It was August 2021 when Florence City Manager Mike Patterson was suddenly terminated from his position by a collective vote of the city council.
Florence residents were stunned at the unexpected firing and waited many long months for any form of a reason why -- it would be a reason that resulted in a snowball effect, culminating in the resignation of the entire city council, the firing of the city attorney, the demotion of the police chief, and no less than three lawsuits against the city.
In 2022, the City of Florence worked to recover from the changeover in leadership and the fallout of the Patterson allegations.
Mike Patterson
After Patterson's termination, an arrest warrant was issued Nov. 3, 2021, for four counts stemming from an alleged incident that took place Aug. 30, 2023. They included two counts of stalking-emotional distress, a Class 5 felony; sexual contact-no consent, a Class 1 misdemeanor; and providing alcohol to a minor, also a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Michael Patterson booking photo.
Patterson was apprehended several weeks later, on Nov. 15, at Denver International Airport and was retained.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant penned by Florence Police Officer Jeff Worley, he discovered that Patterson's dismissal by the council stemmed from an allegation that he had sent a subordinate city employee a sexually inappropriate text message.
Worley said during the investigation, numerous witnesses - primarily women - were interviewed, many of whom either reported similar experiences of having received inappropriate communications from Patterson or who could corroborate what others reported.
The affidavit states that Patterson frequently made inappropriate comments to women in the office even after city personnel had attended sexual harassment training.
"For example, he would talk about sex swings and wanted to show pictures of these devices to staff members," the affidavit states. "When they objected, he tried to make a joke, saying, 'Oh, I'm sorry, we're not supposed to say things like that. I apologize, we had training on that.'"
He also allegedly told a staff member that Florence had a new massage parlor that "specialized in happy endings."
"Again, he apologized after making the joke, acknowledging that he knew he was not supposed to say things like that," the affidavit states.
Two separate lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court against the City of Florence and Patterson, claiming that Patterson's alleged sexual harassment was "severe and pervasive" and that city officials not only knew about the allegations, but they didn't take any action.
A former city employee and a current city employee filed the suits.
Both lawsuits allege that the City of Florence enabled Patterson's "system of abuse," which allegedly occurred during working hours at City Hall.
In a separate case, a former employee previously successfully sued the city regarding a sexual harassment complaint that involved Patterson.
The first lawsuit resulted in the plaintiff receiving a payment of $250,000 from the city without any deductions or withholdings. According to Interim City Manager Tom Piltingsrud, the city was previously insured by Travelers Insurance and paid the settlement amount. The city's deductible for the incident was $10,000. The settlement was finalized July 6.
The second lawsuit resulted in the plaintiff receiving a payment of $140,000 from the city without any deductions or withholdings. The city's deductible for the suit was $10,000 and the settlement was finalized Aug. 16.
During the Oct. 20 pretrial-readiness conference, Patterson entered guilty pleas regarding Count 4, providing alcohol to a minor, a class 1 misdemeanor, and Count 5 harassment - strike/shove/kick, a class 3 misdemeanor in district court.
Previously, Patterson had entered not guilty pleas in August and requested a jury trial in response to allegations of sexual misconduct and stalking.
However, according to the plea agreement, by electing to plead guilty to Counts 4 and 5, the remaining charges of stalking and unlawful sexual contact will be dropped.
Patterson will be required to complete certain evaluations before sentencing including a psychosexual evaluation.
Originally, a jury trial date was scheduled for Dec. 5-7 but Patterson's agreement to plead guilty to Counts 4 and 5 nullifies the need for a jury trial and was removed from the record. He will appear for sentencing at 2 p.m. Jan. 12, 2023.
Special election/new city council
More stunning news from Florence continued March 22 when the council stunned its mayor and Piltingsrud with its abrupt departure.
After the night's regular council meeting, councilors Brian Allen, Anthony Esquibel, Melissa Hardy, Allen Knisley, Mike Vendetti and Kristal Wood all resigned within hours of each other, leaving Mayor Paul Villagrana as its lone elected official.
Former Councilmember Hardy resigned by means of an early morning letter to her fellow council members and, though she did not provide details, her desire for the continued improvement of Florence came to light.
"I think there are so many good people working here that deserve to be treated with respect," Hardy wrote. "I believe Florence can be great, and I hope the best for its future."
Hardy offered no details for her decision to resign but the pervasive difficulty that has followed the council since Patterson's dismissal in 2021 seemed to affect the choice.
"I truly wish that I could fulfill my term, but I have drawn the conclusion that it is not possible given current circumstances." Hardy wrote in her resignation letter.
An Aug. 2 special election was announced by Mayor Paul Villagrana and Piltingsrud on March 21 and candidates sprang from the woodwork of Florence.
Eleven potential claimants rose to answer the call and, Aug. 3, the winners were announced.
Results revealed that Rudl Mergelman and James Vanhoutan in ward 1, Johanna Nabors and Steve Wolfe in ward 2, and Deborah Gibson and Gayle MacKinnon in ward 3 emerged victorious in the race for six city council spots.
"I'm humbled by their votes ... thank you for having trust in me as being a council member," Wolfe said. "Just give us a little bit of time to get our feet underneath us, and we'll do the best job for them that we can."
City manager hiring
The new council had no choice but to hit the ground running and, since August, have recorded some impressive feats in their decision-making processes.
They hired a Colorado Springs-based law firm, Wyatt Hamilton Findlay, PLLC, to represent them after former city attorney Matt Krob's termination in March.
Formerly known as Wood Banowsky, PLLC, and located in Texas, Wyatt Hamilton Findlay, PLLC, features Whitt Wyatt and Dan Findlay. Wyatt previously served as the city attorney of Addison, Texas, in 2021 and Findlay will serve as the primary attorney to serve the City of Florence (with Wyatt providing support whenever needed).
Additionally, the council decided to hire a formal search firm to assist in the hiring process for a permanent city manager. Piltingsrud has served as interim since February and already has stated his willingness to step down once a new, permanent manager is found.
The council selected Columbia ltd, a Colorado Springs-based search firm, to aid in the city manager hiring Nov. 28.
Columbia ltd was founded in 2016 by Andrew Gorgey, a 35-year resident of Colorado and former deputy district attorney, county attorney, county manager, and acting city manager for numerous city governments. Since its 2016 founding, the company has successfully placed more than 90 city government officials in a variety of positions.
"With respect to me and my company, I really believe in candor," Gorgey said. "You'll never have to wonder what I'm thinking or where I'm coming from and I think that part of the key to the success of your recruitment is to shine the light in full, and brightly, on every one of the challenges that I've made reference to."
Gorgey is already working with the Fremont County Commissioners in their search for a new county manager after Sunny Bryant's resignation and also with the city of Gunnison as they search for a new city manager.
One of the first recommendations Gorgey had for the council was to increase the salary offered to the new city manager. The council received the suggestion and increased the salary from $120,000 to $150,000.
Gorgey hopes to have a new city manager installed at Florence by late February or mid-March.
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