The Cortez Sanitation District has canceled its 2018 election, but the board of directors still has two seats to fill.
At a meeting on March 12, district manager Jan Nelson announced the election would be canceled, citing a lack of qualified candidates. Colorado statute allows special districts to cancel their elections if there are no more candidates than open seats. After director David Marlman’s resignation in February, the board is short two directors, but Nelson said no one has expressed interest in the positions.
Like most special districts in Colorado, the Sanitation District has the option of holding an election every even-numbered year if enough candidates submit nomination forms by the deadline in early March. Board president Ryan Griglak, who is finishing his first four-year term, turned in a self-nomination form before the deadline, Nelson said, but no one else has expressed interest in running.
The district has had trouble maintaining a full board in recent years. Marlman, who resigned after serving just eight months with the district, was the second director to leave in less than a year, following Micah Mobley in May 2017. Another director position had been vacant for some time before he left.
“There have been so many coming and going,” Nelson said.
She said Marlman left because he had too many scheduling conflicts. She said she isn’t sure why the district has had so much difficulty maintaining a six-member board.
Without an election this year, the board can appoint new directors to serve until the next election. Nelson said she will seek applications from residents in the district. Applications can be turned in to the Sanitation District at its headquarters on 2908 S. Broadway.
During the meeting, the board of directors also continued an ongoing discussion about whether the district could afford to install solar panels at some of the lift stations around town. The board scheduled a discussion about changes to its personnel manual for a special meeting on March 27, to be held at 5:30 p.m. at the district headquarters.