The city of Durango is looking to fill 16 vacancies on various volunteer boards and commissions, including the rebranded Community and Cultural Relations Commission and the Board of Ethics.
The 14 various boards and commissions are avenues for residents to apply their backgrounds and expertise to advisory and quasi-judicial roles in local government.
City Clerk Faye Harmer said she expects City Council to make at least some appointments to the Board of Ethics at the Tuesday council meeting after the city received enough applications to fill the board.
A single vacancy on the Community Development Commission could be filled Tuesday after receiving two applications.
Up to 10 vacancies on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, which operates fall through spring when students are in school, are also scheduled to be filled on Tuesday.
The ethics board doesn’t receive as many applications or as much interest as other boards, she said, because it’s a tough job that requires review of ethics complaints and making judgments in favor of or against other people. It’s just not a fun gig, she said.
Two former ethics board members resigned in August, leaving a single board member remaining and without a quorum to meet and conduct business.
But she said other boards receive many applications. The Financial Advisory Board, which currently has one vacancy, is among the most popular boards because it involves major oversight of the city’s budget and capital projects.
The new Community and Cultural Relations Commission, which replaced the former Community Relations Commission earlier this year, has received a fair amount of interest from residents recently, Harmer said.
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are a “hot topic” and four applications have been received so far, she said. The CCRC has seven seats to fill.
“We'll be looking for more people for that board from diverse backgrounds,” she said.
The city’s also looking to fill two vacancies on its Retirement Plan Board, a state-mandated board charged with reviewing the city’s retirement plan for employees. Harmer said members review the city’s investment strategy and determine if it’s as beneficial as it can be or if it needs to be changed.
“We'd really love to get a couple of really strong financial background people there to make sure that the retirement program is as robust as it could possibly be for the benefit of our staff,” she said.
The city has two more vacancies on its Election Commission, but Harmer said the commission is mostly moot because the city doesn’t manage polling stages after mail-in voting was adopted. The commission, however, can only be dissolved through an election.
Durango resident Chris Scott, who previously served on the La Plata County Planning Commission and joined the city’s Community Development Commission in February, said serving on local government boards is a meaningful way to provide feedback and guidance on government projects.
Scott said he has a diverse professional background in the outdoor sports industry, health care, construction and product management, but serving on the CDC still engages a “different part” of his brain in a way day-to-day work doesn’t scratch.
And he finds value in representing and meeting the expectations of residents, he said. Sometimes, certain aspects of a project might not fit what residents are looking for. The CDC keeps a watchful eye to safeguard neighborhoods from possible unintended consequences of projects.
“It is incredibly rewarding to be able to help that direction for the community you're a part of. And I have found the city and the city staff to just be exceptionally helpful and great partners in that. But without citizen involvement, you just don't get as much done,” he said.
Alma Evans first joined the Durango Planning Commission in 2019. She applied for the CDC when the Planning Commission was dissolved last year and was appointed to the new commission combining the previous planning and design commissions.
She said before she joined the Planning Commission, she’d never participated in local government in the way boards and commissions demand. It’s an eye-opening and educational experience.
“The best way to have input, other than coming and speaking before boards or the council or something like that – which a lot of people just aren't comfortable doing – is actually to serve on a board or commission. And then you get a (much) broader perspective,” she said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story misspelled Alma Evan’s last name.
