On Wednesday night, a group of Berthoud citizens led by Ryan Armagost has initiated an effort to recall two current members of the Berthoud Board of Trustees: Mayor Pro Tem Maureen Dower and Trustee Jeff Hindman. The recall documents were submitted to the Berthoud Town Clerk’s office electronically.

Last October, a similar effort was made to recall the same two members of the town board, but the effort was ultimately rejected by town staff due to some legal technicalities regarding recall statutes in the State of Colorado. This most recent submission, according to Armagost, is in full legal order and the group behind the recall efforts is expecting to hear from the Town Clerk’s Office by Monday, March 1.

The petitioner’s committee, who will be tasked with acquiring the requisite signatures, consists of five Berthoud residents: Armagost, Steve Mulvihill, Katherine Hudson, Carly Stephen and Ellyn Rush.

The recall documents submitted to the town clerk, which were obtained by the Surveyor Thursday morning, were identical for both board members in question and read as follows:

The statement of grounds for recall:

Whereas: (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) has used (his/her) position on the Town Board as a platform to air personal grievances against the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, attempting to circumvent the agreement with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office to perform internal reviews and negatively impacting the relationship between the Town and its law enforcement officers.

Whereas: (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) defied a vote of the people of Berthoud by leading efforts to seek a Certificate of Participation after ballot 3J failed in 2018 to allow the town to issue bonds for a recreational facility. (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) was a part of the organization behind the recreation center, placing (his/her) personal opinion above a clear directive made by the voters.

Whereas: (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) has used (his/her) position on the Town Board to slander a local business which he disagrees with, making public statements during board meetings criticizing their integrity. (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) further punished this local business by leading a vote to end the contract in place to publish town notices through the local newspaper.

Whereas: (Trustee Jeff Hindman, Trustee Maureen Dower) repeatedly used (his/her) position on the Town Board as a platform to admonish and belittle citizens that he disagrees with during Town Hall meetings.

The Surveyor will continue to update this breaking story as news develops. Follow the Surveyor on social media and at our website at www.BerthoudSurveyor.com for updates regarding developments on this matter.