Three former Fort Morgan mayors address the Fort Morgan City Council regarding Police Chief Loren Sharp's retirement
At the recent City of Fort Morgan City Council meeting, all council members were present. The meeting began with the public comments segment, with Julie Stewig, one of the co-founders of the Morgan County Waste Management Coalition, stepping up to the podium. Started in 2021, they now have 2 recycling trailers in Fort Morgan, with one at Columbine Elementary and the other located at The Block, with smaller bins located at various business locations throughout Fort Morgan. Collectively, they collect about 2,000 pounds of recycling every month. Julie wanted to thank the city council, the sanitation department, the United Way of Morgan County, the Morgan County School District, the Morgan County Landfill, Top End Trailers, The Block, KC Graphics, Leprino Foods, and Golden Belt Bank for their assistance. For more information, check out the Morgan County Waste Coalition’s Facebook page.
The next set of citizens stepped up to the podium to address the recent retirement of Fort Morgan Police Chief Loren Sharp. The first was Barbera Keenan, who expressed concerns over the costs associated with buying out Chief Sharp’s contract, along with the potential costs of finding a new chief, a recall election, and possible city attorney fees, just as the city is recovering from the Cargill lockout. She did acknowledge the recent Facebook posting by current Mayor Doug Schossow, thanking Loren Sharp and wishing him a happy retirement.
Former Mayor Lyn Deal was next, expressing that she believes an injustice has been done with Chief Sharp’s retirement and mentioned how he helped with the positive perception of the police department and how the department has the support of the community.
The person next to the podium was another former Mayor, Jack Darnell. He basically spelled out that a group of citizens met and decided and suggested that by the next city council meeting on Tuesday, November 3rd, either reinstate Loren Sharp as the Fort Morgan Police Chief, or they will start the process for a recall of Mayor Schossow and 3 specific council members. He also mentioned that Loren Sharp would return as the chief if he was reinstated.
Finally, yet another former Fort Morgan Mayor, Ron Shaver, stepped up. He served a total of 40 years for the City of Fort Morgan: 24 years as a city employee, 10 years on council, and 6 years as Mayor. Plus, he served twice as Interim City Manager, where he worked with 10 city managers and 6 police chiefs. As a brief bit of history, due to many various factors involving a multi-million-dollar lawsuit in the mid-90s regarding wastewater discharge violations and a lack of an industrial pretreatment program, it was recommended that a charter amendment be drafted and be approved by the voters. On November 6, 2007, the City Manager was put in charge of all departments, including the police department. However, in 2019, voters approved Charter Amendment 2E, which removed oversight of the police department from the city manager to the city council. Ron feels that this creates serious challenges involving various things, including the chain of command. This charter clearly gives the council the authority to appoint and/or remove the chief. Chief Sharp’s employment agreement states that he serves at the council’s pleasure and that his employment is ‘at will’. He wishes Chief Sharp the best for his retirement, as a 6-to-1 majority vote leads him to believe that there may be underlying concerns warranting consideration, but he does NOT have those details and doesn’t pretend to. There are a lot of allegations, but without credible evidence, they are not established currently. He also believes a recall would further divide the Fort Morgan community and cost thousands in taxpayer dollars. Ron knows that some citizens are upset and have every right to express their opinions, but the continued public confrontations and accusations may do more harm than good. Should Loren Sharp pursue leadership employment elsewhere, the ongoing controversies could potentially complicate future opportunities. He would hate to see any unintended consequences hinder the person everyone is trying to help. He believes that instead of a recall, maybe Charter Amendment 2E should be revisited by voters. Basically, the clear chain of command should be restored so that the Fort Morgan community can move forward.
Following Ron Shaver’s comments, the segment was closed, as council moved the meeting on to its regular agenda.
To see all segments of the October 20th City of Fort Morgan City Council meeting on YouTube, go to cityoffortmorgan.com, click on GOVERNMENT at the top of the home page, then go to ‘Mayor & City Council’, then go to ‘City Council Meeting Videos’, then click on the City Council Meeting from October 20, 2026.
