In with the old; Timnath changes town attorney

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Timnath has returned to Brad March as its town attorney after trustees requested the resignation of former attorney Kathy Haddock.

Trustee Charles Snider said there was no question of Haddock's competence and capabilities. "She got us through an enormous phase in the town's development," he said. "It was just best to split and move on."

One concern, he said, was her level of involvement in the town's internal operations that now can be parceled out to a growing staff including a full-time administrator, clerk and treasurer.

"It got to the point where things were a little too close," said Snider. He suggested that Haddock's intense involvement might have carried over from the time she served as acting town administrator after former administrator Joe Racine was forced to resign and current administrator Guy Patterson was hired.

Snider said Haddock's legal fees also had become excessive, approaching perhaps $15,000 a month compared to the $1,500 to $3,000 a month previously. "Our bills were just wild," he said. "They were big."

Following Haddock's dismissal, trustees voted 4-1 to retain March as the town's attorney on a four-month trial basis. "Our intent is he will be retained permanently," said Snider. March previously served as Timnath's attorney for a modest fee, Snider said, before leaving because of conflicts with former mayor Annalee Foster. March also serves as Wellington's attorney.

Trustee Tim Foster cast the only dissenting vote. He expressed disgust at the town's handling of Haddock's resignation, saying there were many "off-line" one-on-one conversations involved.

Foster declined to further elaborate other than to say, "Kathy handled it very professionally, and we did not."

Some indication of the underlying conflict surfaced at the Aug. 17 trustees meeting when they passed a resolution directing March to take the efforts necessary to retrieve the town's legal files from Haddock. "I'm tired of this discussion we're having about the files," said Mayor Donna Benson.

Danny Byerly expressed satisfaction with March's work so far. He noted March was saving the town money and that there was no "personality conflict."

Similar concerns were raised when Superior trustees in late July ousted Haddock after 16 years as the town's attorney. Trustees voted 4-3 to solicit new bids for legal services because some were having "personality and communications issues" with Haddock, according to a Boulder newspaper.