Erin Zalinski is running for Glenwood Springs City Council for an At-Large seat facing Tony Hershey. Although this is Zalinski’s first time running for city council, it is not her first time taking a leap into a new venture. Her top priorities, if elected, include finding ways to utilize the funds from the recent hospitality tax increase for their intended purpose of workforce housing, as well as addressing issues around road infrastructure and traffic in Glenwood Springs. KDNK’s News Reporter Hattison Rensberry talked with Zalinski about the issues facing Glenwood Springs, and what advantage she may have over her opponent.
"Zalinski:
With my experience in growing a business from nothing into something pretty vibrant, gives me a deeper understanding of kind of creating processes systematically, solving problems, and. You know how much you can learn from listening and observing with the complexity of some of the problems our community is facing.
Taking that kind of pragmatic approach to gathering the information, listening to other people that have history and have a different perspective and cracking solutions through that process, I think will be really valuable.
Rensberry:
Where do you stand on the UTA railway debacle that's going on right now?
Zalinski:
You know that's always really sticky because these are federally regulated entities, and so I think that the city needs to work carefully with the county so that the county can kind of join our forces in representing our interests. Rail commerce is vital to moving product, and you know, with all the problems that we've had with semis on our roadways, etc. Moving large quantities of goods railways is clearly very efficient. You know, I think that just having everybody understand exactly what is being proposed, what that entails, what are the risks and how they can be mitigated, I think is critical.
Rensberry:
What are some issues with the Canyon that you'd like to address?
Zalinski:
We're somewhat hamstrung by the fact that that is a state managed. And there are laws in place that, you know, we don't have sway over. Um, I think that working in collaboration with Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Department of Transportation will help us, you know, with signage, with sharing information and educational, you know, tactics that you can use with the trucking industry about the challenges that driving through the Canyon. To try and get that information out there to the people that need to adhere it is probably the best course of action. And then, you know, just encouraging our own residents to be responsible in the way they drive, manage our own speed. Be respectful of the space that big trucks and other vehicles need.
Rensberry:
What are your concerns with housing and how do you plan on addressing them?
Zalinski:
You know, I think my main concern with housing is similar to what I hear most other people expressing as well, is you can't make more land. You know, where there's only gonna be so many places we can build and you know, how much density and infill do we want as a community?
I think some of the ways that we can address housing, and also take into account not necessarily making more houses, but figuring out how to use and allocate the housing that we have. And there's some other neighboring communities that I've heard, you know, that have some different kind of deed buy-in programs and some other things that are interesting and I need to learn, you know, more about that.
And also, you know, see how they're functioning. So I think that if we not only. Work within our own community to address that with developments that are already approved and are going in, but also look at what is working into neighboring community. I think if we can look to see if that's working and emulate what people are already doing, that'll help us be more successful.
Rensberry:
In some cases, communities can push back on city council members for issues such as the one that had to do with 480 Donegan in Glenwood. Where did you stand on that? How will that inform your term if elected?
Zalinski:
Yeah, I think I felt like that 480 Donegan situation really was tragic on all fronts. You know, I'm a big believer, you know, in personal property rights and I also believe that it had City Council been able to see past the strong vision that they had and spend a little bit more. Addressing the concerns of the residents in a way that really allowed people to feel they were being heard. I think that a better solution could have been found. City Council will tell you that there were concessions that were made. It just didn't feel that way to the people that were trying to be heard, and I think that was something to take. And really, if you want to move the ball forward, your best thing to do is to try and stop and hear, you know, where some sort of compromise can be made and how can you find a solution that, you know, won't make everybody happy, but everybody can live with. And I think that. That opportunity could have been there and it just wasn't embraced.
Rensberry:
Is there anything else you'd like to add while we're having this conversation?
Zalinski:
You know, the citizens of Glenwood Springs are speaking loud and clear about what they're looking for and what they would like to see, and I think that there is great opportunity there to really serve the people. And get some things in place that will benefit the majority of people and maintain that character and quality of life.
That's kind of always made Glenwood a pretty unique and special place to live."
Tune in to KDNK’s morning and evening news over the next few days as we profile other candidates, or look at previous interviews on our website.
