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Hayden — Hayden's new mayor has spent eight years working through local issues as a member of the Town Board.

Lorraine Johnson said she ran for mayor because she had reached her term limit as a trustee and wanted to continue to push three projects: plans for a new police station, the Poplar Street redesign and creation of a recreation district separate from the town.

She said the new police station is the most pressing of the three because the police department currently operates out of Town Hall. Having a station of its own is crucial, she said, and she wants to make sure plans go through in a timely way.

"There's a design for it, but it's not all signed, sealed, delivered," said Johnson, who has lived in Hayden since 1971 and works at Yampa Valley Regional Airport. She said the board had been discussing the issue for the past three years, and she would like to see it through.

Johnson was named mayor when the Town Board approved cancellation of the April 1 election at its meeting Thursday. No one opposed Johnson in the race, and no one opposed the three men running for open trustee seats: Richard "Festus" Hagins, Bill Hayden and Trace Musgrave. No other ballot issues were up for a vote, so state law allowed the town to cancel the scheduled election.

Town Clerk Susan Irvine estimated the cancellation saved the town about $1,300 in election costs.

Johnson and the new trustees will be sworn in at the April 3 meeting.

Also at Thursday's meeting:

- The board opened a public hearing on the proposed annexation of about 16 acres west of town for Hayden company Precision Excavating. Because owner Dave Zehner was out of town, the board opted to keep that hearing open until its next meeting, April 3. A hearing on the zoning of the land also remains open.

- The board discussed the possibility of giving $250 to $500 to the Vision 2030 group. Hayden resident Tim Frentress is part of the citizens group, which aims to define the future of the Yampa Valley.

- Town Manager Russ Martin spoke about sidewalks the town hopes to add on U.S. Highway 40 between Third and Sixth streets. Rising construction costs are complicating the issue, he said. Martin's summary: "The saga continues."