Deeply invested

Bub Barhurkhust, who was appointed to the Saratoga Town Council on May 7, met with the Sun to share his reasons for applying for appointment and what he hopes to accomplish on the council.

The council had a vacant seat in February due to the untimely passing of Jacob Fluty. Barkhurst, owner of Barkhurst Collision Center, was one of two people to send a letter of interest to fill the open seat.

In his letter to the council, Barkhurst wrote “as a long time resident and business owner of this community I am deeply invested in the growth and well-being of Saratoga.”

He also wrote about his long lies to the community, citing how his family settled in the valley 150 years ago.

“A lot of the reason why I decided to get on the council is to help facilitate helping shape our county future,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that have a lot of different ideas on what they want Saratoga to look like. I’m probably on the more conservative side of that.”

He went on to explain while he knows the town is going to grow, he would like to keep Saratoga “the way that it is, as much as possible.”

This echoed the comments he made in his letter to the council, where he wrote he is “not one who would foster any negative growth to the town that we all love so dearly.”

Barkhurst drew comparisons to communities like Steamboat and explained he would like to prevent Saratoga from becoming like them.

“That was a lot of the reason why I got on [the council] - to help keep Saratoga, Saratoga.”

When asked about what he thinks the biggest issues are for the town, Barkhurst said it was retaining younger people for employees in the valley.

“We’re turning into somewhat of a retirement community … we’ve got to figure out how to have a workforce.”

Barkhurst plans to file for the two-year term on the Saratoga Town Council in the 2024 Primary Election.