Fascinating
Dear Editor:
First, “Thank you” to all the citizens who volunteer their time to serve on our local organization and community boards. Your time and efforts make Meeker a better place. Keep running your meetings to the best of your abilities and stay involved.
Now, regarding a different level of boards in our county. The ones that are responsible for important decisions affecting us all, including the direction of local, state, and federal funds and tax revenues.
It is fascinating how the citizens of this county have lost the right to share opinions and ask questions on agenda items, at an effective time, during meetings.
When was it decided that open public involvement be restricted to three minutes prior to addressing the first agenda item?
In questioning several varied board members about limited public comment, the responses were “if not for that the meetings would go on for hours” and “I don’t have all night.”
To that point, I would like to address the process of running public meetings with efficiency that allows healthy participation. Citizens then go home feeling heard and motivated to support and trust the leadership.
The intentional lack of respect (or maybe fear) for the structure provided by Roberts Rules of Order (RRO) should be questioned. Somewhere along the line, certain boards have dictated an “allowed” 3 minute comment period at the beginning of a public meeting. During this time, board members will not answer questions, sometimes appearing nonchalant and distant. In observation, these open public comment periods allow statements irrelevant to the meeting agenda, personal “beefs,” and comments leaning into chaos… Not a great way to start any kind of meeting. These chosen parameters restrict important communication opportunities and demonstrate a lack of respect for public input. No wonder there is so much dissension and criticism after citizens leave these meetings, frustrated at not being heard. In effect, the opportunity to productively reason with public officials has been deleted from the “process.”
Bringing back the application of Robert’s Rules would do a lot to improve and calm the meeting process. When an agenda item requires action, per RRO there must be a first and second motion…followed by “is there any discussion?”……THIS is where public involvement must be allowed. The public comments and questions should be coordinated with each specific agenda item throughout the meeting. The board can certainly limit citizens to three minutes, and if the person speaking strays off topic, it is up to the board chairman to call “point of order…off topic…thank you,” redirect, and move on. No one has to be there all night. All that being said, citizens have a responsibility to stay well informed and ask good questions, no rambling, stay on the agenda topic. The board members have obligations to run a well organized, transparent, informative meeting. A public meeting, with all due respect to citizens, requires board members to be well prepared on all agenda items, able to answer questions and listen to comments, while leaving all personal agendas aside.
Give all that some thought and find the perspective…
Another disturbing aspect worth paying attention to, is the number of executive sessions, conducted by the BOCC [Board of County Commissioners]. Personnel matters are the most common reason for executive sessions. Abuse of executive sessions tends to point to a lack of transparency and back-room decision making (which is unethical at best).
And at last, appointed board members of special districts are another critical case in point. Per state statute, appointing authorities of special district boards cannot give those board members direction, nor appoint them with special agendas in mind. The focus of the appointing authority should be to form a balanced board, appointing someone that recognizes “for the good of the whole,” and someone that not only recognizes, but is willing to follow the requirements of that board’s governing statutes. In reference, SDACO.com is the statewide organization that specifically supports all special tax district boards with specialized training, legal advice, legal parameters specific to our state, etc. All good information for the protection of individual board members as well as the public they serve. Hopefully all of our special districts have expectations for adequate board training. An educated board makes educated decisions.
It recently crossed my mind to contact the state FFA and 4-H offices to see if their “Parley Pro” (Parliamentary Procedure) teams would be interested in a field trip to Meeker. The teams could observe our local government meetings, possibly eye opening, and then provide a critique and offer demonstrations based on Roberts Rules of Order. They shine a light on this widely used,
structured base for decision making. If you have never had the opportunity to watch these young people share their knowledge, precision and respect for this process, it is inspirational.
Let us not be the “cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.”
Toby Leavitt
Meeker
PS: I’d still love to know what happened to the $4 million…
Library comments
Dear Editor:
The Meeker Regional Library was formally established in April, 1977. It’s had the same by-laws since 1982. It’s run smoothly, without controversy, for all these years. It’s a beautiful public space immensely enjoyed by its patrons. It’s always been a place to discover new ideas and learn about any subject under the sun. A place free from suppression and political or religious overtones.
Why then, have its operation and policies come under recent attack? With only a little digging, the answer is quite clear. The Board of Trustees has 3 relatively new members with apparent personal opinions on what books should and should not be on our library’s shelves.
They may not understand the protections that exist for library book acquisition and collections. Of course, the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution is the basis for all library policy: Freedom of Speech. And then you have the entire section of Colorado State Statutes, 24-90. Changing the Meeker Library policies does not forgo the librarian’s duties and responsibilities under the law. His or her obligation is to provide diverse materials and resources, and to “contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large.” -American Library Association, May 1953 and Colorado Library Association Intellectual Freedom Manual, 1987
So, I would urge the Board to put aside their personal politics, beliefs and prejudices and just follow the law. I, for one, would appreciate it if they would value my rights as a United States citizen and as a patron of the Meeker Library.
Before I close, I would like to comment on the Letter to the Editor written by John Moffitt, in the Dec. 12, 2024 issue of the Herald Times. I would respectfully disagree that the topics of the Library Board are confusing. When in doubt, consult appropriate reference materials and the law. You mentioned being concerned with “Choosing to apply values that are representative and healthy for our community in making book purchases…” Again, your job as a board member is not to choose books for the community. That is the job of a trained librarian following the law. It really is that simple. If you are not finding the books you would like to see on the shelves, the library has a book request process. If there is a book in the library that you’ve read, find particularly disturbing, and think it should be removed, there is a process for that. If you see a book on the shelf that isn’t your cup of tea, don’t read it. I would urge you to not change the policies and procedures unless new laws dictate it. The current system is simple and has worked for decades.
What I’ve learned after becoming aware of this issue is how important it is to pay attention and attend meetings.
Thank you,
Jenifer Morlan
Meeker
Concerned about the library
Dear Editor,
As past library board members who are avid readers and regular library users, we would like to correct a narrative that is being circulated within our community. The Meeker Public Library does not now, nor never has had a liberal left-wing agenda. Nor does the library now or has it ever “promoted” a left leaning agenda or giving pornography to children. It is disingenuous to claim otherwise. The bylaws have been developed over a long period of time-clarifying the library’s purpose and aligning them with state and federal laws. Our five-member boards for the past 20-30 years have been made up of at least 3-4 church attendees from many different community churches — Episcopalian, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and non-denominational.
Currently on the non-fiction shelves there are approx. 110 books in the Christian section as opposed to 10 in the LGBTQ section (please note-all of those LGBTQ books are in the adult section)
Furthermore, we wholeheartedly endorse Kristina Selby as librarian along with her assistants, Ann and Erin. They provide a balanced book selection (the new book display front and center has always been diverse) as well as wonderful services to the community. These are services we have all worked towards making it possible for them to provide: science and STEM programs available to all students- home and public schooled alike, senior outreach to the Wing, a junior librarian program, 1,000 books before kindergarten to encourage literacy, book and TV locked room family mysteries, computers for public use, movies, legal help, story times for little ones, summer programs with prizes for all readers, availability of language, and music labs etc.
We would also like to endorse our library collection — a collection that provides information on topics and subject matter for all interests (as is required by the 1st Amendment). Restricting acquisitions or directing what is removed is protected by current Colorado law. This collection very importantly serves to keep our isolated community up to date and informed about the world beyond.
Please do not tag our library or librarians with national agendas driven by fear or hate from either side. It is a library that has been built, developed and curated by people living here. Meeker has always been known for our independent people and thinkers — none of whom, we suspect, would be happy to have dictating what reading material they can or can’t have access to.
With great concern and care for our library,
Ellen Conrado, Pat Daggett, Cassie Denney, Barry L. Dupire, Ann Franklin, Mary Grady, Laurel Haney, Angela Harris, Kristine Hicken, Mandy Mobley, Ellen Reichert, Amy Tupy, Rhonna Waldref
Meeker