Noticias

• Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor Goes on Administrative Leave
• Telluride Town Council Presents Business Support Program
• Telluride Theatre Explores the Legacy of our Founding Documents

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Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor Goes on Administrative Leave

Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor will be going on administrative leave from his position at the town of Mountain Village effective immediately.

Mountain Village made the announcement Tuesday.

Wisor is stepping back as the town undertakes an investigation into former Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska and former Telluride Town Councilmember Meehan Fee’s conversations and actions regarding a proposed purchase of the Telluride Ski Resort.

Assistant Town Manager Michelle Bulson will step in as acting town manager.

During the labor dispute between Telski and the Telluride Ski Patrol Union, former Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska and Telluride Town Councilmember Meehan Fee traveled to California to hold conversations with Telski owner Chuck Horning. Prohaska and Fee say they went as private citizens. Following that visit, the ski company filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain correspondence in connection to “a purchase offer of the ski company.”

The request included a contract which indicated an agreement for Horning to sell 51% of the Telluride Ski Resort to the Telluride Ski Resort Fund — an entity controlled by Prohaska and Fee. The contract was signed by Prohaska and Fee. It was not signed by Horning.

Both elected officials have since resigned from their positions.

During a private executive session earlier this month that was later published on an anonymous message board on social medial, Wisor disclosed he knew he knew about Prohaska and Fee’s trip to California, and put them in contact with investors interested in purchasing the ski company.

In a statement, Wisor said he fully supports council’s decision to investigate the “facts and circumstances” surrounding the offer to purchase a portion of the ski resort. He goes on to say that “Council has been clear that the review is intended to provide the community with transparency and clarity.” He says that “to ensure confidence in the integrity of that process,” he has decided to take administrative leave until the investigation is complete.

Wisor declined to provide further comment at this time.

With Bulson stepping in as acting town manager, she said she wants to provide stability for town staff and the community.

“We’ve seen a lot of stresses with the shutdown of the ski area and people being hit economically. I think our instincts are to throw blame. I hope that we can all rebuild public trust and begin to move forward and be kind to each other in the process,” Bulson said.

Mountain Village will elect a new mayor and mayor pro tem at a special Town Council meeting Wednesday, Jan. 28. The meeting also includes an update on the investigation.

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Town Council Presents Business Support Program

Local governments are exploring ways to support the community and businesses during the current uncertain economic landscape.

At Telluride’s Town Council meeting Tuesday, Councilmember Elena Levin laid out the town’s Targeted Business Stabilization Assistance Framework.

She said doling out the support is a challenge, as there isn’t enough money to fully close the gap for all businesses impacted by the ski resort closure.

“We wish that it was easier, there was more money, but given the limits of what we have available we tried to be really intentional and thoughtful about the process by which we distribute it,” Levin said.

The town of Telluride allocated $400,000 to go toward business support.

In the framework, Levin said the goal is to provide limited, one-time stabilization support to locally owned Telluride businesses that saw disproportionate impacts during the resort closure.

“The use of the funds is for fixed operating costs only. That’s things like rent or mortgages, utilities, insurance, and required fees associated with operating a business,” she said.

Levin noted that not all businesses will receive funding. There is a maximum of up to $10,000 per business.

“This assistance is not intended to make businesses whole, replace lost revenue, or fully offset the economic impacts of the disruption,” Levin said.

To qualify, a business must be locally owned.

“We want to see some kind of physical presence. A brick-and-mortar, or service businesses with a physical presence in Telluride will qualify. Home-based businesses are eligible only if they’re storefront-facing or customer-serving,” she said.

Businesses also need to demonstrate revenue impact during the closure.

“This is to acknowledge that not all businesses will have experienced a hardship during the labor dispute. We want to make sure this aid is for the businesses who have shown hardship,” Levin said.

The town will use a point system to determine how much—if any—support a business qualifies for, looking at factors such as revenue impact, fixed-cost burden, and employment impact. Region 10, a regional nonprofit supporting local governments, will process and score the applications.

Levin reiterated that the goal is not to make businesses whole, but to provide help.

“We also talked about, if this $400,000 gets split into too many pieces it helps no one. $50 in everyone’s pocket—that’s a made-up number—really doesn’t get to the point to this money, which is to be stabilizing money for businesses that need it the most. That’s why we tried to have these qualifying factors so we’re not splitting this pie into so many pieces that nobody’s actually getting a bite,” she said.

The town aims to open applications by Feb. 10. They will remain open for two weeks, with awards going out around March 1.

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Telluride Theatre Explores the Legacy of our Founding Documents

In 1787, a group of men gathered in a sweltering room in Philadelphia, and they wanted to kill each other. Instead, they performed a collective act of visualization and created the United States Constitution.

Roughly 200 years later, 15-year-old Heidi Schreck traveled around the country giving speeches about that Constitution for prize money.

With that experience under her belt, the adult Schreck resurrected her teenage self in her semi-autobiographical play “What the Constitution Means to Me,” tracing the relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.

“What the Constitution Means to Me” will open Thursday, Jan. 29, with performances Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 at the Ah Haa School for the Arts. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are pay-what-you-can and available at telluridetheatre.org.

Telluride Theatre is bringing the play to the stage this week. KOTO News spoke with director Sasha Cucciniello about the production.

Story beings at 6:20.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

It’s time for another installment of Cat Movie Fisher. Each week, Telluride High School’s Risho Unda interviews members of the community about their favorite movie. This week he’s chatting with Telluride School District Superintendent John Pandolfo.

Story beings at 11:55.

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San Miguel County Invites Students to Design “I Voted” Sticker

You don’t have to be 18 to take part in the democratic process.

San Miguel County is inviting young artists to enter an “I Voted” sticker design contest, giving students a chance to see their artwork featured in future elections.

The contest is open to students from elementary through high school. Winning designs may be used as official “I Voted” or “Yo Vote” stickers.

County officials say they are looking for fresh, creative designs that celebrate civic participation. To be eligible, submissions must include the words “I Voted” or “Yo Vote,” be original artwork, and avoid references to political candidates, parties or advocacy for or against any issue. Designs may not include dates or years.

While the contest is limited to young people, the county says adults are welcome to cheer from the sidelines.

Submissions are due by 11:50 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1. More information is available at bit.ly/smcartcontest.

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Navajo Nation Urges Federal Agencies to Honor Tribal IDs During ICE Operations

The Navajo Nation Council is calling on federal agencies to fully recognize and respect valid tribal identification during Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that affect Navajo citizens, particularly in urban areas where Navajo people live, work and travel.

Speaker Crystalyne Curley said the Navajo Nation is gathering information about reports of unlawful detainment of Navajo citizens and raised concerns about profiling based on appearance.

Curley said the Navajo Nation expects federal agencies to honor tribal identification and uphold the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations.

The council is urging Navajo citizens to carry valid identification in public, including a Navajo Nation identification card or a Real ID, to help prevent misidentification and wrongful detention.

The Navajo Nation said it is communicating with federal and state officials, legal counsel and other tribes to strengthen coordination, share information and proactively address the potential impacts of federal enforcement actions on tribal citizens.

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Colorado Lawmakers Seek More Oversight of Crowded Prisons

Colorado lawmakers are pushing for increased oversight of the state’s prisons, which have been operating at or near capacity for months.

Under the state’s emergency prison population management plan, triggered when prisons are more than 97% full for 30 days, the Department of Corrections takes steps to reduce overcrowding. The plan was activated for the first time in August.

A proposal from legislative Democrats would require more transparency from the department. It would mandate that the agency notify the governor, the legislature, law enforcement officials and justice groups within 48 hours when overcrowding is imminent.

Corrections would also be required to provide lawmakers with monthly updates detailing the specific steps it is taking and the results of those efforts. Measures include speeding up parole reviews for people in the lowest-security facilities and addressing delays in releasing people already approved for conditional parole.

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Colorado Begins Preparations to Reintroduce Wolverines

Colorado is preparing to reintroduce wolverines to the wild.

Once native to the state, wolverines were wiped out more than a century ago due to heavy trapping.

KDNK’s Lily Jones reports the effort to bring back the species has the support of some prominent critics of the state’s wolf reintroduction program.

Story beings at 19:10.