Summer Thoughts – Estes Park Trail-Gazette

Gary Hall is the mayor of Estes Park and was the former chief information officer of Estes Park Health. (Gary Hall/Courtesy photo)

Thanks to the Trail-Gazette for the continued opportunity to share my thoughts.

As Mayor, one of my duties is to be Estes’ primary advocate in all my interactions, public and private. Whether I am speaking to citizens, city staff or guests, CDOT or contractors, or our county or state peers, my primary goal is to work to achieve the best outcomes for residents, guests and staff of Estes Park. Today I want to talk primarily about our police force and expand on the civil discourse a bit.

EPPD: I am very pleased to see Ian Stewart chosen as leader of the EPPD. He’s the right person for the job. Chief Stewart and City Administrator Machalek have my full support in running the police department. According to the independent audit, the problem of premature destruction of Internal Affairs records arose between 1990 and 2018. This problem occurred in one way or another through the tenures of several city administrators and of several boards of directors. It’s hard to understand why the problem has remained invisible for so long, but I see Travis and Ian as part of the solution. They are working to create appropriate physical, policy, and surveillance protections, and I will advocate for the resources they need to achieve these things – as quickly as possible.

Another important finding from the audit is that they found no evidence of improper destruction of records since 2018. Travis became city administrator on August 27, 2019.

The police chief’s short tenure before Chief Stewart’s interim role and the choice to grant this former chief a substantial severance package were decisions that predated my election. I understand the legal protection benefits (for both parties) of signed severance packages and the resulting avoidance of any potential future legal costs. So I support Travis and his management team’s decision to take this route.

However, I believe that public communication on this issue should have been handled differently. If/when we face such issues, I will certainly use my position to advocate for timely and thorough communication with the public. In my opinion, this information should have been communicated to the community in a timely manner. It was a difficult learning experience, but the lessons seem to me to have been learned.

The discovery and cleanup process has been lengthy, but I view Chief Stewart and City Administrator Machalek as very attentive and completely committed to keeping the department on course. What I see gives me confidence that we are on the right track. I support the current building of a disciplined culture within EPPD as well as the purchase and installation of tools (physical, software, etc.) to create a properly protected and managed evidence storage and process.

Civil Discourse: I believe we all want almost the same results: a good life for our residents, good business for our stores and services, good experiences for our customers, and keeping Estes beautiful. Let’s use this common ground as a foundation for civil discourse.

When discussing difficult issues or making difficult decisions, kindness does not imply weakness. Debate does not mean acquiescence. Opinions to the contrary should be welcomed and do not cancel each other out. Respect for others and the golden rule come into play.

Civil discourse achieves the opposite of censorship. There are people in town who do not speak out in public forums, board meetings or elsewhere because they fear the consequences if they express their views. Self-censorship, whatever the reason, prevents all voices from being heard. I want EVERYONE to feel free to express their opinions. Everyone should feel safe expressing their opinions in public without fear of personal attacks.

The administrators and I are publicly elected officials. Criticisms are expected; it’s part of the job. We need to hold our heads high and get to work.

For everything else, at least in our community, I will continue to advocate for open civil discourse, debate, and respectful disagreement. I believe it is possible.

Finally, the Loop: The best thing we can do to bring our guest numbers and sales back up is to complete the Loop and associated builds as soon as possible. I advocated locally and with our partners at CDOT and the state to find the quickest (and safest) path to the finish line. In the meantime, I’m taking every opportunity I can to encourage our Colorado visitors, our “extended locals,” to come. Please shop on construction streets and throughout the city and encourage others to do so too.

We still have many construction challenges ahead in June and this summer, but great progress is being made every day. It’s over, we’ll get there. We still have to overcome the obstacles of summer and prime time together. There will be ups and downs, but we will get there. Let me know how I can help you.

You can also contact me at [email protected], through my phone at City Hall at 970-577-3706, or by requesting a meeting at https://dms.estes.org/Forms/mayormeetingrequest.