Mayor Sweetie Marbury, in the same red jacket she wore four years ago when she announced her run for the Durango City Council, said Monday she is ready for a second term.
“It’s good luck,” Marbury said of the jacket. “I’m superstitious.”
Twenty friends and family members, bundled against a still brisk morning, joined her at 10:30 a.m. in front of City Hall.
Among the crowd were grandchildren Presley and Parker English, 6 years and 19 months old, respectively.
Marbury’s position as mayor will end in April, following the custom of rotating the position among councilors based on the number of votes they got in the last election.
One other City Council seat will be filled in the same April 7 election – that of councilor Dick White.
Neither White nor anyone else has expressed a plan to run. No one has stepped up to oppose Marbury.
Marbury expects that she and fellow councilors will have their hands full of weighty issues in coming months.
Among pending issues, she said, is finding a way to bring recreation to Lake Nighthorse. The body of water in Ridges Basin has been ready for the public for several years.
But agreement among partner agencies on the Animas-La Plata Project that created Lake Nighthorse has been elusive.
“I want to work with the Utes on this,” Marbury said.
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are among the seven partners that have water rights on the lake.
Upgrading the city water-treatment plant and sewer plant is urgent, she said. Current cost estimates for the projects stand at $55 million.
Expansion of the Durango-La Plata County Airport will be another expensive undertaking, Marbury said.
Three options, each costing about $140 million, would require a $40 million to $50 million contribution from La Plata County residents.
“I’d prefer a more modest project,” Marbury said. “I don’t want the Cadillac version because that’s too much for working people.”
Other issues awaiting council action, Marbury said, are a policy for accessory dwelling units in the Animas City neighborhood, resolution of what uses will be allowed in Oxbow Park and Preserve on the Animas River and perhaps regulations requiring new hotels to recycle waste.
“The DoubleTree Hotel recycles,” Marbury said. “Others should be able to do it, too.”
daler@durangoherald.com
