{"id":24529,"date":"2024-12-04T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/change-in-silverton-was-inevitable-how-it-happened-may-not-have-been\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:55:18","slug":"change-in-silverton-was-inevitable-how-it-happened-may-not-have-been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/change-in-silverton-was-inevitable-how-it-happened-may-not-have-been\/","title":{"rendered":"Change in Silverton was inevitable \u2013 how it happened may not have been"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=c51c5a6b-ec6b-5df7-9613-feef52daa4fd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1223\" alt=\"Confined by wetlands, federal land and intimidating peaks, Silverton has a dearth of developable land and a defined need for affordable housing. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Confined by wetlands, federal land and intimidating peaks, Silverton has a dearth of developable land and a defined need for affordable housing. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>SILVERTON \u2013 The former mayor of Silverton came under fire soon after he stepped into office.<\/p>\n<p>At a meeting in late April 2020, one of Shane Fuhrman\u2019s first as mayor, then-Trustee Molly Barela cited his Selwyn prospectus, without naming the document, as she raised concerns about a proposal that the mayor serve as chair of a committee to develop the town\u2019s master plan.<\/p>\n<p>The prospectus was the mayor\u2019s 2016 blueprint to turn the undeveloped mountain town inhabited by former miners and ski bums into an \u201cattractive community for investment, relocation, and tourism.\u201d Fuhrman continues to work as the managing partner of Selwyn Capital Management, according to his LinkedIn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou basically run an investment company that relies on property around town,\u201d Barela said during the meeting, asking the town\u2019s attorney whether the situation presented a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n<p>Before the attorney weighed in, Fuhrman sought to make a clarification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very transparent through the campaign process that I am interested in doing additional projects in Silverton if the opportunities arise, but none exist today, no funds have been raised,\u201d he said, according to a recording of the April 27, 2020, meeting, noting that \u201cThe background I have would be very helpful in connection with developing a master plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But some felt Fuhrman had been less than forthcoming about his machinations.<\/p>\n<p>At a forum before the election, Silverton resident David Breed asked a series of leading questions about Fuhrman\u2019s development ambitions and how they might align with his political aspirations. A verbal confrontation ensued in the street after the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re a developer,\u201d Breed recalled saying. \u201cIt\u2019s all right, just run on that platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Breed referenced the Selwyn, Fuhrman responded \u201cIt\u2019s confidential. You shouldn\u2019t have a copy,\u201d Breed said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y1ycdnT1yPE&amp;t=11700s\" id=\"link-f873ac3deeb2565f2a2cc958b390bea8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In public forums, <\/a>the mayor mused about incentivizing private landowners to work with the town government to keep housing affordable; in private, Fuhrman was raising money and buying properties to realize his own development plans for the benefit of his investors.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2943e923-955f-5533-835c-507becd7d3dc&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1081\" alt=\"Downtown Silverton is a bustling tourist destination in the summer. However, the population shrinks so significantly in the winter that the town\u2019s economy cannot support year-round restaurants or amenities such as a pharmacy. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Downtown Silverton is a bustling tourist destination in the summer. However, the population shrinks so significantly in the winter that the town\u2019s economy cannot support year-round restaurants or amenities such as a pharmacy. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">\u2018He needed to be removed and recused\u2019<\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/townofsilverton.colorado.gov\/sites\/townofsilverton\/files\/San%20Juan%20and%20Silverton%20Housing%20Needs%20Assessment%20August%202021.pdf\" id=\"link-10ec6fc4f2567e959ec7a74951a038b5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">housing needs assessment published in 2021<\/a> advised the town to incentivize long-term rentals and deincentivize short-term rentals through regulation to accommodate an existing and growing need for housing that minimum-wage workers could afford.<\/p>\n<p>The town had begun the process the year before and was already part of the way there.<\/p>\n<p>Silverton\u2019s personnel and ordinance committee met on Oct. 16, 2020, to discuss regulating short-term vacation rentals.<\/p>\n<p>Fuhrman seemingly appeared anxious.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-scoreboard\">\n<h4 class=\"scoreboard-title\">About this story<\/h4>\n<p>This story is the second in a two-part series about Silverton and how the town pursued strategic, affordable growth as then-Mayor Shane Fuhrman pursued capital investment to fund development. Over the course of eight months,<em id=\"emphasis-0920b20090191a8c0db6a4e6e087e587\"> The Durango Herald<\/em> reviewed dozens of public meetings, financial filings with the state and federal governments, real estate transactions, emails and other documents. The<em id=\"emphasis-9ac45c9af8f1fb68729d3f5cec729a92\"> Herald<\/em> also interviewed approximately 25 people with knowledge of Silverton, the operations of town government during Fuhrman\u2019s tenure and Fuhrman\u2019s business interests. Part one appeared Sunday and can be found online at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.durangoherald.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cMr. Mayor \u2026\u201d Trustee Jim Harper interjected as Fuhrman began to question town staff members, \u201cthe wheels are turning, I can see it. What are your thoughts?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The mayor was particularly concerned about the impact new rules could have on multiunit buildings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because I\u2019m looking at it out the window,\u201d Fuhrman tossed out the example of the Highlander, a three-story building on Greene Street. The building was his seemingly hypothetical example of a property whose owners might be negatively impacted by the regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf (the owners) decided they want to rent some of them as short-term rentals, they would have to get a business license as an inn in order to do that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>At no point during the meeting was there any mention of a connection between Fuhrman and the Highlander.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 8, 2021, Fuhrman registered his Delaware corporation Highlander Property Co, LLC, with the state of Colorado. On March 31, 2021, as the town trustees neared finalizing the regulations, that company purchased the Highlander for $1.3 million.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=629281ba-81bf-5b02-a21e-0260a5542e96&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"The three-story white Highlander Building in the foreground of the San Juan County Courthouse is one of few multiunit residential buildings in Silverton. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The three-story white Highlander Building in the foreground of the San Juan County Courthouse is one of few multiunit residential buildings in Silverton. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>When trustees did eventually vote to approve vacation rental regulations the following month, Fuhrman recused himself. Fuhrman owns a hotel and said previously that he wanted to avoid the appearance that he was restricting competing vacation rentals. He made no mention at the meeting of the fact that the regulations had been developed with consideration of a building Fuhrman now owned.<\/p>\n<p>When the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nFx9_XbDH_M&amp;t=10200s\" id=\"link-fa860739f7c03da22b606773e47ad2a6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> ordinance was first read publicly,<\/a> a trustee brought up Fuhrman\u2019s recusal and asked whether he had helped shape the regulations. Former town Trustee Molly Barela, who also sat on the personnel and ordinance committee, said the regulations had been drafted by town staff and that Fuhrman\u2019s involvement had been limited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad I known in October when he was asking those questions about the Highlander that his intention was to purchase it, I would have definitely said that he needed to be removed and recused (from the committee),\u201d she said, musing in retrospect.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the building is listed for sale with an asking price of $3 million with a description that specifically calls out the possible use as a vacation rental \u2013 \u201ca rare opportunity that does not come up often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=c4693fa3-c454-559d-b631-46473ee02b24&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1401\" alt=\"Former Mayor Shane Fuhrman purchased the Highlander for $1.3 million in 2021. It is now on the market for $2.85 million. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Former Mayor Shane Fuhrman purchased the Highlander for $1.3 million in 2021. It is now on the market for $2.85 million. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">\u2018Golden opportunities\u2019<\/div>\n<p>Confined by wetlands, federal land and intimidating peaks, Silverton has a dearth of developable land and a defined need for affordable housing. In 2021, officials were, at a glacial pace, contemplating how Silverton could secure buildable land before it was all gone.<\/p>\n<p>Around the time that conversations about regulating vacation rentals were underway, town officials were also trying to flank the workforce housing issue from the other side by buying property and building affordable housing. Fuhrman\u2019s company, Selwyn Capital, had an interest in developable land as well.<\/p>\n<p>Fuhrman stood atop the pyramid of both entities.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2021, a real estate agent approached Fuhrman in his capacity as mayor about buying 2.75 acres spanning two full blocks near the town\u2019s entrance owned by Brit Eaton.<\/p>\n<p>Sharon Lantz, the agent, told <em id=\"emphasis-2bf3b9132f9beb79aa8a04f0555f1ee2\">The Durango Herald <\/em>she made the inquiry with the awareness that the town was in the market for land, and she wanted to see if officials would pounce on the opportunity to buy from a cooperative owner. The Eaton property was one of several parcels the town had discussed, according to sources familiar with the deliberations.<\/p>\n<p>Lantz said she approached Fuhrman in his capacity as mayor and sent the inquiry to his government email. Fuhrman did not express any interest or disinterest on behalf of the town. He seemed to indicate that the inquiry was not relevant to him in his public office, but might be relevant to his personal business dealings.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=dcf13b20-7ecb-522b-9f96-cc2bcb9d52e4&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1223\" alt=\"In February 2021, a real estate agent approached Shane Fuhrman in his capacity as mayor about buying the green, shrub-covered 2.75-acre property, which spans two full blocks near the town\u2019s entrance. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">In February 2021, a real estate agent approached Shane Fuhrman in his capacity as mayor about buying the green, shrub-covered 2.75-acre property, which spans two full blocks near the town\u2019s entrance. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>\u201cI keep all personal and business matters separate from matters related to my role as Mayor, and I only use this email for matters related to my role as Mayor,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation did not continue after that, according to emails reviewed by the <em id=\"emphasis-c383ebb48dafc160abc0bb49c2423a6c\">Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Neither the town of Silverton nor Selwyn Capital ultimately purchased the Eaton property. But this would not be the only time the mayor\u2019s potential business endeavors intersected with the town\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nFx9_XbDH_M\" id=\"link-736bbe98904f7e609a5705828090aac6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an April 12, 2021, meeting, <\/a>Fuhrman noted, \u201creal estate is moving pretty quickly right now. And the town isn\u2019t necessarily agile in being able to get a property under contract.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the properties under consideration were a set of empty but buildable lots totaling 6.4 acres off U.S. Highway 550 at Silverton\u2019s south end, multiple people familiar with the conversations confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>The town did not have the money to buy those plots on hand, but officials were wrestling with how the town could be competitive against private buyers before the opportunities dried up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen there\u2019s an opportunity to acquire those types of properties \u2026 those are golden opportunities,\u201d said Clark Anderson, executive director of Community Builders, the organization that conducted the town\u2019s master planning process. \u201cThat is the most powerful tool that communities have to create and protect affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 31, 2021, Fuhrman wrote a letter to his colleagues informing them that he was a \u201cminority owner\u201d in an entity, Sultan Development, that had purchased the vacant property at the south end of town. The letter was succinct and the mayor pledged transparency throughout the rezoning process.<\/p>\n<p>Fuhrman was listed as the principal agent on all of Sultan Development\u2019s filings with the state, and his home address was listed as its principal office.<\/p>\n<p>A golden opportunity for Silverton appeared to have been missed.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=15b8737a-ed9a-5be2-8f8b-ab21211ebc0d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1431\" alt=\"Today, 5,000-square-foot lots on Silverton\u2019s south end owned by Shane Fuhrman are listed for sale with an asking price of $360,000. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Today, 5,000-square-foot lots on Silverton\u2019s south end owned by Shane Fuhrman are listed for sale with an asking price of $360,000. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>When the town did ultimately buy a 1.2-acre property a year later, it did so with the assistance of a $300,000 grant from the state and a cooperative property owner with a sole desire to sell to the town.<\/p>\n<p>Fuhrman dismisses any notion that his private interests conflicted with the town\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy involvement in real estate has always been conducted with full transparency and in compliance with ethical standards,\u201d he wrote in an email to the <em id=\"emphasis-c82117f9cb78f1184b208db02b7f0d33\">Herald<\/em>. \u201cAs mayor, I prioritized the town\u2019s needs, including affordable housing initiatives. My private investments were entirely separate from town efforts and focused on supporting Silverton\u2019s growth in a complementary manner. I have never competed with or bid against the Town or the School for the acquisition of any property in Silverton.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silverton would have been hard-pressed to procure the cash for the two properties, said Anthony Edwards, the San Juan County judge who also served as interim town administrator from February to June 2021 and was listed as a business adviser in the Selwyn in his capacity as a consultant with the Colorado Small Business Development Center.<\/p>\n<p>He said he did not recall those properties specifically coming before him in his capacity as town administrator and people familiar with town officials\u2019 conversations said the topic did not progress to the point where administrative action would have been necessary.<\/p>\n<p>When it came to development, Silverton had to be fastidious in its strategy, said Anderson, the Community Builders director.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have so few really good development opportunities, it\u2019s really important to get the ones that they do have right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>By this time, Silverton was more divided than ever.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5138d78c-a592-571b-a55e-3f37bb51d6bd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1383\" alt=\"\u201cWhen they see people or hear of people that might be investors, or potentially, people with money, the town and the citizens of Silverton want to cater to that, hoping that it\u2019s going to make a change, and not knowing if the change is going to be good or bad,\u201d said Gilbert Archuleta, Silverton\u2019s volunteer fire chief who lost the mayoral race to Shane Fuhrman in 2020 by 10 votes. \u201cThey just want something different.\u201d (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">\u201cWhen they see people or hear of people that might be investors, or potentially, people with money, the town and the citizens of Silverton want to cater to that, hoping that it\u2019s going to make a change, and not knowing if the change is going to be good or bad,\u201d said Gilbert Archuleta, Silverton\u2019s volunteer fire chief who lost the mayoral race to Shane Fuhrman in 2020 by 10 votes. \u201cThey just want something different.\u201d (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">\u2018I wouldn\u2019t have voted for him\u2019<\/div>\n<p>If Fuhrman was trying to curate an aura of plush modernity nestled within Silverton\u2019s rugged and historic antiquity, his opponent in the 2020 election, Gilbert Archuleta, represented the history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they see people or hear of people that might be investors, or potentially, people with money, the town and the citizens of Silverton want to cater to that, hoping that it\u2019s going to make a change, and not knowing if the change is going to be good or bad,\u201d Archuleta said. \u201cThey just want something different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Ian Tanner, a Silverton resident with a penchant for political disruption, put it, Fuhrman had an attractive affability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have an old good ol\u2019 boy \u2013 Gilbert Archuleta \u2013 versus a young, good looking, affluent, funny guy,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cHe\u2019s (Fuhrman) willing to go out and smile and talk to people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Old-guard Silvertonians didn\u2019t think Fuhrman would get elected, Tanner said, and some of his supporters either didn\u2019t know about the Selwyn or didn\u2019t see its realization as feasible. Others supported his vision.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5d1a128b-97c8-547e-afd4-92b7d6d2a434&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1409\" alt=\"Ian Tanner became a vocal opponent of Shane Fuhrman during the mayor\u2019s four-year term. Tanner tried to inform the town of Fuhrman\u2019s previous development ambitions, which the former mayor now says he never acted on. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ian Tanner became a vocal opponent of Shane Fuhrman during the mayor\u2019s four-year term. Tanner tried to inform the town of Fuhrman\u2019s previous development ambitions, which the former mayor now says he never acted on. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Gigi Raine moved to Silverton in 2019 and owned a shop selling trinkets. She was interested in Fuhrman\u2019s talk of stretching the summertime tourism economy into a year-round enterprise. And when she voted for Fuhrman in April 2020, she had never heard of the Selwyn prospectus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have voted for him if I had known that that was his intention and that was the way he saw the town of Silverton,\u201d she said. \u201cI would never have voted for him. And I think that that would probably have been the case with a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The community\u2019s division came spilling out into the open after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/articles\/silverton-mayor-suspends-pledge-of-allegiance-at-town-meetings\/\" id=\"link-5e556f3ac8ee41e71359fd1de16f2a8b\" target=\"_blank\">Fuhrman suspended the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance<\/a> at town meetings in light of increasing disharmony in June 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Town hall, and the mayor specifically, came under fire from disgruntled members of the public. Personal attacks on elected officials flourished and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/30\/us\/politics\/silverton-division.html\" id=\"link-a83b2e9e4d56f46c2ab5b4700022d95b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">town hall shut down<\/a> as those attacks turned to threats of violence.<\/p>\n<p>Petitioners collected signatures to recall Fuhrman and two other trustees, and an election was set for Oct. 12.<\/p>\n<p>This was also around the time that news of Fuhrman\u2019s land acquisition became public.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=356ab461-e3a1-50aa-8294-522d73238b2b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1352\" alt=\"Opposition to former Silverton Mayor Shane Fuhrman took root in all sorts of ways, including this sticker on a sign on the town\u2019s edge. The sign is a notice that off-highway vehicles are not allowed inside Silverton town limits, a contentious decision made by the board of trustees under Fuhrman\u2019s leadership. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Opposition to former Silverton Mayor Shane Fuhrman took root in all sorts of ways, including this sticker on a sign on the town\u2019s edge. The sign is a notice that off-highway vehicles are not allowed inside Silverton town limits, a contentious decision made by the board of trustees under Fuhrman\u2019s leadership. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>A week after he notified the town of Sultan Development\u2019s land purchase, Fuhrman used the state\u2019s open records law \u2013 which allows anyone to inspect most government records \u2013 to look at the emails and texts of his colleagues on the town board. His Sept. 7 request asked for records that included the words \u201cShane,\u201d \u201cFuhrman,\u201d \u201cMayor,\u201d \u201cSultan Development\u201d or \u201cSelwyn\u201d over the preceding five weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Former town Trustee Barela thought the request, which compelled her to sift through text messages with the town administrator, was highly inappropriate even if it was an allowed application of Colorado\u2019s open records statute.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI laughed hysterically,\u201d she said. \u201c \u2026 \u2018You really think that you\u2019re the subject of everything that the board members would be talking about?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>None of Barela\u2019s texts were deemed responsive to the request, although more than 1,400 emails sent to or by town officials were turned over to Fuhrman.<\/p>\n<p>A website titled <a href=\"https:\/\/silvertonissues.com\/\" id=\"link-267b8a79a55652c35b0745ef2b2eaebe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSilverton Issues\u201d<\/a> posted content, including the Selwyn prospectus, excoriating the mayor as the recall got underway.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 9, 2021, Fuhrman used his government email address to file a complaint with the domain registrar, GoDaddy, that hosted the website, according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by the <em id=\"emphasis-d76b9886917e6371d02cb36ea0a720c4\">Herald<\/em>. Fuhrman alleged that the site was circulating his \u201cconfidential\u201d document without permission. David Breed, the founder of Silverton Issues, removed the Selwyn after GoDaddy suspended the site.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Fuhrman survived the October 2021 recall vote by a 10% margin.<\/p>\n<p>The minority of voters who supported ousting Fuhrman were a \u201cvery effective\u201d group of \u201cextremely loud\u201d detractors, said Klem Branner, owner of the Silverton-based Venture Snowboards and a friend of Fuhrman.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=ba153fd6-33a8-5e42-a391-8c96603d5a33&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1277\" alt=\"\u201cWhat these places all share, is, increasingly, they have a question of who belongs,\u201d said Clark Anderson, executive director of the organization that helped Silverton develop its 10-year master plan. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">\u201cWhat these places all share, is, increasingly, they have a question of who belongs,\u201d said Clark Anderson, executive director of the organization that helped Silverton develop its 10-year master plan. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">\u2018A question of who belongs\u2019<\/div>\n<p>Today, many Silvertonians are hesitant to address the Selwyn or their former mayor.<\/p>\n<p>Fuhrman and the controversy that enveloped his term are \u201cold news,\u201d said his successor, current Mayor Dayna Kranker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople are just over it and they move on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The last four years were rife with division, and few seemed anxious to revisit it. Sallie Barney, who served as mayor pro tem during Fuhrman\u2019s term and also faced, and survived, the recall, is one of those people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s so much more to say and do and talk about and I just don\u2019t think \u2026\u201d she trailed off. \u201cI think we served our four years and we\u2019re moving on into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like Branner, Barney is unfamiliar with the Selwyn. She hasn\u2019t even read it, she said, but she thinks of it as immaterial to the town\u2019s history or future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve obviously read about people who have written about the plan, and I think the idea is that it proposed some sort of private development of Silverton,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think that to attribute one individual with having the effect of changing the whole town is just, it\u2019s preposterous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, even the resistant Silvertonians recognize, for the most part, that change is inevitable and the town would have to deal with many of the same questions of identity that other mountain towns face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mountain town conundrum isn\u2019t new,\u201d Anderson, the Community Builders director, said.<\/p>\n<p>Silvertonians can look over the ridges toward Telluride, Aspen, Vail and Steamboat and see how those older towns, which sprouted from kindred roots, have struggled with their own growth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat these places all share, is, increasingly, they have a question of who belongs,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of Silverton, by and large, are supportive of growing toward a year-round population around 1,000. A population of that size would create adequate demand to support a pharmacy or a humble year-round restaurant industry.<\/p>\n<p>When Fuhrman stepped onto Silverton\u2019s political scene, he was largely regarded as an outsider. That wasn\u2019t necessarily bad news. People like Raine thought Silverton needed an infusion of some sort, and others, including Branner and Barney, said they wanted to see modest growth.<\/p>\n<p>Within the community, there seems to be a consensus that Silverton is on a positive path, even if there isn\u2019t agreement on whether that was thanks to or in spite of the former mayor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a community that still recognizes that we are interdependent with each other, and we\u2019re connected to each other,\u201d Kranker said.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=7d4ab26b-5fe1-5f30-95bb-134311b9a72d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1678\" alt=\"Today, many Silvertonians are hesitant to address the Selwyn or their former mayor. Shane Fuhrman and the controversy that enveloped his term are \u201cold news,\u201d said his successor, current Mayor Dayna Kranker. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Today, many Silvertonians are hesitant to address the Selwyn or their former mayor. Shane Fuhrman and the controversy that enveloped his term are \u201cold news,\u201d said his successor, current Mayor Dayna Kranker. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>What many Silvertonians are anxious to highlight is the Compass Project Master Plan and the concrete steps the town has taken to realize that plan \u2013 the community-based, consensus-built vision to maintain Silverton\u2019s core identity as it grows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe No. 1 thing that came out of that was protecting the middle class and workforce housing and density and housing options, and not catering to the elite or the wealthy \u2013 but to ensure that all members of our community could not only remain here, but also have within their grasp homeownership,\u201d said DeAnne Gallegos, executive director of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n<p>As for the construction underway on Fuhrman\u2019s land at the south end of town, there is some optimism that the development might not cater just to top-dollar-paying buyers.<\/p>\n<p>About two-thirds of the lots were rezoned for mixed residential construction, meaning buyers could develop multifamily units on them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe constantly talk about how we need more housing, and I don\u2019t really see a whole lot of other private enterprise doing anything to make that happen,\u201d Branner said. \u201cSo someone developing land so that we can have more housing? I would say that\u2019s a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kranker said the requirements that developers install certain infrastructure elements that Silverton could not otherwise afford fit with her philosophy of positive development.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=15b8737a-ed9a-5be2-8f8b-ab21211ebc0d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1431\" alt=\"Today, 5,000-square-foot lots on Silverton\u2019s south end owned by Shane Fuhrman are listed for sale with an asking price of $360,000. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Today, 5,000-square-foot lots on Silverton\u2019s south end owned by Shane Fuhrman are listed for sale with an asking price of $360,000. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>\u201cOverall \u2026 ways in which we can increase access to buildable lots and increase the infrastructure in town, to me, is really favorable, and we\u2019ll see what happens there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson holds some of that optimism as well, although he has less faith that the private sector will produce what Silverton needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might be the thing that people look back on and say, \u2018This could have been one thing, and instead it\u2019s going to develop under the private market,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But with the Compass Project completed, he and many others in Silverton are hopeful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still really bullish on Silverton,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThe community, as different as they can be sometimes from one another, they really do want the same thing. It looks a little different, the sheen might look a little different, but the fundamentals are the same for the vast majority of that community, and that\u2019s just great. It\u2019s a small, real town that\u2019s authentic, where people can live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-306935bd9b1a9c7dc0f56aaa03914e00\"><a href=\"mailto:rschafir@durangoherald.com\">rschafir@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>to take advantage of development opportunities; outside his office, so did the mayor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[374,28,1753,453,327],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-economic-development","tag-headlines","tag-holiday-or-vacation","tag-housing-and-urban-planning","tag-silverton"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78568,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24529\/revisions\/78568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}