Custer County Board
of Commissioners (BOCC)

—August 28, 2020

by Laura Vass

The meeting was called to order followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call.

Attorney Items:

Attorney Smith said he received a CORA request and had to get an extension in order to comply. Vernon Roth did the document search for him and Smith thanked him. Attorney Smith said he was riding his ATV over the weekend and notices property owners building without any permitting or septic and these appeared to be built as dwellings. He reviewed those with Jackie Hobby of Planning and Zoning.

Mayor Wenzel called with Silver Cliff inquiries about the red light on top of the AT&T tower. Tower managed by Tillman infrastructure. Light is not shielded (not Dark Skies Compliant but in Westcliffe town limits) but it is there for Flight for Life and other air traffic. There have been complaints. The question is if it is an FAA compliance issue.

Public Comment: Nita Lynch called to mention the idea of Board of Health being expanded beyond Board of Commissioners to citizen members. She expressed her concern with noncompliance of masking, which she feels really is proved by science and pointed out the Horn Creek “outbreak”.

Road and Bridge expenditures and Tourism expenditures were reviewed. Vouchers were approved and signed.

Agenda Items:

Consideration of seating of Board of Health (BoH) with non-elected citizens.

Mrs. Mary Ellen LaSage: She would like to see a new BoH with ‘real’ professionals. She said that Donna McDonald started a group (Medical Reserve Corp-MRC) in 2009 which has members (some retired) from medical professions who have volunteered/worked with Public Health. She said the group has more than 40 members.

Mr Printz asked her what it is that the BOCC acting as BoH have or have not done that has prompted the
request to create a new BoH.

She did not answer the question. She did mention that she has not had one bail of hay, that there are BoH issues coming – flu season – that we are in the driest time she can remember, and that the BOCC is busy and what if there are more fires? She thinks that a different BoH can concentrate on health issues.

Mr. Printz restated the question, pointing out the BoH has been with the commissioners for a very long time and he is suspect that the BoH has been positioned (by things that should have been done or have been done) to advocate that role to someone else. “I’m trying to find out, what it is, that we’re lacking, that your advisors feel they would be able to bring to the BoH or to OEM?”

Mary Ellen said that there is a new Health Director that unfortunately nobody has met or knows anything about.

Mr. Printz pointed out that Mr. Brown has only had the position for a week.

Mr. Canda attempted to clarify her cause, asking if the MRC has made an effort to meet or offer up their expertise to the Health Director and suggested that the Corp get to know to Mr. Brown and make their requests known.

Ms. LaSage said they had not been asked. She then deflected back to the request for a non-elected
board, saying that people, when they ask questions of the BoH, need a response from people educated to answer the questions. Her idea of a BoH, she explained, is people educated in health and that includes mental health, physical health, and maybe a veterinarian on the Board.

Mr Printz said that having medical professionals on the  Board does make sense but he wondered if this wasn’t a bit premature. And his suggestion was that Mr. Brown be allowed to get settled in his job and then perhaps the RMC could advise him. And then he (Mr. Brown) could bring that to the BoH meetings.

Mr. Printz also noted that the five nearby counties that he spoke with, all have the commissioners acting as part of the Board of Health. The only exceptions seem to be in Denver and surrounding metropolitan areas.  Three of the five has one or two medical professionals on their BoH. Printz asked those counties why. The answer was that when it heats up and there is a lot of animosity, and that the BOCC is already hardened to handling that.

Both Mr. Printz and Mr. Canda agreed that having advisement to Public Health and to the BoH would be appreciated.

LaSage said that “people are upset because Public Health’s ‘hands are tied’. And she “thinks it’s important to do something now and have a BoH of medical professionals.” Mary Ellen said “The Reserve Medical Corp is not being respected,” noting that it is a national organization.

Attorney Smith interjected at this point saying that the conversations being had at present, belong in a BoH meeting rather than BOCC. The BoH cannot be a combination of BOCC or non-elected citizens. It’s one or the other and that decision is what they should really be talking about. *

(*Reporter’s Note:  In counties that have made the switch, a board of five with staggered appointments of five years is a state requirement. Counties with a population under 100 thousand people, typically stick with the commissioners acting as BoH for financial and economic reasons. Counties that have made the change are also giving regulatory as well as financial control of health-related county positions to the care on non-elected officials, including appointing a Health Director.

 If the county did make the change, they would not be able to go back to a commissioner-based Board of Health structure, as only counties where the BoH is structured this way BEFORE 2015, can do so.

Citizens can see, after reviewing the State guide for Boards of Health, that for a small county with a relatively small income, a change to a non-economic minded board of health professionals could mean a change also in many county offices’ finances and budget recommendations, a change in focus, and changes to  appointment procedures for various positions. These would fall under the purview of a board of unelected medical professionals and could, down the road, be quite costly. For example, by 2014, Boulder County was spending 17 million a year on health agencies that fall under the purview of their BoH, at a time when the population was  only 313,000, a rate of $54 per resident in one of the wealthiest counties in Colorado. We have about 5,000 full time residents. We are NOT one of the wealthiest counties in Colorado, at least among the currently working citizens. We cannot do what Boulder County does for $54.30 per resident. That would translate to $271,000, which I am certain we spend now on offices and expenditures related to health and safety. What can Custer County bear in increased regulation and increased administration? I ask because a change to BoH could very well transform Custer County. Will there be a strong regard for common sense decisions that consider economic burden? And for how long?

To view a summary of State guidelines, see HERE

It might also be noted that appointed boards, more often than not, become exclusionary, and cannot be controlled by the citizens they serve since they are not elected. We have seen with our Governor’s executive orders and with our current legislature, that what is done in the name of “health and safety” is broadly overreaching. Our legislature has restricted the oil and gas industry with this type of clause, corrupted sex education with this clause, and changed vaccination requirements for public and charter schools with this clause. We don’t need this type of overreach locally.

Interestingly, even the State Board of Health requires that their board not have more than five of its members from one government or professional group; one should be in economics, business or media and one must be a county commissioner. Ironically, we as a county, however, would not be allowed a commissioner on the board with a change in structure.)

Mr. Printz asked Mary Ellen if she brought a list of people she would recommend if they (BOCC as BoH) did step down. Mr. Flower noted that he asked Mary Ellen not reveal those names at this time because this was just a meeting about consideration of a change of BoH makeup. He said the MRC is not an advisory board to
Public Health, by any means. Mr. Printz said he  does support the change to medical professionals.

Commissioners Printz and Flower said they would be willing to address the question soon.

Mr. Canda wants time to look at the impact of changing the BoH, the impact on the community and how State mandates would be implemented. He noted that a lot of what the Governor has issued is carefully worded as “recommended”. We need to look at what the orders ‘mean’ before making a decision. Printz said he disagreed.
Mary Ellen said she has talked to many citizens. She thinks, “We have a commissioner who needs to leave the BoH now. And we have Corp members who are willing to serve on the BoH now. We need health professionals.”

Mr. Printz, noting that the attorney said the BoH cannot be a combination, said given that fact, he would be comfortable transferring it to a separate Board of Health made up of medical professionals.

Mr. Flower read part of the statute on creating a BoH. He asked Mary Ellen how many professionals she would suggest. She said five.

Mr. Printz suggested scheduling a BoH meeting after the September midmonth BOCC.

Mr. Canda said if they vote to disband, then who is the BoH? Noting that timing is important.

“It is important to understand the new Public Health Director’s perspective, it is not his decision, but we need to know what his plans are.”

Mr. Canda sees a problem in how the BOCC would balance the impact of the decisions made by a new BoH with costs and implementation. The BoH can make decisions that impact the county significantly and financially, giving an example of enforcing a mask policy with no money available to enforce that. “If we are advocating our authority, we need to be able to balance things– but we will still be
responsible for the impact. First, we need to understand the bigger picture.”

At that point, Chairman Flower and Commissioner Printz pushed forward with plans to take a change in BoH structure under consideration soon. A motion was made to postpone discussion and decision, but only until the midmonth September 16th BOCC meeting. No dates were discussed for preceding and following  BoH meetings.

Public Comment: None

Old Business:

Consideration of Covid compensation for public health workers.  Mr. Printz believes the CARES Act committee should decide which work should be compensated.  Mr. Flower thinks it’s the county’s decision because the county is responsible for wages and should handle that. Estimated hours through August are $2,130. If the hours meet the criteria, DOLA should reimburse the county for those hours, he said. Commissioners voted to authorize payment to the workers. They will submit the hours to the CARES Act committee who will in turn submit these to DOLA.

Discussion of County vehicle use policy: The commissioners discussed the lack of county policy and need for a policy on vehicle use. In this discussion, the commissioners decided to ask each department to share their current policy in order to put together a uniform policy.

Salary increases for 2021 Discussion.
Commissioners discussed needing more data and hoping for the ability to give a 2% raise to county employees.

Humane Society Agreement. Passed and carried to sign the agreement with
Fremont County Human Society.

Signage purchases. The Board is considering portable digital information sign purchases in conjunction with Silver Cliff, which is going to buy one for town use. The signs are for information display along the three highways entering Westcliffe/Silver Cliff. A bulk purchase would save $6,000 on the four signs, giving a savings to Silver Cliff and the county. The signs might also be funded through a Cares Act grant. Motion to purchase passed, regardless of grant reimbursement.

County Strategic Plan Report was added to monthly agenda items. Motion passed and carried.

Meeting adjourned.