Mayor’s Message: Adjusting My Compass (September 7, 2024)

In context as mayor, I’m not talking about our basic philosophical or spiritual beliefs that guide our path through life. I’m talking about our ability to hear various opinions, to gather information from many sources, and to have all of that input change how we think about a topic.

It’s not a moral compass, it’s a practical compass. Your input, when it affects my opinion, doesn’t throw me off my true north. Instead, you give me a wider and more thorough understanding of the issue at hand. You’ve enhanced the sum of my understanding.

I’m glad to get input right now regarding hosted short-term rentals. In our preliminary look at the Aug. 27 board meeting, we allowed community comment – it was excellent insight that added several revelations to my understanding. Our ace Town Clerk Jackie Williamson presented her research of how other municipalities and counties define and manage hosted short-term rentals — it was wonderfully enlightening. It’s still a very malleable subject. We’ll have another study session in the not-far future where we’ll be presented with several different options.

I like projects at this stage, when all possibilities are on the table. And this topic is important to our vacation community, and very important to many of our residents for their economic survival...

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https://estesvalleyvoice.com/2024/09/07/mayors-message-adjusting-my-compass/