Longtime city of Durango employee Nicol Killian has left her position as assistant community development director to become the town of Bayfield’s community development director.
“Nicol has done a lot of things over the years; she’s kind of touched everything we’ve worked on in the Community Development Department for many years,” said Community Development Director Kevin Hall.
Beginning as a city planner, Killian has worked for the city of Durango for nearly 16 years. In her time with the city, she has worked on large housing developments, commercial projects and updating the city’s land-use development code, to name a few.
“It’s definitely a bittersweet move,” Killian said. “I have a lot of relationships here in Durango that I’ve built over the years.”
Killian has been heavily involved with the city’s effort to convert the Best Western Inn and Suites at 21382 U.S. Highway 160 into affordable housing.
Hall said the plan is to replace Killian’s position with a development services manager. He said replacing Killian is going to be a challenge, as she often went above and beyond what was expected of her position.
“Nicol did a lot of things for the department beyond the tasks that she was currently responsible for,” Hall said. “Losing Nicol is a big deal, and we’re bummed to see her go, but I think her moving over to Bayfield is a great thing for the larger community and the town of Bayfield.”
Killian, a Bayfield resident for 15 years, said she took the job in Bayfield to effect change in the town where she lives.
“I consider Bayfield my home, so when this position came, I was definitely interested,” she said. “Being a resident of Bayfield for the last 15 years, there is a character to that community that people love. We’re going to have to figure out how we can grow in a sustainable way while maintaining Bayfield’s character.”
She said Bayfield is under a lot of pressure to develop housing. She said the pressure likely stems from the lack of affordability in Durango.
“Bayfield is a more affordable community for people, especially our workforce,” she said.
Killian said she’d like to focus on the services Bayfield residents want and figuring out how the town can help provide those services, but she has no specific plans yet.
“I think everybody that lives there would agree that we’d like to see a little more retail in the community so that we don’t have to drive to Durango every time we need to run an errand,” she said.
Killian said her job will be to take the bigger visions of the community and try to implement them through the planning process.
Bayfield Town Manager Katie Sickles said the town is excited to welcome Killian to its staff, and hopes to use her expertise to work on large upcoming development projects.
Sickles said it's important that Killian is a resident of Bayfield, because it helps her better understand the community.
“I think that by raising her family here she understands what it means to be from Bayfield, and how to welcome new development,” Sickles said.
Sickles said Killian’s experience in community development, and her knowledge of the town as a resident will allow her to hit the ground running.
“She knows and understands the nonprofits and government entities in the area, and I think that’s very beneficial,” Sickles said.
njohnson@durangoherald.com
