Community tensions are rising in Valley as multiple city officials have resigned and a petition to recall Mayor Cindy Grove has been filed.
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Valley's Building Inspector, Rune Van Den Boogaart,
and City Administrator Cameron Gales have resigned. In his resignation letter, Gales stated that elected officials had shared "racist and disrespectful" text messages about him.
"There's definitely been some articles in newspapers already outlining some of the text messages that unfortunately have been coming out. That just creates a lot of uncertainty for the staff because the staff is all just here trying to do their job," Mayor Cindy Grove said.
Last month, concerned residents filed a petition to recall Mayor Grove. It was turned in on Thursday. The petition accuses Grove of violating open meetings laws, advancing costly projects without citizen consent, and neglecting infrastructure.
Tyler Curtis, a well-connected community member, shared that his neighbors have concerns about where their tax dollars are going.
"A big one that was asked was the brown water issue, which we've been over a few times now, and I think some other ones were at the park that we're sitting at right now," Curtis said.
Mayor Grove defended her record, pointing to several accomplishments during her tenure.
"We've also expanded and implemented options for online bill pay and our utility billing. We have a master plan that we did and we did a first phase. We're expanding our water treatment plant as well, and then just lots of development," Grove said.
Grove also noted renovations to the local park and family insurance options among her achievements.
Curtis says he wants to remain impartial, and his biggest hope is that his town will be united again.
"If there's one thing that bonds everyone involved with this, it's a care for the community. Every single person I've talked to on both sides has a deep-rooted care for this community, and I just wish we could get back to that," Curtis said.
The Douglas County Elections Commission will now verify the petition signatures. If enough valid signatures were collected, the recall will proceed to a vote in a special election.
Mayor Grove was re-elected mayor in 2024; her term ends in December 2025.
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