ALAMOSA – Alamosa Mayor Ty Coleman and Councilor Jan Vigil responded to a request for comment from the Valley Courier late Wednesday night, following the conclusion of council’s second executive session looking into concerns raised by former Police Chief Ken Anderson prior to his resignation.
Held the night before Thanksgiving, the executive session lasted more than four-and-a-half hours with seven city employees, including two department heads, answering questions posed by city council members about City Manager Heather Sanchez and other issues pertaining to city operations.
“I’m proud of council for asking thoughtful and inquisitive questions,” Councilor Vigil told the Valley Courier. “We are getting a better picture of what’s going on at City Hall.”
Alamosa Mayor Ty Coleman responded to the Valley Courier request with a longer, more comprehensive statement.
“Our city has some amazing and caring department heads and they came into the meetings prepared,” he wrote. “I am very proud of the poise and professionalism our department heads showed throughout the questioning process. The process was orderly, fair and constructive.
“I am glad that all council members were able to come up with their own unique questions for each department head. Every city councilor was given enough time to ask all questions on their mind without interruptions. We had enough time for each department head to respond to all questions and the process wasn’t rushed in any way.
“Next Wednesday, November 29th at 6:00 p.m. city council will meet in executive session to talk about what we heard from the department heads.
“On December 20th at 6:00 p.m. another executive session is scheduled for council to meet with City Manager Sanchez to talk about any concerns and discuss potential solutions.
“Throughout the years, many people have worked for the city of Alamosa. Some went on to retire and some resigned and moved on to other career opportunities. We’ve always had effective processes in place to fill the vacancies. Several of our current department heads have their positions now because someone retired or resigned.
“Even though it is tough seeing our prior Police Chief Anderson resign and move on, we wish him and his family the best in their endeavors.
“On December 6th, 7:00 p.m. we will have our regular city council meeting that will have an agenda item listed for council to provide input on characteristics needed for our next Police Chief.
“City Manager Sanchez is intelligent, wise, organized, professional, competent and leads by example. I have 1000% confidence in Mrs. Sanchez and her staff’s ability to keep the city moving forward in a positive manner. During these challenging times, I ask our city residents whenever possible to share words of hope and encouragement to our city employees. They are working hard and it shows!
“January 31st at 6:00 p.m. we will have a work session for Discussion of Concerns Raised During the Police Chief’s Resignation.”
The Valley Courier will continue to reach out to different members of city council as this process, projected to last for roughly two more months, continues.
Individuals called in to speak with city council included Erich Schwiesow, city attorney; Harry Reynolds, Director of Public Works; Jolene Webb, Manager of Human Resources; Desiree Cortez, Executive/Legal Assistant; Jasmine Hussman, Communications/Project Specialist and two additional staff members - "Joey" and "Jim" - whose last names and positions were not included in information on the session.
