BOCC Meeting January 31st
Board and Committee Appointments, Hamilton Ad Nauseam
and Two Executive Sessions
Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—January 31, 2017
WESTCLIFFE, Colorado
The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.
Commissioners approved the minutes of the January 20th meeting.
A citizen requested that the audio recordings of the BOCC meetings be put on the county webpage so that people don’t have to go into the Clerk’s office and purchase the audio. The Board seemed favorable to the idea and it will be placed on a future agenda.
Another citizen commended Mrs. Hood on her giving her salary back to the county. He also suggested that there should maybe be a policy on Board approval for her spending this money on various projects. (Note: at a previous meeting Mrs. Hood said she was purchasing laptops for the members of the BOCC.) She replied, “It’s really my money, coming out of my paycheck. So there’s no approval needed.” Mr. Kattnig also stated that, since it’s not county money, per se, there is no requirement to ask for bids for the projects that Hood wants to fund.
Mr. Printz reported being real busy. He has met with the Upper Arkansas Workforce Commission in Cañon City and has sent the resumes and letters of intent for the road boss job to the Workforce people for their input.
Mrs. Hood is reviewing the Strategic Plan and also met with the fair board.
Mr. Kattnig reported on the ongoing construction of the Wetmore Community Center, the meeting with the Division of Fire Prevention and Control, the CART meeting, the Middle Arkansas Wildfire Prevention Partnership, and the Fire Recovery meeting in Wetmore.
Attorney Smith requested a workshop be set for going over the prospective marijuana ordinance. [That workshop will be open to the public February 13th at 1:30 PM. Meeting Location: County Courthouse /Commissioners Room. ]
He read a note from Jordan Hedburg regarding the response to Mr. Hedburg’s email. The note stated that Hedburg was satisfied with the response and would be taking no action at this time. A copy of Hedburg’s email to the BOCC commissioners can be read here: (https://sangredecristosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/email-from-Trib01252017-C.pdf) and the attorney’s response can be seen here. (https://sangredecristosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/letter-to-WMT-from-CC-Lawyer.pdf)
Smith also reported that the motion to dismiss the county from the Hamilton lawsuit was in process. Hamilton’s attorney had not responded to the county’s request so Smith had prepared a reply that he will file “this afternoon”. He also seemed to be surprised that an executive session was on the agenda with the Hamiltons (who were present in the audience). He stated that he could not attend that executive session with the county not having been officially dismissed from the lawsuit. The Board agreed to meet with Smith prior to meeting with Hamilton in executive session.
The Board approved vouchers to be paid and funds to be transferred to pay the bills for January.
Ashley Gillum was approved to be the 4-H representative on the extension advisory board and Debra Fisher on the fair board.
The Board then addressed the appointments to the Board of Zoning Adjustment and Planning Commission. There were many questions from Mr. Kattnig on how things were done on these boards and which members were absent from meetings. The questioning went on for quite some time. When Mr. Printz tried to get clarification, Mr. Kattnig told him to “speed it up.” Mr. Printz responded “No, I’m going to take my time,” that this was important business. There was much talk about the value of experience on the boards vs. having “new blood” on these boards. Jackie Hobby and Vic Barnes (Chairman of the Planning Commission) both adamantly defended the written policy that new members come onto these boards as non-voting alternates before being moved to voting positions. In the end, the new members were only added as alternates and Keith Hood, who has been on the Planning Commission for 20 years, was returned to the board.
Planning Commission
Dale Mullen
Pat Bailey
Vic Barnes
Bill Donley
Patrick Lynch
Keith Hood
Chris Nordyke
Board of Zoning
Adjustment
Ken Patterson Sr.
Jean Canterbury
Brad Hartbauer
Lockett Pitman
Rob McIlwraith
Alternates to the Planning Commission & Board of Zoning Adjustment
Skip Norcross
Lance Ingram
Mike Shields
Steve Henning
Mike Carter
The lease agreement with the radio station was approved.
The Early Childhood Council MOU was tabled until the Board could get the actual document.
There was a discussion about the county’s response to non-county roads for emergency snow removed and for getting people out from their homes for medical care. The Board and the Sheriff agreed that there was a necessity in some of these developments for road signs. No decisions were made on this issue.
The Board went into executive session for “advice from counsel.”
When they returned, they informed Mr. Hamilton that, on advice from Mr. Smith, their meeting with Mr. Hamilton would have to be held in open meeting. Mr. Hamilton agreed. Attorney Smith excused himself from the room. Without his attorney present, Hamilton brought a 5-page document that he hoped the Board would approve and sign. It is unclear if that would have happened had the Board met with him in executive session. At any rate, the Board informed Mr. Hamilton that they could not take action on his request without their attorney’s input. A copy of that 5-page request can be seen here. https://sangredecristosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Hamilton-Letter.pdf
The Board then went into executive session for “personnel issues.” Present for that session was HR Department head Donna Hobby and Sheriff Byerly.
When the Board returned to open meeting, Mr. Printz made a motion that they approve the purchase of a truck. No further details were forthcoming on which department this vehicle is for.
The meeting adjourned at 1:50 p.m.
NOTE: Questions: should Mr. Kattnig and Mr. Prince have recused themselves from hearing Mr. Hamilton’s requests since both accompanied Mr. Hamilton to the court hearing in Denver? Regarding the second executive session about “personnel issues” – where, after they returned to open meeting, the board approved the purchase of a truck – how is this truck purchase, obviously discussed during that executive session, a personnel issue?
The recording of the meeting can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV2-x-qBRcw&feature=youtu.be