MONTE VISTA— “I just want to make clear this doesn’t include everyone in the town. It does however include a small group of people who claim to be supportive of this town, but aren’t,” stated Ron Douglas, owner of Local Business Assist (LBA) after announcing that he would not be continuing his contract with the city of Monte Vista to work on economic development at the Thursday, March 7 city council meeting. Douglas took to the podium to address the council and community, clarify rumors and what he had been working on and the negative way he feels he has been treated.
Douglas was not originally scheduled to speak at the meeting. The council voted to modify the agenda at the beginning of the meeting to allow Douglas to speak before a group of citizens who had scheduled themselves on the agenda to request that the contract be dissolved.
Douglas began his presentation by outlining the positive aspects he has seen in the community. “You have an amazing history here. You have an amazing rodeo, amazing fairgrounds. That is one of the gems of the town. I would love to see you keep putting on events there and working with people who are putting on events to continue to grow those and getting them going strong,” he said. Douglas said there is room for growth in the residential and commercial areas of the city as long as there is work to figure out how to accomplish that. Other positives and benefits he mentioned that can help the town prosper economically are high speed internet and good infrastructure that could potentially be used by electronic-based businesses.
He then continued his address by stating he has learned that his experience in Monte Vista has not been 100 percent positive. “To be honest I’ve never been treated as unkind by the people who claim to be community service oriented as I have been in this community,” he said. Douglas alleged he has had his integrity questioned, been called derogatory names and that his children who held jobs in the community would hear some citizens spread lies and rumors about him. Douglas alleged that he had someone sit and glare at him while he was having dinner with his family.
Douglas continued by claiming that he has been in business for over 25 years, has bought and sold over 40 companies and not had a negative experience. He also stated that he has had his background researched by national publications such as the New York Times and Discover Channel. Douglas was part of a reality show for the Discovery Channel in which he invested in projects. He stated that living for one year gave him a different experience than the outlined positive ones he’s had in his past.
Douglas further alleged that many of the people who he claims spread gossip about him in person or online have not once come up to speak to him in person and ask about his plans. He said instead he would hear it second or third hand or read it on Facebook. It should be noted that a topic of concern and contention among citizens regarding Douglas was what appeared to be constant offensive statements and fights he would engage in on social media, especially the Facebook group, Monte Vista Community Awareness and Support.
Douglas then outlined projects he was working on, because a perceived lack of transparency was another issue of concern among citizens who felt one year was a sufficient amount of time to present tangible results. Douglas explained several projects he hoped would have been coming into fruition in the future. These include a shopping center on the west end of town on Highway 160, redevelopment of the train depot and a stretch of new business activity in the area, a sushi restaurant, a McDonald’s, a training facility, an event center, a truck stop, a drone business, working with theater on a second project and advertisements and internet based businesses.
He claimed that many of these ventures were paused because of resistance by some of the owners of the empty buildings and leaders of community organizations. He also addressed the golf board which was another item of recent controversy he was involved in. He stated he was never against it, but just felt the amount of money they were asking from the city was not reciprocal to the amount of members they have per year. After Douglas spoke for over an hour, citizens and councilors spoke up and took action.

Citizen comments
The group of citizens who had been scheduled to appear were finally allowed up to the podium. They did not read all of their prepared statements as Douglas had verbally already dissolved his contract. The group included respected community members such as Margaret Hurd, Margot Alexander, Jim Poston, Raina Bowsher, Phinel Garcia, Loren Howard and Charlie Spielman.
The group basically stated they felt Ron Douglas’ opportunity to prove his value to the city had run its course. Many stated that at first they were in Douglas’ camp and were rooting for him. They had a change of minds and hearts however after Douglas did not seem to be providing measurable metrics and tangible results, and his company was costing taxpayer’s a significant amount of money per month that could be used by the city to fund other items.
Garcia questioned the authenticity of some of Douglas’ claimed connections to businesses such as McDonald’s. Garcia stated he had never received a call from the company for one of the buildings he owns. Garcia also questioned the council regarding the Guzlow Building that he was interested in, but later discovered it had been sold to Douglas for a presumably low price of around $500.
Poston, speaking as a representative of both the theater board and URA, stated that he did not recall some of Douglas’ assertions. He said it may have been an oversight if they had not responded to his inquiries or suggestions.
The group also stated that they felt Douglas had overlooked and offended local businesses that had been active for generations. They stated these businesses have worked hard to build their customer base and pointed to comments Douglas made on social media stating there were no good food options in town. They felt this was inappropriate on Douglas’ behalf as a contractor for the city.

Councilor comments
In an action that doesn’t change that they are sworn elected officials and were acting in an official meeting that had been called to order, councilors Kathy Ellithorpe and Gary Johnson took to the podium to give an appearance of speaking as public citizens.
Ellithorpe stated that she had thought long and hard about what she was going to say and that it was difficult on her because she knew she wasn’t going to be very popular. Ellithorpe said she was deeply ashamed of the community and how Douglas had allegedly been treated. She said anyone who had glared at Douglas and his family at their dinner should be ashamed of themselves. She was also ashamed since the youth that were present in the council chambers had witnessed and heard the situation.
Johnson stated that he heard the concerns of the community. He wanted to know what other ideas people had for economic development and for them to step up to present those ideas.

Council action
Towards the end of the meeting a discussion to renew Douglas’ contract had been scheduled as part of the council meeting agenda. According to City Manager Forrest Neuerburg since Douglas had verbally dissolved his contract this gave him 30 days to tie up any loose ends and then it would not continue.
Councilor Kathy Lorenz asked Neuerburg during the meeting to share and explain a situation that had allegedly occurred in the city clerk’s office the prior week. Allegedly, City Clerk Unita Vance had been sharing screenshots of Douglas’ comments on social media with city councilors. Douglas was somehow made aware of this and allegedly entered city hall upset. This prompted a protocol to be put into action in which a police officer is asked to stand by, if a city employee feels unsafe. Neuerburg said he had also gone out to talk to Douglas.
After the city manager had explained this, Lorenz made a motion to terminate the contract with a clause that would end it in a short seven days for cause. For a significant amount of time no other councilors seconded the motion. This prompted some unsatisfied audience members to ask if they could second it. Mayor Pro Tem Victor Sigala then seconded the motion stating that it was unacceptable for someone to feel unsafe in their work environment.
The vote passed by a majority of three. Sigala and Johnson abstained from the vote due to conflicts of interest because of business projects Douglas is helping them with.
In a Facebook comment on Monte Vista Community Awareness and Support Douglas denied being menacing to Vance, and stated he had left the meeting before the vote and discussion took place.