The pay is lousy and the hours are long. And to add salt to the wound, it’s often a thankless job.

Welcome to the Glenwood Springs City Council. And the board is looking for a few good new members.

Later this year, the council will bid adieu to Mayor Don Vanderhoof and council member Jean Martensen.

Candidates who have tossed their names into the ring to either fill vacant seats or challenge an incumbent include Joe O’Donnell, running at large, Larry Beckwith in Ward 1, Chris McGovern as a write-in for Ward 3 and Bruce Christensen in Ward 4. A few other local folks had pulled petitions but perhaps their families or friends knocked some sense into them before the filing deadline.

Serving on the Glenwood Springs City Council and, really, any city or town council or planning and zoning commission or town board can be grueling, tedious work. Issues are complicated and the public can be challenging to read or, at times, satisfy.

The Glenwood council burns the midnight oil on a regular basis. Thankfully for local residents, the meetings are filmed for television, shown live and on tape delay. While many of us are home curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, council members are pondering ordinances and have been known to spend hours talking about piles of dirt.

Nevertheless, council meetings are tremendously important and the discussion and outcome will guide Glenwood in the future.

A pat on the back to the interested individuals who are running for council. It has been a testy year. Red Feather Ridge. The proposed new 18-hole golf course. Tennis courts. A community swimming pool. Wing street. And to top it off, 2003 has been weak in sales tax collections.

The current council members are also deserving of recognition. They are dedicated community servants.

With the present council members who will stay on and the new faces who will appear, it’s an opportune time for new synergy.