RBC | The Rio Blanco County Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting April 15 in Meeker, with all commissioners in attendance.
The meeting opened with a public comment period, during which no public comments were made. Commissioners then approved the agenda and a consent item—the April 11 payroll management report—without amendments.
The board next heard a presentation from Makala Sheridan-Smith of Rio Blanco County Public Health regarding measles education. Sheridan-Smith offered a detailed overview of the disease, noting it is a highly contagious, airborne viral infection.
“Measles is a vaccine-preventable viral infection. It’s highly contagious and spreads through breathing, coughing and sneezing. It can remain in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours,” Sheridan-Smith said.
She outlined symptoms including high fever, cough, runny nose, rash, red eyes and small white spots inside the cheeks. Sheridan-Smith emphasized the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine as the most effective prevention measure. She said children should receive two doses: the first at 12 months, the second between 4 and 6 years of age.
The public health official shared that local immunization rates are high. Meeker and Rangely schools reported vaccination rates ranging from 98.9% to 100%.
Although there are currently only three confirmed measles cases in Colorado—located in Pueblo, Denver and Archuleta counties—Sheridan-Smith advised vigilance. She also discussed recent updates to adult vaccine recommendations, stressing the importance of booster doses in some individuals born before 1968.
Sheridan-Smith referenced a recent measles-related death in Texas, attributing it to medical error and complications from untreated pneumonia. “It’s usually not measles that kills people,” she said. “It’s the complications.”
After the presentation, the board ratified a letter to Gov. Jared Polis requesting a veto of Senate Bill 25-003, which concerns semiautomatic firearms and rapid-fire devices.
Later in the day, the commissioners held a work session to explore options for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility on the county’s website and digital platforms. County Attorney Don Steerman pointed out one thing he has brought up throughout different discussions in the past.
“We have no legal obligation to live stream or to have YouTube videos, and those are two options that deal with ADA compliance. The live streaming is one deal where somebody could bring up the meeting on their computer at home and see what we are doing,” stated Steerman.
“The other is the ability to go in and rewatch it and we’ve all done that, we’ve all used that, but it’s not a required deal. The only requirement that we have is once we start recording it, the clerk’s office records all of our meetings. The only time we can stop it is if there’s a technological failure, and we can only stop it for a limited period of time and that’s just the meeting. Work sessions aren’t required to be live streamed or YouTube,” continued Steerman.
Commissioner Callie Scritchfield explained that it circles back to what is transparency and what is convenience.
“We would like to continue that, but thanks to our legislators is why we are having trouble doing that,” stated Scritchfield.
Steerman continued with what is happening around the rest of the state of Colorado mentioning that everyone is trimming down.
“There’s very few websites that I’ve gone on that I used to go on that are the same way as they were a year ago or two years ago. Almost everybody’s trimmed down and they either minimized to where they have very little to what they used to have, or some of them have really got it with basic information. Where you can find the next meeting, the contact numbers for the various offices, who to call for CORA, and that is basically it,” Steerman said.
Commissioners discussed seven options to address ADA compliance:
Quick and cheap fix • Removes public access but cuts costs.
Minimize and rebuild • Uses the existing system to create a barebones site; estimated cost: $55,000–$85,000.
Maintain status quo • Keeps the current site live while making gradual improvements.
Hire support staff • Retain current site and hire staff to oversee compliance and updates.
Full in-house compliance team • A long-term solution with a dedicated team; higher costs and complexity.
Short-term contract • Hire a temporary expert to bring the site up to compliance; estimated cost: $200,000–$300,000.
Outsource entirely • Hand over all web operations to a third-party agency.
After hearing the options, the meeting adjourned following the discussion. There will be no commissioner meeting in Rangely this month due to scheduling conflicts. The next meeting is scheduled for May 13, 2025 in Meeker.
