The Meeker Board of Trustees voted to issue a written warning to the Meeker police chief over an incident involving a police officer-in-training at the library during its regular meeting on Aug. 17.
Executive session was listed on the agenda to discuss the possible discipline, demotion, suspension or termination of Ofc. Walters and Police Chief Trent Norton over an incident in which a firearm was left in the Meeker Public Library on June 24.
Initially, Trustee Lanny Thompson moved to take no action and allow Chief Norton to follow through with discipline of the officer, but the motion failed in a 3-to-2 vote. Mike Orman then made a motion to put a written warning on Chief Norton’s file for a safety incident. This passed 4 to 1, with only Trustee Kenneth Massey against.
The Board voted unanimously to take no action on Ofc. Walters as he was in training.
The Trustees almost did not convene executive session. At first, a motion was made to convene, but Trustees Thompson, Massey and Aaron Head voted against, causing the motion to fail. Before any discussion began, City Attorney James Hodgens stated that he didn’t think they should discuss personnel issues out of executive session.
After confirming with Hodgens that could increase liability, Trustee Head made a motion to rescind. Massey was the only trustee to oppose. The Trustees then took another vote on going into executive session, which passed, 4 to 1, with Massey again being the only Trustee against. They were in executive session for almost an hour. The Board also discussed engagement letters from two companies for bookkeeping services, though they ultimately took no action. The Trustees did vote to allow FiveTool Management to research and apply for the 2026 Urban & Community Forestry Assistance Grant Program. Grant Administrator Leslie Wilbourn explained that the grant could be used to provide tree services for residents who may have downed or damaged trees but are unable to have them removed.
The Board tabled any action on a Wex Account Fuel Policy until the next meeting to allow time for a written policy to be drafted. The intention is for every department to have and follow the same rules for the cards.
The Trustees also tabled a decision on reducing mu- municipal court from once a month to once every other month until they could get the judge’s opinion on the matter. The suggestion was brought up as the number of municipal citations has dropped from 492 in 2024 to 270 in 2025 and 37 from January to June of this year. Holding court every other month could be better aligned with the numbers, according to the discussion.
In the Meeker Public Works Authority meeting that followed, the Board of Trustees heard reports from residents on an ongoing low water pressure issue. Town Administrator Jeff Wilbourn spoke on steps that had already been taken to resolve the issue and stated that he did not know at this time what was causing the problem.
The Board voted to have a Public Works Authority employee continue looking into what could be causing the low pressure.