Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper stopped by to chat with 40 or so of us gathered for the Colorado Association of Ski Towns meeting last week in his city. "Sometimes I have to address grumpy crowds," he confessed. "But I've been looking forward to being with you today because I knew with all the snow your ski towns have been receiving, you’d be a happy bunch!”

Yes, the snow’s been exceptional this winter, a terrific reminder of how lucky we all are to live in Telluride. Those of us elected to Town Council have the additional privilege of working with a stellar staff to decide what’s best for the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens. It’s always healthy to seek perspective and last week we enjoyed two opportunities to stretch our awareness: Myles Rademan came to lead the council in an all-day Town Council Governance and Leadership Workshop and many of us went over to Denver two days later to meet with our colleagues and legislators at the Colorado Association of Ski Towns meetings in Denver.

Myles is a familiar face to longtime locals. Years of experience in resorts, gathering and synthesizing information and coaching leaders, allows him to intimately understand resort communities, their challenges and future trends. Myles worked with Town Manager Frank Bell to create an inspiring and practical presentation on community governance to Mayor Stu Fraser, myself and fellow councilmembers David Oyster, Jill Masters, Lulu Hunt, and Town Attorney Kevin Geiger. Myles’ presentation focused on what’s going on now in resort communities and how to best manage inevitable change. Practice in decision-making (from directive to collaboration and teaming) and clear communication techniques will help us in all the issues that challenge a vibrant and strong community. Frank Bell put together a super manual for each of us – it’s fat with ways to build effectiveness as a governance team, to envision our goals, and to refine town council processes.

Denver is buzzing about the Democratic National Convention scheduled there for August. CAST meets a few times a year, but the late winter meeting is held at Colorado Municipal League offices and highlights what’s happening in the state legislature. A full afternoon included CML updates on state and federal legislation, Governor Bill Ritter’s transportation report, topics of common concern (pine beetles, climate change), Mayor Hickenlooper’s visit and report. Dinner with legislators followed. We had a chance to thank and say goodbye to our District 58 representative Ray Rose (term limited) and hear about at least one candidate for his seat: Noelle Hagan, former Montrose mayor. Civic engagement is a big topic (it was at our Workshop, too). Mayor Stu Fraser announced that he’s already working on details for the “If I Were Mayor…” essay contest for Telluride seventh grade students. David Oyster, Lulu Hunt and I met and mingled under Frank Bell’s experienced guidance. Lulu Hunt and I visited the State house the day after to top off our legislative experiences and were excited to witness the House in session. Diverse representatives and a quick-paced, streamlined process impressed us.

After all these efforts at perspective-building, citizens may notice some fresh approaches to council practices. We talked about placing our 2008 goals on a council chamber wall for frequent review. Additions to our council protocols may help us toward our goal of smooth, productive, open, efficient meetings. The statistics and alternative funding measures in the Governor’s Transportation Report inspire us to bring innovative ideas to our road repair challenges. Many of us would love to start a leadership course to educate citizens. Deliberations may reflect our enhanced knowledge of decision-making techniques. And more… Stay tuned. We’re inspired.