Conflict within the Dolores Library District Board resurfaced Friday as trustees discussed a series of anonymous complaints about Executive Director Sean Gantt’s leadership.
The board planned an executive session to discuss the director’s employee file – a meeting Gantt asked to attend.
When that request was denied, he said he had no other option but to ask that the conservation occur publicly.
“I want to make sure the director understands that he is forgoing confidentially went it comes to personnel records and information,” said Emily Wisner, a board trustee, during the special meeting Friday.
Gantt responded: “I waive no rights. … I would caution you to be careful what you say in an open, public meeting. I am forced to do this.”
Lee Hallberg, a board trustee, then added: “You are not forced to. You could let us hold an executive session without being there.”
“Do I need to have legal counsel present?” Gantt responded. ”I don’t even understand what this meeting is about.”
The meeting began in a tense atmosphere and continued with moments of visible friction, reflecting monthslong strife between a divided board. Voices were raised at times.
In the months leading up to the special meeting, conflict involved questions over governance and board behavior. The board formally censured a member in late November – Hassan Hourmanesh who has since resigned. The board hired legal counsel after several contentious meetings drawing the public eye toward a library otherwise operating strongly, one with steady patron use and programming for all ages.
The board now has one vacancy.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss 17 complaints – some submitted anonymously by staff members and some by patrons – about the workplace and overall library environment.
Gantt, who has been at the helm for six years, said the complaints were largely new to him and questioned the lack of detail, saying he only received a summary and did not know what specific policies he may have violated.
“In these more recent comments, there seems to be references toward inappropriate comments, inappropriate language,” Gantt said. “So if these complaints are saying I did something that violated our policy, I would like to know what that is.”
He maintained that his day-to-day experience reflects a supportive workplace and strong community response to library programs. He acknowledged there may be areas to improve but said he believes the library is doing well overall and that some issues, like a payroll error, were mistakes he has corrected.
Belinda Platts, a newly appointed trustee who previously served on the board, urged the group to take a larger perspective on what the percentage of complaints means.
“Seventeen negative comments are a small portion of the hundreds of patrons we serve,” Platts said. “It’s like, OK, are people just dissatisfied, or is there something more problematic?”
However, other members expressed deeper concern. Sandy Jumper, board president, said each complaint was made recently, submitted through the “Contact the Board” portal under the governance section on the library’s website or handed in-person through a dropbox.
“It’s not all negative about the library, its in spite of,” Jumper said.
Hallberg said many of the complaints “have an aura of fear to them.”
“I believe the community is speaking very loudly, and it is in our duty to address this,” Hallberg said.
The meeting’s outcome was a decision to move forward with an independent workplace assessment before taking further action. The outside consultant will survey staff and board members anonymously to evaluate the work environment.
Jumper said Luminary Consulting, a Durango firm, will take three weeks to distribute surveys and analyze data. She said she expects consultants to provide results in a presentation or graphic to the board while ensuring respondents are unidentifiable.
“The reason I am bringing this up is I have written, documented incidents that have upset people,” Jumper said. “We need to start recognizing there are potentially issues we need to address.”
awatson@the-journal.com
