Sullard appears to be on his way out as city manager

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

The Boulder City Council is negotiating an end to John Sullard's run as city manager that would either lead to Sullard's resignation or to his transfer to another position in city government, the mayor and two other council members confirmed Wednesday.

Mayor Bob Ferraro and council members Karla Burton and Roger Tobler said they have been negotiating this week with Sullard regarding his position, and they said they expect Sullard will no longer be city manager by the end of February.

In the past seven months Sullard has weathered a call for his resignation by the mayor, and there has been a series of closed-door meetings with the council regarding Sullard's performance with a focus on his oversight of the financially struggling Boulder Creek Golf Club.

But each time, Sullard emerged with his job, and no public statements indicating a majority of council members wanted Sullard to resign. The last such meeting was in November, and council members are not saying what if anything has changed since then to prompt these negotiations.

The effort to oust Sullard, city manager since 1997, comes as a group of residents launch an effort to recall Ferraro and Councilman Mike Pacini.

The recall efforts and Sullard's situation involved the financial situation at Boulder Creek Golf Club. The city-owned golf course opened a year ago amid glowing predictions of profits but has lost money instead.

Ferraro said the negotiations with Sullard were not prompted by the recall.

Ferraro has long been a vocal critic of Sullard, calling for his resignation a week before the June city election after an auditor revealed the golf course had lost about $480,000 during its first four months open.

Ferraro said Sullard should have been more on top of the situation at the $22 million golf course and known the course wasn't doing well and shared that with the council.

Leaders of the recall effort have launched similar criticisms of the mayor.

Former City Councilman Bill Smith, who lost the June mayoral election to Ferraro by 18 votes, has long said that either Ferraro knew the course was doing badly and misled the public, or should have known the course wasn't doing well financially.

Smith and Ferraro will go head to head on a ballot again if the recall petitions are successful.

Pacini, who didn't return messages seeking comment Wednesday night, has long been Sullard's most vocal supporter on the council.

The fifth member of the council, Andrea Anderson, said Wednesday that council members and Sullard were involved in "sensitive discussions with the city manager regarding his future."

She refused to elaborate.

Ferraro said he strongly opposes Sullard taking another job with the city. Before being named city manager he was director of the city's Community Development Department.

Sullard would not go into details about the negotiations between him and the elected officials.

"I and the City Council are talking about an agreement that would be mutually agreeable regarding my future with the city," Sullard said. "It's a fluid situation."

The mayor, who met with Sullard Wednesday, said Sullard is "resigned to the fact that he's no longer going to be city manager."

Sullard is an at-will employee, but his contract states he is to receive six months severance pay if he is fired or forced to resign. Sullard's annual salary is $128,024.

It would take four council votes to fire Sullard.

Burton said she hopes that by negotiating Sullard's removal from the city manager position, the council can avoid a drawn out and unpleasant situation.

"The general sense of the community is that it's time for a change," Burton said. "The golf course is a large factor ... His ability to work with the community is damaged."

Tobler said he agreed with Burton.

"It's just time for a change," he said.