Glenwood Springs City Council member Shelley Kaup says she will seek reelection to another four-year term to one of council’s two at-large seats in the April 3 election.

“The next few years are critical to help the city recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Grizzly Creek Fire,” Kaup said in a formal statement announcing her reelection bid.

“I have a vision for Glenwood Springs to prioritize quality of life for our residents, strengthen our diverse economy and safeguard our neighborhoods and environment from the impacts of growth,” she said. “My experience and willingness to work through tough issues uniquely qualifies me to get the job done.”

Kaup was elected to the at-large seat in April 2017, and had previously served a term on council in her downtown ward seat from 2007-11.

Petitions to run for three City Council seats that are up for election in April were made available the first week of January.

Also to be decided in the April 6 election will be the Ward 5 seat (south Glenwood) held by current appointed Mayor Jonathan Godes, and the Ward 2 seat (west and north Glenwood) held by Ingrid Wussow, who was appointed last year to fill out the term vacated by former councilman Rick Voorhees.

Godes and Wussow both said Thursday they intend to run in the April election, but no challengers have yet emerged. Candidate petitions are due at the end of January.

Kaup, who currently serves as mayor pro-tem, pointed to several achievements over the past four years in making her formal announcement, including support for local businesses and individuals during the pandemic.

“We were among the first local governments in Colorado to put a mask order in place, and we worked closely with the Chamber and Downtown Development Authority to deal with economic impacts,” Kaup said.

“The city has loosened regulations to allow restaurants to serve customers outdoors, provided business grants from the CARES Act to businesses most impacted by the pandemic, and directed $236,000 to local charities to make sure families in our community have support and enough to eat,” she said.

Kaup also cited the city’s response to last summer’s Grizzly Creek Fire, protecting the city and its water intake system at the time of the fire, and working with federal officials to prevent erosion on fire-damaged slopes within the city’s watershed.

Kaup noted that she has also been a champion for the new in-town recycling center, contracting for renewable energy to be part of the city electric supply, making improvements to the Two Rivers Park riverbank, and numerous street and infrastructure upgrades.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but we are making progress,” Kaup said.

She said she continues to support other council members and residents in opposing the Rocky Mountain Industrials plan to greatly expand the limestone quarry on Transfer Trail.

“We have taken that fight to the highest levels of government, and we will continue to protect our community and our economy from what would be a devastating impact to our city,” Kaup said in her release.

Kaup has lived in Glenwood Springs since 1988.

jstroud@postindependent.com