Three Eagle Town Council candidates to be interviewed for position on May 9

The six candidates who sought to fill the empty seat on the Eagle Town Council following Janet Bartnik’s resignation last month have been narrowed down to three finalists: Bryan Woods, Jamie Woodworth Foral and Laura Hartman. 

Bartnik, who was also the executive director of Mountain Recreation before accepting a job back in her home state of Virginia, wrapped up her stint on the council at the March 14 meeting.

When a council member resigns, the Eagle Town Council must follow a standard procedure outlined in a 2020 resolution in order to fill that vacancy. Eagle announced the Town Council vacancy on March 24. Candidates then submitted application materials for the position, which were reviewed preceding the April 25 Town Council meeting.

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The six candidates who were presented to Eagle Town Council members for consideration were Bryan Woods, Ben Hilley, Jamie Woodworth Foral, Laura Hartman, Matt Felser and Richard Karsh. Of these candidates, three finalists — Woods, Woodworth Foral and Hartman — were chosen to move forward with the application process.

Woods is a three-year Eagle resident who works as a data scientist and machine learning engineer at HERE Technologies. Woods also formerly worked as Vail Resorts’ principal data scientist in 2020 and 2021. Woods is a Yale University graduate who has immersed himself in local programs; he is the treasurer of Eagle’s Downtown Business Alliance, is involved in various ski clubs, president of Eagle County 4×4 club, and is a dispatcher and responder for Colorado 4×4.

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“I have a deep interest in supporting our community. Knowing that ultimately our capacity to contribute as an individual is finite, I believe that participation in the council is the way to maximize my personal contribution,” Woods wrote in his council member application. “I hope to be more than just a motion machine but am happy to fill that role to keep the process moving forward.”

Woods said he has special interests in urban and regional development, sustainable land use, economic development and in community activities. He said Eagle is at an “inflection point in its development as a community,” and noted how the current ReCode process will serve as the “color by numbers of our future, not just the reality of today.”

Woodworth Foral has lived in the town for about four and a half years. The Colorado State University graduate currently works for Alpine Bank and serves on the Mountain Tots Preschool board of directors. 

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Woodworth Foral is also currently involved with the town of Eagle as a Planning and Zoning Committee commissioner. 

“I’d like to serve in this capacity to assist the town in achieving its many short and long-term initiatives and continue to make Eagle an excellent place to live, work and recreate,” Woodworth Foral wrote in her application.

Woodworth Foral noted that she has special interests in helping Eagle achieve its environmental goals, as well as advancing housing and planning initiatives.

“Current council has done an excellent job of addressing the issues that our town is currently faced with by approving many housing projects, moving the needle forward with the Grand Avenue Corridor plan and the ReCode project,” Woodworth Foral said.  

Like Woods, Woodworth Foral noted that Eagle Town Council has recently been in an “execution and completion phase,” and noted that she is eager to contribute to forward momentum beyond her current planning and zoning commissioner capacity.

Hartman is a four-year Eagle resident whose local involvement includes work with the Adam Palmer Sustainability fund, YouthPower 365 and Eagle County Public Health, New Roots Colorado and the United Way of Eagle River Valley. 

The Indiana University graduate said in her Eagle Town Council application that “public service has long been a core tenant of my personhood.”

“I believe in ‘we over me’ and working to build the future we want to live in. We all have a responsibility to do good in our communities and the wider world,” Hartman said.

Hartman’s special interests include increasing institutional trust through engagement and communication, and further prioritizing transit and climate leadership as well as culture and the arts. She explained that she is also interested in bringing very real, yet underrepresented perspectives to light should she fill the vacancy left by Bartnik. 

“Nineteen percent of Eagle residents are non-family households. Thirty-three percent are renters. Twenty-one percent speak Spanish. Many work multiple jobs to be here. I strive to connect with these constituents and am dedicated to bringing their voices to the conversation,” Hartman said. 

On May 9, Woods, Woodworth Foral and Hartman will be interviewed during the regular Eagle Town Council meeting. From there, current council members will decide who they think would best serve the community in the role. Like any other Eagle Town Council meeting, public comment regarding the three candidates will be welcomed.

The candidate selected to fill the vacancy left by Bartnik will serve on Eagle Town Council until the Nov. 7 election.