South Fork candidates meet the public

SOUTH FORK— South Fork residents and business owners gathered at the community center on Thursday, March 6 for a meet the candidates night. The center was filled with people eager to meet the candidates for the upcoming election; the participants had a chance to enter questions as they walked in the door. The meeting was held by the Town of South Fork and was mediated by local resident Tom Slade.

Town Administrator Dan Hicks opened the meeting by explaining how it would work and stated that Slade, himself and Finance Director Amanda Hill would go through the questions submitted, remove any derogatory or offensive questions and allow candidates two minutes for each question.

Hill took a moment to explain the election process, stating that it would be a mail ballot and that there are three four-year terms and one two-year term open for the election. “We have four open seats, three trustee seats and one mayoral seat,” said Hill.

Before opening the forum, Hicks thanked each of the nine candidates for their willingness to run and be in the public eye in order to serve their community. The first portion of the night began with an introduction of each of the candidates and the rest of the meeting consisted of questions provided by the public, the main one being, “What do you feel is the most important issue in South Fork?”

Issues discussed in regards to the question included making sure town funds were spent correctly, getting an up-to-date water treatment facility and increasing sales tax revenue; all were issues shared by the nine candidates. Each candidate took a moment to express their concerns and speak on behalf of themselves and the town they want to serve.

Tyler Schmidt, owner of Two Rivers BBQ ,moved to the area from Alamosa and after putting his life savings into his business began to gain interest in the community where he lived. “This is our second year in business and we love this town. I know the best way to fix something is to get involved so I am running for a seat on the board. I believe a balanced budget is the town’s biggest concern. We need to look to see where we are throwing money away,” said Schmidt.

Current Mayor Rodney Reed introduced himself saying that he has been in South Fork full-time for nine years. “I want to stay busy. I have never been known to sit back and let someone else do a job for me, and I have been on the board since 2012. I want to stay connected to the community and help it grow. I want to see South Fork become a place to live not just a place to visit and we need to focus on the water treatment facility.”

Owner of The Only Garage, Klaus Kromanock opened by giving his background as a transportation manager in New York and by stating that he loved South Fork the minute he arrived. “I was intrigued by the area and saw opportunity here. I had a vision that this was where I was meant to be and here I am. I want to make sure money is being used correctly,” said Kromanock.

Sarah Stephens is the marketing director at Wolf Creek Ski Resort and has served on the board for the past year, after being appointed in the summer. “I was born and raised in Del Norte and I want to continue to serve my community and help it grow. My main goal is to keep the town sustainable and increase sales tax through marketing and tourism”

Current board member Kris Steffens was next to introduce herself and highlighted all of the positive things the board has accomplished in the last few years. “I am an advocate for South Fork and I choose to play an active role in the community and not be a spectator. I want to see South Fork thrive.”

Jim Patterson moved to the area in 2005 with a background in information technology and made it a point to say that he was running in order to make a difference in his community. “I feel the main issue is making sure the town’s money is spent correctly. There is no respect for the board at the time and it needs that respect.”

Tim Boyles moved to the South Fork area in 2013 with a degree in business finance wanting a place to retire. “I am running to make sure that the board of trustees are elected and not appointed. This is a great place to live, and I want to help market the area. We need to focus on marketing and creating a position that focuses on marketing the town.”

The next candidate was Becki Helmstetler, who took a moment to highlight some areas of improvement within the town. “Contrary to some, there have been positive improvements in the last year. We were able to get the trains out of town and are working to increase tourism funding from the county. I know South Fork is on the way up, and I want to continue to be a part of that. We need to look to our future. It is the responsibility of the board to make South Fork sustainable.”

Michele Cruze spoke about having property in the area for 20 years, and after retiring to the area as a marketing coordinator, she feels her experience would benefit the town. “I believe in the future of our town and I feel it is important to listen to the community. The main goal should be to stay in contact with the residents and business owners and how we can develop the economy in South Fork.”

The election will take place April 3 with preliminary results released online at www.southfork.org by 8 p.m.