A number of interested Penrose citizens showed up at the organizational meeting Tuesday night of the newly appointed Board of Directors for the Penrose Park and Recreation District. (photo courtesy of News 5)
The newly seated Penrose Park and Recreation District Board of Directors conducted a reorganizational meeting in Penrose Tuesday evening one week after the Fremont County Board of Commissioners appointed five new board members.
To avoid the possible dissolution of the Penrose Park and Recreation District, the Board of Commissioners appointed a new interim board of directors at a special meeting September 16th. After citizen complaints over the management of the Penrose Park District by the previous board, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) announced that they had discovered that the district had not properly conducted an election since 2008. With each of the five board members serving four year terms, DOLA said that meant the Penrose Park District no longer had a legally constituted Board of Directors.
DOLA officials said there were two options available. DOLA could order dissolution of the recreation district or the Fremont County Board of Commissioners could appoint an interim board to serve for six months until an election could be held to seat a new permanent board. With nine letters of interest, the Board of Commissioners appointed Roberta Newton, Susan Luck, Calvin Sundermann, Tami Mundy, and Patrick Slawson. They will serve until a permanent board is elected or no longer than March 15, 2015.
At the reorganizational meeting Tuesday night Luck was elected as the new board Chair. Slawson was chosen to serve as Vice President; Mundy will serve as Treasurer, and Newton will serve as Secretary. Sundermann will serve in a role as Program Director. Sundermann said he wants to help get the district and the Penrose Park back in shape over the next six months but probably would not seek election to the permanent board.
In the resolution appointing the new board, the Board of Commissioners set out certain obligations that the new Penrose Park District Board must work towards. Those obligations include securing a surety bond for each board member, meet regularly at a time and place in compliance with Colorado’s Open Meetings Law, call a special election within six months, prepare a 2015 budget, and certify a mill levy to the Board of Commissioners for 2015 property tax collections as required by state law.
Among issues discussed by the new board Tuesday night was the need to identify all of the assets of the Penrose Park District and pursue a comprehensive audit of the district’s finances.