During a regular meeting Tuesday night, the Dolores Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Cody Folsom to the board.

Folsom is filling a vacancy that opened in October with the resignation of former Dolores trustee Isabel Boyce, who moved out of the area. Folsom will remain in the seat until the April 2020 elections, when he may choose to run for a four-year term.

Folsom was the board’s choice over Sheila Wheeler and former board appointee Werner Kress, who also submitted letters of interest. Board trustee Jennifer Stark gave the lone “no” vote on Folsom’s appointment.

Kress was appointed to the board in September 2008 and served until 2010. He has lived at his current residence in Dolores since 2006. Wheeler has been a resident of Dolores for nine years.

Folsom said in his letter of interest that he grew up in the Dolores area. Alongside fiancee Katie Ward, he now co-owns Dolores Outfitters, a gas station and outdoor sports rental store that sits adjacent to the Dolores Town Hall.

Folsom said he hopes to bolster and promote outdoor recreation in and around Dolores, which he sees as a gateway to the San Juan National Forest and countryside.

“This town has so much potential to grow with recreation and people moving in, it would be great to see it become the destination town I know it can be,” Folsom said in his letter of interest to the board.

Folsom told The Journal in a phone interview Thursday that he joined the board out of a sense of civic duty and as a way to “give back to the community.” He said he was excited to start learning from other board members.

cpape@the-journal.com