The Oak Creek police chief resigned on Friday after working only 19 days in the position. 

Jeffrey Mason, of Barnesville, Georgia, was unanimously chosen by the Oak Creek Board of Trustees at their Oct. 27 meeting, after the board interviewed eight candidates and hosted a town meet-and-greet with two finalists. His start date was Dec. 1.

Mason’s resignation letter was sent to Oak Creek Town Administrator Louis Fineberg on Friday morning, effective immediately.

“It is with my deepest regret that I inform you of my resignation from The Town of Oak Creek,” Mason wrote in the letter. “I know we have spoken of this verbally, however, I wanted to express my sincere thanks for the opportunity to have been chosen as a police chief for the Town of Oak Creek.”

“For our conversation, I would like my last day of work to be effective immediately,” the letter continues. “This is the end of a pay period and there is no sense in paying me to occupy a position in this new role without having any traction to move forward in the area of policing.”

The town of Oak Creek has been without a police chief or department since March of last year, when the previous chief, Ralph Maher, retired following an investigation into his alleged conduct at an all-male entertainment show held at an Oak Creek bar in early 2024.

Mason told Fineberg the reason for his sudden departure was due to a family matter, with his wife and son still living in Barnesville, Georgia.

“I think his wife was having difficulty with moving here … ,” Fineberg said on Monday. “I think his plan was to go home for Christmas and come back with his wife. I guess somewhere in that period his wife decided that she didn’t want to be here.”

Fineberg added that he was disappointed about Mason’s resignation and is “going back to the drawing board.”

The Oak Creek town board will discuss the next steps at the Jan. 8 meeting. Board members will weigh options, including continuing its contract with Routt County Sheriff’s Office.

Under a January 2025 agreement, the town paid the sheriff’s office employees a rate of $52/hour for responding to “emergent matters.”

The town also reimbursed the sheriff’s office at a rate of $93/hour for requests for additional off-duty deputy patrol coverage, such as at special events.

If the board decides to stay with its previous decision to restaff the police department, it may consider other ways of finding candidates.

To round up new candidates, the hiring committee — including Fineberg, Oak Creek Mayor Melissa Dobbins, Hayden Police Chief Scott Scurlock, Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar and former Oak Creek police officer Eileen Rossi — will consider enlisting the help of a search firm.

“Again, thank you for this opportunity,” Mason concluded in the resignation letter. “The town is wonderful. The people have been great, and the community is a great place to serve.”

“Obviously, we’re all disappointed it turned out the way it did,” Fineberg said. “I think everyone was looking forward to restaffing the police department and moving on with it. It’s unfortunate.”