Trustee Hazelton calls for VEP review

Story by Estes Valley Voice

In a letter dated April 1, 2025 to Larimer County Commissioners, Estes Park Town Trustee Kirby Hazelton asked for a joint meeting between the commissioners and the town board to discuss operations of the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors.

In her letter, made public in the meeting packet for the April 8 Estes Park Town Board meeting, Hazelton said the VEP Board had not been “acting with good policy governance.”

Criticizing the VEP Board, Hazelton stated, “I believe that the Visit Estes Park Board has demonstrated a pattern of being unable or uncommitted to responsibly govern the organization. By not properly managing and obtaining a Chief Executive Officer, by choosing to avoid community transparency, and by abandoning the obligation to be beholden to its owners, or the Estes Valley, it serves, the Visit Estes Park Board is currently dysfunctional, ineffective, and jeopardizing future operations.”

Hazelton, herself a voting member of the VEP Board and a liaison between the Town Board and VEP, said the commissioners and trustees should discuss whether VEP Board members should be removed and replaced. She also said the county and town elected officials should discuss the appointment of an interim CEO of the marketing district.

The VEP Board of Directors has scheduled a virtual meeting for Tuesday, April 8, from noon to 2 p.m., to address Hazelton’s letter and to discuss the CEO search process. To review the meeting’s agenda, click here.

Both the Town Board and County Commissioners are tasked with appointing VEP board members.