Byron mayor fires entire Rec Dept. crew; special meeting set Thursday at 7 p.m.

A chasm of differences regarding the Byron Recreation Department has cascaded into a battle resulting in Mayor Heidi Brightly terminating the services of the Rec Advisory Committee and the Rec’s volunteers and employees with the announcement that she unilaterally “is in the process of rebuilding” it.In an Aug. 26 letter she advised the council and town attorney Joey Darrah of her action plan. The notification includes the comment, “Thank you for your support in this change.” Volunteers and Rec staff were notified in a letter dated Tuesday, Sept. 1. The latter letter states in part that they are to bring to the Town Hall “all of your documentation, membership lists, security information, list of equipment, any equipment, warranty documents and keys no later than Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m.” Each person was thanked for his or her service.The mayor, who has posed numerous concerns about operational and other aspects of the Rec since taking office in January, said that she “is not out to hurt anyone or create a firestorm. I want to do what’s best for the town. I think I’ve gotten a bad rep, but the notion by the council that I want to do away with the Rec is a fabrication. I want the Rec to operate the way it’s supposed to, as a department of the town, not its own entity.” She stated that “thousands of dollars” have been spent by the Rec without coming to her first. “I am the mayor and the department head,” she said.The mayor added, “We need people who are not self-agenda driven. It’s been a rough ride working with them (the current Rec crew) including Byron Days and overall. It’s too much of a struggle.”Brightly continued that her plan is to replace all current Rec persons with “people who are more in tune with my management style and who will work to meet the requests” from people about what they want. She said it’s her contention that the former Byron school “is being run like a health club” not benefitting the whole of the town and that other ideas will be forthcoming. The Monday lunch program will continue, she said. The mayor, as she has in the past, again pointed to what she sees as a problem area: that “the town doesn’t own the former school, but rents it from Postern Capital for $1,000 per month and we could build a new site with that.”As well, Brightly is at odds about the Byron Eagle Development Group. Town Councilmen Sydney Hessenthaler, Alan Bair and Gary Petrich are members, she said, and she feels that they are working to “feather the nest of Postern” by bringing businesses to the former school.Brightly added that she wants to bring in new and different programs that will better meet the desires of the community. She emphasized that she “has the best interests of the town and serving the public with what it wants.” Her plan is to “coordinate with the Big Horn County School District One and the rec program in Cowley” so that a more widespread variety of activities can be offered, especially youth sports.Special meetingIn a related matter, a special council meeting is set for Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall. The lone agenda item, introduced by current senior councilman and former Mayor Alan Bair, is “First reading of an ordinance to formally create a Town of Byron Recreation Department.” The gist of Bair’s reason for the proposed ordinance has to do with his interpretation of Ordinance 5.05.030 regarding the need for council approval of appointments, and he noted on Tuesday, Sept. 1, that “there is some ambiguity” in the rule so he sees “a need to firm this up.”Bair stated that he and fellow councilors Hessenthaler, Walter Roman and Petrich “don’t want the Rec shut down immediately.” He added that he and they do not “necessarily want to keep the Rec the way it is,” but that because it’s running well and serving the town” there’s no need “to obliterate it.”Brightly said Tuesday that she is ready to appoint a new advisory board and others but that she does not want to reveal their names “right now because there’s so much in an uproar.” She continued, “They’ve been selected and have agreed, but due to the controversy (that could result by identifying them) it would result in them having problems with (others asking) ‘Why are you doing this?’ and I want to avoid that.”As for Bair’s proposal, she said that, “We’ll see where we go from there.”BY BOB RODRIGUEZ