News

• Telluride to Hold Special Election to Fill Town Council Vacancy
• Town Council Selects Law Firm to Conduct Investigation
• Capitol Conversation Talks Guns, Housing, and Alcohol

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Telluride to Hold Special Election to Fill Town Council Vacancy

The Town of Telluride will hold a special election to fill a vacant seat on its council.

“Here we are again with a vacancy. Our home rule charter prescribes how council should go about filling that vacancy either by an election or an appointment,” Telluride Town Clerk Tiffany Kavanaugh said at a special Town Council meeting Friday.

The vacancy comes after Councilmember Meehan Fee resigned at the end of January.

It is the second vacancy on Town Council in about three months. The first occurred after there were fewer candidates than open seats in the November election. Councilmember Marya Stark was appointed to that seat in December.

The length of Stark’s term is until the “next regular or special election,” meaning her seat will also be up during the special election. Stark recused herself from Friday’s discussion.

“It would be two seats on the ballot if you decide to proceed with a special election. It would be Marya Stark’s seat and then the vacancy from Meehan Fee. Staff recommendation would be for a special election on June 30th or the appointment process,” Kavanaugh said.

A June 30 election would coincide with San Miguel County’s primary election.

Councilmember Ashley Von Spreecken said she supports holding a special election rather than making an appointment.

“I advocated last time for a special election, and I will do similarly here. I think it’s the most democratic process going forward. I think particularly with the current climate we’re in I think allowing people to feel like they’re getting their voice heard on who fills these seats is important,” Von Spreecken said.

With the current local political climate and the lack of candidates in the November election, some council members expressed concern about whether enough community members would run. Councilmember Elena Levin said it is the council’s responsibility to encourage participation.

“One of our responsibilities is to get people engaged and help people through the process, or encourage them, eliminate some of the fear or imposter syndrome around being part of this process. I think we can approach this one with a lot more intention and proactive conversation to make sure that people are involved and we have a better turnout,” Levin said.

Council voted unanimously to proceed with a special election.

To qualify as a candidate, an individual must be a registered elector in the Town of Telluride and have lived in town for at least one year prior to the election. Candidates may not be salaried employees of the town.

Those interested in running for Town Council must collect at least 25 voter signatures on a nomination petition to appear on the ballot. Petitions will be available from March 31 to April 20.

The special election will be held Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in coordination with San Miguel County’s primary election. The two elected council members will serve terms through November 2029.

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Town Council Selects Law Firm to Conduct Investigation

The Town of Telluride has selected Investigations Law Group, or ILG, to conduct an investigation into former Councilmember Meehan Fee’s involvement in an offer to purchase a majority share of the Telluride Ski Resort.

“This is the result of clear direction that came from Town Council in your January 20, 2026 meeting. That direction was to report back to Town Council with investigative options for a factual, unbiased, and neutral third-party investigation on this issue that we’re talking about,” Telluride Town Attorney Kevin Geiger said at a special Town Council meeting Friday.

The issue centers on what have been referred to as the “California Meetings.”

During a labor dispute between Telski and the Telluride Ski Patrol Union, former Telluride Town Councilmember Meehan Fee and former Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska traveled to California to hold conversations with Telski owner Chuck Horning. Fee and Prohaska have said they traveled as private citizens.

Following that visit, the ski company filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking correspondence connected to “a purchase offer of the ski company.”

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

According to Geiger, ILG is a Denver-based firm with more than two decades of experience. The firm has conducted investigations for the Colorado General Assembly, the Colorado Judicial Branch and the Colorado Department of Homeland Security.

Geiger said once the investigation begins, ILG will conduct it independently.

“Once this ship sets sail it will be an independent ship and will have very little communication back to the town until the very end when a verbal and written report will be provided to you,” Geiger said.

The town said the purpose of the investigation is to “establish a complete and accurate factual record regarding the initiation, substance, and participants of the California Meetings and related communications, the drafting and submission of the Purchase Offer, and any representations made concerning potential actions by the Town of Telluride and/or the Town of Mountain Village. The investigation will distinguish between actions taken in an individual capacity and those taken through, or appearing to be taken through, official Town processes or the use of Town authority or resources, and will support transparency and public confidence in local government.”

Telluride Mayor Teddy Errico said the goal of the investigation is to establish a “clear factual record” of what occurred.

“We want to make sure that we can show to our locals what happened and what didn’t happen and take that question out of everyone’s mind with an independent review,” Errico said.

ILG’s investigation and report of findings are expected to take about a month.

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Capitol Conversation Talks Guns, Housing, and Alcohol

Colorado lawmakers are advancing legislation on gun regulation, housing and alcohol fees as bills move through the General Assembly.

On this week’s Capitol Conversation, Statehouse Reporter Lucas Brady Woods shares the latest developments from the legislature.

Story beings at 6:55.

Julia Caulfield (JC): The Colorado General Assembly has been busy at work. They have a lot of bills being introduced and starting to work their way through, including one we touched on last week — a series of gun regulation bills lawmakers have introduced. Where do they stand, and what would they do?

Lucas Brady Woods (LBW): First of all, we have seen a lot of bills introduced. We’re only a few weeks into the session, almost a month in, and there are lots and lots of bills, including, as you said, these gun regulations.

We talked previously about a major one that would expand Colorado’s red flag laws, or extreme risk protection order laws. Those are laws that allow people to petition judges to temporarily remove someone’s guns if they pose a threat to themselves or others. They’re pretty common gun regulations in a lot of other states as well, including here in Colorado.

That’s one big one, and it has already made it all the way through the Senate process and is awaiting its first hearing in the House. It’s made good progress, and I think it probably has the support of the governor, so as soon as it makes it through, it will probably be signed.

That said, Republicans are very against these bills and have been known to stage very long debates over them, so we’re likely to see that over this.

There are also two other gun bills worth talking about, and both deal peripherally with what are called ghost guns. These are guns that can be assembled at home using a 3D printer or a do-it-yourself kit. The problem with ghost guns is they often don’t have serial numbers, which makes them incredibly hard to track.

These two laws aim to curb the spread of ghost guns. One would regulate gun barrel sales. With a ghost gun, a lot of it can be made of plastic except for the barrel, which, according to the sponsors of the bill, has to withstand the heat of a bullet being fired and therefore has to be made of metal. Those barrels often have to be purchased at a gun store. This bill would track those sales more closely and put additional guardrails around them.

The other bill would crack down on 3D printing firearm parts and make it illegal to distribute the instructions needed to print those parts. So it’s really a package of bills, with those two focused on addressing the spread of ghost guns we’ve seen over the last decade.

JC: Next up, I wanted to talk with you about a housing bill that would, in theory, make it easier to have more housing in different areas. What does this bill do?

LBW: This is called the Home Act, as the sponsors are calling it. It would allow certain organizations — including schools, colleges and universities, local housing authorities and other qualified nonprofits to build housing on their land regardless of local zoning rules.

The idea is to make it easier for these organizations to build affordable housing, workforce housing and similar projects in their communities.

That’s the pitch — that it would make it easier to build more affordable housing. But it’s getting familiar pushback from local governments, including the Colorado Municipal League, which represents towns and cities across the state.

They see it as state overreach, with the state overstepping local zoning rules. They see this as an area where local governments should be in charge, not the state. So this sets up a familiar battle we’ve seen over the past several years between local governments and the state over land use policy.

JC: Finally, I want to touch on a proposal that would add new fees to alcohol sales in Colorado. What would this bill do?

LBW: This is an early look. The bill hasn’t been introduced yet, but I’ve been talking with the sponsors about it. It’s based on a bill from two years ago that failed.

What it would do is add a fee on alcoholic beverages — beer, wine and spirits — that would apply only to manufacturers and wholesale distributors. The idea is to raise money for addiction services, including prevention, treatment and recovery related to alcohol use. In Colorado, this is called an enterprise fee because it charges an industry a fee for something directly related to that industry. In this case, charging a fee on alcoholic beverages to support and fund alcohol related addition services.

The sponsors expect it could raise up to $60 million a year if it passes.

There is pushback, particularly from the alcohol industry, which argues this could raise prices for consumers. In the previous version of the bill, Gov. Jared Polis also pushed to exempt beer, including major beer companies like Coors, which is based in Colorado.

Supporters resisted that because beer makes up such a large portion of the potential revenue. This is still very early — it’s expected to be introduced this week — but I would expect a similar fight from big buisness and likely some pushback from the governor.

JC: We’ll definitely keep an ear out for how that develops. Lucas, thank you so much for taking a couple of minutes to chat with me.

LBW: As always, thank you for having me.

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In AI = Artistic Imagination at Telluride Arts District

How artificial intelligence can support artistic imagination is the focus of the Telluride Arts District’s newest Creative Exchange event, a peer-led learning series designed for artists to share insights, tools and professional knowledge.

Local artist Brandon Berkel will lead this month’s workshop, examining how AI functions as a tool to support art-making while emphasizing that it cannot replace human imagination.

Berkel’s work has been featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, at the Ah Haa School for the Arts’ HAHA, and in several public spaces around Telluride.

During the workshop, Berkel will share how he explores imagination as a force for creativity, problem-solving and artistic expression.

The “In AI = Artistic Imagination” event will take place Thursday, Feb. 12, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Telluride Arts District headquarters.

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Record Snow Drought Hits Upper Colorado River Basin

he snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin is the worst on record.

The snow-water equivalent, or the amount of water stored in snowpack, is at just 60% of normal across all monitoring sites above Lake Powell. In the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basins, that number is 45% of normal.

Much of the region relies on spring snowmelt for water, but the last several years have seen inefficient runoff — meaning not all of the water in snow actually makes it into rivers and streams.

Seth Arens, a scientist with the Western Water Assessment, said inefficient runoff is likely if melting begins early, such as in mid-March.

“Just because when you lengthen that period of melt, which usually means starting that melt earlier, the snow melt happens more slowly, and that some of that water is lost both through transpiration from trees and also through evaporation,” Arens said.

He added that the dry conditions this winter have been worsened by record-warm temperatures. Colorado experienced its warmest December on record.

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Bennet Proposes DHS, ICE Oversight Legislation

Earlier this month, Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at imposing new guardrails and accountability measures on the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

In a press release, Bennet said, “President Trump has unleashed his federal forces on American cities with no accountability and no regard for the rule of law.”

As KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh reports, the legislation would prohibit the use of Department of Homeland Security funding to detain children, strengthen protections for minors, require warrants to enter homes, uphold constitutional protections for detainees, enhance standards and requirements for federal immigration agents, ensure members of Congress have access to detention centers without advanced notice, and limit the department’s ability to unilaterally expand detention centers.

Bennet will hold statewide listening sessions about immigration policy priorities. He continues to call on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.