Giggles and squeals bounce off the Recreation Center walls as swimmers, families, and grandparents enjoy the waters during the holidays.
Lighting the christmas tree at Buckley Park and singing with Santa are sweet traditions in the Durango community. Noel Night, Dec. 7, is a time to shop locally, to see old friends downtown, and to have our packages wrapped for free by the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission at the Jolly Trolley by the Welcome Center on Main Avenue. Purgatory is open for business, and the recent winter storms promise a white Christmas for our community.
Shopping locally at the numerous small businesses in Durango helps employees pay their bills and owners make a living, and keeps the wheels of the sales tax in the General Revenue Fund going for the city.
The General Revenue Fund supports the police department, the street department, and the administration employees who take care of the daily business for the city.
As the mayor, I appreciate the street department workers who clean and mend the streets on icy days. I appreciate the water and the sewer workers who are called out on subzero nights to fix the broken lines. I appreciate the library workers who take extra time to help us find the special books we want. I appreciate the airport crews who keep the airport open and handle thousands of travelers’ daily comings and goings in Durango. I appreciate the recycle and trash workers who make a difference each day in our lives.
I salute the Parks and Recreation workers who serve the public in thousands of ways from the cemetery to special events, to youth and adult programs, to managing 3,026 miles of open space, 15.5 miles of hard surface trails, and 10,174 street trees, 8.4 miles of the Animas River, the management of facilities at Chapman Hill, the Recreation Center, Durango Gymnastics, and Lake Nighthorse.
I salute the transit drivers who carry us safely to our next destination. I salute the city administration team, Code Enforcement officers, municipal courts, accounting, Community Development, technology, the Public Information Office, 911 Communication, engineering, and the men and women in the police department who put their lives on the line each day for us.
The city has a core of dedicated employees who are valued members of our community. Many are behind the scenes who carry out their responsibilities without great fanfare. They are the mechanics who keep the trucks running. They are the IT department who manages the software for the business of the city. They are snowplow drivers who work difficult and long hours.
As the Mayor, I give thanks to each of the city employees. I respect your work and your dedication to excellence. By shopping locally we support many of the workers in the city who make our life easier. Durango is a unique destination that travelers speak of with friends and that residents cherish because of their quality of life.
Sweetie Marbury is mayor of Durango, a position rotating among members of City Council. Reach her at SweetieMarbury@DurangoGov.org.
