La Junta tourism board chair rebuts requires resignation

La Junta City Council spent some time at its Monday meeting reiterating calls for tourism committee chairman John Yergert to step down.

Yergert attended Monday’s city council meeting to address concerns that were primarily raised by councilor Ed Vela at the January 19th council meeting. Mayor Jeffri Pruyn apologized to Yergert for the discussion that took place at the last meeting when Vela called for Yergert to resign.

Yergert said he felt blinded by a long discussion at the previous council meeting after Vela raised concerns about the transparency of the tourism committee and suggested Yergert step down from his voluntary position as chairman of the board.

“My term of office expired last December. I was re-elected to the board in January 20,” said Yergert. “At that time I got in touch and asked if someone else would like to become chairman. Mayor Pruyn, you were there with Councilor Ed Vela, and nobody wanted the position. At least nobody answered then. So I was happy to stay . ” at that time as CEO. So I felt a bit blind from your last session. “

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Yergert said he wasn’t sure where Vela’s complaints were coming from.

“With COVID and everything else, I don’t quite understand where that comes from. Just the way it was done, I think it should have been addressed at one of our meetings,” said Yergert. “Another thing for the record, it was kind of weird, I got a call a week later from City Councilor Vela saying that he didn’t really want it to do the front page of the newspaper, but also that Mayor Pruyn asked him to has it. And I’m like, ‘Wow, really?’ “

Yergert said he called Pruyn after Vela suggested that Yergert’s resignation from the chair was her idea. Pruyn denied that she told Vela that Yergert should resign.

“I just found it very inappropriate the way it was brought up,” said Yergert. “I don’t think it looks as good in the council as it was done. I’ll leave it at that.”

Vela said he had asked Yergert to resign but did not intend for Yergert to retire completely from the tourism authority.

“The only thing we wanted from you, John, was to step down as chairman of the tourism association and still remain a member,” said Vela. “I told you this in our conversation that we had last time. The ‘inappropriateness’, well, I don’t know. I and some other people don’t think I was inappropriateness because if you don’t say you’ I’ll never change anything. And that’s how I felt about it. “

Vela said he also wanted to bring more “energy” and “enthusiasm” to the tourism board before addressing an issue he asked about at the city council meeting on Jan. 19. He asked why a local hotel had not paid its tourism taxes and why the board had not pursued other funds it had granted.

Pam Denahy, director of tourism and events, told Vela that an Arkansas Valley Resource Grant was not delivered after the grant holder failed to take the money due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You have decided to postpone this event and if you receive this grant again we will re-examine this application,” Denahy said. “The money was never given because the COVID event never happened.”

Councilor Paul Velasquez said he was contacted by voters who said Vela’s behavior at the January 19 city council meeting was “unprofessional” and a “direct attack on a volunteer citizen and city worker”.

Velasquez said several people who had reached out to him had said to him, “How do you expect me or us as the city council … to take on those difficult roles as volunteer citizens and employees if they want?” to be attacked? “

Prosecutor Phil Malouff said the city of Yergert owed a grand apology, making it clear that just because a councilor believes a chairman should leave that position does not mean that the council as a whole or the city approves or approves of that opinion has represented action on it.

Councilor Scott Eckhart, who initially supported Vela’s call for Yerbert’s resignation but then opted for more transparency about the minutes of the meeting at the city council meeting on January 19, asked Malouff what rules or regulations exist for city councils and the sharing of minutes.

“We passed a resolution,” said Malouff. “In this resolution we pointed out that all city administrations must respect the rules of open meetings. When it comes to sending meetings, the requirements are simple: they must be published as you would publish any council meeting at least 24 hours in advance. ”

Malouff also noted that council members can formally or informally request more information from the boards or attend the various board meetings for first-hand information.

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Pruyn added that due to COVID-19, the city council no longer heard reports from the board of directors as regularly as it used to. Pruyn said she thinks the council can start hearing board reports again every quarter.

City administrator Rick Klein said that urban renewal director Cynthia Nieb should appear at the next council meeting and that the tourism authority is scheduled for the next meeting after that.

Malouff advised Vela and other council members if they had specific questions for the tourism authority to put them in writing and forward them to the authority.

“There is a process here and if we respect the process it will be a lot easier for tonight,” Malouff said.

After the tourism board has made their recommendations for changes to the statute, they can be presented to the city council, Malouff said.

“In my humble opinion, this was wrong (Monday night) and two weeks ago,” said Malouff. “If there needs to be a discussion about a board’s work rules, those things should start at that level first and then filter out to us. At least give the board a chance to think about it and regulate it.”

At second reading, the Council adopted the expansion of the Tourism Committee from seven to nine members, which had been discussed at the meeting on January 19.

Tribune Democrat reporter Christian Burney can be reached by email at cburney@gannett.com.