LIBERTY ROCKS SPECIAL:
Three Commissioners Q&A
Courthouse Land Purchase Details,
Illegals, County Attorney Issue
Fred Hernandez,
News and Commentary
The February 18 Liberty Rocks at Tony’s Mountain Pizza was called to order by Chairperson Ann Barthrop shortly after six to a fully packed room in the tavern area. It was to be a special session with all three Custer County Commissioners in attendance; a rare occurrence not experienced in a long time, if ever there even was one. After the usual opening procedures, including the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation by Dr. Ann Willson, The Chair, unexpectedly, called the first speaker; local real estate realtor, Bob Senderhauf. This session of Liberty Rocks then became a two-part event not only featuring the Q&A with the commissioners but also, a presentation by Mr. Senderhauf.
Amidst recurring speculation, conjecture, theorizing, guesswork and even some unwarranted suspicions about the land transaction, at that time, for the projected Judicial Center, which was voted down by the community, many local folk were going to Mr. Senderhauf, believing he had the answers to a litany of questions about the real estate deal between a private landowner and the county.
To be clear, Mr. Senderhauf was not the realtor on this business and had nothing whatsoever to do with that negotiation. After so many questions and conjectures however, he decided to do some research for his own personal understanding and to better be able to answer the questions constantly coming from the community. Mr. Senderhauf was simply a concerned citizen who was actually not invited to speak at the Liberty Rocks event but who requested a few minutes to enlighten the public and settle at least some of the questions, with the results of his research which is based wholly on the available paper trail at the county.
There may be other individuals involved in the transaction who have more information which has not been made public but, as Mr. Senderhauf says, we can only make the conclusions we make based on available documentation.
Records show a list of grants received between Fiscal Year 2015/16 to Fiscal Year 2020/21. These grants were used for architectural design and other costs associated with the courthouse project.
The value of the land itself was calculated on $3.00 per square foot on an area of approximately 6.6 acres for a total amount of $872,943. The lessor however, agreed to “make a gift” to the county in the amount of $290,981 thus reducing the total amount to $581,962 or $2.00 a square foot. The term of the lease is eleven (11) years commencing August 1,2018 with an initial payment of $50,000 and subsequent payments of $50,000 due on the first day of August for each succeeding year for ten years and a final, 11th payment, in the amount of $31,962 payable on August 1, 2029. This therefore is a lease with option to buy with an interest of 2%. This Lease Purchase Agreement executed on August 24, 2018, with File Number 233255 is also readily available to the public at the office of the Custer County Clerk. All state laws were adhered to including Section 30-11-104.1 regarding financed purchase of an asset or certificate of participation agreements and Section 30-11-104.2 with regard to tax exemptions on properties used for governmental purposes. In conclusion, as far as Mr. Senderhauf is concerned, there is no obvious reason to continue having any doubts as to the legalities of the transaction or the integrity of all those involved in it.
The meeting went on to the main event: the Question and Answer time between the audience and the three commissioners; Chairman Bill Canda, Lucas Epp and newly elected Paul Vogelsong. The back and forth between the audience and the commissioners was a freewheeling exchange triggered by questions submitted in writing to Lisa Kidwell who served as the moderator. With many topics covered, we will be reporting only on the salient points as each subject discussed included opinions and comments from multiple speakers both from the dias where the three commissioners sat in front of an audience of over forty people.
Opportunity for the county in the next five years was the first question hoisted at the commissioners. After several comments from the others the best response came from Commissioner Canda who outlined the three top opportunities:
One; Ranching. with no permits needed it simply entails the purchase of land and raising cattle or other farm animals. Two; Tourism; with the spectacular mountain views and beautiful terrain there is much to offer tourists in terms all types of healthy outdoor activities. Three; Custer is a mineral rich county and it should be exploited in the future.
How about the hurdles, the difficulties? One of them is the shortage of workers and the difficulty of recruiting them. The commissioners are going to focus on this in the coming months.
The enforcement of the 2nd Amendment was a concern in the light of the laws being passed. It is all a matter of waiting and seeing what happens at the federal level. In the meantime, the commissioners will always uphold the Constitution of the United States as will the Sheriff.
Regarding illegal aliens coming into the county Mr. Canda received a hearty round of applause from the audience with the response: “We will give them a free, one-way ticket to ICE.”
One of the main efforts the commissioners will focus on is the admittedly difficult problem of pornography affecting the youth of the community. There were no specifics, but it was mentioned that they will work on a resolution to make an attempt for a state law to protect the youth from the negative effects of this social scourge. There was a discussion about making the county a home rule county, a subject which has been brought up before but with no conclusion. Within this conversation Mr. Canda stated that there is “ a light at the end of the tunnel” with the election of President Trump. That light is even evident in our own state and Pueblo is the best example having turned red in the last election cycle.
There was a suggestion to bring DOGE into the county and the commissioners readily accepted the challenge.
Another question was about the relationship between the Commissioners and the Sheriff’s Department. The commissioners clarified that their relationship and interaction with the SO is simply as a “check and balance”. The Sheriff runs that office independently with the commissioners supplying the needed budget to operate. That amount is dependent on what is available. “ We cannot tell the Sheriff how to do his job but we can tell him how much we can afford”.
The commissioners also mentioned that they cannot tell him how to spend his budget as long as he completes his mission.
On the question of checks and balances as it pertains to bills, the audience was invited to attend and participate in more meetings so as to be well informed of how exactly the commissioners do their work.
The question came up about the county attorney. Why was he being considered to remain without the commissioners having done a wider search? Mr. Canda started with an explanation that a county attorney is retained with a contract. Most of the attorneys these days command a fee of $500 an hour. In this case, the attorney had contracts with the Human Resources Department and contracts with the other departments of the county. The problem that arose with the attorney was resolved when his contract with Human Resources was rescinded. However, he still has contracts with the other departments that he serves. Commissioner Epp then went on to explain that the county has multiple cases pending either under current litigation or preparing for court hearings. The county attorney is intimately familiar with each one of these cases and for him to drop off now could be a devastating situation for the county. Besides there are no problems with the other departments that are clients of the attorney. There are times that it is more prudent to reverse course in the best interests of the county. A county lawyer needs to be very well versed in municipal law, an expertise not readily available among lawyers in general. Besides, as pointed out by the commissioners, the county lawyer does not manage the county, the commissioners do. To put this matter to rest a final decision will be made very soon.
In closing, the commissioners all agree with the statements of their Chairman. They have nothing to hide from the public and once again they invite everyone to attend the meetings now usually held on Thursdays at All Aboard Westcliffe. Most of the people they are working with are people of well established integrity who are doing their best to serve the county to the utmost of their abilities. He went on to say that we are better off than many other counties. In the end the message was clear: Let’s keep this county RED.