Several weeks before the city of Ouray severed ties with its longtime marketing contractor, Mayor Greg Nelson asked professional photographer and social media manager Markus Van Meter to submit a proposal to perform those services for the city.

Van Meter addressed three proposals to Nelson and Mayor Pro Tem John Wood and sent them to Nelson between March 12 and March 31, the day the city’s contract ended with the Ouray Tourism Office, according to emails obtained by the Plaindealer under the st...