Durango City Councilor Olivier Bosmans said his top priorities when he first ran for office four years ago were honesty, transparency and accountability – principles he says remain unchanged as he seeks a second term.
Bosmans says he asks tough questions and brings technical and financial expertise to the table, along with a deep appreciation for Durango and an interest in its long-term future. He discussed his approach in a phone interview with The Durango Herald on Friday.
About this series:
This is the final installment of a five-part series profiling the five candidates running for Durango City Council. Ballots were mailed to eligible electors on Monday, and the city’s municipal election will be held April 1. Voters can register or update their addresses until March 24 and still receive a ballot by mail. Voting in person is also possible through election day. Candidate profiles in this series include:
- March 2: Chris Elias
- March 5: Shirley Gonzales
- March 7: Kip Koso
- March 9: Jessica Buell
- Today: Olivier Bosmans
“I totally review the information,” he said. “I seek big feedback from our community. I do my homework through analysis and applying common sense.”
He said his approach to governance is to ask himself the same questions Durango residents might ask: Are they satisfied with the city’s actions?
“I’m not impressed and I think we can do better. And that starts with councilors,” he said.
City Council often rubber stamps projects with “limited questions or in-depth review,” he said.
Regarding the city’s efforts to expand housing, he said Durango issued 66 certificates of occupancy in 2024 – the lowest number in the past decade. He believes that is evidence the city’s housing strategy is failing.
Bosmans is also critical of the city’s decision to eliminate certain boards and commissions. He said he would push to reinstate the Infrastructure Advisory Board and revive and merge the Multimodal, Parks and Recreation advisory board and the Natural Lands Preservation advisory board into a single entity.
“That’s such an important place where people can provide feedback,” he said.
He said the city squanders millions in taxpayer dollars on projects and “endless studies” the community does not seem to want or need. He cited more than $1 million budgeted for Downtown’s Next Step design work and an initial $400,000 for the design of new public restrooms at Schneider Park.
The city’s 2025 budget shows $525,000 the city budgeted for the Schneider Park restroom replacement project in 2024, although no money was spent.
In December 2022, when the city was still considering pickleball courts at Schneider Park, former Parks and Recreation Director Ture Nycum said the city was exploring a uniform restroom standard for public parks. At that time, the city had budgeted $550,000 for 2027 to address Schneider Park’s aging restrooms, which officials said were in poor condition and long overdue for upgrades.
“Will we stop wasting money and start spending on items that matter for our community, like infrastructure, alleys, SMART 160, housing, child care?” he said.
Who is Olivier Bosmans?
Durango City Councilor Olivier Bosmans, 54, was elected to serve his first term in April 2021. He campaigned on honesty, transparency and accountability – principles he is once again emphasizing in his reelection bid.
Bosmans moved to Durango in 2005. He has three children, and his oldest was born at Mercy Hospital in the Three Springs neighborhood.
At a City Council candidate forum last week, he said he and his family are committed to Durango.
“This is our town,” he said.
His first term on City Council was an educational experience, he said. The council is supposed to represent the community, and in addition to transparency, he prioritizes community engagement – not just listening to residents but taking action on their behalf.
“I bring to the council my energy and thoroughness, I analyze all topics that come in front of the council,” he said.
He is an engineer with a Master of Business Administration and a bilingual business owner with more than 20 years of experience in environmental consulting and international project management.
On that point, he acknowledged that the city’s financial reporting meets standards – he noted that Durango receives budget awards and financial recognitions – but said its financial performance is another story. He reiterating that spending priorities need to change.
On Downtown’s Next Step, he said he fully supports a thriving downtown and is not opposed to revitalization. However, he believes the city has already spent money on a concept that many residents and business owners oppose.
City staff members and other councilors have said that Main Avenue requires major infrastructure upgrades, and if the street is already slated for construction, it would make sense to implement improvements like wider sidewalks as proposed in Downtown’s Next Step. Bosmans, however, said he has seen no evidence that the infrastructure repairs are necessary.
He said he opposed the city’s recent disputes with La Plata County over municipal inmate housing and with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe over land annexations. If reelected, he said, his first priority would be to meet with fellow councilors and then county officials to repair those relationships.
“We need to work better together,” he said.
He offered a soft endorsement for fellow City Council candidates Kip Koso and Shirley Gonzales.
“I hope people will vote for Kip Koso and Shirley Gonzalez,” he said. “Kip is professional, and with his experience in health care he fills a gap on our council. Shirley, even though she’s relatively new to Durango, brings eight years of experience on council and we need that.
“And of course, I hope people vote for me, because I think there’s an absolute need for technical and financial expertise.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
