Heres what happened at the Library District by Donald J. Banner

The rumors and speculations concerning the Pueblo City-County Library District are an amazing phenomenon to observe. The facts, however, are public, and it is equally amazing that few seem to be interested in them.

At a recent meeting of City Council, Alvin Rivera, a frequent visitor to library board meetings, demanded the council remove the entire board of trustees to "stop the bleeding" of monies from the library.

Mrs. Richard Lee stated that her husband was fired when he questioned the librarys contract with Glenn Ballantyne. She further questioned whether or not taxpayer money was being spent for housing the interim director and for remodeling the library for an office for the interim director.

Charles Butler expressed concern that there was considerable expense to remodel an office for the interim director.

It has been asserted that the contract with Mr. Ballantyne was "illegal" and it has been implied that it was done in secret with only a few members of the board "in" on the decision.

Allegations were made that public monies were spent on the election that provided $14 million of funding for the new library and that the board was squandering monies for yoga classes.

Because I had not personally attended a board meeting for the four years before the March 27 meeting, I decided to read all of the minutes for that period of time so that I would know what they said. The public and the press have access to these minutes at the library, and both the city attorney and the district attorney have requested and received copies of them. These are the facts that I find the minutes disclose (a date in parenthesis is the date of the minutes in which the information may be found):

- A citizens committee named Pueblo Pride was formed for the purpose of running a campaign to promote the bond issue (6/22/99). Former board member Eva Baca was treasurer and Edmund Vallejo agreed to assist in fund-raising (5/24/99 and 6/22/99). The financial status of the Pueblo Pride Committee was reviewed by the board at its meeting 2/25/00. This committee raised private monies to run the campaign. To my knowledge there was never any use of public monies for the election.

- On four separate occasions before March 27, in open public meetings, all board members present, with one exception, voted in favor of the library entering into a contract with Mr. Ballantyne to assist the library in its fund-raising efforts for the new library. The only board member who did not participate in the discussion or vote was Mr. Ballantyne. The minutes show the following:

A. 2/22/01: Trustees Bob Gobin, Doris Kester, Dave Ramos were present. The fact that a conflict of interest existed was acknowledged. Mrs. Kester moved to approve the contract subject to review by the library attorney and auditor. Trustee Kathleen Kennedy, although not present, gave her written support to the board entering into the contract with Mr. Ballantyne. Motion to approve passed 3-0, with Mrs. Kennedy absent and Mr. Ballantyne not voting. The minutes also have attached to them a copy of both the auditors opinion and an opinion from one of the partners in my office dealing with the conflict of interest and the statutory mechanism used to address it in accordance with the law.

B. 9/20/01: Mr. Gobin, Mrs. Kester, Mr. Ramos and Mrs. Kennedy in attendance. Mr. Ballantyne left the meeting room. All present indicated there were no concerns regarding the Ballantyne contract or the work being accomplished. The majority of the board felt the billing was thorough and businesslike. Motion to approve made by Mrs. Kester, passed 4-0 with Mr. Ballantyne not voting.

C. 5/23/02: Mr. Gobin, Mrs. Kester, Mrs. Kennedy in attendance. Mr. Ballantyne left the meeting room. Motion to approve made by Mr. Gobin, passed 3-0 with Mr. Ballantyne not voting.

D. 9/26/02: Mr. Gobin, Mrs. Kester, Mr. Ramos, Mrs. Kennedy in attendance. Mr. Ballantyne left the meeting room. Motion to approve made by Mr. Gobin, passed 4-0 with Mr. Ballantyne not voting.

- Richard Lee was present at each of the meetings (2/22/01, 9/20/01, 5/23/02 and 9/26/02) at which the library board agreed to enter into a contract with Mr. Ballantyne for fund-raising. If he had any concern or objection to the contract, he failed to express himself.

- Mr. Ballantyne made reports to the board on his fund-raising activities in open public meetings on 3/22/01, 7/26/01, 8/30/01, 9/20/01, 10/25/01, 11/15/01, 12/13/01, 1/24/02, 2/28/02, 3/28/02, 4/18/02, 5/23/02, 6/27/02, 7/25/02, 8/26/02 and 9/26/02 and thereafter; these reports are reflected in the minutes. According to the minutes, the presence of Mr. Lee was noted or stated at each of these meetings except 12/13/01, 2/28/02 and 5/23/02. If Mr. Lee had any concern or objection to the contract or activities of Mr. Ballantyne pursuant to the contract, he failed to express himself.

- There is no record of any objection or concern with Mr. Ballantynes contract with the library until March 27, when Mrs. Kester voted against renewal of the contract.

- The public is paying $14 million for a $21 million library. Mr. Ballantyne is principally responsible for raising the additional $7 million in donations. Until just recently, the entire board believed the library was getting a tremendous return for the monies it was paying Mr. Ballantyne.lFacts-Continued from Page 1G - Mr. Lee was first employed by the library in June 1999. He was not named executive director until October 2002. It has now been called to the boards attention that the board inadvertently did not follow the statutory procedures set forth in CRS 24-6-402 (3.5) for hiring an executive director, and Mr. Lees appointment may have been invalid from the start. Mr. Lees principal responsibilities dealt with the new library construction project, a job he did well.

- Mr. Lee supported the yoga lunch program at the library, as a useful and beneficially healthful benefit to employees that would increase productivity and boost morale. He even authored an article in American Libraries promoting the concept.

- Mr. Lees termination of employment had nothing to do with the fact that he was suddenly aware that the library had contracted with Mr. Ballantyne for fund-raising services and he thought it inappropriate. Mr. Lee was terminated because he refused to take a change in job responsibilities. The board did not believe he could adequately manage the responsibilities of both executive director and construction project manager. Apparently, neither did the late Chuck Bates.

The minutes of 4/18/02 reflect the fact that Mr. Bates was reassuming the supervisory responsibilities for the Main Library staff, responsibilities he had previously assigned to Mr. Lee, due to the fact that the construction project was taking most of Mr. Lees time. Just after the March 27 board meeting, the board advised Mr. Lee that it had lost confidence in his ability to manage both jobs.

Mr. Lees written response was that the board should continue to allow him to serve as both executive director and construction project manager or he would leave the library quietly, if he was given five years salary and five years benefits (a sum in excess of $600,000) and a positive recommendation for his next job. The board responded by requesting that he assume the responsibility of construction project manager, at the same rate of pay and same benefit package he was receiving as executive director. Mr. Lee refused to accept the change in responsibilities and has chosen instead to file a claim for unemployment benefits.

- The rumors circulating assert that the library is spending $10,000 or more for remodeling the interim directors office. The interim director wanted more visibility with the staff so his office was moved from the second floor to the first floor. The "remodeling" consisted of moving some electrical cables, opening a glass partition in a nonbearing wall and moving some books, costing the library less than $4,000. Part of that $4,000 would have been spent anyway to move books when the new library is opened.

- The library is not paying the interim director a housing allowance.

Acting at the request of Mr. Ballantyne, who was then president of the board, I requested the district attorney to make a thorough investigation of the allegations. The result of his examination is now a public record. Gus Sandstrom correctly notes that "there were several personal agendas" that resulted in significant rumors and innuendos that were not corroborated by the minutes. He concludes that the advice my partner gave the library was both legally correct and almost prophetic in nature in predicting the publics negative reaction should it become aware of the Ballantyne contract. Mr. Sandstrom does not assert that the library, as an organization, acted improperly with regard to any of these matters.

Mr. Sandstrom does state that Mr. Ballantyne may have committed a violation of the conflict-of-interest provisions of the law when Mr. Ballantyne voted to approve the monthly consent agenda, which agenda included the monthly treasurers report, which treasurers report included a statement for services rendered by Ballantyne Marketing, which statement was made in accordance with the approved marketing contract. I believe Mr. Sandstrom correctly concludes that the interests of justice do not warrant criminal prosecution of Mr. Ballantyne, considering the technical nature of the alleged violations, particularly in view of the fact that Mr. Ballantyne has resigned from the library board. It is abundantly clear that Mr. Ballantyne has paid a significant price for the situation in which he put himself.

It can be difficult to be the subject of a highly organized political effort motivated by personal agendas and fueled by an unpopular decision. Elected boards and their appointees are always going to be the subject of such efforts. The decision concerning Mr. Lee was, in my opinion, appropriate. There are other factors affecting that decision that are not yet public. In view of Mr. Lees public comment that he would sue the library in the event he is not rehired, it would not be appropriate to comment on them.

A review of the entire written record and a consideration of the hundreds of unpaid volunteer hours each board member contributed to this library demonstrates that each of the library appointees has worked hard to improve the Pueblo City-County Library District and to bring to us a new world-class library facility. It is a sad moment for our community, and for volunteerism in general, that all of the good this board did is now hidden by the shadow of these events.

Donald J. Banner is a member of the Pueblo law firm

that represents the Pueblo City-County Library District.