Paperwork submitted in Monument mayor recall effort

Update:

Organizers behind the group fighting to keep a methadone clinic out of Monument have officially launched an effort to recall the mayor.

Paperwork was filed with the town manager Friday morning to verify the group has the right form to begin collecting signatures.

The group says it decided not to pursue a recall of the Board of Trustees after the trustees scheduled a meeting Friday to discuss an emergency moratorium on methadone clinics in the community.

NEW INFORMATION: The meeting that was scheduled for Friday night has been rescheduled for Monday August 24, 2015 at 6 p.m.

The group told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that it is still calling for the resignation of the town manager and town clerk.

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Original report:

MONUMENT, Colo. – Organizers behind the group fighting to keep a methadone clinic out of Monument asked for resignations from two leaders, and later extended it to all the town’s leaders following Monday night’s meeting.

Residents showed up to Monday night’s Board of Trustees Meeting expecting members to make a decision on an emergency moratorium that would ban methadone clinics in Monument. Instead, the board had a discussion on the matter and did not schedule time for public decision on the proposed moratorium.

Last week, theThe Bureau of Adjustments voted unanimously against a proposed methadone clinic. Prior to that decision, a company planning to operate the clinic wanted to open it up in a vacant building near a school and across from Limbach Park. People wanted an emergency moratorium to be instituted as another barrier to prevent the clinic from setting up shop.

Community members were outraged when they heard about the clinic months after the company started taking steps to solidify its residency. No Methadone in Monument organizers Tom Allen and Greg Coopman targeted the town’s manager, Pamela Smith, and the town’s clerk, Cynthia Sirochman, for keeping the Board of Trustees and the public in the dark.

“This would not have come this far if that had happened so I absolutely place blame and they admitting blame on responsibility. These are not the people who are going to be leading the community leading Us forward,” said Coopman.

Smith said after the meeting the company behind the methadone clinic was not forthcoming with information about its intended plans for the building for months. The company had shown interested in the building, but Smith said her office heard nothing after that and therefore, believed the company had decided to look elsewhere. She said as soon as she became aware that the company did in fact plan on putting in a clinic, she notified the Board of Trustees and public.

Sirochman did not want to comment after Monday’s meeting.

Allen and Coopman voiced frustrations that the Board of Trustees did not make a decision on an emergency moratorium at Monday’s meeting.

“They know they did this wrong. They had an opportunity to put a moratorium in place and stop this. We wouldn’t even be here talking about this if they town did the right thing,” said Allen.

Allen and Coopman asked both Smith and Sirochman to resign. After the board did not make a decision, Allen said his organization would initiate a recall to remove every board member, the mayor, the mayor pro-tem, town attorney, manager and clerk from office.

“These people haven’t been honest with us and we are done. It’s time to replace them and put people in place that are going to be concerned about our town. Period. We are done with this,” said Allen.

Smith said she would leave if the board asked her to. Otherwise, she has no plans to leave her post. Sirochman did not want to comment on calls for her resignation.

The Board of Trustees plans to hold a meeting Friday to make a decision on the emergency moratorium.

An attorney representing the company running the clinic spoke at the end of Monday’s meeting. He said it would be unconstitutional for the board to pass a moratorium that would target his client.