Woodland Park names Joe Furey to Charter Review Committee; council member Baldwin to serve as council representative

The Woodland Park City Council appointed Joseph “Joe” Furey to the city’s Charter Review Committee during its Jan. 16 meeting and administered oaths of office to him and a reappointed planning commissioner.

The Council voted unanimously to appoint Furey after hearing brief remarks from two applicants and cast secret ballots read into the record by City Clerk Suzanne (surname not specified). Council member votes were recorded as follows: Mayor Keith Case — yes; Council member Baldwin — yes; Council member Gere — yes; Council member Harvey — yes; Council member Jones — yes; Council member Smith — yes. Mayor Pro Tem Nakai was absent.

The Council heard two citizen applicants for a community seat on the Charter Review Committee: Rusty Neil, a former council member, and Joe Furey, a long-time Woodland Park resident with document and regulatory experience from 26 years in the U.S. Air Force and subsequent civilian work. Neil told the Council, “I have no agenda, just I'd love to participate.” Furey described his experience with technical documents and safety regulations and said he hoped to contribute to simplifying and updating parts of the charter.

City Clerk Suzanne then administered the oath of office to Furey. The Council also reappointed Lee Brown to the Planning Commission and administered his oath at the same time.

After the appointment, staff later notified the Council that Council member Carolyn Harvey—who had been scheduled to serve on the Charter Review Committee—had decided she would not take the committee seat and instead would attend as needed without being a voting member. Council consensus was that the next-highest vote-getter (Council member Baldwin) would fill the council’s slot on the committee; Baldwin said she would accept and “be happy to do it.” The clerk confirmed no separate formal motion was required because council consensus was sufficient.

Why it matters: The Charter Review Committee reviews the city charter and recommends changes to the Council. The committee is composed of citizen members who must be Woodland Park residents; the council discussed the committee’s size and the need for fresh perspectives as part of the city’s ongoing charter review process.

What happened next: Staff said they will follow up with Terry Vaughn, an applicant for the Keep Woodland Park Beautiful committee who was not present, and invite her to the Feb. 6 meeting. No formal appointment to that committee was made at the Jan. 16 meeting.

Details and context: The Council discussed how many citizen members should serve on the charter review body and noted the resolution establishing the committee requires citizen members to be Woodland Park residents; the transcript did not specify the full text or number limits of that resolution. The Council advised staff to notify and seat members in the coming weeks and to publicize future meeting dates and agendas.

The Council’s actions on Jan. 16 were unanimous for the items recorded on the appointment votes.