An effort is underway to recall three Dillon Town Council members.

Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson confirmed Wednesday, Nov. 13, that the clerk’s office has received petitions seeking recall elections to be held for council members John Woods, Dana Christiansen and Renee Imamura. Johnson said the clerk is in the process of verifying whether the petitions have enough signatures to trigger state law related to municipal referendum elections.

Dillon resident Barb Richard, one of the individuals who helped organize the recall effort, said that with about 35 signatures on each petition, she believes the recall petitions have the required number of signatures. 

The petitions state that the three council members failed to listen to constituents, have shown a lack of decorum and failed to uphold the town charter’s requirements that government be responsive to the needs of citizens.

“The main reason we are pursuing a recall is because these three Town Council members are not listening to the concerns of the community,” Richard said. “They’re failing to listen and respond to grave concerns of the community. Many members of the community feel this is the only way forward.”

In addition to Richard, the petitions name Dillon residents Laura Johnson, Linda Oliver, Mary Ellen Gilliland and Shannon Fausel as members of the committee representing the recall efforts.

The recall effort comes hot on the heels of a town-wide referendum held Oct. 1, where Dillon residents voted decisively to overturn Developer Jake Porritt’s proposed project at 626 Lake Dillon Drive. 

Before the referendum overturned the project, the three council members named in the recall petitions voted in March to approve the planned unit development for the Porritt project over opposition from a vocal group of residents. The project would have included 200 condominium units, three restaurants, retail space, a public park, a private pool and more. The three members subject to the recall efforts also voted early in 2023 to approve funding mechanisms known as metro districts to help support public infrastructure associated with the proposed project.

Imamura said Wednesday that she is “disappointed” by the recall effort and by how easy it is under state law to gather the necessary signatures for a recall petition. During her more than six years on the council, Imamura said that she has demonstrated professionalism and worked to establish consensus by listening to both sides of an issue. She said the recall effort “isn’t fair.”

“Whatever the issue is with the town, I will always meet with people to discuss it,” Imamura said. “My civil duty at the town is to listen to all constituents that are for and against a development, and I have done this my whole career.”

Christiansen said that he has also listened to his constituents and noted that not everyone in town was opposed to the Porritt project that was overturned. He said that it could cost around $30,000 for the town to hold a special recall election and noted that he and Imamura will only have a year left of their term by the time an election is held.

“It seems like a waste of town money to go through this exercise to try to prevent us from serving our last year on council,” Christiansen said. “I’m not sure they have a slate of people that are going to replace us in mind.”

Woods also said that he listens to constituents on all sides of issues. He said that he takes pride in being a Dillon resident and feels that Dillon is the best place to live in Summit County because of its proximity to the Dillon Reservoir, which other local towns don’t have.

“They say we don’t listen, but I’ve heard every word that they’ve said,” Woods said. “They have to persuade the council members to agree with the decision. We all want what is best for Dillon. We listen to every word.”