Village board left without a quorum 

LODGEPOLE – The Village of Lodgepole special meeting Tuesday ended shorter than expected when three board members resigned effectively immediately. 

Al Runge, Ken Kepler and Chairperson Susan Mitchell submitted their resignations at the beginning of the meeting effective immediately. 

The Special Meeting included “Discussion and action on passing Resolution # 298 calling for a Recall Election on May 12, 2026.” Board member Al Runge said he was concerned about the cost of the election. He voted no when he couldn’t get an answer on the cost.

“I voted no on passing the vote to have the special election, and the next day I was informed that I was not allowed to do that; that by doing so I was going to be charged with a Class 1 Misdemeanor which is punishable by a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. Well, I’m still not willing to vote yes on it. I can’t give a year of my life up because my wife needs me. I’m her may care giver. So, my only recourse is to tender my resignation effective tonight,” he said. 

Board member Ken Kepler also announced his resignation, submitting an envelope with his written resignation from all his Village positions and his keys.  

“This is not what I wanted. I heard allegations against Susan. I asked to see the evidence. I still have not seen it. Someone told me guilty after the proof is shown. There has been no proof, and that’s why I voted no. If you could show me some proof that she did something wrong that was worthy of being recalled, then I’d vote yes in a heartbeat. When I took this job on September 2^nd, I told everybody, not everybody’s going to like my decisions, but I’m going to look out for the best interests of the village. I have no agenda. I have no ulterior motives, except what is best for this village,” Kepler said. 

Board Chairperson Susan Mitchell said she felt she was elected to help improve the community. However, division has grown. 

“It seems that Lodgepole has been receiving a lot of attention lately, for a variety of reasons. Until now, I’ve chosen to keep my opinions largely to myself because I did not want to add to the drama surrounding our community. However, I feel it is time to share a few facts. First, I want those in the community who have supported me to know how much I have truly appreciated that. As a Village of Lodgepole board member, I believe that I was elected to help make Lodgepole a better place to live and represent the people of our community by bringing concerns and questions they share with me back to this board,” Mitchell said. 

She said her family has been accused of polluting the water supply. 

“To claim that my husband and I are poisoning the very same water that we ourselves rely on is not only a lie, it is actively dishonest. None of the individuals making claims have come directly to us to raise these so-called concerns. None of the individuals making these claims have made an attempt to find the truth. None of these individuals have shown to be generally concerned about your water supply. Instead these individuals have come after my husband and I on unfounded and entirely fabricated claims. Many of you may not know this but besides these lies we have been subject of not only one but two separate environmental investigations. And today I want to set the record straight, both of these investigations have been determined to be unfounded,” she said. 

She then announced her resignation from the board, effective immediately. 

With three of the five board members resigning, the meeting ended with a lack of a quorum.