Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind will not seek reelection in November, bringing an end to six years of service on the town council.

LaKind announced his decision Wednesday with a notice on social media, and said he spent the month of July considering his future and his public service intentions. He said serving Monument has been “one of the most meaningful experiences” of his life.

LaKind’s involvement in town government began with brief stints on the Town of Monument Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment before he was elected as a trustee and later mayor.

As he prepares to leave office, LaKind points to Monument becoming a home-rule municipality as one of his proudest accomplishments. Getting Monument out from under the state’s authority to govern itself was a massive move, he said.

“The one that doesn’t get talked about enough is home rule,” LaKind said. “It was the residents who decided that. It put the power where it belongs, with the people who actually live here.”

LaKind also highlighted the town’s strategic plan and work on the Monument 2040 Comprehensive Plan, efforts intended to provide a long-term road map as the community grows. In his announcement, LaKind said the strategic plan was the first in Monument’s 147-year history.

What he loves about how town leadership structured the strategic plan is it wasn’t built to outlive its usefulness, he said.

“Each incoming council can pick up where the last one left off, work through what’s in front of them and shape what comes next,” LaKind said.

Of the work he will leave unfinished, the mayor said one issue stands above the others: securing Monument’s long-term water future.

The town relies primarily on wells drawing from nonrenewable aquifers, making the pursuit of renewable water sources and long-term water rights increasingly important, he said.

LaKind described water as the town’s most significant challenge over the next five to 10 years and called it an “existential issue.”

The Monument town council voted unanimously nearly a month ago to begin exiting the multidistrict authority. The Loop is left with just two water district members of the original four after the decision.

Leaving the mayor’s office does not necessarily mean LaKind will leave civic life. He said he would consider serving on a town board or committee, or in an advisory capacity. He is particularly interested in helping plan Monument’s 150th anniversary in three years and supporting efforts to strengthen the local business community.

“Monument has given me a lot,” LaKind said. “I’m not done giving back.”