Neu attorney
Now for all you grammar critics who immediately thought that I had misspelled the first word on the first page, shame on you!
Yes Neu is new, very new as a matter of fact. Probably not even quite dry behind the ears.
But for a young whipper-snapper, I have to admit, I was impressed with his first couple of hours as the new town attorney. He had barely finished being sworn in when he had made a couple of adjustments to board protocol and had them voting by roll call, something that I had always wondered about (as to why they didn’t). And he had changed the way that they number their new ordinances to one that makes more sense.
And, he wasn’t shy about making suggestions and giving opinions, and they were good ones. Twice he suggested that the board not rush into a decision before making contact with the affected parties so that there were no surprises.
So far so good.

Traffic and parking
Well, it would seem that my lengthy editorial last issue could have stood some trimming, based upon the lack of impact with the board. But then again, I don’t think that community input on this topic has really been encouraged or considered. If it was, I missed it.
So here’s what to expect: signs, lots of signs, and the probability of the loss of six to eight parking spaces on Main Street between the Auditorium and Alpine Motel. The signs are to establish a truck route through High and Main, to restrict trucks from leaving that route except for local deliveries, and signage requiring non-truckers to yield to truck traffic.
I went down to make my usual daily post office run Friday just before noon, and there were no spaces available on Main Street. And there were two cars parked in the handicap space between the post office and the “purple house”. And there was a semi-load of plywood parked jack-knifed the wrong way into Collbran’s only one-way street, blocking all of one and half of the other lane on Main. Folks were taking turns trying to squeeze around the rig whose driver had apparently left the truck and gone off to ask for directions. It was temporary chaos.
Granted, this is not the norm, there are usually plenty of parking choices, but you have to plan for the worst and the loss of that many spaces is going to have an impact.
And, at least some of the board is opposed to using the lot by the auditorium for parking.
Now to be fair and balanced, Tuesday’s board meeting went well, more trustees are speaking up and voicing their opinions and asking questions. And the new attorney is trying to unravel the backlog of quagmires that have gone on hold, frustrating residents who have been trying to obtain permits and taps and answers.

Severance tapes
When I obtained a copy of documents filed this past week by the town regarding their counter-claims against Smith and all, I was amused by some of the statements made about the rationale for the unemployment compensation. It does make for fun reading. But when I came to the discovery that the tape of the executive session that started this whole mess is blank, my amusement died in its tracks.
This tape is crucial in determining exactly what transpired during the infamous closed door discussions. The tape would have been crucial for the court to separate the he-said, she-said and fact from fiction. The tape could have been the single most important piece of evidence for the town in the current suit and countersuit.
And as part of that countersuit, the town is alleging that the executive session was held in violation of the Colorado open meetings law, for a number of reasons. The tape would have been very useful in that claim also.
The tape has been locked in the vault ever since the new staff was hired. I’m not trying to infer wrongdoing, folks can do that on their own, but just when you think it can’t get worse...