Residents of municipalities as far as Farmington, Pagosa Springs and Silverton could be eligible to serve on the Durango Business Improvement District’s Board of Directors if the City Council approves proposed changes.
The BID is requesting several changes to a 1997 city ordinance that outlines eligibility and composition rules for the five-member board.
Tim Walsworth, BID executive director, said the changes are meant to fine-tune the ordinance to reflect current realities.
Currently, the board must be structured as follows:
- Board members must be electors of the BID.
- Three of five must be residents of the city of Durango.
- Two of five must hold retail sales tax licenses in the city.
- Two of five must own property within the city.
Current board requirements make it difficult for the BID to recruit strong applicants, Walsworth said. Requiring three board members who reside in Durango, for example, restricts candidates.
“It’s eliminating good business owners who are connected to downtown, believe in it, want to be here, want to be a part of it, from applying,” he said.
The proposed changes would restructure the board as follows:
- All board members must live within 60 miles of the BID.
- Two of five must hold retail sales tax licenses.
- All members must still be BID electors, more precisely defined under the proposed changes.
Walsworth said BID electors are defined as individuals whose primary dwelling is in the district; who own taxable real or personal property within the district; or hold a lease on such property or are designated by an owner or lessee.
He emphasized board members must be BID electors in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria.
Councilors Dave Woodruff and Kip Koso questioned why people living up to 60 miles from the BID should be eligible to serve on the board.
“Owners not living in the city is becoming a real problem, and they’re not necessarily connected back into the community,” he said. “The business owners, I understand, are connected to the community because of the business.”
Walsworth said that’s why the current restrictions exist. But his ability to find strong board candidates is too limited under the existing rules.
“My job is to find people who meet the qualifications to be good board members that you guys (councilors) interview and appoint to lead our organization, and it’s limiting me as it’s currently written,” he said.
He added that Durango property owners would not be restricted from applying for a place on the board under the proposed change.
The BID considered limits of 30 and 45 miles but settled on 60 miles to accommodate commuters between Durango and Pagosa Springs and Durango and Farmington.
Responding to Woodruff’s question about whether any board applicants had been rejected for living outside city limits despite otherwise qualifying, Walsworth said two people applied this year but were ineligible under current rules.
cburney@durangoherald.com
