HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190657.tiff MINUTES
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
November 12, 2018
The Weld County Council met in regular session in full conformity with the Weld County Home
Rule Charter at 6:30 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2018, at the Weld County Administration
Building, 1150 0 Street, Greeley, CO.
ROLL CALL:
El The meeting was called to order by President Gene Stille. Councilmen Charles Tucker,
Brett Abernathy, Jordan Jemiola and Michael Grillos were present, constituting a
quorum of members. Also present was County Attorney Bruce Barker and Council Secretary
Linda Kane.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA :
Councilman Grillos made a motion to approve an amended agenda that an item under
Old Business, the whistleblower information, be moved to the December meeting, it was
seconded by Councilman Jemiola and carried.
APPROVAL OF DOCUMENTATION
Approval of October 15, 2017, Minutes
Councilman Grillos made a motion to approve the October minutes, seconded by Councilman
Abernathy, and the motion carried.
3rd Quarter Report to the People
Councilman Abernathy made a motion to approve the 3rd quarter RTTP, seconded by
Councilman Tucker, and the motion carried.
REVIEW PROGRAM:
There was no review program.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Bob Grand, of Keenesburg, read a prepared statement. He said he was concerned about
the lack of presentation of a budget voted on 3-2 by the Council. He said it's incomprehensible
that County Commissioners were not informed about the Council's budget request. He holds
Council President Gene Stille responsible and called for his resignation.
He said transparency is important and meetings should be live-streamed so the public can hear
and see their elected officials at work.
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He said the citizen's charter review effort was a wasted effort.
See Addendum 1.
Richard Grimand, Johnstown, called for Councilman Stille's resignation. He accused Stille
of mishandling a recent budget request voted 3-2 by Council. He accused Councilman Stille of
not being qualified to hold the title of President.
et William Gillard, of Greeley, said the power of the County Commissioners is sitting on the
Weld County Council, which is disappointing. He said Councilman Stille handled the budget
request poorly.
Councilman Grillos asked Mr. Gillard about his mention at the last meeting of videotaping the
meetings.
Mr. Gillard said public meetings and work sessions should be videotaped and streamed to the
public. He said he wants to see reactions. He said a lot of people can't make it to public meetings,
especially commissioner meetings held at 9 a.m.
Karen Grillos, of Hudson, said Councilman Stille has ignored his responsibility. He met with
and laughed with commissioners regarding the budget request.
She said he has done nothing productive and asked Council to stop this abuse of position. She
asked that he not be allowed to sit on the Council again.
She passed out t-shirts to Councilmen Abernathy, Jemiola and Grillos. Councilman Jemiola, at
the end of the meeting, thanked her for the gesture and declined to accept the t-shirt.
Councilman Tucker asked Mrs. Grillos about the whistleblower program and an investigation
placed with the Council regarding an investigation of Commissioner Sean Conway and allegations
of abuse against six women. He asked which of the Council members voted to not investigate
(implying Councilman Grillos was opposed to investigating).
Councilman Grillos said that was patently false.
Fifteen seconds of argument ensued and then Councilman Stille banged the gavel. Councilman
Grillos pointed to Councilman Stifle and said, "Don't ever bang that goddamn gavel on me again."
Councilman Stille called Councilman Grillos's statement uncalled for and said he could have him
dismissed. Councilman Jemiola then stated he could have Councilman Stifle dismissed.
More argument ensued and Councilman Tucker asked to finish his questioning. He said that
investigation was voted down and was not investigated. He said Mrs. Grillos spoke against the
investigation, slapping six women in the face.
Mrs. Grillos said that was merely opinion.
Dave Kisker, Johnstown, said Councilman Tucker's comments prove why Council needs a
whistleblower program.
He went on to state: You've heard some pretty serious stuff tonight. We've seen it in the
newspaper. The County Council has a key role in this county government and one of those roles
is to have oversight of the county commissioners and other elected officials. There must be trust
in the Council. It cannot be seen as merely a glove into which the hand of the county
commissioners go. Mr. stille has not met that standard.
He said Councilman Stille misrepresented his friendship with county employee Elisa Kunkel. He
said Councilman Stille did not properly submit the Council's budget request of more than
$101,000.
He presented a Resolution in which he asked Council to ask for Councilman Stille's resignation.
In later business, the Council voted 3-2 to accept the Resolution.
See addendum 2.
Councilman Stille said he wasn't going to defend himself on half-truths and accusations. He has
only one more meeting at Council President. He said he's satisfied in his heart of his ethics and
integrity.
Councilman Abernathy, of Greeley, made a statement under public comment. He said: I stand
before you here tonight as a constituent of Weld County, a citizen of district 1 and I want to express
my disappointment in our president. This comes personally from me, Gene. We asked you in
January how you knew Elisa Kunkel and you sat right there and lied to me.
Councilman Abernathy said he looked up to Councilman Stille for a long time. He said differences
expressed in the Council meetings didn't feel personal, until Councilman Stille lied about knowing
Ms. Kunkel.
Councilman Abernathy said he could no longer trust Councilman Stille.
Councilman Stille said he properly submitted the budget request to Finance Director Don Warden.
Sherrie Pief, of Greeley, said Councilman Stille wrote a letter of support for Ms. Kunkel proving
he was more than an acquaintance. She said if the Council has lost faith in him, he needs to
resign.
NEW BUSINESS:
Coordinator Reports/Councilman Reports
Councilman Stille had items of discussion. A) A presentation by Rich Werner, President&CEO,
"Upstate Colorado Economic Development"was well attended. B) Update on "Bright Futures"
and employment in Weld County, e.g. by 2020 there will be over 336,000 employed and by
2050 there will be over 734,000 employed.
Bills
Councilman Grillos made a motion to approve bills, it was seconded by Councilman Abernathy
and carried.
o Weld County Phone Bill for October$29.11
Discussion Item by Councilman Grillos
Councilman Grillos said he wished the newly elected council members luck.
Resolution
Councilman Grillos made a motion to accept the Resolution submitted by Mr. Kisker, it was
seconded by Councilman Abernathy and passed by a 3-2 roll call vote.
Prior to the vote, Councilman Jemiola asked for discussion. He asked Mr. Kisker whether the
entire budget request was submitted. Mr. Kisker said there was some discussion, but it was
never clearly stated.
Councilman Stille said he presented the entire budget request of$101,323. The request was not
approved.
Ms. Pief said she attended the meeting and the $101,323 budget was never presented.
Councilman Abernathy made a motion to amend the resolution to change the verbiage in
paragraph five of the Resolution from "Chair" to "President," it was seconded by Councilman
Grillos and passed.
Those voting opposed were Councilmen Stille and Tucker,while Councilmen Abernathy, Jemiola
and Grillos voted in favor.
See Addendum 3.
OLD BUSINESS:
Commissioner Replacement Procedures
Councilman Abernathy made a motion to accept into Council procedure, a measure to replace a
commissioner should it become necessary.
County Attorney Bruce Barker helped amend the verbiage of the procedure. Councilman Grillos
made a motion to amend the verbiage, seconded by Councilman Jemiola, and passed
unanimously.
After discussion, Councilman Jemiola seconded the motion to accept the item as procedure and
it passed unanimously in a roll call vote. Councilman Jemiola voted aye with comment, stating
his commendation to Councilman Abernathy for producing the procedure.
See Addendum 4.
Updated Procedures
Councilman Grillos asked that a complete update of Council procedures be given to Council
members at the December meeting, it was seconded by Councilman Abernathy and passed.
ADJOURNMENT:
By acclamation, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
r71 ago
December 7, 2018 Council Pres dent,Gene Stille
J. - -
Council Secretary, inda Kane
County Council Meeting 11/12/2018:
Bob Grand I live at 105 Woodward Avenue, Keenesburg, CO
We have a system of government that is not perfect but certainly the best in the world. It is built on the
trust of the officials by the people that they will do the job they have been elected to do. It is with great
concern that I read about the lack of presentation of a budget voted, on 3-2 by this County Council,to
the County Commissioners. I find it incomprehensible that the County Commissioners did not know
what was going on with this budget issue,even with Commissioner Moreno asking Mr.Stille, if in fact,
the budget as submitted was voted on by the Council. Perhaps that takes the Commissioner's off the
hook but left Gene Stille front and center. If the allegations are true, at the least,Chairman Gene Stile
should resign for failure to perform his duties as an elected official.All his communications with the
County Commissioners and the County attorney should be made public,this is not a secret society, but
County government run by duly elected officials.
Transparency is important. In today's world there is no reason that all Official County Public meetings
should not be live streamed so the public can hear and see their elected officials at work. Having been to
several meetings I can understand why some people would not want the public to see how they act,as
the bullying and Implied threats would not be well received by the public.Too bad.Act professionally
and do not be afraid to have the public see what you are,if you cannot, maybe you should not be in
office.
We,who voted,got to see the 8 ballot issues involving the County Council.A disappointment,for the
most part,these were technical cleanup issues,and did not address the fundamental issues of the
relationship between the Weld County Commissioners and the County Council.The Citizen's Charter
review effort was an opportunity wasted.The issue with Council Chairman Gene Stilling is an example.
Who investigates this?The County Attorney,who works directly the County Commissioners,the District
Attorney,whose budget is approved by the County Commissioners?The Colorado State ethics
Commission?The Colorado Attorney General to see if there has been any violation of state law
regarding the actions of the Weld County Commissioners pertaining to their fiduciary responsibilities to
the public. Because we are a home rule charter county I believe that it is left,ultimately,to the voters to
decide.It is our job to hold elected officials accountable at the ballot box. Today that is a tough road but
as that it is changing.
Citizens need to get better organized throughout the county so that the public can hold those folks who
treat their job as their private fiefdom accountable.This is our County, not yours or mine,but ours. Our
elected officials should also understand it is our county, not theirs,to do as they please,with no
effective oversight other than the ballot box.
1 A.
RESOLUTION
RE: RESOLUTION THAT WELD COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER GENE STILLE SHOULD RESIGN
FROM THE WELD COUNTY COUNCIL EFFECTIVE 12/31/18
WHEREAS,the Weld County Council was formulated in the Weld County Home Rule Charter for
the purpose of providing oversight of all County activities on behalf of the citizens of Weld County,and
WHEREAS, in order for the Weld County Council to faithfully fulfil its oversight responsibilities,
citizens must have complete confidence in the integrity and independence of the Weld County Council,
and
WHEREAS, in order for the citizens of Weld County to have complete confidence in the integrity
and independence of the Weld County Council, the actions of the individual members of the Weld
County Council must demonstrate integrity and independence,and
WHEREAS,the Council has been presented with information from citizens directly
demonstrating a lack of independence and integrity by Council Member Gene Stille,and
WHEREAS, the Council has been presented with publicly available information(Greeley Tribune,
20 October 2018)that Council Member Gene Stille has not fulfilled the responsibility to promote the
interests of the citizens as required by his role as Chair of the County Council and as a member of the
County Council,and
WHEREAS, after review of the available evidence indicating that Mr.Gene Stille no longer
demonstrates the integrity and independence needed to retain the confidence of the Weld County
citizens,and
WHEREAS,as a result of his actions, under C.R.S. 18-8-404, Mr.Stifle may be guilty of Official
First Degree Misconduct
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the Weld County Council that Council Member Gene
Stille should resign his seat on the Weld County Council,effective on 12/31/18.
The above and foregoing Resolution was,on motion duly made and seconded,adopted by the
following vote on the 12th day of November,A. D.2018.
Name Vote Signature
(Aye/Nay)
Mk/Neil-VIA.. a
Brett Abernathy
Michael Grillos
Jordan Jemiola
Eugene Stifle
Charles Tucker
•
•
RESOLUTION
RE: RESOLUTION THAT WELD COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER GENE STILLE SHOULD RESIGN
FROM THE WELD COUNTY COUNCIL EFFECTIVE 12/31/18
WHEREAS,the Weld County Council was formulated in the Weld County Home Rule Charter for
the purpose of providing oversight of all County activities on behalf of the citizens of Weld County,and
WHEREAS,in order for the Weld County Council to faithfully fulfil its oversight responsibilities,
citizens must have complete confidence in the integrity and independence of the Weld County Council,
and
WHEREAS, in order for the citizens of Weld County to have complete confidence in the integrity
and independence of the Weld County Council,the actions of the individual members of the Weld
County Council must demonstrate integrity and independence, and
WHEREAS,the Council has been presented with information from citizens directly
demonstrating a lack of independence and integrity by Council Member Gene Stifle,and
WHEREAS,the Council has been presented with publicly available information(Greeley Tribune,
20 October 2018)that Council Member Gene Stille has not fulfilled the responsibility to promote the
interests of the citizens as required by his role as it pfthe County Council and as a member of the
County Council,and `( ttl1l''
WHEREAS, after review of the available`evidence indicating that Mr.Gene Stille no longer
demonstrates the integrity and Independence needed to retain the confidence of the Weld County
citizens,and
WHEREAS,as a result of his actions, under C.R.S. 18-8-4O4, Mr.Stille may be guilty of Official
First Degree Misconduct
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the Weld County Council that Council Member Gene
Stille should resign his seat on the Weld County Council, effective on 12/31/18.
The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded,adopted by the
following vote on the 12`h day of November,A. D.2018,
Name Vote Signature
(Aye/Nay) � �,
Brett Abernathy 3
Michael Grillos
Jordan Jemiola
ene Stifle
`1 Charles Tucker
ACOX' 'CIVkirilf/k
Weld County Council Article XIII, County Council
Pursuant to Section 16-7
Every elective county office shall become vacant, on the happening of any one of the
following events, before the expiration of the term of office:
(1) The death of the officer.
(2) The resignation of the officer.
(3) The removal of the officer, by recall or otherwise.
(4) The officer ceasing to be a resident of Weld County, or in the case of an officer required to
live in a district, ceasing to be a resident of the district from which elected.
(5) The officer's refusal or neglect to take his oath of office, or renew his official bond, or to
deposit such oath and bond within the time prescribed by law.
(6) The final decision of a competent tribunal, declaring void an officer's election or
appointment .
(7) The final decision of a competent tribunal finding an officer guilty of a crime.
Pursuant to Section 3-15 Vacancies
(1) A vacancy in the office of the County Commissioner shall be filled by appointment by
County Council.
Pursuant to Section 13-8
(1) A vacancy in the Board of County Commissioners shall be filled by appointment by
the Council. Said appointees shall be of the same political party as that of the previous officer,and the
appointment shall be effective for the remainder of the term.
Board of County Commissioners vacancy procedure 08/13/2018.
1. Upon notification of a vacancy to the County Council by the county attorney of the final
determination of commissioner office vacancy,pursuant to Section 16-7 of the Weld County Hare Rule
Charter, the procedures listed below shall be followed. The county attorney shall attempt to notify
the Weld County Council within 72 hours, following the final determination of commissioner office
vacancy.
2. Notification shall be made for applications for a qualified person to be appointed to the vacant
commissioner position within (5)days following the final determination of a vacancy of a commissioner
office. Method of notification shall be determined by the County Council. Notification shall be made
requesting applicant resumes to be delivered to the Weld County Council office in a sealed envelope by a
date specified.
3. Within five (5)days following the closing date of application acceptance, two(2)appointed
Weld County Council members shall open and review all applicant resumes. Five resumes shall be
selected from the responding applicants.Applicants must be of the same political party as the former
commissioner that has vacated the office. Determination of political affiliation shall be based on state
requirements of registration deadline for participation in their respective party caucus.
(a) Chosen candidates shall be given a background check by the Weld County Sheriff to
confirm eligibility to hold public office.
4.The President of the Weld County Council shall call a special meeting to convene within three
(3) business days following the selection of the qualified candidate resumes.
5.The Weld County Council shall receive and review each of the five resumes during the special
meeting. A date for interviews of the chosen applicants shall be established at the special meeting.
Resumes of applicants not chosen will be returned to applicants at next meeting or destroyed per
County personnel document standards.
6. Invitations to each of the applicants shall be made by the Secretary of the Weld County
Council, within 72 hours,for an open interview of each candidate at the next regular County
Council meeting.
7. All Weld County Council members shall be in attendance for interviews. In the event of
-emergency or excused absence from the meeting by a council member,the interviews shall be re-
schedpled forthe next regular scheduled County Council meeting.
8. One applicant shall be selected for the vacancy on the Board of County Commissioners
following completion of interviews. Selection of the candidate shall be made at the end of the meeting
following open discussion of each candidate by the County Council.A roll call vote shall be made for
each vote made during the Commissioner vacancy appointment process.
9. Official notification of selection shall be made by the President at the meeting,as well as by
electronic communication to the successful applicant after adjournment of the meeting by the
secretary, but not to exceed 24 hours in duration after meeting adjournment.
10. Applicant shall be sworn in at the earliest available opportunity following notification.
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