It’s official. Estes Valley voters will be headed to the polls on May 6. Three of the five special districts serving the Estes Valley will hold elections to fill seats on their boards. The two other districts did not receive enough candidates to trigger balloting.

Contested races will occur in the Estes Valley Fire Protection District, the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, and the Park Hospital District, which currently does business as Estes Park Health.

The two other districts – the Estes Park Sanitation District and the Upper Thompson Sanitation District – did not receive enough candidates to trigger balloting. Those elections will be canceled, and directors will be elected by acclamation. 

Self-nomination papers needed to be filed by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, in order for candidates’ names to be printed on ballots. Individuals had until 5 p.m., Monday, March 3, to file papers if they were interested in standing for election as a write-in candidate. No district will have any write-in candidates. 

Each district has its own voting procedures. For the EP Health elections, voters will receive a ballot by mail. They can return it by mail or place it in a drop box located inside the hospital’s main entrance. 

Both the Recreation and Park District and Fire District elections will be held in person at the Estes Valley Community Center, lower level, 660 Community Dr., on Tuesday, May 6, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Information about the election process and the role of special districts is available in the Estes Valley Voice 2025 Special Districts Election Guide.

Credit: Patti Brown

Estes Valley Fire Protection District 

All five board seats on the Estes Valley Fire Protection District will be on the ballot. 

The EVFPD has experienced many problems over the past several years. In 2023, the board entered into a severance agreement with David Wolf, who had served as the district’s chief since 2016.

After a lengthy and expensive national search for a new chief, Rick Lasky resigned in June 2024 after just three months in the role. Over the past year, three directors resigned from the board, and late last year, a district court judge found that the board violated the state open meetings act. 

Voters will choose two of six candidates vying to serve two-year terms. Separately, four candidates will compete for three seats that serve four-year terms. 

The ballot for the 2-year term includes current EVFPD director Christopher Bussar, Robert H. Foster, Sandra Ellen Smith, Ryan S. Leahy, and Joshua Leeds. Candidates for the 4-year term include Steven Ferrante, Scott Dorman, who served as the first paid fire chief of the District, Jon “Hippy” Smith, and Jeff Robbins.

Estes Valley Recreation and Park District

Two seats on the EVRPD board, both with 4-year terms, are open. The district operates the community center, golf course, and marina, along with parks, campgrounds, and trails. Daniel Derman, Aaron Dorman, and Derek Vinge are the candidates. 

The Estes Park Health board will have five community members running for two seats on their board. They will serve for two years. Credit: Patti Brown / Estes Valley Voice

Park Hospital District, doing business as Estes Park Health

Five community members are running to fill two seats with four-year terms on the board. 

In 2022, voters gave approval to the EPH board to try to affiliate with a nonprofit healthcare organization. In October, the board announced its CEO had signed a letter of intent to affiliate with UCHealth. Details of that letter of intent have not been shared with the taxpayers of the Park Hospital District. 

Current board chair David Batey is term-limited, and vice chair Drew Webb announced he would not seek reelection. The candidates for the two four-year terms are Tim Cashman, Tom Leigh, Max Salfinger, Ralph Strickland, and Janet Zeschin.

Upper Thompson Sanitation District

All four candidates who ran for the UTSD board of directors will be elected by acclamation, and no election will be held in May. Current board members Byron K. (Kent) Bosch, Christopher Eshelman, and Michael W. Morton self-nominated will serve 4-year terms. Andrew Justin Kessler, recently nominated to fill an opening on the board vacated by the resignation of Stan Gengler, will serve a two-year term.

UTSD provides services to properties on the outskirts of Estes Park. The new board will oversee the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant, which is estimated to cost $80 million. Bids will be open this week, and the utility expects to begin construction by late spring.

Estes Park Sanitation District

Three current board members, Frederick (Rick) Houser, Todd M. Plummer, and Jennifer B. Waters, got in the running for three seats with four-year terms. They will be elected by acclamation.

For more information on the election, how to vote in the elections, and the functions of special districts, read the Voices Estes Valley special district elections guide.

Lincoln Roch is a junior at the University Colorado-Boulder majoring in journalism. He served as the managing editor of the CU Independent, CU Boulder's Student News and is the first President of the CU...