Town Board votes to remove chair of Transportation Advisory Board

Story by Barb Boyer Buck

In a packed five-hour meeting that began at 7 p.m. on June 10 and adjourned five and a half hours later on June 11 at 12:30 a.m., the Estes Park Town Board voted five to two remove Belle Morris from the Transportation Advisory Board.

“I think it has grown into something it was never intended to be,” said Mayor Gary Hall at the Town Board meeting on June 10. He was speaking about the Transportation Advisory Board, and its effectiveness in providing recommendations on transportation issues to the Town Board, for which Trustee Mark Igel is the liaison.

After a passionate discussion among the Trustees about the consequences and implications of removing a citizen from an appointed position to an advisory board, Igel motioned to remove Morris from TAB, citing issues with her decorum and performance. Trustee Bill Brown seconded the motion.

Igel’s initial motion to oust Morris began as an item on the agenda of the May 27 Town Board meeting. No information was included in the board packet for the public to review or the Trustees to consider at that time. The matter also came up late on the agenda and since two board members were gone that evening, the Trustees decided to continue the matter until last night’s meeting, with a recommendation that the TAB board take advantage of the mediation services provided by Restorative Justice. However, this did not happen as both parties needed to agree to participate.

“I met with every member of the TAB individually, confidentially, because I wanted to hear what their opinions were,” continued Hall. He also met with Igel and Morris together and separately.

Hall received letters, some of which were confidential, that expressed concern about Morris, and others that thought the problem was Igel’s approach as liaison to TAB. While what he discovered was concerning, he said, “It’s not a personality or person difference that we’re talking about here, but I do think that the committee is dysfunctional. It’s not going to get better just leaving it alone.”

Suggestions from the Trustees ranged from sunsetting the entire committee to appointing both a new chair and a new liaison.

During public comments on the matter, TAB member Wally Wood and his wife, Melissa Wood, spoke out in support of Morris and against his removal.

Morris spoke to advocate for herself in her role as a volunteer on the advisory board.

Aracely Thomas attended her first meeting as a new TAB member in May. Thomas said she left the meeting wondering if she had made the correct decision to join the TAB based on the tension in the room between the chair and Trustee Igel. Thomas explained that Morris questioned the process of how the new members were vetted to serve on the advisory board. Thomas raised the concern that it appeared to her that Morris was not satisfied that the process of Thomas’ appointment was legitimate.

Misti Marcantonio, another TAB member, told the Trustees that she wanted to ensure respectful dialogue was encouraged on the TAB. Marcantonio said she had been met with dismissive responses such as eye rolls, head shaking, and audible scoffing from Morris when she expressed a dissenting opinion. Marcantonio credited former Public Works Director Greg Muhonen, who has been the Town staff liaison to the TAB, for encouraging Marcantonio to contribute to discussions even when rebuffed by Morris.

Marcantinio also suggested that, since Trustee Frank Lancaster has been on vacation with Morris on more than one occasion, his personal relationship with her would bias his ability to fairly cast a vote regarding whether or not Morris should be removed from the TAB.

Lancaster clarified that he and his wife had purchased trips through a local nonprofit organization’s fundraiser, as had Morris and her husband, and that he had also had the opportunity to be involved in a few other social events with Morris. He dismissed Marcantinio’s conc