As of the filing deadline on Monday evening, four town residents had submitted petitions to run for four vacant seats on the Pagosa Springs Town Council, including Mayor.
One of the Council seats — Mayor — will be vacated by Don Volger, who is term limited after filling that position for the past eight years. One town resident has submitted a petition to run for Mayor: Shari Pierce, who currently serves as a Council member. Ms. Pierce works as advertising manager for the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN newspaper, and has been active in various community groups for the past several decades.
Running for re-election will be Maddie Bergon and Matt DeGuise. Ms. Bergon was appointed to a vacant Council seat about four years ago; this will be her first shot at an election. Matt DeGuise was elected as a write-in candidate four years ago.
A new face on the Town ballot — and presumably, a future Council member, considering that we have only four candidates for four possible seats — is Gary Williams, who recently applied for and was appointed to the Town Planning Commission. (We assume there is be a vacancy on the Planning Commission, come April. We also assume the Town will be advertising for a seventh Council member, should Ms. Pierce vacate her current seat in April, to become Mayor.)
The election will be held on April 5, by mail ballot. The ballot will (presumably) also include a proposed Town Charter amendment, Ballot Question A, which was petitioned onto the ballot by a group of downtown residents:
“Commencing June 1, 2022, the Town of Pagosa Springs shall collect a Workforce Housing Fee from Short-Term Rentals (STRs) located within Town limits, amounting to at least $150 per month for each permitted bedroom, except no Workforce Housing Fee shall be due when an STR owner resides full-time on the STR property at least nine (9) months of the year. All Workforce Housing Fees shall be dedicated to the creation and sustainability of workforce housing aimed at households earning no more than 100% of Area Median Income.”