Five of the six candidates for the Estes Park Town Board of Trustees appeared at the town hall on Thursday evening, March 12, to answer questions moderated by the Estes Park League of Women Voters. Randy Welch was unable to attend the event due to a family emergency.
The six candidates are running for four open seats in the April 7 municipal election. Three are four-year terms and the other is a two-year term to complete Cindy Younglund’s term.
In addition to Welch, the other candidates are incumbents Kirby Nelson-Hazelton and Bill Brown, as well as Chris Eshelman, a long-time Upper Thompson Sanitation District board member, podiatrist Jamie Mieras, and graphic designer Aidan Rosenau. The forum was streamed live on the town’s YouTube channel.
Estes Park League of Women Voters President Yvonne Salfinger stated that the League received approximately 90 questions from the public, including students. The Voter Service Committee chose questions of greatest interest to voters. Some of the questions were given to the candidates in advance, with the exception of Brown, for whom Salfinger stated that she accidentally used the wrong email address.
“So Bill is at a slight disadvantage that I know he’ll recover from,” she said.
Autumn Nelson read Welch’s prepared opening statement, in which he described discovering Estes Park while living in Boulder with his young family in 1989 and returning here to retire.
“What I hope to bring is a combination of experience and a genuine love for this town,” Welch’s statement said. “Estes Park has given my family so much over the years and serving as trustee would be my way of giving back, helping to safeguard what makes this place special while working thoughtfully to solve the issues we face together. I’m sorry I’m unable to attend this forum today, but I truly look forward to more opportunities ahead to listen to your questions, share ideas and continue the conversation.”
Cheryl Johnston, the League’s voter services director, moderated the forum. Candidates had 60 or 90 seconds to answer each question. The candidates agreed on most of the questions, though their approaches differed slightly.
The first question asked what they would change if they could only change one thing in the Estes Valley right now. Mieras stated that she plans to improve and expand downtown parks and open spaces, in addition to working on the town’s many other long-term goals.
“During these inevitable changes we can also focus on improving and creating more outdoor spaces within our community where residents and visitors can pause to appreciate the natural beauty and each other,” Mieras said.
Brown said he would incorporate all of Estes Valley into the Town of Estes Park, though he acknowledged this can only be done voluntarily. “I just think it divides the community too much,” he said, “to have part in the county and part in the town.”
Rosenau would fix the lack of affordable housing. “This can be done by voting ‘yes’ on projects that are well planned and that are a good fit for the area in which they are proposed,” she said.
Similarly, Eshelman stated that, while he is primarily running to educate the board about the town’s aging water system, he would also address the issue of family workforce housing.
“I don’t have the answers,” Eshelman said, “but we need to keep working on it.”
Nelson-Hazelton would solve the stormwater and floodplain challenges. “Addressing these will be expensive and disruptive,” she said, “but necessary for long-term preservation and vitality.”
All of the candidates agreed that the board should take into account the concerns of Estes Valley residents who live outside the town limits when making decisions. Many of the board’s decisions, particularly those concerning utilities, affect the entire region. However, Brown emphasized the limitations of non-resident input.
“There are times you have to weigh comments a little differently depending on whether a person is a resident in town or not,” Brown said. “Those that aren’t in town do not pay property taxes to the town, as an example. They don’t vote.”
In response to a similar question, the candidates agreed to consider the opinions of community members, experts, staff, and legal counsel without declaring one to be more important than the others and that making the best decision for the town requires careful judgment in each case.
Mieras made a caveat that “legal guidance should not direct a specific decision unless it is a legal matter.”
Rosenau said that while it was a trick question, technically, legal guidance would take precedence. “We don’t want to do anything against the law, of course,” she said.
The candidates had various takes on whether the new 11-25 zoning ordinance (Proposition 300) is a positive or negative for the town, though none said it was an unqualified positive. The ordinance requires surrounding landowners to approve any zoning change request.
Mieras believes the ordinance itself is questionable and may not be legal, but it is beneficial because it gets the community talking. “I do think it’s limiting to some of our land development,” Mieras said, “but I appreciate that it gives some power to our residents.”
Brown said he has been outspoken in his opposition to it, but he acknowledges it sent a message to the community. He said it is challenging, though, to interpret what the town wants when another proposition passed to support workforce housing.
“This is an important thing to address and I’m going to have some proposals on what we can do with the development code to increase citizen involvement,” Brown said.
Rosenau said the initiative was bad for the town.
“I believe that it’s important for us to place the decisions of rezoning properties in the hands of our town trustees,” Rosenau said. Regardless of what happens to the ordinance, Rosenau said it is one of her top three priorities to listen to constituent input.
Nelson-Hazelton stated that she did not support the proposition due to issues with the language and implementation as well as the burden it imposed on property owners, but that it was irrelevant because the people voted for it.
“We need to find a more productive way to incorporate those feelings and that feedback,” Nelson-Hazelton said.
Eshelman also said he did not vote in favor of the proposition.
“At times it feels like an overreach on some of the property rights,” Eshelman said. “But at the same time, I understand if you moved into a community, you’ve done your homework, you’ve looked at the zoning of everything that’s around you, and then you plan on that zoning staying the same.”
The candidates also answered questions about balancing preservation and development, assisting families with children, managing the impact of tourism, the adequacy of the Housing Authority’s current guidelines, and how to better engage Latino and immigrant populations.
After the candidates’ closing statements, Salfinger thanked everyone and gave information on how and where to vote. Ballots will be mailed to eligible voters starting March 16. Voters can return ballots by mail, in person at the town clerk’s office, or through the town hall’s 24-hour ballot drop box, located at 170 MacGregor Avenue. Salfinger thanked League of Women Voters volunteers and town staff for their assistance with the technology needed to run and livestream the forum.
“Thank you, candidates; much appreciated,” Salfinger said. “Without you we couldn’t have done this. It benefits the entire community.”