Bayfield Town Manager Katie Sickles, who has faced calls for her termination in recent months by some town board members, submitted her letter of resignation on Tuesday.
In the letter, Sickles cited events in August in which she faced calls for her termination, which she said “created a deep gash” in her confidence about the town board’s “ability to fairly evaluate my performance and their ability to be transparent.”
“When we returned to Bayfield in September, we deliberated for weeks about the August events and whether members of the Board could put the Town’s best interest over their own agendas,” she said in the letter. “After all of the focused training and work sessions, actions by members of the Board clarified that Board duties were not a priority. Whether the Guiding Principles are adopted or not I hope the Board members take steps to address the issues that are creating chaos.”
Sickles plans for her last day to be Nov. 13 so she can wrap up her duties pertaining to the 2025 budget and support the monthly planning commission meeting, the letter said.
Sickles, who has served as the full-time town manager since April 2020 after a two-month interim period, also said in the letter she “will use paid time off for a period” to support the town board and staff members remotely until Dec. 27, unless the board suggests an alternate date.
“Any PTO left will be paid out at the following payroll in January 2025,” she said.
Efforts to reach Sickles for comment were not immediately successful Tuesday.
Efforts to reach Mayor Tom Au, and town board trustees Kat Katsos, Laura MacLaurin and Cash D. Snooks were not immediately successful Tuesday. Board trustee Matthew Nyberg declined to comment Tuesday.
Nyberg made a motion during the Aug. 6 meeting for the Bayfield Town Board to terminate Sickles’ contract on the grounds that she hasn’t been acting in the “best interest of the majority of the board” and was “unwilling to do so.”
The town board went into executive session on Aug. 20 to discuss legal questions about the possible termination of Sickles’ contract.
On Aug. 30, a notice about a performance improvement plan was sent to Sickles. On Sept. 3, the town board unanimously voted to nix that plan. The main area of contention was a bullet point asking for a draft “succession plan” for the town manager position by identifying two “potential candidates.”
Katsos and board trustee Brenna Morlan told The Durango Herald immediately after that Sept. 3 meeting that they opposed the PIP, especially the requirement calling for a “succession plan.”
“You’re asking somebody in a performance improvement plan to basically replace themselves,” Morlan told the Herald on Sept. 3.
The way Katsos and Morlan viewed it, it’s one thing for an employer to create a succession plan for a potential employee change, but something else entirely when that employee is required to come up with such a plan themselves.
“There’s a time and a place for that, and this wasn’t it,” Katsos told the Herald. “It was a bad idea.”
Snooks, who was elected in April, announced his resignation Friday, according to an email sent to Sickles and Au, which was forwarded to the town board and the Herald.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances I have decided to step down and focus on my family,” the email said. “I hope that this gives someone else the opportunity to participate on the town board who can devote their time and efforts to the town adequately. I appreciate the opportunity to serve the town and look forward to the future of Bayfield.”
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
