The Palmer Lake mayoral and multiple board of trustee seats are open this year, with many issues at play for the town of just over 2,600 residents north of Colorado Springs.

Incumbent Mayor Glant Havenar is facing a challenge from current trustee Shana Ball for the mayor’s seat. Palmer Lake will also be replacing three outgoing trustees by choosing new trustees out of a field of five. The board of trustees has six members total, plus the mayor.

If Ball is elected mayor, the board of trustees will likely appoint a replacement for the remainder of the term, according to Town Administrator Dawn Collins.

Havenar has been a trustee of the town and is running for a second term as mayor. She said that her first term has been most successful in giving Palmer Lake “a seat at the table” regionally through her involvement in area government and interest groups.

“To bring awareness to Palmer Lake at that state and county level has really been a mission for me for the last two years,” she said.

Havenar said that responsibly encouraging tourism was part of her goal as mayor, organizing many of the town’s public events.

Ball, a former firefighter and current trustee, said she was running for mayor to be a steward for the growth of her hometown while honoring its history.

“Palmer Lake has always been my foundation and what I consider to be home,” she said.

Havenar and Ball have had recent public disagreements, including in a heated meeting over the fate of the 28-acre Elephant Rock property gifted to the town in 2021. Havenar told Ball to “keep (her) mouth shut” at the meeting, and the board has since agreed to accept mediation services.

Some residents have protested the decision of the board to tear down cabins on the donated land, which some contend could be renovated. Havenar voted to demolish the cabins, while Ball voted against it.

Atis Jurka, a veteran retiree running for trustee, said he did not want the donated land to become a “white elephant” gift — more cost than benefit. He said he wanted the board to solve the issue constructively.

“I’d like to get some of the divisiveness resolved,” he said.

Major issues facing the town include how to manage public assets like the Elephant Rock property, as well as the lake from which the town gets its name. Alex Farr, a trustee candidate and firefighter, said that residents have told him trash and vandalism at the lake have gotten out of hand.

As a trustee, Farr said he would be looking to balance the needed tourist revenue of the lake with appropriate stewardship. That would include establishing paid parking around the lake.

Other candidates echoed that idea. Havenar, Ball and many of the trustee candidates identified the area of the lake shore within the county as a problem area that could be addressed through annexation or an agreement with the county. Ball also suggested paid parking on the lake shore.

“Even though our public works department, which is very short-handed, tries to take care of that area as much as possible, it does still belong to the county and there’s not much we can do,” said Ball.

Trustee candidate Tim Caves, a retiree who through a group called Awake the Lake gathered grants and matching funds to recently install pickleball courts at Centennial Park next to the lake, said he would encourage responsible park use.

Jacob Hansen, another trustee candidate and small business owner, said that the town should also explore paid parking along its main business district to increase town revenue. He also supported residential parking permits and parking enforcement in residential areas.

“If you’re not living in this town, you should be paying for parking,” he said.

Revitalizing downtown Palmer Lake, which has seen multiple closures of long-time local businesses, was also a concern among candidates. Havenar said she thought bringing in business through events unique to the town was a way to stimulate business.

Ball said that Palmer Lake citizens have told her that economic development is wanted, but only in specific directions. She said she was looking to bring in mom-and-pop stores that would benefit residents, like a gas station, corner market or brewery. She also said that Palmer Lake had not done enough to advertise the marijuana dispensaries the town voted to allow.

“There is a lot of traffic going by Palmer Lake that should be stopping here,” she said.

Maintaining and growing the town’s staff in key departments was also a common refrain among candidates.

Havenar said that the town was in “dire need” of a code enforcement officer. She acknowledged that the town was understaffed because of non-competitive salaries, but she said she was not planning to raise taxes to make up the deficit.

“I’m adamantly opposed to a mill levy increase at this point,” she said.

Farr, on the other hand, said he would potentially support a small mill levy increase to fund public safety spending, especially when it came to updating what he considered the fire department’s severely out-of-date equipment.

Board of Trustees candidate Amy Hutson could not be reached for comment.