The Grand Lake Metropolitan Recreation District’s regular director election to fill four at-large board positions, including three four-year seats and one two-year seat, will take place May 6 with ballots being mailed to eligible voters starting April 14.

A total of seven candidates are running for a four-year term, while one candidate is running for the two-year seat.

Currently, the board is made up of five members. District President Dan Knox was elected in 2023 to his second four-year term and is the only board member whose seat is not up for reelection. Nancy Negri, Dick Sisung and Sarah Sjobakken were all elected in 2022 and will be finishing their terms this year. Chris Atencio, whose seat is also up for election, was appointed to a two-year term in 2023.

Ballots will be mailed to all eligible electors of the district based on each voter’s registration address on file with the county clerk and the Secretary of State. If electors do not receive their ballots at their registered voter addresses during the election timeframe, they can request that their ballots be mailed to another address using a request for mail ballot form available at GrandLakeRecreation.com/about-glmrd.

Mandi Kirk at Fritsche Law is the designated election official for this election. Kirk strongly encourages voters to return their ballots by mail as soon as they are received to ensure they are collected on time.

Kirk said the current district board voted to host a mail ballot election to get maximum voter turnout.

Ballots must be returned to the independent election official, Kirk, by 7 p.m. on Election Day, May 6. Electors can drop off their ballots at 3900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 in Denver. The walk-in location to drop off ballots will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays beginning April 14. On May 6, the walk-in location will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters can also mail their ballots to 3900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80210. Voters are required to provide postage, and the ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The written plan document states that because the Grand Lake Metropolitan Recreation District’s offices are closed, there is not an adequate public location within the district’s boundaries that can serve as a secure location for a freestanding ballot dropbox. Voters must either mail their ballots or drop them off in Denver in order to have their vote counted.

The recreation district works to maintain a system of outdoor spaces, trails, a disc golf course, the Grand Lake Golf Course, and tennis and pickleball courts in addition to 35 kilometers of Nordic skiing terrain through the Grand Lake Nordic Center.