The following Letter to the Editor was published in the Tri-Lakes Tribune on May 3, 2001.
The Monument recall petition cites four reasons for the recall and names six people to be recalled. Having attended many Town meetings, I find that much can be learned about this recall by analyzing the reasons given and who is to be recalled.
The first reason given for the recall is mismanagement of resources. Two commonly cited supports for this charge are large severance packages for terminated employees and high legal fees. Many of these severance packages, including Al Sharon’s, were signed by former Mayor Si Sibell. Due to its procedural mishandling of the vote on the Transit Mix application, the prior administration handed the current Mayor and Board a lawsuit by Transit Mix. It is very easy to bring a lawsuit but, as Transit Mix has learned in this case, prevailing in court is another matter.
The second reason given for the recall is poor work environment. The prior administration had eight years in office. During that time they recruited many workers who were loyal to their point of view. When the new administration took over, they were faced with outright hostility from some Town employees such as planner Patrick Mulready. Mulready pushed hard for the concrete batch plants and Wal-Mart. Beyond normal attrition, coping with these inherited problems has led to some additional departures.
The third reason given is excessive use of executive sessions. Colorado statutes provide for executive sessions so the Board can receive legal advice and discuss personnel matters. Given the lawsuits against the Town and the personnel issues discussed above, it is no surprise that the Board has required numerous executive sessions. The alternative would have been to reveal legal strategy or bring up potentially embarrassing employee issues in open session.
The fourth reason given for the recall is the firing of Al Sharon. Much has been made of the fact that the Board did not specify the reasons. The Board intentionally did not specify the causes for this action because it would have given Mr. Sharon’s lawyer exactly what he wanted for a lawsuit claiming the stated causes were insufficient. Yet if the Board had specified their reasons and the reasons were then used as the basis for a lawsuit, the opponents would have cited the waste of resources. The reality is that the contract signed by former Mayor Si Sibell said specifically that the Chief could be removed with or without specifying the cause. The Board wisely chose the latter to place the Town in an easily supported legal position. Knowing the Mayor and Board members, they would not have taken this action without good reasons.
The recall petition calls for the removal of the Mayor and all of the trustees except Nick Leibovitz. Nick was appointed by the Mayor and Board last June. At that time, the opposition was overheard to say that they "finally got one of ours on the Board." Nick did not attend the meeting where Al Sharon was terminated but he has been on the Board throughout the time of numerous executive sessions and alleged mismanagement of resources and creation of a poor work environment. At the meetings I attended, he generally agreed with the other members of the Board. Yet he alone is spared criticism for the Board’s actions.
So is this really about Al Sharon’s termination? Definitely not. The recall would remove two trustees, Ed DeLaney and Kristi Schutz, who voted against Al’s termination. Interestingly, those same two trustees voted against the Transit Mix concrete batch plant proposal.
While many well-meaning people may have been swept up in the frenzy whipped up over Al Sharon’s termination, at its heart, this recall is a thinly veiled attempt to regain power by those voted out of office a year ago because of their arrogant disregard for voters concerns about the proposed concrete batch plants.
If these people and their like-minded friends regain control of Monument, concrete batch plants will be just the beginning of the horrors that will be done in the name of property rights. Wealthy local landowners want a free hand to build whatever will bring them the most money with no regard for the increased infrastructure tax burden or the quality of life concerns of residents.
Unless you share their vision of the destruction of our area to profit a few, I urge you to do everything you can to stop this deceitful recall and support the present Monument Mayor and Board of Trustees.
John Heiser
Monument, Colorado