The Dillon Town Council could come to a grinding halt — unable to act on many facets of town business — if it does not hire a new town attorney in the coming weeks.

Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson told the Town Council at its meeting Tuesday, June 25, that future meetings could be canceled if a new attorney is not hired before the resignation of Kathleen Kelly, of Kelly P.C., takes effect next month.

“We’ve been turned down by a couple firms,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to name names, but this could be a challenge. I want you all to know this timeline could be extended, and hopefully we can find an interim.”

Kelly’s resignation takes effect July 11. She submitted her resignation after the June 13 Town Council meeting where council members voted to allow the Dillon Community Church to continue to hold Sunday services at the town’s amphitheater, which was later reversed.

Because every document that goes before the Town Council must first be approved by the town attorney’s office, Johnson said meetings this summer could be canceled or significantly abbreviated if a new attorney is not found soon.

Since the town attorney also serves as the legal advisor to the Dillon Planning and Zoning Commission and town staff, providing guidance on everything from liquor and marijuana licensing to municipal election law, other town functions could also be impacted.

Construction projects like the long-stalled Uptown 240 condominium could potentially face delays without a town attorney to review documents as could other items, like water treatment projects or planned sidewalk improvements along U.S. Highway 6, Johnson said in an interview Thursday, June 27.

“We have a lot of things we need to get done, and it’s going to get more challenging to do so,” Johnson said. “We’re looking at various different construction projects that we might have to delay going out to bid or delay a project to next year just because we don’t have that town attorney representation.”

Prior to submitting her resignation, Kelly had advised the Town Council of potential constitutional issues with allowing a religious group to use the amphitheater space, not other groups. She said that the First Amendment means that the town government cannot become “overly intertwined with religious activities.”

Town Council member Dana Christiansen at that June 13 meeting called on the Town Council to consider replacing Kelly.

“If it’s me, I’m paying my attorneys to find solutions, not to throw obstacles in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Christiansen said at the time.

The decision to allow the church to use the amphitheater also sparked a backlash from those who saw it as a violation of church and state, including from The Freedom from Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit that has litigated First Amendment cases.

While the Town Council voted at a special meeting June 19 to reverse the decision to allow the church to use the amphitheater this summer, it has not yet settled on a policy for what outside groups can rent the amphitheater.

During its work session Tuesday, the Town Council discussed a fee schedule for a proposed policy that could allow for nonprofits to request to rent the amphitheater, but did not come to any decisions.

The Dillon Town Council will interview candidates ahead of awarding a contract to a new town attorney Aug. 27, according to the current schedule laid out in the request for proposals the town issued to fill the position.

Johnson said there are municipal law firms that offer interim services but that the town has not yet secured an interim town attorney, and he is not sure it will. He said it would be up to the Town Council to hire an interim town attorney.

“You might have the summer off,” Johnson told the Town Council on Tuesday “But I’ll just say if these documents get backed up, there’s going to be some very long meetings.”