The Manitou Springs City Council decided not to take any action against fellow Councilman John Shada, who received criticism and a call for resignation last month over an alleged altercation with the director of Visit Manitou Springs.

“As a human being, I strive to do the very best I can for this community, but sometimes I fall short,” said Shada at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Shada said he won’t resign his position, rejecting councilwoman Nancy Fortuin’s request from October. Last month, Fortuin detailed several alleged incidents in which she felt Shada acted unprofessionally. She called for a vote to put a discussion of his conduct on the city’s next agenda.

The most recent incident she mentioned allegedly occurred in a Manitou Springs parking lot on Oct. 17, when Shada angrily confronted Jenna Wells, the executive director of Visit Manitou Springs.

According to Wells, who filed a police report but did not press charges or seek a protective order, Shada was “visibly upset” about the city’s finances. At one point, Wells told police that Shada made a “throat-slitting hand gesture” and said she was “finished.”

According to documents compiled by the city for the Tuesday discussion and in response to an open records request, Shada has previously received complaints about his conduct outside of council meetings.

In September of last year, a city employee whose name was redacted wrote a note saying Shada became belligerent about an overflowing dumpster, threatening to call the local news and complain about the city.

A city of Colorado Springs employee wrote in 2020 that Shada initiated a “confrontational interaction” at a celebration for the opening of a new trail connected to the Manitou Incline. The employee said Shada was questioning their ability to park near the Incline.

“He was unprofessional, aggressive and I really felt harassed,” the employee wrote in the note to Manitou Springs town staff.

The city council was split Tuesday night on whether to call for an investigation of Shada. Since the councilman’s conduct did not directly pertain to his duties as an elected official, Mayor John Graham said the council had few other options available to pursue. Sitting councilmembers cannot be removed or censored for their behavior, he said.

Calling the discussion a “witch hunt,” councilwoman Julie Wolfe said that Shada’s conduct was not a matter that should have come before the council.

Councilwoman Judith Chandler said the discussion was an “inappropriate ask” of the council and that a citizen-initiated recall petition was the right way to address concerns.

“This city council is not here tonight to be judge and jury for alleged incidents,” she said.

Councilwoman Natalie Johnson suggested an investigation of Shada, saying it was appropriate to look into the concerns raised.

“It does hurt me to think that people were hurt in this community through interactions with him,” she said.

Graham agreed, suggesting that any future incidents could open the city to liability. Wolfe called that idea a “red herring” without legal basis.

With no vote on the matter from the city council, multiple members agreed with Chandler that the proper avenue for concerns about Shada would be through a recall process. A petition must gather the required number of signatures to trigger a recall election, which then decides whether the official is kept or replaced.

Graham was the subject of a failed recall campaign last year over his perceived knowledge about development plans for the city, including a proposed parking lot near the Manitou Incline and Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

He warned that despite an “undercurrent of discontent,” a recall of Shada could expend scarce city resources.

“That’s a lot of work, and it’s also a lot of divisiveness in the community,” he said.