After weeks of negotiations, the Yampa Valley Housing Authority Board of Directors has officially voted 11-2 to approve a mutual separation agreement with Executive Director Jason Peasley, potentially marking the end of an era for the organization’s longtime — and often controversial — leader.

The agreement includes six months’ severance pay, health insurance, and accrued paid time off at a total cost to the organization of roughly $143,000, to be paid to Peasley in a lump sum. Peasley will stay on through June 1 as part of the transition period.

The proposed agreement now goes back to Peasley and his legal counsel for consideration and possible approval.

YVHA originally released a statement March 3 announcing that it had instructed legal counsel to draft the agreement with Peasley, noting the board’s intention to vote on the document at its March 12 meeting. 

The statement did not include details on the reasoning behind the organization’s decision to separate from its executive director.

After the board came out of executive session at the March 12 meeting, it announced that it had directed counsel to continue negotiations with Peasley. The motion to vote on the agreement was tabled to a special meeting on March 18. 

At the March 18 meeting — in which the board opted for a public meeting instead of a closed executive session — several board members, including Mark Halvorson and Scott Yeates, expressed discomfort with voting on the agreement without a clear number on what the separation would cost the organization. The board again tabled its vote, this time until March 26, to give the board’s negotiator and chair, Kathi Meyer, time to come back with that number. 

At the March 26 meeting, at which the board again did not go into executive session and Peasley recused himself from participating, community member Noreen Moore — the sole public commenter — said that she has the “utmost regard” for Peasley and that the board has “bent the knee to those who are negative and vociferous.”

“One of the things that I think should be done is, make him look good,” said Moore, who encouraged all of the board members to “put something in the newspaper” expressing that Peasley is “not the problem” with YVHA.

Board members Catherine Carson and John Spezia both voted in opposition of the mutual separation agreement, with Carson noting that Peasley’s departure is not in the “best interest” of the community. 

When Peasley was first brought on at YVHA, Carson said the organization’s fund balance was negative and the organization was “underwater.”

“Jason put together a plan, when other people could not, to get the (affordable housing) programs going,” she said. “He built hundreds of homes, and not just homes — he built communities. He changed lives.”

Spezia described his decision to oppose the mutual separation agreement as a “protest for the way this whole thing was handled from the very beginning,” adding that he is “ashamed” and “surprised” that the process occurred in the manner it did. But he encouraged his fellow board members to approve the agreement. 

Routt County Commissioner Angelica Salinas, the county’s ex-officio representative on the board, voiced her “respect and gratitude” for Peasley. 

“This organization would not be what it is without you, the work you have done, the partnerships you’ve built, the families who have a home,” she said. “Because of your vision and your persistence, that legacy will last on.”

On the commissioners’ stance as a whole, Salinas said that while the commissioners recognize Peasley’s service and are “disappointed” that YVHA is losing him, that they support Salinas in approving the mutual separation agreement — but would not be supportive of a termination vote if it came to that. 

Steamboat Springs City Council President Steve Muntean told the group that he had the support of council to vote “yes” on the mutual separation agreement. 

The board also had a tense conversation on the impact of the leadership transition on the 11-person YVHA staff.

Secretary/Treasurer Cole Hewitt, who along with board member Michael Ann LaMotte had met with staff per their request a few weeks earlier, said that staff members are “frustrated, angry” and “disappointed” with the way the agreement has been handled, and the lack of a transition plan being “provided to staff in real time.” 

While staff understands that the agreement is mutual, “it’s hard for them to see the political influence from town … not playing a role in that,” said Hewitt. 

In the meeting, staff referred to the letter written by Hayden town staff to councilors asking them to more ardently defend them from harassment and threats from community members opposed to decisions made by elected officials. YVHA staff expressed similar sentiments regarding “alienation and hostility” due to public backlash, according to Hewitt.

“They’ve asked me to convey to this board in our process going forward that we do a better job of vocalizing our support for the work that we are authorizing,” he said. 

“Staff would like a well-defined transition plan that is supportive of both staff and keeps the important work of the organization going,” he continued. “The organization needs a well-articulated vision for the future, including an understanding of what types of qualities the next leader of YVHA needs to embody to help realize that vision.”

“Staff does hope to be included in the process of the strategic planning and hiring of an (executive director) so that their perspectives can be valued,” Hewitt added, noting that staff would also like to be included “periodically” in evaluation processes for the executive director. 

LaMotte added that staff are “scared, confused” and unsteady, encouraging the board to reflect on how the disconnect between the board and staff became so great, and to work on “thoughtful, expedited ways” to prioritize staff stabilization going forward. 

The board plans to discuss a transition plan at its April 9 meeting.