The Dolores Public Library Board voted this week to issue a request for proposals to hire an outside consultant to assess the library’s workplace. Board members had discussed the step as a way to better understand internal operations during the board’s annual review process.
During a special meeting Monday, the board did not discuss costs and instead focused on defining the assessment’s scope. The board continues to navigate internal conflict and governance questions, including a bylaws review with legal counsel and proposed changes to an intergovernmental agreement with the town.
As the board works through those concerns, three residents spoke during public comment Monday, saying the disputes contrast with how the library operates day to day.
They pointed to strong attendance, popular programming and the library’s role as a central gathering place in town.
“I don’t understand dissension. We are really tired in this town of this dissension,” said Dolores resident of 60 years, Deanna Truelsen, who also commended library director Sean Gantt for his support and community presence.
Truelsen added that legal fees take away from investing back into the library.
“We never involved an attorney when the boards fought,” said resident Val Truelsen, who served in many town leadership positions.
Jonnie Sue Ryan, a longtime library patron, said she recently witnessed a crowded children’s storytime led by youth services coordinator Hannah Carloni. She said she was impressed by both the turnout and staff’s ability to manage the program.
“About 60 people in that room… You don’t know what a difference that makes. I am telling you when I saw those kids and I thought, how does she even handle this, but she did,” Ryan said.
Ryan added she came to the meeting after hearing about concerns but wanted to share that she sees a thriving library.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I came because I heard there were some concerns,” she said.
Board President Sandy Jumper said the consultant would observe library operations from the perspectives of staff and the public, prepare a report and potentially offer training or coaching if needed.
The scope, she said, would be kept broad to allow respondents to outline their methodology, timelines and costs.
The board voted unanimously to recommend three board candidates — Lee Hallberg, Leah Burkett and Belinda Platts — to the town and school boards for the needed approval, a process outlined in Colorado state statute.
The discussion centered on balancing institutional experience with new perspectives. Members Emily Wisner and Hassan Hourmanesh advocated for a candidate who had not served before, saying it would bring a new voice.
Meanwhile, Jumper and members Jeanne Becker, Gina Hernandez and Correen Becher emphasized the value of prior board experience that includes financial expertise. Jumper said she would draft a formal letter forwarding the recommendations for ratification.
The board made changes to a draft of a new intergovernmental agreement with the town after conversations between the library’s and town’s attorneys. At issue is language involving the removal of library board members. The town withdrew from the previous IGA earlier this month, citing concerns that portions did not comply with state law.
The board voted to amend the draft to state clearly that any action initiating a board member’s removal must originate with the library board. To proceed further, the removal would require majority approval from the town and school boards and a showing of good cause.
Gantt emphasized that retaining that protection in the IGA is critical to preserving library board autonomy in the event of future conflicts.
With issues of trustee appointments and removals surfacing in Mesa and Garfield counties, Gantt said he felt the original purpose of the 2024 IGA was to prevent a governing body from exercising complete control.
In those counties, he said, the issue involved removing or appointing new members on the basis of ideological differences or agendas, mainly around book banning.
During the meeting, the board ultimately tabled further edits to the bylaws to obtain additional review and input from the lawyer.
