The Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce is hosting a candidate forum for two Angel Fire Municipal Council positions.
When: February 24, 2016 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: Angel Fire Community Center, 15 C.S. Ranch Rd., Angel Fire, NM
Sponsored by the Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce. Elections will be held March 1, 2016.
The candidates are listed in alphabetic order. These candidates provided us with their photos and written information.
Brinn Colenda
Four years ago when Barbara Cottam and I were elected, the Village finances were in serious disarray. The finances were in disarray. The Village couldn’t pay its bills and was wallowing in debt-there was something like $1.3 million in past due accounts payable. Some venders would not accept Village credit. The Village had difficulty making payroll. Worse, Village audits were years behind which meant that Angel Fire was ineligible for most state sponsored grants and loans. To top it off, the region was locked in the recession, meaning Village tax revenues were declining.
What did we do about it? The Mayor and Council decided that fixing the Village financial situation was our number one priority. We came up with a plan. It was painful, but we cut spending, let some staff go and froze wages. We set out to get our audits current. We deferred maintenance on some of our infrastructure. And we initiated a payment program to eliminate our past due debt.
Where are we now? We are currently on track to pay off that overhanging debt by the end of this fiscal year. On December 15, 2015, we turned in our 2015 audit to the state, the first audit turned in on time in twelve years. And immediately received a grant/loan package from the state for nearly $600,000 for upgrades to our wastewater treatment plant.
Where are we going in the future? We plan to continue to concentrate on Village finances. We’ve brought in a financial expert to help evaluate consolidating or refinancing outstanding debt.
We will continue to apply for more grants and loans, which will allow the Village to speed up work on infrastructure projects. For example, we just applied for a $50,000 grant for a preliminary engineering report of repairs to our water system.
Finally, we are looking at infrastructure needs and planning how to best make roads and water system improvements.
During the past four years of progress, the Mayor and Council worked well together. These changes were a collaborative effort among the Mayor, Council, Manager and staff with input from citizens.
I ask for your vote for reelection so that I can continue to be part of the team that has brought and will continue to bring positive, forward thinking changes to the Village of Angel Fire. Thank you.
Leonard “Bubba” Davis
My wife and I have been full-time residents of Angel Fire for over 12 years. I am employed by Angel Fire Rentals managing rental properties, property management and home care. This work allows me to interact with home owners and renters every day, so I am keenly aware of the items that are of concern to them.
I previously worked for a developer in Park City, Utah where I was on a team responsible for building and maintaining a new gated community that included installation and maintenance of all infra-structure. In this role, I was responsible for managing a multi-million dollar budget.
Home is where your heart is and I believe if your heart belongs to the community in which you live, you should invest time and effort in helping your community make forward progress. Small communities, especially, need people to volunteer and get involved. I am an active participant in Village Council meetings and have been for the past 5-6 years. I have been a volunteer for our Fire Department for 12 years, where I now serve as a Lieutenant. I am currently President of our Association of Angel Fire Property Owners and a member of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan committee. I have previously served on the Architectural Control Board. I do these activities because I think Angel Fire is a great place to live and work.
While we do have challenges that are unique to a resort community, we also face challenges that are pretty standard in towns throughout America. I believe there is nothing that cannot be overcome when good people pull together, focus on what’s good for the community as a whole and put aside any personal agendas.
I am honored to live here and call so many of you friends and it would be a privilege to be a member of the Village Council to represent you.
William “Bill” Humbert
I am Bill Humbert and I am running for Angel Fire Village Council. My wife Lucy and I first bought a Home in Angel Fire in 2000 and for many years we spent several months each year here. As my work situation changed, we spent more and more time in Angel Fire. I retired for a second time in 2013 and we began to consider moving here full time. In 2014, we moved here and have been full time residents for one and a half years.
I graduated from Baylor University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and English. I have Master and Doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University-Commerce in Curriculum & Instruction with minors in Public School Administration.
For 31 years I was involved in public school education plus two years spent in the military. This involved being a middle school and high school biology and science teacher for 14 years, high school curriculum coordinator for 2 years, an elementary principal for 5 years and the Director of Curriculum for 10 years for Corsicana ISD in Corsicana, Texas, a school system with a little over 5,000 students.
During my last year with public school education, I also taught as an adjunct with Texas A&M University-Commerce. Following my retirement with public school education, I continued to teach with the university. After a year as an adjunct, I became the director of the Texas A&M University-Commerce partnership program with Navarro Community College in Corsicana, Texas. I served as Director of the program for 10 years and helped the program grow to over 1000 students.
After resigning as director of the program, I became a full time faculty member and continued teaching for the university until 2013 and my second retirement. I have over 45 years in education and continue to teach an online class each semester for the university.
Why am I running for village council? Having a home and spending a great deal of time here for over 15 years and moving here full time in 2014, I am aware of many of the major problems facing this community. I began to attend village council meetings and have found a dedicated and competent governing body who is trying to address the problems the village is facing.
For the first time since coming here, I see a village, resort, and chamber working together. I would like to be a part of the team that is trying to address the needs of the village in order to help improve this community.
Steve Larson
Seven years ago, Steve and his wife Shelley decided to make Angel Fire their permanent home. Soon after, they purchased the old Yu Garden location and set about remaking the space into the Pub n grub. After opening they were able to convince Chef Jarred Johnson to move to Angel Fire and join them as a partner in their restaurant venture. While Shelley operates and manages the Pub, Steve brought his machine design and build manufacturing business to Angel Fire and has visited many foreign countries where he has installed his machines that create tooling using Nano grid structures for security, optical, and electronic applications.
His early work experience included pioneering work in the holographic industry and was fortunate to have done work for NASA, Hughes Corporation, General Dynamics, as well as several foreign corporations involved in this new technology that was evolving in small laboratories at the time. His early work dealing with holographic Nano structures is the basis of his designs of machines he builds today.
Following a lifelong dream Steve is soon to open a production craft brewery with taproom on Sage Lane. He plans to produce craft beers for consumption in the taproom, kegs for restaurant distribution, and packaging for retail sales. He hopes to use the venue to support tourism events in Angel Fire and surrounding areas.
Steve is currently a counselor on the Planning and Zoning commission and the Chairman of the Village Economic Development Group under the direction of Mayor Cottam. His focus on these committees is to bring controlled, beneficial change for growth in Angel Fire.
He is also a board member of the NM State Rural Economic Development Council where he reviews legislation and provides feedback to the State Secretary of Economic Development and NM Legislative assembly on changes to upcoming legislation and changes to legislation that will help Rural Communities.
Steve graduated high school in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and is a 1970 graduate of Coe College in Iowa with a BS degree majoring in business and economics.
Angel Fire is confronted with several pressing challenges including roads and infrastructure, debt management, tourism including village/resort relations, business development, and affordable housing. Steve is running for Village Council to be instrumental in working with the mayor, manager, finance director and village staff and the Resort to construct a working plan to identify the priorities and determine the path and timeline to solving these issues.
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