Members of a recall committee said Monday they plan to visit homes in Carneiro Township this week to seek signatures on a petition to oust a veteran trustee for “willful disregard of Kansas statutes” and “dereliction of duties.”
Recall organizers delivered the blank recall petition form to county attorney Paul J. Kasper for approval of the format, and not the accuracy of the recall grounds, following Monday’s meeting of Ellsworth County Commissioners. The petition targets Kelly Cikanek, who attended the commission meeting. Several of his critics also were present.
Gretchen Griffith, a member of the three-person recall committee, said eight signatures, or 20 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the 2020 election, are needed for the petition to be successful, according to information the group received from the county.
Listed on the petition as alleged grounds for recall are:
• Failure to assure cemetery under township overview is in compliance with Kansas Statute KSA 80-912.
• Failure to follow Kansas statute 75-4317 (open meetings law) on multiple occasions though he had received training December of 2021. May 26 and 28 involved township clerk in violation and July 3, 2023, recommended a replacement for a vacated position that’s in direct conflict.
• June 2022: FEMA Disaster — failed to call an open meeting to allow discussion and approval by the duly elected board for award of expenditure.
• Claims in multiple meetings through 2021 and 2022 that he stated hadn’t voted in 2020 and/or that the votes to approve items under discussion were illegal. KSA 80-408, KSA 80-1208, KSA 75-7502(e)
• Reading of September 2022 minutes for approval at December meeting state 6/30/22 minutes read and approved yet none exists of 6/30/22 minutes, requested to view records at September, December 2022, March and June 2023 meetings.
• Hired legal firm without discussion for the reason of such action in an open board meeting or to approve the expenditure of an unbudgeted item.
Recall organizers have 120 days to return the petition County Clerk and Election Officer Shelly Vopat said. If the signatures on the petition are verified, she will have 60 days to call a special election on the recall question.
Cikanek, in a brief telephone conversation Tuesday morning with the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, said petition organizers were within their rights and he planned to continue as a trustee.
The Carneiro Township dispute dates back to at least 2022, when Griffith and Michelle Vanek attended a commission meeting in November to voice their concerns with board actions. Discussion with commissioners continued earlier this month.
Cikanek told commissioners Monday he has the support of the majority of township residents. As proof, he pointed to an advertisement that appeared in the July 6 edition of the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter. The ad in support of the township board contained the names of 16 landowners and individuals with family and friends buried in the Carneiro Cemetery.
The cemetery and its administration have been at the center of the Carneiro dispute, however, critics say they are most concerned about what they see as a lack of transparency on the part of the township board.
Meanwhile, Ellsworth County officials said this will be their first recall election if the petition is successful.