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TOWNOFNUNN.NET
The Town of Nunn, Colorado does not have a website. This site was initially created to give residents and others access to government documents and public records related to the town. The Nunn Board of Trustees, Town Clerk, and Town Attorney did not grant permission or approval to create this website and are not responsible for any of its content. Jim Woodward Weld County, Colorado Official Town Calendar (not currently in use) Comprehensive plan/DOLA contract Colorado Municipal Election Code Constitution of the United States Links to sites related to Nunn SCANTLAND QUITS Town Attorney resigns amid upheaval in town politics January 7, 2010
Nunn Town Attorney Barbara Brittany Scantland informed the town board tonight that she would be stepping down from her position. Citing the political turmoil in the town in recent months, she said the time was right to end the relationship between the town and her Denver law firm, Murray Dahl Kuechenmeister & Renaud LLP. Scantland didn't mention the bloated legal bills presented to the town for the last few months or her unsuccessful legal maneuvers to help former board members Pigue, Alexander, and Smith avoid being recalled. For a blow-by-blow account of her efforts in Weld County District Court, read the transcript. The Board of Trustees acted immediately to advertise for proposals to replace Scantland and her firm. Scantland agreed to stay on until a new town attorney is appointed.
Legal Services Agreement between the Town of Nunn and Murray Dahl Kuechenmeister & Renaud LLP, signed by former Mayor Duane Bayne on April 24, 2007 (PDF 279 KB, 6 pages including Schedule of Costs) Brittany Scantland, who received her law degree in 2004, is Nunn's appointed town attorney. Ms. Scantland's firm recently billed the town over $10,000 for legal fees incurred in September and October. The town's 2009 budget for legal services is $19,500. This legal services agreement can be terminated by the town at any time. NEW MAYOR RESIGNS Danny Joe Bagby steps down less than one month after being elected following harassment by opponents January 12, 2010, Updated January 16, 2010 Newly-elected Mayor Joe Bagby resigned a few hours before the first regular meeting of the new Board of Trustees on January 7. The resignation was not announced at the meeting because an effort was underway to persuade him to reconsider his decision. Mayor Pro Tem Tom Bender is performing the mayoral duties until a new mayor is appointed. In his resignation letter, Bagby cites "safety concerns for my wife, myself, my home and property." He states that he was informed of possible threats to his family and home. Mayor Bagby submitted his letter of resignation to Town Clerk Tori McMechan and included two emails: an anonymous email signed by the "Silent Majority", and an email from the town clerk's husband, James McMechan. Bagby was elected by 63% of the voters in the December 15 recall election, defeating mayoral candidate Gary Stuart by a large margin. Former Mayor Jeffrey Pigue was removed from office after receiving only five votes for retention (out of 134 votes cast). The Board of Trustees will discuss replacing Bagby at its special meeting on Thursday, January 14, at 7:00 PM. See the meeting agenda here. Resignation letter from Mayor Danny Joe Bagby - January 7, 2010 (PDF 9 KB, 1 page) Anonymous email from "Silent Majority" to Mayor Danny Joe Bagby - December 21, 2009 Letter to the Citizens of the Town of Nunn from Joe and Lynda Bagby - January 18, 2010 Yahoo! Inc. to take action on threatening emails sent to former Mayor Joe Bagby AUDITOR GIVES NOTICE Resignation letter from Cole and Crosier, P.C. informing the Board of Trustees that the CPA firm is withdrawing from the 2008 audit engagement because "the Town has not been prepared for the audit engagement to commence" - November 30, 2009 (PDF 186 KB, 1 page) This letter was received by Town Clerk Tori McMechan in early December and was withheld from the Board of Trustees until after the December 15 recall election. McMechan also serves as the town's treasurer and is responsible for providing the town's books and records to the auditor. See audit webpage here. AUDIT FACTS Statutory deadline (including extension) for filing the 2008 audit with the Colorado Office of the State Auditor: September 30, 2009 Date of auditor's engagement letter: February 16, 2009 Date of auditor's resignation: November 30, 2009 Status of audit according to auditor: audit has not commenced Why does this matter? The Weld County Treasurer will not release any Town of Nunn property taxes until the audit is filed.
MCMECHAN FIRED Town board acts unanimously to remove town clerk for misconduct; trustees vote yes on 8 of 11 charges at 4-hour meeting; McMechan's lawyer presents no evidence; McMechan doesn't testify February 4, 2010, Updated February 16, 2010 See report by Sue Frederiksen here, and A Personal Note re McMechan's Removal
Mark Cohen, attorney for former Town Clerk Tori McMechan hands over town keys and a town credit card to Interim Nunn Town Attorney Greg Bell while Police Chief Mike Clement looks on. |
Husband of former town clerk dies in single-vehicle crash Greeley Tribune Nate A. Miller July 12, 2010
NUNN — A Nunn man died late Saturday in a one-vehicle crash shortly
after he threatened several Nunn town board members with a knife,
according to police.
Toxicology Report - Horizon Lab LLC and NMS Labs - July 14-16, 2010 (PDF 138 KB, 6 pages) Open records request from McMechan asks for evidence of alleged misappropriation of town funds and records McMechan's attorney "inadvertently" failed to attach February request to Amended Complaint filed in state court on April 2 Posted June 27, 2010 See all case documents here. Federal Judge orders conferences in McMechan v. Town of Nunn case Pre-scheduling conference meeting must be held by July 9; Scheduling/planning conference set for July 30 Posted June 27, 2010 See all case documents here. TOWN BOARD AND JOHNSON FIRE BACK AT MCMECHAN Defendants file answer to lawsuit from fired town clerk, calling claims frivolous and groundless, citing McMechan's negligence, calling for dismissal and awarding of legal fees, and demanding a jury trial Posted May 14, 2010 See all case documents here. A FULL BOARD Voters elect Bender as Mayor Posted April 6, 2010, Updated April 8, 2010 Nunn voters today elected a mayor and six trustees in a regular election that had over 130 residents voting at the community center or by absentee ballot. For the first time since January, the Nunn Board of Trustees will have seven members. Tom Bender defeated Jenny Johnson by a wide margin for the office of Mayor. Three new trustees were voted in, and three incumbents were re-elected. James McMechan lost his bid to become a trustee following the February firing of his wife, former Town Clerk Tori McMechan, for misconduct. McMechan received just over half as many votes as his nearest competitor. The turnout was comparable to the December 15 recall election, with roughly 45% of registered voters casting ballots. Unofficial election results: MAYOR Tom Bender 90 69% Jenny Johnson 41 31% TRUSTEE Keith Collard 111 Patti Norris 107 Wilbur Schooler 104 John Row 101 Joyce Taylor 92 Pat Johnson 78 James McMechan 42 The three highest vote-getters for trustee will serve four-year terms. The bottom three will serve for two years. The term for mayor is four years. Election judges were Tracy Sandmann, Nancy Cooper, and Howard Mike Williams. A swearing-in ceremony will take place at 7:00 PM tomorrow in the board room at the community center. (NOTE: The swearing-in ceremony has been rescheduled to 7:00 PM, Thursday, April 15 because no notice was posted for the original meeting.) |
Site updated September 1, 2010
"Panoramic view of storm near Nunn, Colorado" photo by Tony Hochstetler. Used with permission. View full size photo here. WHAT'S NEW
Thursday, September 2, 2010, 7:00 PM - Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees (Agenda) Agenda includes the 2008 audit, chicken ordinance, proposed land use code, and other items.
August 24 update on proposed Land Use Code NUNN TOWN GOVERNMENT Phone: 970-897-2385 Fax: 970-897-2540 Email: townofnunn@ezlink.com Website: (under construction) Address: 185 Lincoln Ave. Mailing address: P.O. Box 171, Nunn, Colorado 80648 Hours (Town Clerk's office): call for hours Police: 970-897-2561 (There currently are no police officers employed by the town. If it's an emergency, call 911.) Chief of Police: (vacant) Weld County Non-Emergency & Dispatch: 970-304-6500 or 970-350-9600 Designated posting locations for public notices: Town Hall, Post Office, Nunn Cafe, Nunn Telephone Co Maintenance Supervisor: Mike Langston NUNN FIRE DEPARTMENT Phone: 970-897-2329 Address: 487 Logan Ave. TOWN OFFICERS Mayor: Tom Bender Trustee & Mayor Pro Tem: Keith Collard Trustees: Joyce Taylor, Patti Norris, Pat Johnson, John Row, David Achziger Town Clerk: Annie Jones-Rehurek Town Treasurer: Cathy Payne Town Attorney: Matthew T. Gould, Esq. - Bell, Gould & Scott, P.C. Town Judge: Keith A. McIntyre How Governing Body Members Can Govern Better - Colorado Municipal League Trustee Taylor puts forth list of "Things I'd like to see done" January 11, 2010
Trustee Joyce Taylor presented her fellow trustees with a lengthy
list of items concerning the town that she would like to see
addressed by the board. The list was handed out before the
January 7 board meeting and Taylor asked the trustees to review her
ideas and make their own list.
REMOVAL HEARING SET FOR TOWN CLERK January 28, 2010 From the Editor of The Nunnion: At a Special Meeting tonight the Board voted unanimously to place the Town Clerk on administrative leave until a hearing for her removal from office that will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Town Hall. Absent from this meeting was the Town Clerk. In attendance were the Interim Town Attorneys Greg Bell and Matthew Gould. Since the Town Clerk was absent the charges were not read and will be delivered to the Town Clerk by Nunn Police Department. Sue Note: The trustees said the charges will be publicly released after being delivered to Ms. McMechan, and that her keys will be collected by the police. Prior to discussing the town clerk, Trustee Jenny Johnson made a forceful statement insisting that intimidation of town officials and residents should cease immediately, and that Nunn police will respond to reports of illegal intimidation. Apparently, a Nunn resident threatened a trustee before the meeting, warning that he would "get his shotgun" if the trustee voted to approve the removal hearing. Colorado Revised Statutes 18-8-102. Obstructing government operations (PDF 11 KB, 1 page) TOWN RECORDS MISSING Financial and accounting data, meeting recordings, computer equipment, and files disappear from town clerk's office; McMechan withholds computer passwords; Board advised to not disturb "chain of evidence" February 3, 2010 In a still unfolding story, town trustees have discovered that critical town files, electronic data, and equipment are missing from the office of Town Clerk Tori McMechan following the Board's action last Thursday to place McMechan on administrative leave pending a removal hearing. The hearing is scheduled for 6:00 PM tomorrow, February 4. Charges were delivered to McMechan on January 29. Town trustees were uneasy about discussing the situation at the regular board meeting tonight, but over the course of the 3-hour meeting revealed the following: - A town computer is missing. - Another computer has been taken by the Weld County Sheriff. - They have been unable to get computer passwords from McMechan. - At least two years of accounting data seems to be missing. - Audio recordings of board meetings are missing. - Electronic files including board meeting minutes cannot be found. - Utility bills are delinquent. - Banking records cannot be found. - Email records are missing. - Budget records are missing. - A $2,273 legal bill was paid without board approval. - The 2010 budget was not submitted to the state by the January 31 deadline. - There are "ongoing investigations" by law enforcement. Trustees also found IRS penalty notices that the board was not told about. The trustees decided to have all exterior and interior locks in Town Hall re-keyed last Friday. According to Mayor Pro Tem Jenny Johnson, town government is operating under "emergency protocol" while trustees scramble to make payroll, keep the lights on, and put out water bills. The board cannot bring in a temporary administrative employee since the Weld County District Attorney is advising the board to not "break the chain of evidence." And caller ID has been added to the Town's phone system after trustees received multiple "nasty" phone calls from a McMechan supporter. The Nunnion reports on secret agreement between Powertech Uranium Corp. and former town officials McMechan and Pigue Posted March 7, 2010
From the February issue of The Nunnion Newsletter:
At the February 9th
Special Meeting of
After the Recall
Election, prior to Mayor
Bagby resigning, Chief Clement did
disclose the “secret agreement” to Mayor Bagby. Chief Clement told
Mayor Bagby he had discontinued the patrols. Unfortunately before
this information could be brought to light, Mayor Bagby resigned. Several individuals,
present at the February 9th Special Meeting and who |
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Taylor,
who retained her seat during the December 15 recall election, thinks
it is important for the board to prioritize the work that needs to
be done in the next few months. Whether you agree with
specific ideas on her list or not, Trustee Taylor deserves kudos for
taking the initiative to tackle issues facing the town. It is
customary for legislators to begin the year by laying out their
goals for the coming year, and Taylor has stepped up to the plate
with her ideas for Nunn.