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Tribal held its annual meeting with the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners on Monday, March 14. This is the first in-person meeting in two years, the last meeting held in 2020 right before the start of the pandemic.
Emily Lashbrooke (formerly Meisner) attended the meeting with Tribal Council and Archuleta County. Lashbrooke is the Executive Director of the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation. She presented an outdoor recreation trail to boost economies in Archuleta County and on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.
Council Member Vanessa Torres speaks with Archuleta County Board of County Commissioner Ronnie Maez on the overlapping issues for the Tribe and the County.
Photo Credit: Lindsay J. Box | Tribal Council Affairs
Photo Credit: Lindsay J. Box | Tribal Council Affairs
Photo Credit: Lindsay J. Box | Tribal Council Affairs
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Tribal Council meets with Archuleta’s Board of County Commissioners  

Friday - March 25, 2022 by Lindsay Box | Council Affairs

The Southern Ute Tribal Council met with the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners and executive staff to continue building on the government-to-government relationship. The group discussed several topics in which both parties have vested interest including the road and bridge maintenance partnership (particularly the erosion on CR 500), single track bike and river path between Pagosa Springs, Colo. and Lake Capote, temporary or traveling exhibit from the Southern Ute Cultural Center & Museum to the Pagosa Springs Museum, ballot drop box for the Arboles area, and concerns related to law enforcement response time due to rural locations on both tribal and Archuleta County lands.  

“Southern Ute and Archuleta County border lands and we share roads, it makes sense we collaborate on project to meet the needs of our constituents,” stated Commissioner Warren Brown.  

Both Archuleta and Southern Ute tribal leadership agreed as infrastructure development begins to ramp up, that there is a need to hold more frequent meetings and recommended a tour of the road damage on CR 500 and a new cellular tower being built on Archuleta County owned land which will improve cellular access on tribal lands. 

As an Archuleta County landowner, Council Member Lorelei Cloud expressed a need for partnership to ensure the safety for tribal residents residing close to or in Archuleta County. She added, “Due to the rural nature, response times can be anywhere between 20 to 60 minutes.” Everyone in attendance agreed community safety is a top priority. A meeting between Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office and Southern Ute Police Department, along with leadership, will be scheduled soon.  

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