While the city of Durango considers eliminating and consolidating some of its volunteer advisory boards and commissions, La Plata County is having a different problem: filling vacant seats on its boards and commissions.
The county government has 16 seats that are vacant across six advisory boards and commissions. The county has 30 boards and commissions, all staffed by volunteers, that work with the county government to wade through the complexities of any number of topics.
Currently, there are five vacancies on the Undesirable Plant and Rodent Advisory Commission; four open seats on the Extension Advisory Committee; three spots on the Community Corrections Board; two vacancies on the Historic Preservation Review Commission; and one seat open on both the Fire Code Board of Appeals and the Ignacio, Allison, Oxford Cemetery District.
Despite the monthslong call to fill the seats, County Manager Chuck Stevens said the process is par for the course.
“It’s a big ask,” he said. “We’re asking people to volunteer their time, usually after-hours. Some of the boards can be a pretty significant time commitment.”
Some boards, it seems, are just easier to fill out than others. Stevens pointed out that commissioners received more than 30 well-qualified applicants for the recently assembled La Plata County Board of Health, which is made up of seven community members.
Several volunteers on the city of Durango’s boards and commissioners were irked by a recent proposal to combine and condense the number of volunteer groups. La Plata County, however, has no such plans.
The city said condensing boards and commissions would reduce personnel costs associated with them by 27%. County spokesman Ted Holteen said the county does nothave the same issue.
“We don’t really have staff who are burdened by these boards and commissions,” he said.
Members say boards and commissions provide an important way to give input and low-level governance in the community.
Charly Minkler, who ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in 2020, now sits on both the Undesirable Plant and Rodent Advisory and Planning commissions. He said that because all commissioners are elected at-large, the voices of rural residents who work in agriculture are not always heard to the extent they should be.
“I am hoping to have good representation, to have a voice,” he said.
Through his role, Minkler and the rest of the Undesirable Plant and Rodent Advisory Commission advise the county on how to target noxious weeds that can imperil agricultural operations.
The work is, well, in the weeds. Minkler said the commission has been able to affect real change and is working with the county attorney to take action against property owners who have let weeds run wild on their property.
Candice Seay, who sits on the Community Corrections Board, also said the work is important for those who want to have direct involvement in the community. Seay is the southwest region manager with Advocates for Recovery Colorado and is in recovery herself.
Community Corrections provides alternatives to prison for felony offenders, and the board makes recommendations to a judge about whether to accept people into the program.
“I felt it was really important for an individual with lived experience who also has the professional experience working in the field of recovery to be a voice at that table to help advocate for those folks,” Seay said.
She estimates she spends 16 hours per month on work for the board.
Stevens encourages residents to volunteer for the vacant positions even as an opportunity to learn. He himself has served on the Lake Durango Water Authority Board since before becoming county manager.
“It’s about ... helping inform the commissioners as they decide on policy,” he said.
Interested residents can apply for county boards and commissions on the La Plata County website.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
