Woodland Park council appoints seven to Main Street board after interviews and tie-break draw

Woodland Park’s City Council voted unanimously Thursday to appoint seven members to a newly reconstituted Main Street board, selecting candidates from a field of eight and assigning staggered initial terms to create continuity.

The council interviewed eight candidates in public before voting. After paper ballots and staff tallying, five candidates received six votes each. Council used a random draw (the mayor described it as a hat draw) to decide which five of those tied candidates would receive three-year initial terms. The council then voted 6–0 (roll call recorded as unanimous) to appoint the seven candidates to the board.

Mayor Keith Case opened the process by reminding the public that the council’s role is to forward appointees to Main Street; the board itself will elect officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer) at its first meeting. Kimberly and Anita from city staff described the Main Street roles and told council the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) allows a Main Street entity to have five to seven members; council chose the larger seven-member option to provide capacity for committees and to reduce risk from early turnover.

Candidates interviewed included Tim Miller (Rampart Library District director), Jeffrey Lee Bilsland (Woodland Park resident, small-business background), Caitlin Gonzales (studio administrative director, Dana’s Dance), Andrea Connolly (owner, Hunt & Homestead Marketplace), Michelle Gillespie (project manager / interior design background), Nicole Demers (Zoom applicant; Woodland Park resident), Derek Wagner (Zoom), and Joseph Perea (arrived later and interviewed). Applicants discussed local experience, fundraising, business-support ideas, walkability and place-making, and how Main Street could help recruit and support businesses.

Tim Miller said his Main Street experience includes serving on Main Street boards in other communities and work on place-making; he described Main Street’s purpose as "creating or making a place into a locality that people want to spend money" and emphasized economic development through place-making. Andrea Connolly described offering marketing and training resources for small businesses; Nicole Demers and others emphasized fostering collaboration among businesses and improving downtown tidiness and walkability.

After interviews, councilmembers used paper ballots listing up to seven candidates. Staff tallied the votes; the six top vote-getters (each with six votes) were Tim Miller, Caitlin Gonzales, Andrea Connolly, Nicole Demers, Joseph Perea. Michelle Gillespie received five votes and Jeffrey Bilsland received four; Derek Wagner received three. Because five candidates were tied for the highest vote count, council used a random draw to determine which of the tied candidates would receive three-year initial terms. The draw assigned three-year initial terms to Tim Miller, Joseph Perea, Andrea Connolly and Caitlin Gonzales (announced at the meeting), and the remaining appointees received two-year initial terms.

Council then approved a single motion to appoint the seven members: Joseph Perea, Tim Miller, Jeffrey Bilsland, Caitlin Gonzales, Michelle Gillespie, Andrea Connolly, and Nicole Demers. The roll-call vote recorded the motion as carried unanimously.

Council also named Council member George as the council liaison to the Main Street board. Mayor Case administered the oath of office to the appointees in a public swearing-in during the meeting; Derek Wagner, who had the fewest votes, offered to serve on a Main Street committee instead of the board.

Ending — The council’s action creates a seven-member Main Street board with staggered initial terms (three- and two-year openings). The board will meet and elect officers, and the city liaison will aid coordination between council and the new board.