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Larry & Mary Bea Neu: A conflict of interest

To the editor:

I would like to invite anyone who is interested in the future of the Moffat County Tourism Association to attend the meetings at the courthouse tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec.18.

There will be an MCTA meeting in the main floor conference room at 9:15a.m. followed by the BOCC discussion about MCTA 9:45 a.m.



There has been controversy between the MCTA, Craig Chamber of Commerce and the Commissioners for the last six or seven years. In that time there has been chamber board members have changed, commissioners and MCTA members have come and gone, and the MCTA director has changed four times.

There is a constant that has not changed in those years: the Chamber Director, Christine (Mathers) Oxley, and Commissioner Tom Mathers, Christine’s Father.



Tom has indicated he wants to clear up the mess and recommend dissolving the MCTA so as not to hand it over to the incoming commissioners.

My question is how can Tom Mathers motion or vote on any issue concerning the MCTA and the Chamber of Commerce when the MCTA funds the Chamber at more than $25 thousand a year? Christine Oxley makes her living as Chamber Director, so it is a direct conflict of interest for Tom Mathers to vote on any issue where funding her concerned.

In the past dealings with MCTA this conflict of interest issue has come up and Tom vehemently denies it. I would like a definition from a lawyer on that.

We support our daughter, MCTA director Melody Villard, and would be in conflict of interest if we were in a position to rule or vote on any issue where she was involved.

The current MCTA Board, with strong leadership, is working cohesively and is accomplishing goals. Why does Tom Mathers feel there is a mess to clear up now?

Is it quick before the new commissioners get in and not vote his way? Does he feel that Tom Gray and Audrey Danner will vote his way because they will be passing the torch in a couple of weeks and it won’t matter to them?

I would lose a lot of respect for Tom Gray and Audrey if it were true that they could be persuaded away from their own beliefs.

We are proud of our daughter. She is honest and not afraid to put her name on her opinions and speak her mind.

She has worked very hard as the MCTA Director, because promoting Moffat County is her passion.

The commissioners removed Kerry Moe with no warning and no reasoning. Many don’t know that Kerry and Frank Moe put over a month of hard construction time and thousands of dollars into building the MCTA office, showcasing Moffat County, in the Mall.

No money came out of the county, or MCTA account, to build that community-supported center.

There was an opinion piece in the CDP on the commissioners titled “Do as I say not as I do.” Will they learn?

Larry & Mary Bea Neu


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