Newly elected Durango city councilors Kip Koso, Shirley Gonzales and incumbent Jessika Buell took their oaths of office Tuesday in Smith Council Chambers at City Hall.
Outgoing Councilor Olivier Bosmans, who attended the meeting virtually, congratulated the new councilors on their election and thanked residents for their support over the past four years. He said it was an honor to serve the Durango community and appreciated his conversations with residents.
“I would like to congratulate the new candidates that won the election and will be sworn in shortly,” he said. “I’m happy to vacate my place on the dais for you, and I wish you well.”
Councilor Melissa Youssef, who concluded her eight years on City Council at the April 1 City Council meeting, told The Durango Herald she would miss Tuesday’s meeting to get a head start on a planned vacation.
At a meeting earlier this month, she said her time on council felt like a roller coaster ride that missed its safety inspection.
“I did not jump off,” she said. “I have the blisters and callouses to prove it. But that’s part of the ride.”
As a final act before swearing in the new councilors, the outgoing council certified the April 1 city election results:
- Koso received 3,582 votes.
- Gonzales received 2,738 votes.
- Buell received 2,712 votes.
- Candidate Chris Elias received 1,787 votes.
- Bosmans received 1,310 votes.
Ballot Measure 2A, a half-cent sales tax extension, passed with 3,249 “yes” votes to 1,558 “no” votes.
In the new council’s first official act, Councilor Gilda Yazzie was appointed mayor and Woodruff was appointed mayor pro tem.
Buell, who also attended virtually, ended her term as mayor Tuesday evening. She passed the gavel to Councilor Gilda Yazzie with unanimous support from fellow councilors.
It is tradition for City Council to assign the mayorship to the councilor who received the most votes in the previous city election. The role is a largely honorary; the mayor leads meetings and speaks at ribbon-cuttings and other celebratory events. The mayor pro tem steps in when the mayor is unavailable.
Gonzales quickly extended an invitation for residents to reach out to her, sharing her public email ‒ shirley.gonzales@durangoco.gov ‒ at her first opportunity. She said she is still setting up her phone line.
She said she has already met with directors of some organizations, noting her position on the boards of Local First and the La Plata Economic Development Alliance. But she said she is most eager to meet with constituents.
Gonzales asked questions about city processes and project histories throughout the meeting. When the council discussed the conveyance of a 392-acre open space parcel from the Durango Mesa Park Foundation to the city, she asked why the lot was being conveyed separately from others.
She said she was trying to understand why things are being done in a certain way ‒ in this case, why the land was not being conveyed all at once.
City Attorney Mark Morgan said the land is part of a generous donation to the city, and it was the intent of Marc Katz, who purchased the land in 2015, to convey it to the city in phases through the Durango Mesa Park Foundation.
City Manager José Madrigal added that the foundation is making substantial investments in the property, which will remain dedicated to open space and will not have the same amount of development as other parcels.
Koso also asked his share of questions during the meeting. He stuck around after adjournment to listen to a group of impassioned hockey players, figure skaters and public skating advocates who pushed for a new ice rink ‒ or multiple rinks.
He encouraged them to organize, gather facts and figures to bolster their case, and remain open to alternative or temporary solutions.
cburney@durangoherald.com
