Noticias

• Telluride Calls Special Election
• Town Council Reviews Telluride Rental Housing Policies
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

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Telluride Calls Special Election

The Telluride Town Council has officially called a special election to fill former councilmember Meehan Fee’s seat.

The election will occur June 30 in coordination with San Miguel County and Colorado’s primary election.

While there is only one current vacancy on the Town Council, two seats will be up for election in June, according to Telluride Town Clerk Tiffany Kavanaugh.

“One for Meehan Fee’s vacancy. Then because Councilmember [Marya] Stark was appointed in December, her appointment was until the next regular or special election. So, her seat will also have to be on that ballot,” Kavanaugh said.

While the Town Council has officially set the special election, nomination petitions for those looking to run are still to come. State statute dictates when nomination petitions can circulate in relation to an election, so the clerk’s office will release the petitions March 31.

“They need to be returned by April 20th, so there’s a 20-day circulation period there,” Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh acknowledged that timeline isn’t the most convenient given the off season, but candidates only need to collect 25 valid voter signatures to get on the ballot.

With that said, Kavanaugh recommends getting at least 40 signatures.

“Even though people think they live where they put on the petition, it never fails that I have to exclude a lot of signatures, primarily for the resident’s address. I do suggest that anyone interested in running for council try to get an active voter registration list from the county, and use that when filling out the petitions. If someone needs to change their address, they can still sign your petition and then immediately change it online that day, do an address change, and then it will still be counted,” she said.

The special election to fill a vacancy on the Telluride Town Council will take place Tuesday, June 30.

The two elected councilmembers will serve terms through November 2029.

Telluride Town Council members receive about $21,500 in annual compensation and are eligible for health, vision and dental insurance through the town’s health plan, as well as a wellness benefit.

Candidate information for those interested in running is available at bit.ly/totelection.

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Town Council Reviews Telluride Rental Housing Policies

At the end of 2024, Telluride adopted new affordable housing rental policies to help manage its rental housing program. That came after the town realized roughly 60% of tenants in town housing did not actually qualify for the units they lived in.

Town-owned housing includes Shandoka, Sunnyside, Voodoo, Virginia Placer and the Boardinghouse.

Creation of the policies took roughly a year and included numerous meetings and active comment from members of the community.

With a year under its belt, at its meeting this week, the Town Council received an update on how the program is working and discussed areas for improvement.

Telluride Community Services Director DeLanie Tapson outlined the results.

“Key takeaways after year one. The policies achieved their primary objectives: consistent standards, reduced displacement risk, and achieving equity within the rental program. The most consistent concerns that still remain are the income tier conversation, and the administrative complexity,” Tapson said.

Tapson pointed out rental tiers — which tie rent to income — are a major “friction point” in the policies, along with the waitlist.

The rental tiers base rent off household income, with a number of possible deductions — for things like medical or childcare — that are not used to calculate income. Tapson said residents have been using the deductions and it has impacted their rent.

“28 moved down one tier, and five moved down two tiers. We believe that the council takeaway is that the income tier standard is doing the intended equity and stability work, but it’s still the primary drive of questions from both council and tenants,” she said.

During public comment, Andy Konigsmark shared frustration that all income is included to calculate rent, including his daughter’s income.

“She’s 15 years old, works at Brown Dog and Two Skirts. She is not paying me anything for rent. Should my daughters $5,000 go towards raising our rent?” Konigsmark said.

The council was unanimous in supporting a discussion to eliminate including income from minors in household income.

Councilmember Dan Enright argued the rental tiers create fear or frustration for the community if they get a new job or a raise, worried their rent will go up.

“That is a fear factor that drives people not wanting to engage in our housing system,” Enright said.

Mayor Teddy Errico said he feels for residents who saw their rent increase, but the goal of the tiers is to support those struggling the most in the community.

“You had to create a system that helps the lowest comment denominator because they had no other options. That was the point of why we had to create the tiers because it was unfair for people to be paying the same rent with vastly different incomes,” Errico said.

Looking at the waitlist, the policies consolidated four into one, though the Boardinghouse still has its own. Tapson said staff are trying to whittle down the list by removing people who may not even live in the region anymore.

Errico urged staff to put some of the responsibility on those looking for housing.

“We need to put onus on people who want the housing and they should have some self-responsibility, to be maintained on that list and it’s not like we’re asking a difficult thing,” Errico said.

Tapson agreed. She said staff members are emailing and calling people on the waitlist to confirm their spot. If the housing department does not hear back, they will be removed from the list.

“We still cannot determine why people are not responding. We are literally offering apartments to people and they’re not replying to us,” Tapson said.

That ties into another challenge. Currently, more than 40 units of town-owned housing sit vacant.

Daniel Zemke called that unacceptable during public comment.

“41 units vacant at the end of 2025 should make anybody feel extremely uncomfortable. My comment is this. The town is acting as a landlord and it wants to put a hand out to help somebody up, but the policies and the information required are so onerous that it’s effectively pushing somebody back down on the ground. The entire system needs to be simplified. There needs to be a stronger sense of empathy, and the rules need to be rewritten,” Zemke said.

Councilmember Ashley Von Spreeken agreed with the need to simplify.

“Trying to simplify this entire thing is something that I’ve heard repeatedly. It’s also something that I’ve felt, that it’s really complex,” Von Spreeken said.

Councilmember Elena Levin said residents should remember how the complexity developed.

“The complexity that we arrived at came from a lot of public comment about wanting to include all these factors that contribute to how people run their households and their finances. I’m okay with simplifying it, but I want to make sure that we don’t oversimplify to the point that it undoes the work that went into including all these things for consideration,” Levin said.

The town is looking to create a Resident Advisory Committee to better gather input and feedback from those living in town housing and will work to fill vacant units as quickly as possible.

The Town Council plans to have a larger conversation on broader policy adjustments in 2027.

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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 chats with members of the community about their favorite films.

This week, he’s talking with English teacher Yana Pollard.

Story beings at 8:25.

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Elena Levin Appointed Telluride Mayor Pro Tem

The Telluride Town Council appointed Councilmember Elena Levin as mayor pro tem Tuesday. The position was left vacant after former Mayor Pro Tem Meehan Fee stepped down from the council in January.

The role of mayor pro tem is to serve as mayor and run council meetings if the mayor is unable to do so.

Levin said she hopes the role can continue her growth in local government.

“I’ve really enjoyed growing as a councilperson, so I’d be excited to continue to expand my knowledge and my skillset through this role,” Levin said.

The council unanimously voted to appoint Levin as mayor pro tem.

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Telluride Film Festival Shares Shorts at the Wilkinson Public Library

The Telluride Film Festival will be at the Wilkinson Public Library this week with a shorts program.

The Film Festival notes the program of “bold short films spans genre — from documentary to experimental animation — exploring cinematic innovation and humanism within contemporary political realities.”

Featured films will be:

“Two Days on the Interstate,” following a 26‑year‑old woman on a long drive in post‑Roe America.

“What If They Bomb Here Tonight?” looks in on Samir and Nadyn through the threat of an Israeli air strike.

“Ardent Other” joins a stunned crowd as they watch the Notre‑Dame fire.

“In 175,” a politician’s son is kidnapped as a controversial immigration vote looms.

“Their Eyes” looks at workers in Kenya, the Philippines and Venezuela preparing the Global North for self‑driving cars.

Finally, “A Move” is the portrait of a family in the wake of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

The evening of film will take place at the Wilkinson Public Library on Thursday, Feb. 26, starting at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the community.

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Trump Withdraws Hurd Endorsement

President Donald Trump has rescinded his endorsement of Colorado Congressman Jeff Hurd for the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump made the announcement over the weekend in a post on Truth Social. He said Hurd is “one of a small number of legislators who have let me and our country down.”

The move comes after Hurd and five other Republicans voted with nearly all House Democrats against tariffs that Trump placed on Canada. Hurd also voiced support for the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down most of Trump’s tariffs.

The president said he is now backing Hurd’s primary opponent, Hope Scheppelman, instead.

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Colorado Senate Advances Bill Limiting License Plate Reader Use

A bipartisan bill aimed at putting guardrails on how law enforcement uses license plate reader cameras moved ahead in the state Senate over the objections of law enforcement groups, cities and Colorado’s district attorneys.

As the Colorado Capitol News Alliance’s Bente Birkeland reports, the bill would require law enforcement to delete Flock camera data after 30 days unless there is an ongoing investigation. It would also require a warrant to access data in many cases and place more restrictions on sharing data with law enforcement in other states and federal agencies.

Sheriffs, police and Colorado prosecutors say the bill is too restrictive, doesn’t reflect realistic timelines for investigations and would make it harder to solve crimes.

Supporters argue the legislation is pro-constitution and pro-privacy, and that it prevents mass surveillance.

The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Winter Storms Bring Relief, Rocky Mountain Snowpack Still Low

Though winter storms are bringing some relief to the snow drought in the Rocky Mountains, experts say it won’t be enough to bring the snowpack back to average after a record-breaking dry start to winter.

That’s a problem for the region’s snow-based water supply and has also affected the multi-billion-dollar ski industry.

Resorts are doing their best to entice guests to their slopes, even with less powder and poor conditions.

Michael Childers, a professor of environmental history at Colorado State University who studies the ski industry, spoke with Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes to put this year in context.

Story beings at 16:30.