Dennis Stern is the new mayor of Palmer Lake.
The appointment comes after the board formally accepted the resignation of Glant Havenar, who stepped down last week. For months, allegations have swirled around town of fraud, intimidation and collusion as the Board of Trustees decides whether or not to support the development of a new giant Buc-ee's Travel Center atop Monument Hill along Interstate 25.
The board did not allow public comment around Stern’s selection, but a number of people addressed the issue afterwards.
Stern, a member of the Board of Trustees, first stepped down as Mayor Pro Tem before the board voted him in, 5-1, as the new mayor, following town rules. He was immediately sworn in.
The lone no vote came from trustee Atis Jurka, who was also the only member of the board to vote no during a meeting at the end of May when the town allowed the Buc-ee's annexation request to move forward.
"Whether or not Dennis is qualified or not, I don't think that's the question," Jurka said. "The question is, what works best for the town? Is it better to appoint someone who is not under a cloud?"
The reference relates to a citizen-led effort to recall three of the trustees, including Stern. The others facing possible recall are trustees Kevin Dreher and Shana Ball.
Trustees had the option of filling the mayoral vacancy by appointment or setting an election. Prior to the vote, town attorney Scotty Krob recommended an appointment for consistency's sake.
"As the town knows, and the board knows, there are several sensitive matters that are pending right now," Krob said. "Some of those involve extensive negotiations, executive sessions and public hearings that have already taken place. So from my perspective, it would be beneficial for the town, (for) the board to fill the mayor's vacancy sooner than later to provide leadership through what I perceive to be challenging times. And also from the legal perspective, I think it would be beneficial to have someone who is up to speed on the issues."
It's advice that trustee Amy Hutson, who is not the subject of a recall effort, took. "The three may be under recall, but it's still up to a vote and there's no guarantee that the vote will go through, that they will be recalled."
Hutson was later selected as Mayor Pro Tem.
After his swearing in as mayor, Stern recognized the challenges ahead.
"I do not take this lightly, I understand that I am stepping into the middle of a hornet's nest," he said.
After the rest of the agenda for the trustees meeting, the floor opened to public comment, and it was not at all congratulatory.
El Paso County Commissioner Bill Wysong, who represents the district that includes Palmer Lake and the Tri-Lakes area, said it's not appropriate for him to weigh in on annexation, but the decision by the board to make an appointment continues "to stir the pot."
"And it really disappoints me," Wysong said. "Because the people of Palmer Lake, I believe, deserve to be heard."
Palmer Lake resident Beth Harris said she was disappointed, even though she said she understood the desire to maintain continuity, as expressed by Krob. She called the decision to appoint Stern as mayor, "even if legal, of questionable wisdom."
"The fact that the recall petitions have more than enough already-validated signatures is indicative of the townspeople's deeply held concerns about the direction of the board members who are being recalled," Harris said.
But others question what they see as the lack of public input. Sean Saw heads the Tri-Lakes Preservation Society, which recently formed, in part as a result of the potential Buc-ee's development.
"What I'm really concerned with and what I see over and over again here," Saw said, "public transparency just isn't there."
It's unclear what will happen next with the Buc-ee’s project, though it's likely to come before the town's planning commission.
