Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The new mayor and trustees of Oak Creek will take their posts tonight.

Elected and re-elected officials will be sworn in at the first meeting of the new Oak Creek Town Board at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

Voters overwhelmingly elected Kathy "Cargo" Rodeman to the mayoral seat last Tuesday and returned only two trustees to the Town Board.

John Crawford, J. Elliott and David Stordal will join veterans Mike Kien and Bill Paxton in taking the oath of office.

Trustees Sonja Norris and Charlie Bevan ran for re-election but fell short at the ballot.

Norris said she has no regrets about turning over her seat to a new board member tonight.

"It was a good education, and I can understand how it feels to be on the board and what they have to put up with," she said.

As she leaves, she said, Norris wishes the best for the new board and the new mayor. Each person deserves a chance, she added.

Norris said she intends to stay abreast of town government. She hopes to hear about a new board that gets down to business and focuses its energy on the real problems that exist in Oak Creek, she said.

Kien, who captured the most votes in the April 2 election, said he doesn't know what to expect at the meeting.

A crowd at Town Hall tonight would be a nice change to the usually unattended meetings, he said.

"I always love it when we get a packed crowd," he said.

Although Kien carries the most experience on the board, he said that doesn't put him in a better position than the rest of the trustees.

"I still feel like the new guy, fighting my way," he said.

Mayor Deb VanGundy said she would be relieved once she turns over the gavel to Rodeman.

Now that April 2 is behind voters, she said, the town should hopefully return to some normality.

"It's on with business," she said.

VanGundy said she took care of unfinished business by signing Town Manager Ray Leibensperger's new contract Tuesday.

"It was a formality," she said.

The old Town Board's approval of the contract in February made it a valid contract, Leibensperger said.

"The ball is no longer in my court," he said. "It doesn't change a thing."