On June 10, I attended a Town Board meeting that went late into the night.
The last item on the agenda was an “action item” to remove Belle Morris as the chair of the Transportation Advisory Board.
Here is a little history before I begin my story. When TAB started in 2013, Belle was elected vice chair for seven years before being elected chair, a position she has held since then.
As late as March of this year, she was re-elected as chair by TAB. That makes for a total of 12 years as a citizen volunteer. Mayor Hall reported that as of April 1 of this year he had received no complaints about Belle Morris. All members of TAB are from the community, and all are volunteers. Trustee Igel, a former member of TAB, is the liaison between TAB and the Trustees. His job is to faithfully pass information from TAB to the Trustees.
At the Town Board Meeting on March 11th, the public works staff informed the Town Board that no changes were being proposed to the paid parking program for 2025. Liaison Igel then misrepresented TAB’s position on paid parking to the Town Board, saying that because TAB hadn’t expressly supported the continuation of the paid parking program in Estes, that meant they were opposed to it. That was flatly untrue. And certainly not a joke, either.
Several TAB board members consider Liaison Igel’s report to be a willful misrepresentation of the facts, because he has long opposed paid parking.
At the March 25 TAB meeting, Belle Morris called out Liaison Igel for this misrepresentation, and at the April TAB meeting the majority of those present agreed with the public works staff and continued their support for paid parking. Liaison Igel never acknowledged his misrepresentation, nor did he apologize to TAB.
Here’s where the story goes dark. Instead of apologizing to the TAB members, Trustee Igel doubled down and decided to take vengeance by adding an action item to the Town Board agenda calling for Belle Morris’ removal as chair after a contentious TAB meeting in May. When the Trustees discussed the action item, Trustees Hazelton and Lancaster spoke out against this drastic measure. Trustee Igel got emotional and accused the two Trustees of being disloyal to him by not accepting his version of events at the May meeting unconditionally.
Four current and former TAB members have asserted, on the record, in writing and at the meeting, that the problem in this case is not Belle Morris, but Liaison Igel, who has been a divisive and disruptive influence (their words).
Unfortunately, despite the letters of support from several TAB members, three Trustees, Cenac, Younglund, and Brown, and Mayor Hall voted with Trustee Igel to remove Belle Morris from TAB, thereby enabling Trustee Igel to avoid any responsibility for his misrepresentation to the Board and simultaneously exact revenge on Belle Morris for having called him out.
This is a painful reminder of what is going on in our current political climate. Someone is called out for poor behavior, they deny any responsibility, label themselves as victims (Igel’s June 9 letter), and accuse those who don’t support their version of events as traitors. Then they seek vengeance. Sound familiar?
Belle Morris, a longtime citizen volunteer member of this community, has been treated shamefully. Those who voted with Trustee Igel did not do their due diligence, and have caused harm. It would only take two of the four, Hall, Brown, Cenac, or Younglund, to rescind their vote. That would mean accepting responsibility, apologizing, and making amends to Belle Morris. As hard as that might be, it’s the right thing to do – and it’s never too late to do the right thing.
As for Liaison Igel? He has not acted in good faith, has never taken any responsibility for his part in all this, and he used the Town Board to exact revenge. His part in this needs to be addressed immediately, and it is my hope that when it is he is removed as Liaison.
Melissa Wood, Estes Park
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