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Craig — After some unrest regarding recent appointments to the Moffat County Tourism Association board, a unanimous decision was made to possibly expand the board to 11 members.

In a special meeting Wed­nesday, the MCTA board approved, 6-0, a motion to amend its by-laws to accommodate up to 11 members instead of the current seven.

The decision came after a discussion about recent appointments to the board and the nomination process.

On Nov. 10, the Moffat County Commission voted to fill the four open positions on the MCTA board with three new candidates and one incumbent.

Residents Annie MacGregor and Kandee Dilldine replaced board members Diane Brennan and Patt McCaffrey, while Renee Campbell replaced board President Melody Villard.

MCTA veteran Frank Moe was reinstated in the decision; however, he was uneasy with the way the proceedings had gone.

“The nominating committee had some people on it whose seats were up for reappointment,” he said. “And that’s a conflict of interest.”

Moe himself was on the nominating committee, which was charged with canvassing the community and contacting people who could be an asset to the board.

However, he thinks the rest of the committee was intent upon replacing some of the old board members.

“The idea of getting new blood definitely has merit,” he said. “But it will be costly.”

After serving on the board for 20 years, Moe said the addition of three new members at one time could set the association too far back while the new members get up to speed.

“The effort to get the board up to pace will mean our productivity will be daunted,” he said. “With the economy the way it is, now is not the time to lose strong productivity.”

Moe took his concerns to County Commissioner Audrey Danner and county attorney Kathleen Taylor.

Taylor then wrote a summary of her thoughts regarding the nomination process, which Danner presented at Wednesday’s MCTA meeting.

Taylor’s report said she had no problem with the way the nominating committee went about recruiting its new candidates but did have a few concerns about the formation of the committee and its recommendations.

“I’m concerned that members of the committee were also candidates,” the report read. “People should have excused themselves.”

She also said it was not a good idea for the nominating committee to be able to present its recommendations for new board members to the Commission.

For Moe, Taylor’s response inspired him to ask that the board move forward in unison.

“I take that as the final word,” Moe said. “We all have to work together to move forward.”

His motion to allow board expansion will be reviewed, along with the rest of the by-laws, for 30 days.

If the board approves the final version of the by-laws, it will then be up to the commission to appoint the additional board members, if they so choose.

Danner said it was common for the commission to honor the board’s recommendation.

“Other boards have operated with less than full capacity,” she said. “But we do follow the guidance of the board. If that is the board’s wish, to increase board participation, to help with committee work, etc., then we will honor that.”

She said the MCTA board has been developing and taking advantage of board training to move them into the future.

“They have set about to develop a work plan and a strategic plan,” she said. “They realized it’s going to take a lot of work. It takes a lot of time for people to get up to speed, no matter what board or commission you’re on. Do they need more members? They must think they do.”