[2:02] Good morning and welcome to the Board of County Commissioners meeting.

[2:06] Today is Tuesday, September 15th.

[2:08] We do begin each of our meetings with an invocation,

[2:11] and this morning we have Pastor Jeff Anderson from Faith Outreach Advisory,

[2:16] Congressman Crank's office, and we would invite you to stand and join us.

[2:21] Good morning, everybody.

[2:22] This is a scripture memory,

[2:24] or scripture verse that comes to my mind this morning is Romans 8:18.

[2:28] It says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not

[2:32] sufferings of this present time are not worthy to

[2:33] be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.

[2:36] And that especially is apropos for the Applegate family at this time.

[2:40] Should we bow together and pray?

[2:42] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beauty of this weekend.

[2:46] Thanks for the sunshine. Thanks for the clear skies.

[2:49] Thanks for the beauty of the mountains around us.

[2:52] Thanks for opportunity to be with family that we have and As we think about family,

[2:57] we especially think of the Applegates.

[2:59] We pray for Commissioner Cory and would ask, Lord,

[3:02] for the entire Applegate family that you'll give them comfort at this time of

[3:07] you'll give them comfort at this time of loss.

[3:07] We thank you that Mrs.

[3:08] Applegate had a long history and testimony of walking with you, knowing you,

[3:13] serving our community very, very well, and she'll be dearly missed.

[3:17] We just pray, Lord, that you'll bless the family as they grieve and as they make

[3:21] preparations for lots of different adjustments that need to be made in the

[3:26] adjustments that need to be made in the coming

[3:26] days and weeks. We would ask, Lord,

[3:28] for this meeting that you would bless us with your presence, your wisdom,

[3:33] your direction. We pray for all of our county workers this week,

[3:36] especially during this season when they're trying to accomplish much before the

[3:41] weather changes. We pray that you'll keep all of our workers safe and pray that

[3:46] they'd be able to accomplish much and pray that you'll give our commissioners wisdom

[3:51] in the decisions that they make today. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[3:55] Commissioner

[3:59] Williams,

[4:02] if you'd lead us in

[4:09] the Pledge of

[4:14] Allegiance. Item 3.

[4:20] Item number 3 is staff emergency items,

[4:23] and I'm unaware of any staff emergency items today.

[4:27] Item 4.

[4:29] Item number 4 is changes, postponements, and notice of the next meeting.

[4:33] I'm unaware of any changes or postponements to today's agenda,

[4:37] and the next meeting will be Tuesday, September 22nd at 9:00 AM.

[4:41] Item 5.

[4:43] Item number 5 is the consent calendar including items 5A through 5N1.

[4:50] Okay, is there anyone here who wishes to speak on an item on the

[4:55] consent calendar today?

[4:57] Seeing none, I'll bring it up here for a motion.

[5:00] Move approval of the consent calendar.

[5:04] Second.

[5:05] Okay, it's been moved and seconded.

[5:07] I'll ask if there are any comments.

[5:09] Seeing none, I'll begin the vote with Commissioner Wysong.

[5:13] Aye.

[5:16] Aye.

[5:16] Commissioner Williams?

[5:17] Aye.

[5:17] And the chair votes aye. That passes 4-0.

[5:26] Item 6.

[5:26] Item number 6 is a proclamation recognizing Constitution Day and

[5:31] Citizenship Day 2026.

[5:32] Lauren Nelson, Vice Chair, Board of County Commissioners.

[5:36] Good morning. I move the following proclamation recognizing Constitution Day

[5:41] proclamation recognizing Constitution Day and

[5:42] Citizenship Day 2026.

[5:43] Whereas in the summer of 1787,

[5:45] delegates throughout the United States gathered at Independence Hall in

[5:50] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

[5:51] intent on building a government that would stand the test of time and protect the

[5:57] hard-won freedoms secured during the Revolutionary War.

[6:01] And whereas 239 years later, the document they produced, our Constitution,

[6:05] remains the bedrock of our government,

[6:08] one rooted in equality under the law and an unyielding commitment to individual

[6:13] liberty. And whereas the framers of our Constitution divided political power among

[6:19] Constitution divided political power among 3

[6:19] separate and coequal branches,

[6:21] and further between the federal and state governments,

[6:24] ensuring that a government of the people, by the people,

[6:28] and for the people would remain accountable to its citizens,

[6:32] from whom all legitimate political power is derived.

[6:35] And whereas for 239 years, America's Constitution has guided our growth,

[6:40] Shaped our progress,

[6:42] and defined us as a nation of sacred laws and fundamental values.

[6:46] And whereas, on this day,

[6:48] we celebrate the signing of the Constitution and the American citizens who

[6:53] Constitution and the American citizens who have

[6:53] devoted their lives to implementing the framers' vision for the world's grandest

[6:58] experiment in self-government.

[7:00] And whereas, the law that established Constitution Day was modified in 2004 with

[7:05] Constitution Day was modified in 2004 with the

[7:06] passage of an amendment to include recognition of individuals who have become

[7:11] recognition of individuals who have become U.S.

[7:11] citizens. Now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County,

[7:16] Colorado hereby recognizes September 17th as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day in

[7:22] El Paso County and encourages citizens and residents to show their appreciation for

[7:27] the Constitution of the United States by studying its words,

[7:31] educating the younger generation about its enduring importance,

[7:35] and recognizing the unparalleled success of the system of government It helped to

[7:41] create. Done this 15th day of September, 2026, at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[7:46] The Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado.

[7:50] Chair Carrie Geitner, Vice Chair Lauren Nelson, Commissioners Holly Williams,

[7:55] Bill Wysong, Cory Applegate.

[7:57] Attested to by Steve Schleicher, County Clerk and Recorder.

[8:01] Second.

[8:04] Okay, that has been moved and seconded,

[8:07] and we do have a couple of guest speakers here today,

[8:10] so I'm going to first I'm going to ask Dr. Josh Vandiver to please come forward.

[8:15] Please do introduce yourself, and we look forward to hearing your words.

[8:20] Thank you, Commissioners, and it's a pleasure to join you. My name is Josh

[8:25] pleasure to join you. My name is Josh Vandiver.

[8:25] I teach up at the University of Colorado in our Colorado Springs campus.

[8:30] I teach a class called Constitutional Law.

[8:32] We also have a class called Civil Rights and Liberties.

[8:36] So we divide up the Constitution between the Bill of Rights and so forth—

[8:40] that's the Civil Rights and Liberties class—

[8:43] And I teach the constitutional law class,

[8:45] which looks at separation of powers and federalism.

[8:48] I was asked to say a little bit about some of the opportunities and some of the

[8:53] challenges that I find as a teacher teaching constitutional law.

[8:57] So what are some of the opportunities?

[9:00] Well, out on the street, people ask me,

[9:02] this must be a terrible time to teach politics, right?

[9:05] And I said, no, this is the golden age. This is fantastic.

[9:09] When everything's being debated, when everything's up for debate,

[9:13] this is the time that we get to study the foundations again.

[9:16] So we have several Supreme Court cases recently around separation of powers.

[9:21] Trump v. Anderson, the eligibility to be on the ballot in 2024.

[9:25] So a federalism case. We have a separation of powers case recently, Trump v.

[9:30] United States, presidential immunity.

[9:32] And of course, we had the big birthright citizenship case, Trump v.

[9:36] Barber, recently. So we talk about those in my class.

[9:39] We also think about Some of the movements in politics today that are putting up our

[9:44] Constitution for debate. Have you heard of the Democratic Socialists of America?

[9:49] So I use this as an example from the left, that in their platform,

[9:53] they're calling for the abolishment of the Senate, the US Senate,

[9:57] and also getting rid of the presidency and the Supreme Court and having them

[10:02] appointed by the legislature directly, the Congress. So big questions are at stake.

[10:07] From the right, you have the Convention of States,

[10:10] calling for an amendment process initiated not through Congress,

[10:14] but through the states.

[10:16] They're calling for amendments around term limits for Congress,

[10:20] for a balanced budget amendment.

[10:21] They're not there at that threshold yet of states having a meeting to propose

[10:26] amendments, but getting closer.

[10:28] But there's the question,

[10:30] if you did have that meeting of states to propose amendments,

[10:33] would they be restricted to those topics? Or could they propose other amendments?

[10:38] So everything's up for debate now, which is very exciting.

[10:42] Those are the opportunities. The challenges I see briefly are, one is

[10:46] challenges I see briefly are, one is history.

[10:47] So I also teach ancient Greek and Roman political history.

[10:50] Why do we have a Senate at all? The Roman Republic.

[10:53] So thinking about classical Greek and Roman history, I would say,

[10:57] is essential to understanding the Constitution.

[11:00] Ideas like mixed constitutionalism,

[11:02] where you have some monarchical powers like the executive, you have an upper

[11:07] like the executive, you have an upper house,

[11:07] a Senate, and you have a lower house that's so representative of the people.

[11:12] Again, that derives from the ancient Greek and Roman heritage.

[11:16] So one challenge is,

[11:17] are we teaching that history such that students could understand our Constitution

[11:22] students could understand our Constitution by

[11:22] understanding those Greek and Roman roots?

[11:25] The other challenge I find relates to federalism.

[11:28] I put together the first-ever pocket edition of the Colorado Constitution.

[11:32] I brought some copies for the commissioners,

[11:35] because I find that students are sometimes unaware we even have constitutions at the

[11:40] state level. So one of the shocking things I try to introduce to them at the

[11:45] beginning of Con Law is the federal Constitution is an incomplete

[11:49] Constitution is an incomplete Constitution.

[11:50] It doesn't mention counties, for instance. Or education.

[11:53] So where do you look for those things? State constitutions, of course.

[11:58] So the complete American Constitution, I argued to students,

[12:01] is the 50 state constitutions plus the federal Constitution.

[12:05] So everybody has some reading to do to get up on the complete American Constitution.

[12:10] So I'm happy to share some of these first-ever pocket editions.

[12:14] of the Colorado Constitution with the commissioners.

[12:17] Commissioner Bill's already got one and pointed out that it will soon be out of

[12:22] date. Probably so, but we will update it through our center at UCCS for the study

[12:27] through our center at UCCS for the study of

[12:27] government and the individual. Thank you for your time and for your service.

[12:32] Thank you so much for your words. And next we have Mr.

[12:37] Ed Hopkins, member of the Constitution Study Group at Church for

[12:42] All Nations.

[12:52] I'd like to thank everybody for the resolution that you are proposing.

[12:58] I think it's a wonderful thing to recognize that there is a Constitution in

[13:05] recognize that there is a Constitution in this

[13:05] country and that we are supposed to be following that Constitution,

[13:11] or at least not stepping outside of it.

[13:15] But the Constitution is only one of 3 founding documents that govern this

[13:21] founding documents that govern this country.

[13:22] The first, of course, is the Declaration of Independence.

[13:27] Without it, we would not have a Constitution.

[13:31] And of course, also the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

[13:37] When we look at the timing of these 3 things,

[13:41] the Declaration of Independence was July 4th, 1776. That wasn't the Constitution.

[13:48] That was the Declaration of Independence. What were we separating from?

[13:54] We were separating from a tyrannical government that sought to rule and not

[14:01] government that sought to rule and not serve

[14:01] the people. Secondly, the Constitution wasn't formed until 2 years later—

[14:08] or excuse me, 20 years later, 1787.

[14:11] The Constitution came forth as a ruling document for the states to follow.

[14:18] The states have the opportunity to provide a constitution that is in agreement with

[14:25] the federal Constitution, not outside of it, but as a part of it.

[14:31] Just as this gentleman said,

[14:33] the state constitutions are supposed to be in compliance with the federal

[14:40] Constitution. Finally, the Bill of Rights in 1791.

[14:45] The Bill of Rights are not an inclusive listing of all of the rights of the

[14:51] listing of all of the rights of the people.

[14:52] It is simply a recognition that the rights do not come from the government,

[14:59] but from Creator God.

[15:00] The Constitution is a guiding instrument And I want to correct something.

[15:07] We often think that there are 3 branches of government that are coequal.

[15:13] That is not true. The executive is the most powerful,

[15:18] and the judiciary is the weakest.

[15:21] In fact, if you look at the Constitution,

[15:25] it only says that we are to have a Supreme Court.

[15:29] It does not say that we have 9 or 15 or 3 judges in that court.

[15:35] We could have a Supreme Court with one man or one woman in a closet with a candle,

[15:42] because the Constitution does not spell out,

[15:46] nor does any other document spell out exactly what the Supreme Court is supposed

[15:53] exactly what the Supreme Court is supposed to

[15:54] be. Finally, to understand the Constitution,

[15:58] you have to understand the Declaration of Independence.

[16:02] I would recommend that—

[16:05] and I feel really strange coming up here talking to you people because you should

[16:12] talking to you people because you should be

[16:12] instructing me on this.

[16:14] But the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence,

[16:19] and finally the Constitution of the United States are what has kept this country

[16:26] free. It is what has kept this country the longest democratic republic in the world.

[16:34] Since our Constitution, the French have had 17 different constitutions.

[16:40] And yet ours continues to stand as long as we abide by it, as long as we follow it,

[16:48] and as long as we don't try to go outside of it. This country will continue.

[16:54] As soon as we start messing with the Constitution, with rules,

[17:00] with bureaucratic administrations and administrative rules,

[17:05] this country won't stand.

[17:08] I thank each one of you for your continued service to this community.

[17:14] I thank you for the opportunity to come here. Thank you.

[17:19] Oh, there is one thing at the very bottom.

[17:22] I said, I think everyone, everyone has a copy of this.

[17:27] At the very bottom of the first page, it asks a question. I'm not going to ask it.

[17:35] It's for you to ask yourselves. Thank you for your time.

[17:40] Thank you. Okay, we appreciate our guests coming, and thank you for your words.

[17:45] I'm going to bring it up here to commissioners for their comments before we

[17:51] commissioners for their comments before we take a

[17:51] vote. Commissioner Wysong.

[17:53] Thank you, Madam Chair.

[17:56] When we were kind of prepping for the Independence Day and the, uh,

[18:02] The proclamation for where we kind of started with the Declaration of

[18:09] Independence. At the same time,

[18:12] the Second Continental Congress started with the Articles of Confederation,

[18:20] also began drafting in 1776 in June.

[18:24] Adopted in 1777, but it wasn't ratified until 4 years later because the whole

[18:31] idea behind the Articles of Confederation was, you know,

[18:37] all 13 colonies had to agree.

[18:40] And it was— they didn't want to make a mistake of creating a central power.

[18:48] However, As you remember, the Revolutionary War started in 1775.

[18:54] And so you had all this stuff going on.

[18:58] And after the war, General Washington and a number of others said,

[19:05] we're going broke. We need to have some kind of centralized government that

[19:12] dealt with national defense, et cetera, at a very high level.

[19:18] So they wrote— started writing the Constitution.

[19:23] Being drafted in May of '87, and as Commissioner Nelson just read,

[19:30] that it was signed on September 17th, 1787,

[19:34] and it was ratified by New Hampshire being the 9th state.

[19:40] Well, they changed it from the Articles of Confederation that you needed a 2/3

[19:48] majority. Because they would never get all 13 colonies at the time to agree.

[19:55] So we learned so much, you know, in that 15,

[20:00] 20-year period from before the Revolutionary War all the way through the,

[20:07] you know, the signing and ratification of the Constitution.

[20:13] We went through so much.

[20:16] Yeah.

[20:16] As, as an infant country.

[20:19] And we owe such a debt of gratitude to our founding fathers.

[20:25] You know, history, you don't understand it when you're younger.

[20:31] And it's been phenomenal to,

[20:34] to be able to learn and look at things in a completely different

[20:40] perspective, looking back at,

[20:43] at how blessed we have been by what our founding fathers,

[20:49] and as our 2 guest speakers have talked about, that it's,

[20:55] it has taken a lot of effort to modify and make it better.

[21:01] And we just, we're very lucky. So with that, thank you very much.

[21:07] Commissioner Williams.

[21:11] Thank you. I can keep my comments fairly short.

[21:15] So 30-some years ago, 35 years ago,

[21:17] my degree from University of Virginia was in American government,

[21:22] and because you couldn't call it political science at Jefferson's University,

[21:28] and early American history.

[21:29] And, um, I think there's a lot of interesting issues right now that are

[21:35] interesting issues right now that are being

[21:35] debated Probably the 2 most interesting are birthright citizenship,

[21:40] and I think that who has control of the ballot system—

[21:44] does the state or the federal? So those are things that, um, interest me

[21:49] are things that, um, interest me personally.

[21:50] And then the 3rd thing on, on the issue of mailing ballots and how we vote, um,

[21:56] the only branch of government that is not controlled by Congress that is written

[22:01] into the Constitution is that darn Postal Service.

[22:05] And, um, wouldn't it be much better if we had not put that in the Constitution,

[22:11] in my opinion? Um, but mostly I'm just thankful, you know,

[22:15] that I was able to be born in the United States and have this Constitution.

[22:20] There's so many different countries and, um, we have so much freedom.

[22:25] and so many rights. And I think that was demonstrated a lot by the,

[22:30] the World Soccer Cup this year,

[22:33] just how amazed people were by the things that Americans can do and the way we live

[22:39] our lives. And so to be born in this country, I think, is indeed a privilege.

[22:44] And that's the one thing I'd like to stress more than anything.

[22:49] Thank heavens for the Constitution.

[22:51] But more than anything, I'm just thankful to be a citizenship—

[22:56] citizen of the United States of America. Thank you.

[23:00] I'll add some of my comments now as we traditionally allow the reader of the

[23:05] proclamation the last word.

[23:07] I want to thank you for coming today and for speaking to us, and in particular,

[23:12] I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of Being excited about opportunities to speak

[23:18] to students about what is happening.

[23:21] And you asked some very important questions, I think,

[23:24] about do we have the background that is needed?

[23:27] One of the things I think,

[23:29] as someone who's been involved in education for quite a few years,

[23:34] is that we've begun to think about our education system as,

[23:38] does this help them get a job?

[23:40] And I had a college professor many, many years ago who said, you know,

[23:45] that's not the point. That's not the point of why we're here.

[23:49] And while I do think preparing students for the world is important and we want

[23:54] for the world is important and we want them

[23:55] to be successful, a huge part of that we've just skipped over is that you can't

[24:00] we've just skipped over is that you can't be

[24:00] successful unless our nation is successful,

[24:03] and that we have a responsibility as self-governing citizens to understand what

[24:09] self-governing citizens to understand what it

[24:09] is that we should be doing.

[24:11] And when you lose that framework,

[24:13] we're in real danger of losing what we have as a nation.

[24:17] And so I agree that it's so important for us to continue to educate and talk about

[24:23] those things and have those great debates.

[24:26] You're right, there were probably many years where no one was debating those

[24:31] years where no one was debating those things.

[24:31] It wasn't at the forefront of their minds. So there is tremendous opportunity there.

[24:37] And I'm really grateful for you just sharing that bit today.

[24:41] I hope maybe somebody is watching and thought, huh,

[24:45] I hadn't really thought about how those things impacted what our founders did

[24:50] things impacted what our founders did here.

[24:51] But you're right, they debated,

[24:53] they talked about a lot of these historical governments previous and what

[24:58] historical governments previous and what they

[24:58] wanted to do differently and how they were going to avoid those problems.

[25:03] Certainly, I don't think that there is anything perfect in the world,

[25:08] but I think that they did a very diligent job of thinking through history and

[25:13] through governments and trying to set up a system that would avoid some of the

[25:19] pitfalls of systems that we have seen around the world.

[25:22] And it is critical for us to understand that the abolishment of the Senate and

[25:28] that the abolishment of the Senate and those

[25:28] things would certainly be very disruptive. And we have history already.

[25:33] We don't need to repeat it to know what would be good for our nation.

[25:38] But it is something that we need to continue to strive for.

[25:42] And it's why I think I know I and probably many others on this board thought we need

[25:48] to keep doing this proclamation. We want to keep talking about it.

[25:52] We want people To think why do we think this is important?

[25:56] I'm also looking forward to checking out that Colorado pocket constitution.

[26:02] That's an exciting one to have,

[26:04] and it is most certainly something that is always in my mind as we debate so many

[26:09] things that in both our federal founding and our state founding,

[26:14] and in fact it is in our Colorado Constitution.

[26:17] That we as a people believed that what we were doing here, this great experiment,

[26:23] was divinely inspired and that there was some greater purpose and some greater

[26:28] guidance. And so that is so deeply rooted in our founding.

[26:32] And I think that that continues to be debated today.

[26:36] But I think when we read the documents,

[26:38] you understand how critical all of those pieces are to our founding and that they

[26:44] really, truly cannot be separated.

[26:46] All that to say, I am—

[26:48] continue to be excited about hearing more and more people trying to decipher the

[26:53] Constitution, hearing more debate and discussion among school districts.

[26:58] I know mine just a year ago added some additional requirements for seniors

[27:03] graduating so that they would have a better understanding of history and

[27:08] better understanding of history and government.

[27:09] I think that those conversations will continue to be had. Thank you.

[27:14] I know that there's a lot of debate,

[27:16] but every time I hear people say America is a democracy,

[27:20] I cringe a little because it's so much more than that.

[27:24] And I remind people constantly, I think the best,

[27:27] most accurate description is that we are a constitutional republic.

[27:32] And that may seem small,

[27:34] but when you see what we're hearing today in terms of the people using the word

[27:39] democracy, you understand why words matter in those contexts.

[27:43] So much because our Constitution protects the minority in a way that a pure

[27:49] democracy does not. Our Constitution requires that we respect individual rights

[27:54] requires that we respect individual rights in a

[27:54] way that a pure democracy would not.

[27:57] When you look back at those founding documents,

[28:00] I think every time democracy was mentioned,

[28:03] it was sort of with disdain from our founders.

[28:06] And there's a good message to be learned there.

[28:10] It's not that people aren't important,

[28:12] and it's not that the people's voice in their government isn't important,

[28:17] but it's also important that we remember that people have individual rights given

[28:23] that people have individual rights given to

[28:23] them by God, and that no loud majority, no— I think that's a good point.

[28:28] Amount of will or tyrannical will should be able to take that away.

[28:33] I take that as a very important piece of the work that we do here.

[28:37] And really, again, just grateful that you were here today.

[28:41] Thank you for continuing to educate the many youth that come through your doors

[28:47] many youth that come through your doors and

[28:47] making sure that we keep this debate alive and that we keep those conversations

[28:52] alive. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Vice Chair Nelson.

[28:57] Great comments. I might be a little repetitive because I had some similar

[29:02] repetitive because I had some similar thoughts,

[29:03] but, um, thank you for being here this morning.

[29:07] I recognize that as I've gotten older,

[29:10] I have grown more and more interested in history and our Constitution and the,

[29:16] the foundation of our country,

[29:18] and So I am envious of the students that get to come and learn from you because

[29:24] get to come and learn from you because when

[29:24] I was in college, I was more interested in— I mean, not that that's bad,

[29:30] but science. And my background is food science and nutrition.

[29:34] And I worked in product development for a lot of years.

[29:38] And so now being in this role and in recent years,

[29:42] I find how important it is to understand our country's founding.

[29:47] And I love thinking about how the Declaration of Independence set the vision

[29:53] Declaration of Independence set the vision for our

[29:53] country, and then the Constitution was the how for that vision.

[29:58] And thinking about the importance of having equality under the law,

[30:03] that we have fair treatment by our government, by our law enforcement,

[30:09] that everyone is treated with respect and Um,

[30:12] that there is a justice system that preserves.

[30:16] And even as we sit as a Board of County Commissioners,

[30:20] sometimes we are under pursuing land use hearings,

[30:24] and it's a quasi-judicial process where we're acting as a judge.

[30:28] And so we wear many hats as commissioners where we are policymakers.

[30:34] We are approving the budgets for our sheriff's office and our district

[30:39] sheriff's office and our district attorney's

[30:40] office. We are, as I said,

[30:42] sitting more as a judge reviewing evidence to determine if someone can use their

[30:48] property the way that they're petitioning their government.

[30:52] And so, it's just so important that we maintain those guardrails and respect for

[30:58] individual liberty and recognizing the different branches of government and their

[31:05] role, where the Supreme Court are the interpreters of the law.

[31:09] Congress are the policymakers and then executive enforcing and executing the

[31:15] executive enforcing and executing the laws.

[31:15] And just, I so appreciate that people might think now is a difficult time to be

[31:22] having these conversations,

[31:24] but I couldn't agree more that it's so important and important to be able to have

[31:30] civil discourse. And I find as I've been out in the community talking with folks,

[31:36] I am so grateful for the individuals who are willing to have a conversation with me

[31:42] and not just get upset and angry and then not be able to engage in that civil

[31:48] discourse. And it's so important that we maintain the ability to share ideas and

[31:54] maintain the ability to share ideas and let

[31:54] the best ideas rise. And I mean, it's the beauty of our country.

[31:59] That we can have a difference of opinion.

[32:02] And I appreciate Commissioner Geithner pointing out that we are not a democracy.

[32:09] That would mean mob rule.

[32:10] And that instead, we're a constitutional republic,

[32:14] which protects for difference of opinion.

[32:17] And yes, we use the democratic process, but that's very different.

[32:22] And so I am grateful to have been born in this country and Love the fact that we

[32:29] respect the individual, that we have the ability to pursue happiness.

[32:34] And as I sit as a commissioner,

[32:36] I take very seriously that the role of government is to protect taxpayers,

[32:42] safeguard individual freedoms, and respect private property rights.

[32:47] And those principles are how Anyone in leadership should be making decisions.

[32:53] And is it preserving our freedoms and the Constitution,

[32:57] what's embedded in the Constitution and the vision set out in the Declaration of

[33:03] Independence, or is it pulling us further away?

[33:07] So just grateful that we are able to spend some time focusing on this today and—

[33:13] Thank you.

[33:15] I look forward to continuing to learn more myself.

[33:17] Okay, thank you for all of the comments today.

[33:21] Um, that has been moved and seconded, and so we will move forward with our vote,

[33:27] beginning with Commissioner Wysong.

[33:30] Aye.

[33:31] Vice Chair Nelson.

[33:32] Aye.

[33:32] Commissioner Williams.

[33:34] Aye.

[33:34] And the chair votes aye. That passes 4-0.

[33:36] And now we will take a brief recess for a photograph.

[36:39] I'll call this meeting back to order.

[36:40] We are on item 7.

[37:06] Item number 7 is comments by elected officials and commissioner liaison

[37:10] officials and commissioner liaison reports.

[37:12] Okay, do we have any countywide elected officials in the room to speak

[37:16] today? I don't see any,

[37:17] so I believe we'll just start with Commissioner Wysong.

[37:20] Thank you, Madam Chair.

[37:23] Um, last week was PPACG, uh, board meeting parts.

[37:28] We had our land use meeting And then a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at

[37:35] Cheyenne Mountain, which was a very moving ceremony.

[37:40] And then had the honor to read the tribute letter for one of our

[37:47] deputies who received the Purple Heart for wounds that he received in

[37:54] Afghanistan in September.

[37:57] Thank you.

[37:58] of 2011. Due to bureaucratic what-have-yous,

[38:02] it took a long time for that Purple Heart to be, um, processed,

[38:08] and being able to participate, uh, it was a, a very moving experience.

[38:15] Uh, this week, um, and actually this evening,

[38:19] we'll be going up to Chupita Park where we've got a meeting with the community

[38:26] that large area of unincorporated El Paso County.

[38:31] And then later on in the week will be a Military Affairs Council,

[38:37] and then we have the downtown annual breakfast.

[38:42] And so it's like kind of the last week, got a lot going on. So thank you.

[38:49] Vice Chair Nelson.

[38:52] I just want to report out on our Community Services Block Grant meeting that took

[38:58] place Friday afternoon.

[39:00] Um, we were working through wordsmithing our community action plan and strategic

[39:06] plan, and those documents, um,

[39:09] had to have been voted on to then be submitted up to the state.

[39:13] And, uh, this will allow these federal dollars that float through the state to

[39:20] counties to then be administrated—

[39:22] administered in our community for combating poverty.

[39:26] And our Community Services Block Grant board, advisory board,

[39:31] has come to an agreement that we are looking for—

[39:35] I loved the verbiage that one of the board members said,

[39:40] that we're looking for pathways out of poverty.

[39:43] And so not just filling the gap, but truly equipping people with skills or Um,

[39:49] behaviors that will help them reach self-sustainability and human flourishing.

[39:56] And so it was a, um, productive meeting. We didn't quite finish all of the work.

[40:02] We went 45 minutes over. It was, you know, 4:15 on a Friday afternoon.

[40:07] And so decided to kind of table some of the remaining work till, till a future

[40:14] the remaining work till, till a future date.

[40:14] So we'll be scheduling a special meeting to complete, uh, some of that.

[40:20] But Um, looking forward to continuing that work in ensuring we're distributing these

[40:26] funds wisely in our community to help people, um, reach prosperity.

[40:32] And then this week I have 4th Judicial District Community Corrections Board

[40:37] District Community Corrections Board meeting.

[40:38] I just sit as a liaison, I'm not a voting member to that board, so, uh,

[40:44] hopefully my schedule will allow for me to listen in.

[40:48] And then Wednesday evening is a Library Board of Trustees meeting, um,

[40:53] which I think I do have a conflict that evening, but I might try to listen a

[40:59] evening, but I might try to listen a little,

[41:00] uh, as before my other, uh, appointment. So thanks so much.

[41:05] Commissioner Williams?

[41:07] Uh, yes. So this week I do have, um,

[41:11] the United in Service celebration at Norris Penrose, um,

[41:16] on Thursday night and Friday morning,

[41:19] I do believe I have the Downtown Partnership breakfast.

[41:24] Um, also I participate, um,

[41:26] on the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Drive Smart board, which is,

[41:33] Governments Drive Smart board, which is, you know,

[41:34] really an effort to encourage citizens to drive more carefully in the best way with,

[41:41] uh, the little money that we have.

[41:44] Thank you.

[41:45] So, um, to do that with.

[41:46] And then if you aren't aware, Commissioner Applegate did lose his mother this, uh,

[41:51] past week, and so there is a celebration of life for her on Friday.

[41:55] Then I just wanted to say one of my favorite times of year.

[41:59] Um, we spent some time with some of my friends last night discussing some, um,

[42:04] issues that are coming up on the ballot,

[42:06] and I believe the clerk and recorder is printing out the big yellow sample ballots

[42:11] this week, which, um, we used to always use when we would go and vote in person.

[42:16] So I'm going to go over and get some of those.

[42:19] But I know our blue book's coming out, our county issue book is coming out,

[42:23] and I'm going to pick up some of the big yellow sample ballots because I really

[42:28] yellow sample ballots because I really look

[42:28] forward this time of year primarily to all of the issues that are on the ballot.

[42:33] I think it's very fascinating that we get this opportunity to vote on the issues,

[42:38] um, and I enjoy seeing what people are saying about them.

[42:42] And then I will point out that there are some issues in other counties that are

[42:46] fascinating to me. So Douglas County has an issue on the ballot,

[42:50] particularly to go to from 3 to 5 commissioners.

[42:53] I think that it's fascinating to watch that.

[42:56] I haven't been involved in any of the politics behind the scene on that,

[43:00] but I think that'll be a fascinating one to watch.

[43:03] And I know Pueblo County also has some interesting issues on the ballot,

[43:08] or at least one to raise a sales tax. Or something.

[43:11] So I enjoyed this time of the year just because,

[43:14] primarily because of the issues on the ballot. I think they're very fascinating.

[43:19] That's it.

[43:19] Okay, lots going on this week.

[43:22] I will be participating in a chronic disease prevention group tomorrow with

[43:29] the— as a liaison for Board of Health.

[43:33] I also have both the library board as a liaison to that and also fair

[43:40] advisory. And then also on Friday, it is steering meeting time again with CCI.

[43:47] So we will be talking about legislative proposals.

[43:52] Though it seems that the legislative session is far off, it— we,

[43:58] we are always planning. And so I will be participating in that as well.

[44:05] And with that, I believe we are ready to move to item Item number 8 is

[44:12] community service organization reports, and there are none. Item 9.

[44:18] Item number 9 is public comment on items not scheduled on the agenda.

[44:22] The commissioners welcome communication in various forms.

[44:25] However, the public comment period is not intended for dialogue,

[44:28] and commissioners do not engage in conversation during this time.

[44:32] Members of the public seeking responses to specific questions are encouraged to

[44:36] submit inquiries through Citizen Connect.

[44:38] And Madam Chair, I'm unaware of anyone signing in to speak except now.

[44:42] Thank you.

[44:45] Last week— Laurel Skow. Last week I was caught in Hurricane Lowell on Kauai.

[44:51] The morning after revealed what the storm left behind: a brown, churning ocean,

[44:57] debris covering the beach, blocked roads, and no power.

[45:01] The Tri-Lakes has also been through a hurricane.

[45:05] It made landfall here on August 27th.

[45:08] 2 weeks ago, I stood here sad and disappointed.

[45:11] Now the pattern is unmistakable, and I'm just angry.

[45:15] On July 23rd, Walden residents made criteria-based case against the Walker

[45:21] criteria-based case against the Walker Road

[45:21] rezoning. Chair Geithner said they did not understand the process or the rule of

[45:27] law. She opposed both denials.

[45:30] 5 weeks later, 158 residents opposed the Buc-ee's appeal with sourced evidence and

[45:36] Buc-ee's appeal with sourced evidence and 6

[45:36] hours of testimony grounded in the code and criteria.

[45:40] Chair Geithner said her guess was that the residents opposed Buc-ee's first,

[45:46] learned about C-1 later, then decided the project did not fit.

[45:51] Twice she portrayed residents as uninformed about the process and reduced

[45:56] uninformed about the process and reduced carefully

[45:57] prepared criteria-based cases to mere expressions of opposition.

[46:02] That dismissal was the eye of the storm.

[46:05] Craig Dossey led planning when the 2021 master plan replaced 10 citizen-written

[46:11] master plan replaced 10 citizen-written area

[46:11] plans with a countywide map.

[46:13] The plan calls the Tri-Lakes the most well-established northern community and

[46:19] well-established northern community and says

[46:19] future development should align with its character.

[46:23] Yet at Walker Road, Chapter 3 labels the land suburban residential,

[46:28] while Chapter 4 places it in a large lot priority development area.

[46:33] In June, representing MA Infrastructure, Dossey acknowledged the inherent conflict.

[46:40] He said he could take ownership of a possible mapping error or oversight,

[46:45] then ask commissioners to judge the area by what it is becoming.

[46:50] At the September 3 code rewrite meeting,

[46:53] Black Forest and Tri-Lake residents objected to this urban drift and asked the

[46:59] county not to build a new code on an unresolved master plan.

[47:04] 12 days after the Buc-ee's vote,

[47:06] Matt Dunstan and Vertex returned with new Walker Road applications.

[47:11] They moved the denied RM-12 from south to north,

[47:15] replaced it on the south with RS-5000, and submitted a PUD for Track B.

[47:20] Vertex letter of intent states El Paso County has historically planned for the

[47:26] County has historically planned for the land

[47:27] included within the MA subdivision to develop in an urban manner.

[47:32] The master plan never says this.

[47:34] Craig Dossey turns one side of an acknowledged conflict into a supposed

[47:39] acknowledged conflict into a supposed history

[47:40] supporting 3 new submissions. This is the broken system the hurricane exposed.

[47:46] Exposed documents meant to protect this community are reinterpreted toward greater

[47:52] density while residents are dismissed as uninformed.

[47:56] When these projects come before you, we will be here.

[48:00] We know the record and the process. What are you going to tell us this time?

[48:06] Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak

[48:11] during public comment today?

[48:14] Okay, item 9— excuse me, item 10.

[48:17] Item number 10 is the called-up consent calendar, and there are no items called

[48:22] calendar, and there are no items called up.

[48:22] Item 11.

[48:23] Item 11 is department and committee reports, non-action items, and there are

[48:27] reports, non-action items, and there are none.

[48:27] Item 12.

[48:29] Item 12 is the addendum, and there are no addendums today.

[48:32] Item 13.

[48:33] Item 13 is the executive session, and there is no request for executive session.

[48:37] Okay, with that, we've come to the end of this agenda. This meeting is adjourned.

BOCC Regular Meeting

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