented that her question was if the water from the hydrants would be used to fight fires, and Torres added that a fire would likely be contained inside the hangar building.
Torres continued his report by stating that the airport and a pilot there were able to resolve a complaint about traffic from pilots flying in formation at community events.
In response to a question from Medina, Torres commented that an electrical improvement project at the airport has not moved forward but, that he would check on what is happening with it.
Maez asked if the county has received feedback from the fixed-base operator (FBO) for the airport on an updated FBO lease agreement.
Torres stated that the county is still waiting and that the FBO is still working on providing comments.
He added that it has been about three weeks to a month since County Attorney Todd Weaver provided the FBO with the proposed changes.
Maez asked if the observation about the runway being in poor condition was a “surface observation.”
Torres stated it is and that a pavement index study is performed by driving on the surface of the runway, though he expressed that he is uncertain exactly how the study is performed.
Maez commented that the runway replacement would cost the county “a ton of money” despite the grant funding that might be available and that he is uncertain if adding more pavement or milling and repaving the runway might help extend its life.
Torres stated that the geotechnical study will tell the county what repairs are necessary.
