The position of mayor and three spots on Blue River’s Board of Trustees are up for grabs this upcoming April 2 municipal election.

Candidates contented for the openings and discussed Blue River’s key issues at an election forum at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge on March 7. 

Two mayoral candidates and five board candidates talked through their priorities at the forum, which was moderated by Altitude Realtor’s Sarah Thorsteinson. 

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Incumbent Toby Babich and the director of ski and snowboard operations for R&R Sports Colorado, Nicholas Decicco, are running for mayor. Incumbents Kelly Finley and Mark Fossett are running to keep their seats on the board, while real estate professional Barrie Stimson, contractor Jonathon Heckman and hospitality specialist Jodie Willey are running against them for a spot on the board. 

Candidates were asked a series of questions about what they intend to get done if they were elected, but one critical issue was marked as off-limits during the forum. Thorsteinson explained that there would be no questions asked about the potential chain-up station in Blue River.

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This station is something the Colorado Department of Transportation wants to construct in Blue River in the next couple years to address traffic accidents and travel delays. Namely, semitractor-trailers jackknifing on Hoosier Pass and a general lack of compliance with Colorado’s traction law are the department’s driving forces behind the effort. 

The town of Blue River has shown some push back and published a list of concerns on its website that include, the station’s incompatibly with residential uses and aesthetics, potential impacts to local wildlife and the environment, increased traffic, and difficulty enforcing the use of the station.

Thorsteinson said that if a candidate gives an opinion on the chain-up station, this could cause issues with any negotiation process between Blue River and the Colorado Department of Transportation on this matter. She said if a candidate were to give an opinion they “will have to recuse themselves from the discussion because their opinion is already out there.” 

Babich started off hashing through his priorities for the town and harked on the importance of improving digital connectivity in the town.

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“I’ve also experienced my kids sliding off the road … and they were not able to get in touch with me because their cell phones didn’t work,” Babich said, noting why this is one of his top priorities.

He said improving public engagement and continuing to work on safety on the town’s roads, particularly on Highway 9, were also among his top priorities. 

Decicco followed and said he’d also like to address improving roads and safety. He said he feels that traffic issues are tied to short-term rentals and short-term rental regulations, explaining he pulls three to four cars out of the snow a week due to short-term renters abandoning them after getting stuck. 

Decicco said in his neighborhood, he is surrounded by short-term rentals. He added ” (the rental properties) do not follow any of the current regulations.” He said he sees a lack of compliance across many short-term rentals in the town.

He said a solution needs to be found and that could be having more regulations or taking more action enforcing regulations. He said he would also like to see more regulation on Highway 9 to keep residents and wildlife safe. 

Incumbent Finley kicked off questions for the board positions and said she wants to remain on the board to continue the current progress being made. 

“Progress is in motion, relationships have been made, and starting over with a new board, I believe, will be a detriment to our town,” Finley said. 

Finley said one of the biggest challenges she wants to tackle is adapting to the town’s rapidly changing needs while preserving the small-town vibe. Similar to Babich, improved cell service and challenges related to Highway 9 are some of her top priorities. 

Current Mayor Pro Tem Fossett shared the sentiments of many of the candidates about Highway 9 being a major issue in the community. 

“Highway 9 is definitely one of our biggest challenges, no matter what we talk about, because of CDOT, and we don’t have a lot of direct control on Highway 9,” Fossett said.

He said he feels it’s important to Blue River to continue to have a seat at the table when it comes to discussions involving development in Summit County. He said that Blue River may have different priorities than the rest of the county in terms of density and what should be allowed to be built.

“I have a firm belief … as Breckenridge reaches the north, they are going to start turning their attention again to the south and just like Blue River has a right to annex property, Breckenridge has a much stronger right to annex property,” Fossett said. He said he doesn’t think this will happen for another 10 years or so, but he said the town should be prepared. 

He said he wants to continue the work of modernizing the town’s planning, zoning and land use-codes to “stay ahead of future issues.”

Heckman followed Fossett and said, like Babich, he would like to improve public engagement with citizens in addition to increasing transparency. He said that it’s important to find a balance of getting input from both full-time residents and second-home owners to address the community’s needs at-large. 

The challenges he feels should be addressed are roads and short-term rentals alongside having realistic goals for growth and community enhancement.  He also said he wants to take a more robust and thoughtful approach to the communities major issues. 

“Some people are trying to rush things through, and the major issues are the major issues, and they’re not going to go away until we do more about them,” Heckman said. 

Candidate Willey, who is campaigning on issues that include improving community infrastructure and balancing short-term rentals, shared her personal experience with short-term rentals and how it impacts her views at the forum.

“I think our neighborhood that I’m in is over 50% of short-term rentals. … I think that’s really concerning to have 50%. It kind of takes away from that neighborhood feel,” Willey said. 

Willey said in her campaign pitch on Blue River’s website that she wants to work on supporting the town’s economy while also preserving quality of life for residents when it comes to short-term rentals. She also touched on septic issues and said she would like to address those. 

Stimson also highlighted issues with septic systems in his campaign. He explained in his pitch on the town’s website that if elected he wants to ensure owners of short-term properties adhere to only allowing the number of people consistent with the size of their septic system.

He said that he wants to avoid limits on short-term licensing and instead focus on enforcing regulation compliance — such as the compliance for occupancy and its impact on septic systems.

In the forum, Stimson touched on how his experience with real estate would be an asset to have on the board. 

“My 38-year career as a professional realtor gives me a unique and valuable amount of experience in addressing many of the challenges with our town Blue River as it relates to infrastructure, homes, subdivisions, annexation and short-term rentals,” Stimson said. 

To watch the full forum go to Tinyurl.com/3ydyjmhp.