Commissioners fail to ID executive session topic

Commissioners approved a $3.67 million federal grant application for a County Road 10 bridge replacement and took action on several other items Aug. 18 before entering an executive session without identifying the particular matter to be discussed as required by Colorado’s Open Meetings Law.
Technical difficulties delayed the start of the meeting. Commissioners again tabled a contract with Taylor Consulting LLC for child welfare and adult protection casework services until Sept. 1 before moving into action items:
• Ratified an Aug. 4 letter to the Meeker Library Board regarding the county’s statutory authority and process for appointments to the board. The HT obtained a copy of the letter and will have a separate report on the library board issue in next week’s edition. 
• Ratified three comment letters to the Bureau of Land Management regarding lands with wilderness characteristics, wilderness study areas and designated wilderness areas.
• Approved $1,855.40 in tuition assistance for Carmen McKay for courses through Metropolitan State University of Denver. The amount represents McKay’s full tuition allotment for 2026.
• Ratified an Aug. 3 statement to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission regarding wildlife management and commission decision-making.
• Approved an application for $3.67 million through the Colorado Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) for replacement of a bridge on County Road 10, also known as South Fork Road.
• Approved a contract with Jeanne Newman for road and bridge historical records research and related records organization at $45 per hour, not to exceed $8,000 through Dec. 31.
• Rejected bids for the County Road 33 private property Emergency Watershed Protection project; staff said one bid was substantially higher than expected and others were incomplete. Commissioners then voted to reopen bidding.
• Approved Resolution 2026-24, changing the official location of Rangely meetings to 255 Main Street and designating that location for posting meeting notices, agendas and work sessions.
In updates, commissioners discussed various meetings attended with staff and other community entities. Commissioner O’Hearon also stated the Rangely Cemetery Board has requested assistance in purchasing a new lawnmower.
At the end of the meeting, commissioners voted to enter executive session pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402(4)(b) “for the purpose of receiving legal advice for specific legal questions.” They did not identify the general subject of those legal questions before closing the meeting. County Attorney Rose Pugliese then advised commissioners “no recording be kept and the recorder be turned off.” The HT has not confirmed whether a recording of the closed session exists.
Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition Executive Director Jeff Roberts pointed the HT to the 2020 Guy v. Whitsitt Colorado Court of Appeals decision after reviewing the commissioners’ Aug. 18 motion. In that case, the court held that citing the law allowing an executive session for legal advice without identifying at least the general subject of the advice does not meet the law’s specificity requirement. Roberts said announcing the particular matter with specificity lets the public know what officials are discussing behind closed doors and helps ensure the discussion remains within the legally authorized purpose of the executive session. Before the Aug. 18 session, Scritchfield cautioned participants to confine their discussion to its “stated purpose,” though no subject beyond legal advice was stated.
The HT reached out to the county for additional clarification. Attorney Pugliese responded via email, stating “there is always emergency Executive Session language on our agendas in case I need to give the Commissioners legal advice. It is rarely used but we did have a need at Tuesday’s meeting.”
Pugliese said the executive session was covered “under the legal advice statute for County Attorney matters,” but failed to specify the topic of the discussion. “The communication is covered under privileged, confidential attorney-client communications,” she wrote.
Commissioners held another special meeting Aug. 20 with two additional executive sessions: one for personnel matters related to Emergency Manager Richard Garner and another for legal advice regarding eviction litigation matters. Unlike the Aug. 18 session, both notices identified the general subject of the closed-door discussion. The agenda stated the meeting would be livestreamed, but technical problems prevented streaming. According to Pugliese, no formal action was taken.
Historical agendas and minutes are not currently available on the county website and must be requested through the Colorado Open Records Act. As a result, the HT’s review was limited to publicly available recordings and records available before press time. The HT identified at least 22 BOCC meetings held so far this year, including 20 streamed to YouTube. Commissioners entered executive session during 11 of the meetings reviewed. The June 23 meeting was not streamed because of technical issues; the HT was unable to verify by press time whether that meeting included an executive session. Other executive sessions reviewed appeared to properly identify a general subject.