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Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs City Council selected psychotherapist Karen Post as its new District 3 representative Tuesday, returning the council to its full size of seven members.

Post received four votes, enough for a majority, in the first paper ballot cast by the council following interviews for five candidates Tuesday afternoon. Business owner Steve Hitchcock received the other two votes. Former councilman Kevin Kaminski vacated the seat last month, after moving outside of the district.

The council immediately swore Post into office. She began serving on the council at Tuesday night's meeting, during which the council denied three proposals to extend the city's urban growth boundary.

The council denied proposed boundary extensions at a 58-acre plot adjacent to the Sanctuary subdivision, east of Aspen Wood Drive; a half-acre plot at the northern end of North Larimer Street; and a 4.5-acre plot on Spring Creek Road, also known as Routt County Road 34.

A fourth proposal calling for an eight-lot subdivision on a 1.5-acre plot on the northeast corner of Amethyst Drive and Spring Creek Road, was withdrawn from council consideration before the meeting.

The denials upheld recommendations made Sept. 28 by the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission, and blocked the potential for development at the sites for at least another year.

"If the council does not support any of these recommendations, they will not go any further," said city planner Brian Berndt, adding that landowners can apply for a boundary extension once a year.

The city established its urban growth boundary in 1995, as part of the Steamboat Springs Area Community Plan.

The council's newest member voted against all three proposals, but said little during her first meeting on the job.

Post, 50, joins Council Pres-ident Pro-tem Susan Dellinger as one of two women on the council. Post said during her interview that working to promote affordable housing in Steamboat will be a primary goal of her service.

"I've noticed families leaving this area because they can't afford to stay here," she said. "I'd like my daughter to be able to come back one day and live here."

Post said she hopes to use the "active listening" skills she has fine-tuned in her practice while serving on the council. As an example, Post mentioned that while listening to council discussion during its all-day budget hearing Oct. 3, she noticed that at one point, three council members were all making valid points about a downtown parking issue, but were running into frustrations because the points were "apples and oranges," rather than directly related.

"If you're not all talking about apples, you're not going to get very far," Post told the council.

The council praised Post's preparation for the interview, knowledge of city issues, and commitment to public service.

"Instead of being the voice of complaints, I'd like to be part of the solutions," she said.

Council member Loui Antonucci joked that having a psychotherapist on the council could be valuable for the group.

"You now have six new patients," he quipped to Post.

She will serve until the election in November 2007.

The next City Council meeting is Oct. 17.

- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com