Four members of a board that governs operations of the Pueblo West Metropolitan District are trying to block a recall election by protesting the move to unseat them.
The Voices of Pueblo West, a group formed to launch the recall election, targeted Stan Hren, Bill Vickers, Steve Abel and Jeff Sloan, all on the five-member district board.
The district manages the community of Pueblo West. According to 2008 census data, the unincorporated community has about 32,100 residents and 11,500 homes.
Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert Ortiz has certified the petitions, saying there are enough signatures to force the election. The board members have until 5 p.m. today to file a protest that would force a public hearing.
Recall supporters say the four violated state open-meetings requirements, attempted to transfer district funds improperly and took other improper actions.
The board members deny the charges.
“They don’t come close to reflecting reality,” Sloan said.
The recall move began after the board fired Don Saling, who had worked as district manager for more than eight years.
Previous boards “never questioned anything he did,” said Anne Beers, a Pueblo West resident who supports the board members. “This board is very different; it questions everything.”
Sloan said Saling failed to provide information to the board in a timely fashion and members found it difficult to communicate with him.
Saling, who was fired in March, couldn’t be reached for comment. He told The Pueblo Chieftain that the board wanted to micromanage him.
Saling’s termination was unwarrented, said Linda Lowry, a spokeswoman for the recall group, but it wasn’t the primary cause of the recall drive.
“There were just a lot of decisions being made that were not in the best interest of the community,” she said.
Among those decisions was one to disband a board that selected members of Pueblo West’s Committee of Architecture. The COA oversees covenants governing land use and building improvements, among other things.
Board supporters say the COA took actions favorable to real estate and development businesses that didn’t always benefit residents.
Lowry denied that the COA favored special interests over the public welfare.
