Dolores Library Board fires executive director after workplace review

The Dolores Library District Board voted 5-0 on June 9 to terminate Executive Director Sean Gantt after reviewing a third-party workplace assessment in executive session. Belinda Platts was absent from the vote, and the board has not publicly released the assessment findings that led to the decision.

The dismissal capped months of escalating governance tension at the Dolores Public Library in Dolores, where board members first voted in January 2026 to seek proposals for an outside consultant to assess the workplace environment. By early May, board president Sandy Jumper said the board had received five complaints over the previous four months, prompting a special meeting and a deeper review of internal operations during the annual evaluation process.

That May 2 meeting turned confrontational when Gantt asked to take part in the executive session. When board members denied that request, he argued the discussion should happen in public. Board members pushed back, saying personnel matters belonged in executive session. The dispute reflected a broader pattern of friction around the library’s governance, not just a single personnel decision.

The board had already taken the unusual step in late November 2025 of formally censuring former trustee Hassan Hourmanesh over allegations that included violating Colorado Open Meetings Law. Hourmanesh later resigned. The board also hired legal counsel on an as-needed basis at $385 an hour to help revise bylaws and work through the disputes that have repeatedly surfaced in public meetings.

Even as the board moved toward outside review, residents who spoke during the January discussion said the library itself remained busy and well used. They pointed to the institution’s regular programming and a crowded children’s storytime that drew about 60 people, underscoring the gap between the library’s public role in Dolores County and the governance conflict unfolding behind the scenes.

Gantt had led the library for roughly six years before the board ended his contract. With the assessment findings still undisclosed, the next test for trustees will be whether they explain how the library will be managed in the interim and how much of the review they are willing to make public.