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All right, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today is July the 2nd of 2025, and the time is now 1.20 p.m.

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And we'll call this meeting back to order. And with that, I would ask Rhonda if you would do a roll call, please.

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Commissioner Buck?

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Yeah.

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Commissioner Schroeder?

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Here.

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Commissioner McDaniel?

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Here.

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Thank you. All right, the next item on this agenda is the approval of the agenda.

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So I would ask for a motion to approve.

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Yes, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as presented.

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All in favor, aye.

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Aye.

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Motion carries.

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Next item is the land use hearings continuation of the June 24th, 2025 XO hearings for final

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board decision and at this time I'm going to turn this over to our county attorney

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Lance Engels.

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Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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So we are here today because on the at the conclusion of the hearing that took place

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Based on June 24, the board took an initial vote on how to treat the applications of Excel

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Energy, one for a 1041 permit, excuse me, and one for a special use by review.

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The board had voted initially to deny those applications, but also directed me to prepare

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written findings of the basis for that denial based on the questions and testimony and

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issues you raised during your deliberations.

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So what you have had available to you for the last 24 hours or so is a draft of what those findings could look like.

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I've tried to capture what you talked about at the meetings, the questions you had, the concerns you raised.

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And I think with the help of staff, we've done a pretty good job of doing that.

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I do have to offer you one red line from what was posted online.

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It's ministerial or clerical more than anything.

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It's just to make clear that it is clear from the findings, if you accept these as your own,

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that the findings are in a couple ways not the same as what staff had recommended.

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Based on the testimony that was presented to you and the presentations by the applicant,

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you made a couple findings that were different.

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And just to bridge that gap, I added a paragraph to each of the resolutions,

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and I'll read it out loud so it's available to everyone.

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on. This would be paragraph M on page five of the draft SUR resolution and it reads now

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based on the evidence and testimony at the public hearing and significantly based on

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the presentation of the applicant, the board is knowingly making some findings herein

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that are different from those findings recommended in the staff report. And then only on the

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Yes, you are a resolution, it adds five additional words

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to the next paragraph under section 3A for denial.

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It says, based on the findings herein,

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those words were added.

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So again, if these resolutions as drafted

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and as amended meet your needs,

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then you may vote on the resolutions.

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If these don't meet your needs in one or more ways,

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then let's talk through it,

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because we're in your deliberations.

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The same paragraph I just read to you

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is paragraph S of the 1041 denial draft,

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and that is on page six of that draft,

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but the language is verbatim, it's the same.

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So if there's no questions on the draft,

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I'll turn it back to you, commissioners,

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to determine if these resolutions meet your needs

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and are consistent with your findings.

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Thank you, sir.

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Commissioner Schroeder, any questions?

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I have no questions, very...

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Mr. Buck, any questions?

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No questions at this time.

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Okay, with that, I'm entertaining a motion

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to approve as amended.

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Item number one was Excel energy application

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for major 1041 permit for site selection

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and construction of a major public utility facility county.

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Project number 1041-2024-9235.

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Is there a motion?

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Yes, I'll make a motion approving the resolution

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denying the public service company of Colorado

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model DBA Excel energy application for a major 1041 permit for a site selection and construction

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of a major public utility facility, project number 1041-2024-9235 with the noted changes.

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Second.

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All in favor, aye.

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Aye.

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Aye.

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Motion carries.

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Next item is item number two, consideration of a resolution with the Board of County

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commissioners denying an application for a special use by review for the public service

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company of Colorado power pathway project project number s you are dash two zero two

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four dash nine two three six is there a motion.

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Mr. Chair I make a motion that we approve the resolution of the board of county commission

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denying the application for a special use by review for the public service company

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in Colorado Power Pathway Project, Project Number SUR2024-9236 with the changes noted

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earlier by the attorney.

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All right.

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There's a motion.

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Is there a second?

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Second.

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All in favor?

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Aye.

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Aye.

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Motion carries.

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Now is there a motion to close this land use hearing?

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Yes.

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I'll make a motion that we close the land use hearing today.

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Second.

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All in favor?

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Aye.

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Motion carries.

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Thank you.

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Next item on the agenda is the Executive Session.

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We'll turn this over to our attorney.

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Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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One thing before I get to that, I've been asked this question several times,

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so I'll tell you this on the record.

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There's going to be requests for you to do interviews and other things

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because of the status of this land use hearing and because you sat in the role of a judge.

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This was a quasi-judicial matter where you served as the judge of the applications.

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I don't recommend that you take media requests or interviews at this time.

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We are now in the period for which the applicant could appeal this application.

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That will last for 28 days.

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It's unusual for a judge to be interviewed on a decision.

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So my advice to you, follow it or not, is not to do interviews at least

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during the pendency of that 28-day appeal period.

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Thank you, sir.

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For the executive session, this was actually a session requested

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by the Board of County Commissioners on June 25th.

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There was discussion on whether the board wanted to put a stay on certain types of applications

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in the county and there was discussion on that.

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But there was nothing in front of the board and I was asked to look at the legal issues

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surrounding a decision like that.

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So I am prepared today to have an executive session and start discussing the legal parameters

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of taking such an action and answering questions the board may have on those legal issues.

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So this would be limited to legal advice.

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It would not be recorded as a result under 24 6402 section 4b

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But if you should move by a majority of the board to go into executive session, I am now requesting that

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Is there a motion by the board to go into executive session?

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Yes, I'll make a motion that we

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Go into executive session at this time

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Is there a second no

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second to motion?

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It's all in favor aye. I

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Motion carries. Thank you. We're going to adjourn to the executive session. Thank you.

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And after the executive session, we'll come back here and close out the meeting, but I don't anticipate any decisions today.

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We're just going to talk about legal parameters.

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Right. Thank you. Thank you for being here today.