Pueblo West board weighs trial to move work sessions and meetings to Fridays

The Pueblo West Metropolitan District board spent much of its work session Thursday debating whether to reorganize its calendar to shorten the time between discussion and action.

Christian, the meeting chair, laid out three models: move the work session and action meeting to the same Friday; compress meetings into adjacent weeks; or adopt a two‑week model that separates a discussion meeting from an action meeting. Each model is intended to reduce staff preparation cycles and speed project approvals.

"If we do the agenda and packet, the only thing that's missing is you'll miss this conversation we're having right now before the digestion period," Christian said, framing tradeoffs between public access and staff efficiency. Board members repeatedly raised public‑participation concerns, noting evening meetings historically drew in‑person attendees even when online viewing is common.

Director Axworthy and other board members warned that moving daytime meetings could reduce public attendance; Axworthy urged a survey to collect community preferences. President Vickers suggested delaying any trial until after summer so the district can gather consistent viewership and participation data.

Staff said it will prepare a short public survey comparing the current Monday schedule with the Friday‑consolidation option and return with the results. The board agreed to keep the existing schedule through the summer and revisit the matter after collecting community feedback.

The decision on whether to run a time‑limited trial, and its proposed start date, will return to the agenda at the board’s next public meeting.