GUNNISON
Gunnison City Manager Russ Forrest announced his resignation on Aug. 23, to take effect sometime this fall. The decision marks both a departure and a homecoming for Forrest, as he intends to return to Vail where he served in different roles from 1992 to 2007. This time he’ll take the reins as Vail’s town manager. Before stepping into his present role at the city in 2016, Forrest served as assistant county manager and community development director for Gunnison County. After spending ...
GUNNISON
Gunnison City Manager Russ Forrest announced his resignation on Aug. 23, to take effect sometime this fall. The decision marks both a departure and a homecoming for Forrest, as he intends to return to Vail where he served in different roles from 1992 to 2007. This time he’ll take the reins as Vail’s town manager. Before stepping into his present role at the city in 2016, Forrest served as assistant county manager and community development director for Gunnison County. After spending almost a decade serving the Gunnison Valley community, Forrest said he wasn’t looking for a new job. When the Vail town manager position opened, a number of friends reached out and asked him to take a hard look at it. Given his family’s love for the mountains, Vail was one of the few places he would consider moving outside of Gunnison. In addition, it’s a job in which he stands to learn more and continue to grow professionally, he said. “I’ve been very, very happy here so I’ve got mixed emotions about it,” Forrest said. “But when I left Vail, I said I was going to go out and get experience as a manager, and if the circumstances were right, I might in the future compete for that position … it kind of felt like going home in some respect when I interviewed there.”
LAKE CITY
The Town of Lake City’s workshop segment began at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 under the Chairmanship of Mayor Pro Tem Doug Hamel. Due to public interest in permits for vacation rentals of residential properties, the town’s Armory meeting room was filled with standing room capacity. Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Andy Dozier came to the meeting to discuss the need for higher fees. Town Clerk Alexander Mulhall reported that some 18 property owners have no permit despite renting their properties to vacationers on a short-term basis. Dozier suggested a temporary suspension of the new permit process until further research and discussion produces a solution that best satisfies the concerns of all interested parties. These include the property owners who rent a property out for short terms, such as vacationers, with the aim to defray costs of their ownership, including maintenance, taxes, etc. For others, it was suggested that the rental income goes toward the property mortgage or added income. The board accepted a vacation rental permit insurance moratorium, except for renters who have no permit now.
Sources: Gunnison Country Times, Lake City Silver World.