President's Page by Carolyn Steffl

When I first joined the Board of the Boulder County Bar Association, my kids thought that I had finally achieved the elusive work-life balance. “Mom’s at a meeting of the Bar Club again.” It came out over dinner that they thought I was promoting Boulder taverns, and I got to explain the other meaning of bar. (Well, it was less embarrassing than the dinner when our then three-year-old asked us what the F word means.)

Now, four years later, I’m beginning a term as the President of the venerable Boulder County Bar Association, and I’m proud to represent and serve Boulder’s attorneys. For those who don’t know me, let me tell you a little about myself.

For over twenty years, I have been practicing local government law, all throughout the state. Three years ago, I joined the firm Dietze and Davis, where I collaborate with wonderful partners and staff. I love my job! Every day is a new challenge – you name it and it has crossed my desk - employment disputes, zoning and subdivision, elections, police law, water law, utility franchises, municipal financing, construction contracts, et al. Forget being pigeon-holed in one sub-specialty. And the clients…so great. Local governmental officials and volunteers generally go into the field because they want to improve their communities and do the right thing. I work with them to build their neighborhoods and towns and to reach agreements with adjoining communities to combine resources and achieve more together.

Currently, I serve as Town Attorney for the Town of Timnath (via contract). It’s such a blast representing a community have has grown four-fold in the last ten years and is building its municipal government. They just built a state-of-the-art police station and hired enough officers for 24-7 police coverage (rather than contracting with the sheriff for over-nights). They hired their first Park and Rec Director and are building up that department. New engineers and planners are working on thoughtful growth and development and navigating changes in the community. My approach is to help the Town solve problems, and we do that together every day.

I also represent five small water providers in Boulder County – sandwiched between municipalities, these are communities serving a few dozen homes via wells with teeny legal budgets and volunteer boards that just want to help their communities. Then, there are the large metro districts down in Pueblo County, with citizen Boards that provide many of the services usually provided by towns – streets, rec, water, sewer, fire. Plus, I serve as general counsel to water districts throughout the state, with citizen Boards working to navigate endless changes in water quality regs and provide clean, affordable, renewable water to their residents (and deal with the wastewater on the back end.) As I drive to and fro, my car just might be playing an escapist audiobook (don’t ask how many times I have listened to Twilight).

At home, I am the proud mother of 14-year-old Ryan and 17-year-old Emma, who now understand what I do for BCBA, and married to Andrew - astronomer / home chef extraordinaire. I’m a voracious reader, lovers of doodles, and adventurous spirit who has trouble sitting still. Over the next 12 months, I look forward to sharing my story with you and hearing your tales. Thank you for the honor of serving as your Boulder County Bar President.