BAYFIELD — In the wake of Bayfield Town Manager Katie Sickles’ decision Tuesday to resign amid the fallout from attempts to have her contract terminated, it weighed heavily on multiple town board trustees.
It was an emotional time during Tuesday’s town board meeting, as board trustee Kat Katsos asked the town board to address the “elephant in the room” in that moment, which it did.
Katsos told fellow board members she had little faith in them as a whole, claiming members “disregard their lane” when it comes to matters like the town manager saga. She also brought up the idea of appointing an interim town manager to help “steer the ship” while searching for someone who can fill the role full time.
Mayor Tom Au told The Durango Herald that that option is on the table, but added the town board would have to agree upon it. Au also said deciding on the next town manager would be strictly a town board decision because it is not an elected position.
Trustee Laura MacLaurin said she was sad to see Sickles planning to depart, but took issue with Katsos’ broader categorization over the matter. Trustee Matthew Nyberg said he thought it had “cleared the air” over what happened, but was sorry to hear Sickles plans to leave.
With tears in her eyes, periodically putting her face to her palms, Trustee Brenna Morlan expressed hurt and anger over other board members’ “agendas” in how the matter unfolded. She turned her head right in the direction of Au when voicing her anger. Au glanced left toward Morlan, but didn’t respond.
Sickles did not respond to an email Tuesday requesting comment about her resignation or what might come next in her professional career.
When asked whether the August events surrounding Sickles could have been handled differently, Au declined to comment.
Aside from a new town manager, a town board trustee position is vacant after Cash D. Snooks resigned last week.
Au told the Herald that the town board trustee spot left by Snooks must be filled within the next 60 days based on state statute, but suggested there is a chance the town board may need a bit more time than that 60-day timeline to find Sickles’ successor as town manager.
The town board also unanimously approved the process of getting a quote on the cost of working with a consulting associate group called KRW to fill the town manager vacancy. That will be discussed further during the Oct. 15 town board meeting.
The application pool will be nationwide. Au told the Herald that the search could “perhaps” focus on those with prior local government experience, whether as a town manager or similar role, but the town board would need to decide on that.
Au also said the town manager application deadline may depend on whether the town board opts to go with a public sector executive search group to handle the process because the timeline would ultimately fall on that group’s schedule.
“If they get 500 people in the first two weeks, we’re not going to be looking any longer. But if they get two people in two weeks, we’ll probably extend it out longer,” he said.
If the town opts to hire KRW or another public sector executive search group to oversee the process of hiring a town manager, Au said it’d go through that group. However, he also said a job advertisement may be still posted on the town’s website should working with groups like KRW not work out.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
