[6:07] Good morning and welcome to the regular Board of County commissioners meeting. Today is Tuesday,

[6:12] August 5th. We do begin each of our meetings with an invocation. This morning we have Pastor

[6:18] Raymond Pettit from Outside the Gates Worship. We invite you to stand and join us.

[6:27] In your own way, would you all bow and let's pray? Most gracious, precious, holy Father,

[6:32] we thank you for the ability to come into this house and to do the things that you

[6:36] have given us to. You told us to submit to the government, Father, and this is

[6:40] the process. I pray that you just watch over us this morning. Give us the ability to shine

[6:45] for your sake. Father, as we are going through this August season, Father, there are a lot

[6:51] of people that are weary, a lot of them that are worn. I pray that you just give them

[6:55] strength through this time as they now return their children to the schools. I pray that

[7:00] you just give our firefighters and our police officers, our sheriffs, and our

[7:04] state patrol officers. Give them an extra grace, Father. Let peace be upon each

[7:08] one of this of them as they are going through this process. And I pray, Father, that you

[7:14] would just give us the ability to be mindful of who you are and help us to speak for you

[7:18] in everything that we say and do. Let your presence be known unto us and let us do the

[7:23] will of the Father in each and every step that we go. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

[7:32] Mr. Barman, if you'd lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please.

[7:37] Please join me in our Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

[7:42] United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,

[7:48] indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[7:58] Item 3.

[8:01] Item number 3 is staff emergency items and I'm unaware of any staff emergency items today.

[8:06] Item 4.

[8:07] Item number 4 is changes, postponements and notice of the next meeting.

[8:11] I'm unaware of any changes or postponements to today's agenda and the next meeting

[8:15] will be Tuesday, August 26th at 9 o'clock a.m.

[8:19] Item 5.

[8:21] Item number 5 is the Consent Calendar including items 5A through 5S4.

[8:29] Is there anyone here who wishes to speak on an item on the Consent Calendar?

[8:35] Seeing none in the room and none online, I'll bring it up here for any comments or a motion.

[8:44] I move approval of the Consent Calendar.

[8:48] Second.

[8:49] Okay, that's been moved and seconded. Any additional comments?

[8:53] I will call the roll.

[8:54] Commissioner Weissong.

[8:55] Aye.

[8:56] Commissioner Nelson.

[8:57] Aye.

[8:57] Commissioner Applegate.

[8:58] Aye.

[8:59] Vice Chair Williams.

[8:59] Aye.

[9:00] And the Chair votes aye.

[9:01] That passes 5-0.

[9:06] Item 6.

[9:08] Item number 6 is the proclamation recognizing National Night Out 2025.

[9:13] Holly Williams, Vice Chair, Board of County Commissioners.

[9:18] I move the following proclamation recognizing National Night Out 2025.

[9:22] Whereas, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in partnership with the National Association

[9:28] of Town Watch is supporting a positive, proactive nationwide crime, drug, and violence prevention

[9:35] program on August 5, 2025, entitled National Night Out.

[9:41] And whereas, National Night Out is a great opportunity for El Paso County to join forces

[9:49] with many other communities nationwide in advancing cooperative crime prevention efforts

[9:55] between police and the community. And whereas neighborhood watch groups play an essential

[10:01] role in assisting the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and its many law enforcement partners

[10:07] throughout the region in their efforts to prevent crime and prosecute criminals.

[10:12] And whereas all El Paso County residents can have a positive impact on our community

[10:17] through our participation in community crime prevention programs that are proven effective

[10:22] tools in reducing crime and violence and breaking the destructive stranglehold of substance abuse

[10:29] and illegal drug trafficking that endangers El Paso County residents and puts a strain

[10:35] on human services, criminal justice and public safety resources and whereas police community

[10:43] Partnerships and Neighborhood Safety and Awareness are the themes of the National Night Out program

[10:49] and the keys to maintaining safe, vibrant and attractive neighborhoods that are essential

[10:54] to the quality of life we enjoy in El Paso County.

[10:58] And whereas the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Community Affairs and Research Unit

[11:03] continuously strives to build and maintain relationships and partnerships with residents

[11:10] by providing opportunities for community members

[11:13] to learn about policing while law enforcement members

[11:17] learn about the policing needs of the community.

[11:20] And whereas neighborhood watch groups throughout El Paso County

[11:24] have planned events to come together and to enjoy food and community

[11:28] and to meet their neighbors and local law enforcement officers.

[11:31] And whereas working together we make communities safer,

[11:35] more caring places to live.

[11:37] Now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado, does hereby

[11:42] call upon all citizens of El Paso County to join the El Paso County Sheriff's Office

[11:47] and its law enforcement partners in supporting and participating in this unique nationwide

[11:53] crime, drug, and violence prevention program on August 5, 2025.

[11:59] Done this fifth day of August 2025 at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[12:04] Colorado.

[12:04] The Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado, Kerry Geithner Chair, Holly

[12:09] Williams Vice Chair, Corey Applegate Member, Lauren Nelson Member, Bill Weissang Member,

[12:15] and attested to by Steve Schleicher, County Clerk and Recorder.

[12:19] Is there a second?

[12:23] Second.

[12:25] Okay, that proclamation has been moved and seconded, and I believe we have a special

[12:41] I want to thank the board for your continued support of public safety, our efforts not

[12:49] just this proclamation, but every day.

[12:52] We absolutely feel loved and supported by this Board of County commissioners and it does

[12:57] not go unnoticed and is absolutely appreciated.

[12:59] Now, this week, the El Pasquean Sheriff's Office is proud to participate in National

[13:04] Night Out.

[13:04] It's a nationwide event dedicated to strengthening partnerships between law enforcement and the

[13:10] community we serve.

[13:12] It's an event we look forward to every year.

[13:15] It reflects what we strive to accomplish daily.

[13:19] Trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to safer neighborhoods.

[13:23] Throughout this week, over 50 members of my office, including sworn deputies, professional

[13:29] staff, volunteers, including members of the Sheriff's Posse, will be attending 11 events

[13:36] across unincorporated El Paso County.

[13:39] From Monument to Midway, Balkan to Black Forest, Security Wide Field to Cimarron Hills, our

[13:46] teams will be out in the community engaging with families, business owners, and neighborhood

[13:51] to watch groups to work tirelessly to protect their neighborhoods. I want to

[13:57] sincerely thank this board for taking the time to formally recognize National

[14:01] Night Out and for honoring the citizens and community leaders who make these

[14:05] events possible. These events are only possible because of the community

[14:10] leaders and volunteers who host each event and welcome us into their

[14:15] neighborhoods and into their homes. You're on a wavering support since a

[14:19] clear message. Community engagement and public safety do go hand in hand. On behalf of the

[14:26] Apache Community Sheriff's Office, I thank you for standing with us and with the citizens

[14:31] that each of us have sworn to serve. We look forward to continuing this partnership into

[14:37] a successful week of meaningful connection across our home in the Pikes Peak region.

[14:43] Thank you.

[14:45] Thank you so much, Sheriff. Do we have any comments or questions for the Sheriff?

[14:55] Mr. Wysong.

[14:58] Again, is there please.

[15:00] Pass on to all the policy and your deputies that we appreciate all the hard work they do.

[15:07] Thank you. Absolutely.

[15:09] I would just ask, we have so many folks who are going to be participating in the night out tonight,

[15:18] but also we have folks who may not be able to make it for various different reasons.

[15:23] If there was one thing that you would tell community members, whether they're able to

[15:28] make it or not tonight, that they can do to help be vigilant and careful in their neighborhoods,

[15:35] and what would that one piece of advice be for residents?

[15:39] Yes, it's pretty easy.

[15:40] It's actually going to date me.

[15:43] Most people may not get this reference, but I grew up with the old saying, oh,

[15:48] You're as nosy as Kravitz.

[15:50] And Kravitz, I forget the TV show, was a nosy neighbor

[15:54] that was always peering out the curtains

[15:56] and she saw something, she would have a fit.

[16:00] Be a nosy neighbor.

[16:02] Nosey neighbor doesn't mean

[16:03] get into the business of your neighbors,

[16:05] but it means if you see a garage door open,

[16:07] if you see something that's peculiar

[16:09] out of the ordinary, say something,

[16:12] call your neighbor, establish those relationships

[16:14] with your neighbors before something happens.

[16:17] Share contact information.

[16:19] Me personally, I have left the garage door open

[16:22] and neighbors have called me.

[16:24] Hey, Joe, did you intend to leave your garage door open?

[16:27] Are you home?

[16:28] Oh, yes, I'm home.

[16:29] Thank you.

[16:29] Go and close it.

[16:30] So really be that Kravitz neighbor with good intentions.

[16:35] Be nosy.

[16:36] Be engaged.

[16:37] Have those relationships.

[16:38] Know your neighbors.

[16:39] They will help you as much as you help them.

[16:41] If something's out of the ordinary, call.

[16:44] Whether it's your neighbors or call law enforcement.

[16:48] Great, thank you.

[16:50] Other comments or questions from Mr. Amphibate?

[16:53] I just wanted to say thank you, Sheriff Wibble, for showing up this morning, and I'm glad

[16:56] we read his proclamation, and thank you to all the hard work your deputies and your departments

[17:00] are doing.

[17:00] So anyone from your under-sheriff down to the guy or gal that just started, so you

[17:05] guys are doing a great job.

[17:06] So thank you.

[17:07] We appreciate that.

[17:09] Vice-Chair Williams?

[17:10] Yeah, I'll claim credit for being a nosy neighbor.

[17:13] Actually, we do have one of the enjoyable things about the neighborhood I live in is

[17:20] we know almost everyone in the 64 units in our neighborhood.

[17:24] And it really makes a difference.

[17:27] We have a neighborhood phone directory.

[17:30] So my neighbor across the street who is an early riser unlike me usually gets up

[17:37] in the morning and goes to exercise and then comes back.

[17:40] And one day last summer, I noticed her garage door was open the whole entire day.

[17:46] So I was the nosy neighbor.

[17:48] I picked up the phone.

[17:49] I called her and I said, where are you?

[17:51] And she was on a two week vacation.

[17:53] She just left that morning.

[17:55] So it's always nice that we can trust each other to, you know, I said, I'm just going

[18:00] to go in, shut your garage door and walk out the front door and lock your front

[18:03] door.

[18:04] And that's what we did.

[18:05] And so we're able to keep kind of an eye on each other.

[18:09] and it really helps.

[18:11] We're not necessarily up in each other's business.

[18:15] We don't look into each other's windows,

[18:17] because we're quite close together.

[18:19] But it's really important to have neighbors,

[18:24] to know the neighbors on either side of you,

[18:26] to at least, you know, be friends with them.

[18:29] Because then if you do have an issue or a problem,

[18:32] then you can give them a call and say,

[18:34] hey, did you see something going on here?

[18:35] and that's it's very helpful it's nice that we all could have video doorbells if

[18:42] we would like but that doesn't if I'm out of town and get five Amazon packages

[18:48] or two or three which surprised me sometimes it's nice to know my neighbor

[18:52] will go and pick him up for me so it's I would just encourage you get to know

[18:57] your neighbors absolutely madam chair may I of course my takeaway from that

[19:03] Commissioner Williams is that you have the night watch and thank you for that.

[19:08] What I would recommend to neighbors if they see that garage door open and you

[19:12] made the phone call your neighbor was on the two weeks vacation call law

[19:16] enforcement that garage door open it'd be a box and they could have left it or

[19:20] somebody could be in there and I don't want neighbors going in and clearing a

[19:24] home and find some burglars in there and place themselves in harm so call

[19:29] law enforcement. We will go clear the home, then we'll secure the door, and we can give

[19:35] your neighbors the assurance, especially since they're on a vacation in this incident, the

[19:41] assurance that they can enjoy their vacation, their home is clear. They're not going to get

[19:44] back in their television gone and their privacy violated.

[19:49] I think you told me that last year, and I didn't remember it, so I will remember

[19:53] it this year.

[20:00] I'm looking forward to attending the Park Vista Neighborhood Watch tonight and thank you. I believe one of your officers is also planning to attend and help be there to listen to the, just the insight that that neighborhood and community has on being an unincorporated part of El Paso County right in the middle of the city.

[20:19] And so I'm looking forward to the meeting tonight and want to thank just all of the individuals, as you mentioned that are hosting these meetings across our county.

[20:30] I've been out in the community quite a bit over the last few weeks and seeing different neighborhoods with their signs out about tonight's meeting that's taking place and speaking with citizens and it's been just really enjoyable to have kind of a focal point for all of us to connect on.

[20:49] And so thank you for your office that are helping to sponsor this event and the importance

[20:53] of community and relationships and that it helps all of us to flourish that way.

[21:00] So thank you for coming this morning.

[21:02] You're welcome.

[21:04] Thank you.

[21:06] Is there anything else that you would like to add?

[21:10] I would like to share something with the good pastor here, people who are involved

[21:14] in community.

[21:15] and he comes here and he prays over the commission.

[21:19] But he's also one of my newly minted Aussie members

[21:23] and he's always shown his commitment.

[21:26] He's out on patrol, working the streets.

[21:29] He's at advance of community engagement.

[21:31] He was at the fair.

[21:32] He was at the rodeo, highly evolved citizen.

[21:35] So I just wanted to thank him personally.

[21:39] Thank you.

[21:40] Thanks.

[21:41] Okay, if there are no other comments, I believe.

[21:46] I don't think, is there anyone else from your office

[21:48] who'd like to speak on this item?

[21:51] I mean, we've got the sheriff.

[21:53] So, you know, that's a treat for us.

[21:57] Okay, so with that, I think we are ready to proceed

[22:01] with a vote and then we can do a brief recess

[22:04] to do a photograph if you have time for that.

[22:06] Okay, beginning with Commissioner Weissang.

[22:10] Hi.

[22:11] Commissioner Nelson.

[22:12] Hi.

[22:13] Commissioner Applegate.

[22:14] Hi.

[22:14] Vice Chair Williams.

[22:15] I and the chair votes aye that passes five zero brief recess for photo call

[25:09] this meeting back to order. We are on item seven item number seven is comments by elected officials and commissioner liaison reports.

[25:18] Okay, I know Mr. Borman was in the room but I do don't believe he has any comments and I don't think we have any countywide electives online.

[25:27] So, we will begin with Commissioner Wysong.

[25:34] Last week was on vacation for most of the week visiting with my two sisters.

[25:40] But I was able to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday that was monumental impact

[25:49] up in Palmer Lake.

[25:51] It really is just an area for the local monument, Palmer Lake kids to get involved

[26:00] in different areas, computer, robotics, 3D printing, all kinds of neat things.

[26:09] So that was a joy to see that new area for them.

[26:14] It was about twice the footprint that they had before,

[26:18] which allows them to get a little bit more in upgraded equipment.

[26:24] Also able to go on a tour with public health to go visit a septic system.

[26:29] because I've got a lot of areas in my district that we've got issues that need to be addressed

[26:35] and this was the opportunity to learn a little bit more about that.

[26:40] And then on Friday, I have the opportunity to attend the tour of the Ruxton Power Plant

[26:48] on Friday with CSU, so that's my week.

[26:54] Thank you.

[26:59] This week I have a couple of onboarding orientations for the boards and committees that I am now

[27:05] going to be serving on.

[27:07] So I have a Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and a Board of Health member orientation

[27:13] that I look forward to learning more about the work that's taking place.

[27:18] And I have to say the orientation onboarding sessions I've had so far from the county learning

[27:26] about the different departments and the work that's taking place has been exceptional and

[27:31] really helpful in getting me up to speed so that I can be value additive to the work

[27:38] already and prepping me and what's coming on our agenda.

[27:42] So just really enjoying the work.

[27:48] Mr. Applegate.

[27:49] Thank you, Madam Chair.

[27:51] Friday, July 25th, I was able to attend the Warrior Games at Colorado College.

[27:56] That was actually kind of a neat thing.

[27:57] I watched a lot of sit-down volleyball, because some of the participants were actually disabled and had military injuries.

[28:05] And if I remember correctly, the teams, how they were comprised,

[28:08] it was you could have up to 30 veterans, but 40 had to be active duty for your team, for your branch or your service.

[28:14] Kind of a neat thing.

[28:15] I thought of it kind of similar to the Commander-in-Chief's trophy, like their games, because it's like everyone, you know, in that arena playing that game was willing to sacrifice for everybody watching all the spectators.

[28:27] Air Force definitely had the loudest fans, so Sunday, July 27th, I also saw, I was at an event for the Buffalo Soldiers, the 159th anniversary of the formation of that unit in the 1800s.

[28:41] and later on I flew out Wednesday July 30th to Nashville and I was at the

[28:46] Young Republicans Convention National Convention I was one of the delegates

[28:48] from the state of Colorado they wanted to get me on because I was an elected and

[28:52] it was so encouraging seeing about a thousand young people gathered together

[28:57] and these were anything from activists I met one kid he was a state senator in

[29:00] Vermont and then another guy who was running for state rep in Maryland and

[29:04] it was just amazing and I think the future is bright for conservatives in

[29:07] general and just the Republican Party as a whole. So, and shout out to Hayden

[29:11] Paschal for continuing his service. It'll be two more years. He'll be the

[29:14] chairman of the National Delegation for the YRs. Thank you.

[29:20] Vice-Chair Reims. Yes,

[29:23] good morning. It is great to be here. Had a very quiet week last week and did

[29:29] not have any events to speak of except for an event on Friday. So this

[29:37] This week, though, we do have on Thursday our statewide transportation advisory committee.

[29:44] I cannot imagine we'll receive any good news if the state legislature decides to meet at

[29:50] the end of August in a special session.

[29:52] So, I did ask, as a vice-chair of that committee, ask our state legislative.

[30:00] A person on the committee at CDOT to go ahead and give us an update, because the governor was really good at the governor and the state, I should say we're very good at taking most of the money out of transportation this year. And it's been very frustrating for those of us who have to drive our roads.

[30:18] There's a Department of Public Works employee picnic, a national day of prayer, a city-wide

[30:24] prayer on Thursday night, and on Friday we're having a PPACG board meeting, and I'm going

[30:31] to try and go up to the Front Range District meeting in Broomfield with the Colorado County

[30:36] Commissioners if I can make it to that.

[30:38] And there's also a fire mitigation Black Forest Preparedness presentation on Friday

[30:44] evening.

[30:44] Thank you.

[30:47] And I will just add a couple of things. One, being the debate continues around the state

[30:53] budget in a potential special session. You know, we're looking at whether or not that

[30:58] happens in August. I will say that the politics have been a bit performative up at the state

[31:06] capital. It has been clear for the last several years. We've talked about the fact that there

[31:11] as a structural deficit in the state budget, and that's due to overspending one-time huge

[31:17] floods of money that came down from the federal government that were put into ongoing expenses

[31:23] and programs that cannot be sustained at this point and obviously created a lot of inflation

[31:28] and problems in our economy. So this has been a long time coming for the majority party,

[31:37] the Democrats in control to spend more wisely.

[31:41] And now we're seeing a pivot and trying to blame it all on the federal government.

[31:46] And this structural deficit, we've been talking about it for a year.

[31:49] So it's really disappointing to see our leaders, or lack thereof, looking for blame instead

[31:56] of working to fix the problem on this.

[31:57] And I think we're going to continue to watch it very closely because what tends

[32:01] to happen in these situations is the state government can't figure out how to make

[32:05] their budget work.

[32:05] So they decided to push down more requirements on counties and try to make local taxpayers

[32:11] foot the bell instead of working within their budget.

[32:14] And so I think we're going to be watching this very closely, but I think it's important

[32:18] that citizens know.

[32:20] There's no easy way out of this, and the state needs to take responsibility, and they

[32:24] need to take a hard look at priorities.

[32:27] Everything cannot be a priority.

[32:29] We have to decide what the core important services are that we need to be providing

[32:34] to citizens and make the hard decisions to do that work. I'm not super optimistic for that

[32:40] based on the history of our state and the seeing what we're seeing with trying to kind of do an

[32:46] end run around the JBC, which is a very important part of that process, but we're going to keep

[32:52] a close eye on it. I also wanted to just point out as a member of the opioid council,

[32:58] I volunteered for a subcommittee that is working on an RFP specifically around a public information

[33:06] campaign trying to help the community understand the relationship between high-potent CTHC in

[33:15] particular and opioid use. It's a really important topic because we're seeing so many of our youth

[33:23] and other people think that there is really no consequence for marijuana use. Unfortunately,

[33:28] our state has, there have just been so many campaigns trying to normalize marijuana and

[33:37] not taking into account the very serious effects. But we actually know when there's

[33:41] lots of research that this is very much affecting our state effects mental health. So every

[33:47] time you hear someone talking about how we are concerned about mental health, if

[33:51] they are not talking about what we need to do to educate people about the detriment of

[33:56] hypotency THC. That's a really big problem. So I volunteered on this subcommittee. We are hearing

[34:01] those proposals really optimistic that we are going to get something good going and we're

[34:07] going to start seeing in our community very soon this public education campaign so that we can

[34:12] make sure that our community is informed and hopefully that will put us in a better position

[34:19] then some of the other communities we've seen, we obviously do not want to see the kind of

[34:26] hard-hitting problems that we're seeing in other places like Denver.

[34:32] We want to get ahead of that and try to make sure that those issues are not plaguing Colorado

[34:39] Springs and El Paso County in the same way. So looking forward to continuing that work,

[34:43] Both last week and this week we, the subcommittee has met to work on that so with that I believe we are ready for item eight.

[34:56] Item number eight is community service organization reports and there are none.

[35:01] Item nine.

[35:02] Item number nine is public comment on items not scheduled on the agenda.

[35:06] And Madam Chair, I'm unaware of anyone signing in ahead of time to speak, but there is one person that would like to be called in today.

[35:14] Okay,

[35:30] Veronica Baker. Good morning. I'm encouraged that now the lawsuit has ended. We can move forward and focus on collaboration.

[35:37] I believe this creates an opportunity for all of us to build on a clear understanding of each other's concerns.

[35:43] Since the lawsuit was originally filed in early December 2024, much has changed.

[35:51] The community stepped up to fill the gap left by the abrupt closure of the Rock-Ribbon

[35:55] Library with the creation of Reading at the Rock, a volunteer-run library that demonstrates

[36:00] just how deeply people value access to these services.

[36:05] Meanwhile, a recent audit of the 2024 PPLD financial records revealed a moderately

[36:11] strong financial position, resulting in $16 to $18 million for the fund balance.

[36:19] This has not been designated to any capital funds and is available to help maintain our

[36:24] current libraries and grow future ones.

[36:27] Potential new sites in the northwest part of the city have also been identified, an

[36:32] encouraging sign that solutions are possible.

[36:36] We also welcome Commissioner Lauren Nelson, who now serves on the Joint Appointment

[36:40] Committee for the Pike Peak Library District. Her involvement brings a fresh voice and new

[36:46] perspective to the conversations ahead. Throughout this process, one outcome of the lawsuit has

[36:52] been a broader public awareness of the challenges facing our libraries. Many residents now understand

[36:59] the importance of careful analysis before closing any more library branches. In fact,

[37:05] we've heard from many community members who believe our libraries now

[37:09] may be in a stronger, more stable position than they were a year ago, thanks to our efforts.

[37:16] There is also renewed hope that library access may finally expand to underserved areas,

[37:22] including the much needed east side of Colorado Springs.

[37:26] We feel optimistic about the future and we look forward to continuing this work together.

[37:32] Now that the lawsuit is behind us, we understand that it had previously prevented

[37:37] to some of you from engaging in open dialogue.

[37:40] We believe that obstacle is gone

[37:42] and the channels of communication are open once more.

[37:45] We would welcome the chance

[37:47] to meet with each of you individually.

[37:49] As community members, we are eager to collaborate

[37:52] and we hope that you are willing to listen

[37:54] and work with us.

[37:56] As elected leaders, you have the power

[37:58] to build strong, lasting relationships

[38:01] with your constituents.

[38:03] Let's move forward together

[38:05] to mend fences, build bridges, and create a future where our libraries serve the needs of all residents across El Paso County. Thank you.

[38:18] Okay, do we have anyone else online who.

[38:23] Okay, thank you. And just one more call in the room. Is there anyone who wishes to speak during public comment?

[38:30] Okay, with that item 10.

[38:33] Item number 10 is the called up consent calendar and there are no items called up today.

[38:38] Item 11.

[38:39] Item number 11 is the hearing on the application by Mountain View Cafe and Catering Corporation doing business as Mountain View Cafe and Catering for a hotel and restaurant liquor license on the premises located at 11424 Black Forest Road El Paso County Commissioner District 1.

[38:55] Jackie already clerked to the board manager and Madam chair if I may this item does qualify for an abbreviated hearing and at that point I would defer to the county attorney.

[39:03] Thank you, Madam Chair. If I could ask the clerk a couple of quick questions.

[39:08] Please do.

[39:09] Madam Clerk, has the applicant fulfilled all state and local requirements?

[39:12] Yes, the applicant has fulfilled all state and local requirements.

[39:15] Does the neighborhood survey support the needs and desires of the local community for the requested license?

[39:20] The neighborhood survey does support the needs and desires of the local community and liquor pros is here to present those survey results.

[39:27] Has any opposition been voiced against the issuance of the requested license?

[39:31] There has been no opposition to date.

[39:33] Following on to that question, is there any party and interest present at today's board

[39:37] hearing to formally oppose the issuance of the requested license?

[39:42] Madam Chair, I see none.

[39:44] Madam Clerk, has the Sheriff's investigation revealed any criminal history relevant to

[39:47] the issuance of a liquor license?

[39:49] There was no relevant criminal history.

[39:51] Madam Chair, I believe this matter can go forward as an abbreviated hearing.

[39:56] Okay, and I believe we need a motion to utilize that abbreviated hearing. Is that correct?

[40:05] It's ma'am, that's correct. Okay, so I will bring that up here for a motion to hear this as an abbreviated hearing. So moved.

[40:12] Second. Okay, it's been moved and seconded. I'll call the roll. Commissioner Weissang. Hi. Commissioner Nelson. Hi. Commissioner Applegate. Hi.

[40:19] Okay.

[40:20] Vice Chair Williams?

[40:21] Aye.

[40:21] And the Chair votes aye.

[40:22] That passes 5-0.

[40:24] We will have an abbreviated hearing.

[40:28] Good morning.

[40:29] Damon Cassons.

[40:30] I represent the petitioner here and with me.

[40:33] And I will let them all introduce themselves.

[40:35] If you

[40:40] guys could please speak into those microphones so we can capture all of that

[40:44] for the record.

[40:44] I'd really appreciate it.

[40:45] Thank you.

[40:46] Bridget Edgill.

[40:49] Spring Goulds.

[40:50] Harold Johnson.

[40:54] Okay.

[40:54] Well, good morning and thank you for being here.

[40:57] Typically, we ask for just your brief introduction of, you know, of your establishment.

[41:07] Then we also like to hear about the survey.

[41:11] And then we'll take questions from commissioners.

[41:15] So, Mountain View Cafe and Catering Bridget and I are co-owners.

[41:21] We have been in the restaurant business for a long time and have been best friends

[41:25] for a long time so we've really dreamed of having our own restaurant. Black Forest the community has

[41:30] been incredible to us. We are a breakfast and lunch cafe open from 7 a.m. to 2 30 p.m. We have an

[41:37] amazing loyal team that supports us and we're in our fourth year of business.

[41:44] Okay that suffices

[41:46] for now we'll just see if anyone has any questions but if we want to hear the survey

[41:50] information if there's anything else you want to add. Again Carol Johnson for liquor pros

[41:56] First, I'll say we are a neutral petitioning company.

[41:59] We do not guarantee results.

[42:01] We comply with the rules with the begging and landlord situation, and that was submitted

[42:08] to the clerk yesterday.

[42:11] We had two petitioners who did this.

[42:15] The business is on Thursday, July 17th, and the residents on Saturday, July 19th.

[42:21] We made 22 attempts at businesses on 148 at residence for a total of 170.

[42:28] From that, we obtained a total of 57 signatures.

[42:33] There were 10 businesses, all 10 signed in support.

[42:39] There were 47 residential signatures, 45 were in support, one was on opposition and

[42:46] one had no opinion.

[42:48] The one in opposition was concerned because they had little kids.

[42:53] There were six who declined to participate, three not interested, two not assigned petitions

[42:59] or surveys, and one too busy.

[43:01] And there were six who were not qualified to sign, three of those were businesses that

[43:05] did not have an owner or manager available, two were under 21, and one was a non-resident.

[43:11] The one reason that was given an opposition may be considered an eval or redevelopment,

[43:17] because I've speculated this with the needs and desires, in which case this would end up

[43:24] being 55 in support for 100 percent.

[43:27] And I would answer any questions.

[43:32] Okay.

[43:33] Commissioner, any questions?

[43:36] So did you say, is it your intention to expand into the evening hours as well,

[43:41] or just continue with breakfast?

[43:42] So we currently do one dinner evening a month, six months out of the year.

[43:47] We do have some evening events booked for like rehearsal dinners,

[43:52] birthday parties, things like that.

[43:54] So we would only be open for those amounts of time.

[43:57] Okay. Thank you.

[44:01] Any additional questions?

[44:05] Okay. Anything that you'd like to add?

[44:09] I think we're okay. Thank you so much.

[44:11] Okay, then I will bring it up here for discussion or emotion.

[44:16] I would move approval since this is in my district of the application by Mountain View Cafe and catering Corp DBA Mountain View Cafe and catering for a hotel and restaurant liquor license on the premises.

[44:29] Second.

[44:30] Okay, that has been moved and seconded and I'll just one last opportunity if anyone has any comments.

[44:38] Okay, we'll go ahead and call the roll.

[44:41] Christopher Weissang.

[44:42] Hi.

[44:42] Christopher Nelson.

[44:43] Hi.

[44:44] Christopher Applegate.

[44:45] Hi.

[44:45] Vice Chair Williams.

[44:46] Hi.

[44:47] And the chair votes aye.

[44:48] That passes 5-0.

[44:49] Congratulations.

[44:51] Thank you all very much.

[44:52] Have a great day.

[44:57] Item 12.

[44:58] I had a

[45:00] Item number 12 is the hearing on the application by Bogies and Bruce Golf, LLC, doing business

[45:04] as Bogie and Bruce Golf for a Tavern liquor license on the premises located at 11716, Bent

[45:10] Grass Market View, El Paso County, Commissioner District 2, Jackie Alred, clerk to the board

[45:15] manager. And Madam Chair, again, this item does qualify for an abbreviated hearing,

[45:19] and I will just defer to the county attorney.

[45:22] Thank you. Madam Chair, if I could ask a couple of questions.

[45:25] Please do.

[45:25] Thank you. Has the applicant fulfilled all state and local requirements?

[45:28] Yes, all state and local requirements have been fulfilled.

[45:32] Does the neighborhood survey support the needs and desires of the local community for the

[45:35] requested license?

[45:37] Yes, the neighborhood survey supports the needs and desires, and again, liquor pros

[45:41] is here to present the survey results.

[45:43] Has any opposition been voiced against the issuance of the requested license?

[45:47] No opposition has been received to date.

[45:49] Is there any party in interest present at today's board hearing to formally oppose

[45:53] the issuance of the requested license?

[45:57] Seeing none.

[45:58] has the Sheriff's investigation revealed criminal history relevant to the

[46:02] issuance of the liquor license. There was no relevant criminal history. Madam

[46:06] Chair, it's my opinion that this matter can move forward as an abbreviated

[46:11] hearing.

[46:13] Okay. Do we have a motion to move forward with an abbreviated hearing?

[46:17] So moved. Second. Okay, that's been moved and seconded. I'll call the roll.

[46:23] Commissioner Weissang. Hi. Mr. Nelson. Hi. Mr. Applegate. Hi. Vice

[46:28] Mr. Williams.

[46:29] Aye.

[46:29] And the chair votes aye.

[46:30] That passes 5-0.

[46:31] We will proceed with the abbreviated hearing.

[46:34] Good morning.

[46:36] If you would, just as the previous abbreviated hearing, introduce yourselves and then we'll

[46:41] hear about the survey results.

[46:43] Good morning.

[46:43] I'm Johnny Elanese.

[46:45] Carol Johnson for LikrPros.

[46:49] If you'd like to just tell us a bit about your establishment, please.

[46:52] Sure.

[46:52] Good morning.

[46:54] So, live out in Falcon and want it to open up a four bay golf simulator with a bar.

[47:02] So, yeah, I just want to bring some type of entertainment out to the Falcon area,

[47:05] eastern Colorado Springs, and hopefully, I can get this going.

[47:09] Great.

[47:11] Okay.

[47:14] Once again, I will say that we, LiquorLockPros is a neutral petitioning company.

[47:19] We do not guarantee results.

[47:21] These, this petition was done on four days.

[47:25] We kept getting rained out, so the residents were done on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday

[47:30] and Sunday, July 16th through the 20th, and the businesses were done on Thursday to 17th.

[47:36] We made 21 attempts at businesses and 634 residents for a total of 655 attempts.

[47:43] From that, we obtained a total of 110 signatures, 50, excuse me, 12 signatures for businesses,

[47:54] 6 in support, 0 in opposition, 6 with no opinion.

[47:58] There were 98 from residents, 91 in support, 4 in opposition, and 3, no opinion.

[48:07] The reasons for opposition, 2, gave no reason, and 2 felt there were enough or too many

[48:13] already. There were 50 who declined to participate, 20 not interested, 16 do not sign petitions

[48:19] or surveys, 14 too busy. There were 12 not qualified, 7 were non-residents, 4 was under

[48:26] 21, and there was one owner or manager not available. So I do believe that this does

[48:33] show the needs and desires of the neighborhood are welcoming to this new liquor license,

[48:39] and I once again would answer any questions you might have.

[48:43] Okay. Are there any questions from commissioners?

[48:47] So you said it's a golf simulator? Is the business you're running?

[48:52] Oh, yes, sir. I'm just going to have four simulators or four bays each have a one simulator and it's where it basically, I'm not sure if you've been to an ex-golf or train wreck similar to that.

[49:03] Right, yeah. Okay. Very cool. And that's a commercial district, right? Because I Googled it just now and it came up with like an empty lot.

[49:09] And I was like, well, surely they built something there.

[49:11] So it's a brand new build.

[49:13] Oh, OK.

[49:13] Now they're working on the permits.

[49:15] We are hopefully in the process of getting built out here

[49:19] in the next few weeks.

[49:20] And with the opening day, hopefully sometime in October,

[49:24] late September, October.

[49:25] We lost no one in our state.

[49:26] So that'll help me when I get a craving.

[49:28] I got a golf in December.

[49:29] You know, it's a busy day.

[49:32] Thank you.

[49:34] Any additional questions?

[49:37] And so a bit unorthodox, but since this is in my district, if it's okay with the board, I would move approval of this Tavern liquor license for bogeys and brews golf.

[49:50] Second.

[49:52] Okay, that has been moved and seconded. And I will call the roll. Commissioner Weissang.

[49:57] Aye.

[49:58] Mr. Nelson.

[49:59] Aye.

[50:00] Mr. Applegate.

[50:01] Aye.

[50:02] Mr. Williams.

[50:02] Aye.

[50:03] Hi, and the chair votes I that passes five zero. Thank you so much. I've been wondering what's going to go in over there as I live in Falcon. So I really appreciate knowing that. Thank you for your diligence and congratulations. Look forward to seeing your business open.

[50:16] Thank you.

[50:19] Okay. Item 13.

[50:22] Item number 13 is department and committee reports non action items 13 a quarterly budget report quarter to 2025. Niki Simmons chief financial officer.

[50:31] Do

[50:38] we have Ms. Simmons in the building?

[50:49] Ms. Simmons?

[50:51] We're ready for you.

[51:11] Good morning, commissioners. Nikki Simmons, Chief Financial Officer.

[51:15] I'm here this morning to present to you the June 2025 budget performance report.

[51:22] So this will reflect activity through the month of June compared to our 2025 budget.

[51:27] But the only caveat there is we're always one month in arrears in sales tax, and so

[51:35] this sales tax is only through May because that is the most recent sales tax we've collected

[51:40] at the time of this report.

[51:41] We'll receive June sales tax sometime next week.

[51:47] So I wanted to start off this presentation with just a general discussion of the economic

[51:53] conditions that we're seeing across our state.

[51:55] and really, you know, the sales tax activity, seeing a lot of news reports about different

[52:03] cities and counties having to do budget cuts for the rest of the year, we're getting media

[52:08] inquiries on our revenue collections and where we are compared to budget, and we have

[52:14] referred them to watch this meeting and this presentation.

[52:17] That being said, while El Paso County is seeing the same delta in sales taxes as different

[52:29] municipalities within our jurisdiction, we are close to our budget in that area.

[52:34] You'll see on this line right here, we are shy of our budget through June of about $941,000

[52:41] in sales tax.

[52:42] When you think of that, we have about $170 million a year sales tax budget for our 1%

[52:49] unrestricted tax. So we are very close to that overall budget. That being said, the entire

[52:56] Delta shows up in the general fund because when we get sales tax, we send it to four

[53:02] funds. We send it to the Human Services Fund, the Road and Bridge Fund, and the

[53:11] And any delta, any variance shows up in the general fund.

[53:15] So when you're seeing 96.91 percent of budget, that's because the general fund receives the

[53:21] entire variance and the other funds are at 100 percent.

[53:25] So this $941,000 variance to budget is the entire variance to budget for all sales tax

[53:31] across all funds.

[53:33] And so very close to our budget.

[53:35] And then we have other compensating revenues that are over budget.

[53:39] And so overall year to date through June, we're actually exceeding our revenue forecast by $4.3 million.

[53:46] So I wanted to put that in context because we are getting questions about how we're addressing any revenue shortfalls.

[53:53] And at this point, we're not seeing those revenue shortfalls because our budgeted numbers were closer to expectations than we've seen across other areas.

[54:04] And so I wanted to call that out while I gave this presentation.

[54:08] Our budget's in a very stable spot.

[54:11] We're not growing as quickly as we have in sales tax revenues in our past history.

[54:18] But when we put this budget together in 2024 for 2025, the commissioners who were here

[54:24] then will remember we did a very intentional job of budgeting for what we called a recession-resistant

[54:33] budget.

[54:34] And I'm not saying we're in a recession.

[54:35] I'm not an economist.

[54:36] but we didn't expect a large growth in some of these areas, and so we wanted to make sure that what we were planning for was able to withstand any economic uncertainty for several years.

[54:50] And so we made sure that we were conservatively forecasting our revenues. So I wanted to point that out before I got into the rest of the presentation.

[54:59] So property taxes we are seeing kind of our general we usually be able to collect about 99.5% of our overall property taxes. And then the remaining portion goes to tax lien sales.

[55:10] We work closely with our Treasurer's Office over time to collect those. And so this was an expected differential sales and use tax.

[55:20] I've already talked to you a little bit and I will be back I think the end of this month

[55:23] of the first week of September with that June sales tax report with more information about

[55:27] what industries and what areas are seeing the growth but at this point we are growing

[55:34] over 2024 numbers just it's not a high growth rate it's less than 1% at this point.

[55:40] So then another place we're seeing different like the kind of compensating revenues is

[55:44] the clerk and recorder's office, specifically the recording department, is seeing higher

[55:49] activity than budgeted for. And that happens when interest rates even lower just a little

[55:54] bit from what they've been for a year or so, then we start to see people refinancing their

[55:59] mortgages, refiling those tax or those recording fees. And then we are closely monitoring

[56:07] that because a new law went into effect July 1 at the clerk and recorder's office

[56:11] where it changed the recording fees completely and went to a flat fee per document versus

[56:16] a per page fee.

[56:19] The clerk has let us know that he anticipates that those fees will actually be higher than

[56:24] budgeted for, but at this time we're just closely monitoring that.

[56:29] And then the largest thing that we see that's kind of compensating for other revenue decreases

[56:33] is the interest on investments.

[56:36] We conservatively budgeted for that amount as we anticipated that interest rates would drop this year.

[56:42] And so therefore we didn't want to overestimate our interest revenue estimates.

[56:47] At this point we're exceeding those for the year by about $2.3 million.

[56:52] So overall revenues are exceeding budget by $4.3 million.

[56:58] Then on the expenditures for the general fund,

[57:00] And we have right about $10 million of other operating expenditures that are the variants.

[57:10] But most of those are projects in process.

[57:13] We have some large projects that we're working on such as the ERP replacement in the IT department,

[57:20] certain facility things that we're working on, and so a lot of those fit within there.

[57:24] And so at this point we feel like we're trending on budget.

[57:27] all the funding is allocated to specific projects.

[57:32] Road and bridge fund revenues,

[57:35] the highway, so actually let me back up the sales tax.

[57:39] I just wanted to point out this is again where you'll see a zero variance in sales tax because

[57:43] we send exactly the sales tax that the fund is supposed to get and that general fund

[57:46] tax sees the delta of what's expected versus what we actually received.

[57:51] And so that's why that's always a zero.

[57:54] Highway user tax is the one place we're really seeing increased revenues from that fund that

[58:03] comes from the state. That is allocated to La Pasa County on an allocation of different

[58:07] road miles based on paid and rural roads and what tier county you are. That is estimated

[58:15] by the state every year. And those estimates seemed like they were a little low in comparison

[58:21] into what's actually happening because there's new fees and taxes that are going into this

[58:26] fund that are collected at the state level. And so I think the state is still getting an idea

[58:30] of how much is going to come into that fund after the new law with the new rates and post COVID

[58:37] with full travel, things like that. These are collected partially through clerk and

[58:42] recorder's offices with car registrations, gasoline tax that's collected at the state

[58:47] level of things like that.

[58:49] And then overall, for expenditures for Rotem Bridge, trending very, very close to budget.

[58:56] Our DPW is doing a great job at getting the functions done that they are entrusted to do.

[59:04] And their personnel budget is trending close to budget.

[59:07] So happy to say that they have the staff out there doing the jobs.

[59:12] Human services.

[59:14] This is a little bit of a timing difference, no concerns on that fund at this time.

[59:20] We will receive final state closeout in August and we'll update the board further when we

[59:26] receive those closeout dollars.

[59:27] We do know a couple of our allocations were spent further than the allocations we had

[59:34] specifically in TANF, but we did have TANF reserves at the state level to cover those.

[59:40] And then we are sorry, I said TANF reserves in Seattle, I meant the local TANF reserves that the state allows us to hold, which is 40% of our overall allocation.

[59:52] And so at this point, we don't expect to have to use any county only dollars to cover those over allocations.

[59:58] But again, we'll give a full brief.

[1:00:00] When we get the final close at some time, we're hoping in August, late August or early September.

[1:00:07] Capital Improvement Fund had no activity during the month of June.

[1:00:11] Workers comp and risk side of self-insurance. We are currently under budget and expenditure,

[1:00:23] so positive variance of 280,000. I will remind the board though that we just approved

[1:00:30] a settlement that was planned for last during this month, and so this variance will look

[1:00:34] a little bit different the next time you see this report.

[1:00:38] Our self-insurance for the health side, we're training a little higher on revenues, but

[1:00:43] also that very similar amount on expenditures.

[1:00:46] One thing I was informed of is that we're expecting a stop-loss reimbursement in our

[1:00:51] health insurance, which will cover a significant portion of this variance.

[1:00:55] So at this point, we're not concerned, this fund's trending kind of right on target.

[1:01:02] And then general fund restricted, I'll point out the public safety sales and use tax sitting

[1:01:08] at 98.8 percent of budget.

[1:01:11] And then on the expenditure side, the one thing I'll point out is the American Rescue

[1:01:19] Plan Act.

[1:01:19] We started the year with $35.5 million of the fund remaining.

[1:01:24] We have expended $6.5 million of that.

[1:01:27] A large portion of that are the water and wastewater grants that we were able to give

[1:01:31] out to jurisdictions in our area, and they are starting to spend those funds down.

[1:01:36] And so we're starting to see expenditures in that area and closely working with every

[1:01:40] grantee to get those funds spent.

[1:01:44] Conservation Trust Fund continues to bring in increased revenues,

[1:01:49] And then the funds that we budgeted for are being spent as planned.

[1:01:55] Your school's trust fund had no activity during the month, well, no expenditures.

[1:02:00] That's all you'll see for the year.

[1:02:02] And then we'll continue to bring in revenue throughout the year as we work in the planning

[1:02:06] department.

[1:02:06] And then those funds get sent out once a year in April of every year.

[1:02:12] Your household hazardous waste fund, you can see, has positive revenue variances

[1:02:17] in every category, and then it's trending at about 90% of their expenditure budget.

[1:02:25] We've been working with our community resources director in planning of how to have some more

[1:02:31] events related to expending these funds, such as like the recycling events that we

[1:02:38] run to assist citizens with recycling hazardous waste.

[1:02:42] And your local improvement district, which is Falcon Vista,

[1:02:48] we continue, we have one

[1:02:50] more payment, we'll pay principal and interest payment later this year on that.

[1:02:55] Those revenues continue to trend lower than expected and so we're working closely with

[1:03:02] the Treasurer's Office to plan a forecast for that fund.

[1:03:07] Are there any questions or comments from me on this budget report?

[1:03:14] Can you go back to the first slide? Yeah, that one.

[1:03:21] On that sales and use tax collections,

[1:03:25] you said that those buckets where those dollars go are fully funded. Can you name them again?

[1:03:32] Yep. Okay. So I'll show you them because it makes

[1:03:34] more sense in my head if I see them on paper. So we have an overall sales and use tax

[1:03:38] budget that we then allocate to the general fund unrestricted, the road and bridge fund,

[1:03:44] the capital improvement fund, and the human services fund, and self-insurance fund.

[1:03:50] So you'll see, so that's the primary sales, the primary unrestricted tax that we allocate

[1:03:55] to different funds to be able to fund those funds.

[1:03:59] And so you'll see on each slide for each fund that receives those sales tax lines.

[1:04:06] So here it is in road and bridge fund.

[1:04:08] And so through this point of the year, we had budgeted to send them $3.541 million.

[1:04:13] So that's exactly what they got.

[1:04:16] Same thing with human services.

[1:04:17] Through this point this year, we'd budgeted to send them $12 million.

[1:04:21] So they've received exactly $12 million of that sales tax.

[1:04:24] Same thing with Capital Improvement Fund.

[1:04:26] And you'll see the risk fund.

[1:04:30] It's in two spots because it's sales tax, but it's one number when we look at

[1:04:36] our budget side.

[1:04:37] So then all of those together will add up to the overall sales and use tax unrestricted budget.

[1:04:46] So when we receive our 1% sales and use tax, that's how we allocate it out to those funds.

[1:04:52] So because there is revenue higher than expected in other places,

[1:05:00] is, do we need to eventually true up those budgets and those specific buckets or do we

[1:05:07] just know we're covered?

[1:05:09] Yep.

[1:05:09] So the way that we handle that is once we allocate that sales tax to those funds, we

[1:05:13] can't pull it back to General Fund.

[1:05:15] But the opposite happens in a year where we exceed the forecast, then General Fund receives

[1:05:22] the extra.

[1:05:23] And then what we do is we use that information to help for planning for next year.

[1:05:30] So for example, in the self-insurance fund, if this, actually that's not a great example,

[1:05:36] in the road and bridge fund, if we budgeted to send them a certain amount of sales tax

[1:05:42] so that they could afford the budget that you all set for them, and then they receive

[1:05:47] higher specific ownership taxes and higher highway user taxes, then for the next

[1:05:52] year's budget, that money will be sitting in fund balance. So then I'll be able to send them

[1:05:56] less sales tax next year to be able to, they can then use their fund balance instead of

[1:06:01] needing sales tax to afford their budget. Okay. Then I had another question about

[1:06:07] just seeing the percentages are so high for the other taxes and the miscellaneous revenue.

[1:06:12] Can you give me a couple examples of what those are? Yeah, so miscellaneous revenues can be

[1:06:19] scrap metal recycling sometimes if we rent out an office for something and so we

[1:06:25] don't a lot of times really budget for many of those because there's such a

[1:06:28] tiny part of our budget so if they come in they're kind of extra and then other

[1:06:33] taxes is payments and lieu of taxes as well as so payment lieu of taxes is

[1:06:39] money that we receive from the federal government and lieu of them paying

[1:06:41] taxes on forest land. We don't get any taxes for military bases but we do get

[1:06:46] taxes for national forests.

[1:06:52] And that's really designed as a federal program to help like

[1:06:55] the counties that are almost all national forests but have a lot of tourists that come

[1:06:59] in. They need something to help. And if they're not getting some sort of taxes, they

[1:07:02] can't provide services. It's a very small part of our budget. And also, this might

[1:07:08] just be a timing issue where we receive the pilt a little bit earlier than we have

[1:07:14] in the past, things like that. So I'm not sure those will come in at 317% of budget,

[1:07:19] but they're a very, very small part of our budget and I'm not. But I can get you more

[1:07:22] information if you're more interested in what the details of the others are. I can

[1:07:27] have a staff get that for you.

[1:07:28] No, I was just curious of what some examples might be that was contributing to those

[1:07:33] funds. I think that's all my questions for now. I really want to nerd out on this,

[1:07:39] but I'm going to not hold everyone else hostage. So I'll connect with you later

[1:07:43] and just to dig into the numbers more so and continue to learn about the county's budget.

[1:07:48] Absolutely. Okay, additional questions or comments? All right. I just want to say thank you. I think

[1:07:59] this is a good opportunity. I appreciate your kind of preface there at the beginning that we have

[1:08:03] had people and media reaching out asking about our budget. It seems like everywhere I have gone

[1:08:08] I've had those same questions. How are things looking at the county? We're here,

[1:08:12] they're not great at the city, we know they're not good at the state, and I think you are

[1:08:17] very humble when you introduce this and why it is that we are in what I think is a very

[1:08:24] good place, and that is because you and the team have done a fantastic job of, even

[1:08:30] though your crystal ball does not work, of conservatively budgeting and thinking

[1:08:36] through what could happen in the economy, and that makes all the difference when you're

[1:08:42] not overestimating and just thinking we're going to continue to see growth forever.

[1:08:47] And so I think I'm incredibly grateful to the work that you have done and our county administrator

[1:08:53] has done to make sure that we are in this position where as we see around us a lot of

[1:09:00] concern we feel very good about where we are and that doesn't mean things will always

[1:09:05] remain perfect, but when you have very competent folks who are doing this work on behalf and

[1:09:14] with the direction of this board, I think it just shows how important actual governance

[1:09:19] is and making sure that we are doing everything we can to be responsible to taxpayers. So

[1:09:26] I just want to say thank you. I hope that maybe some of that media does get their

[1:09:31] questions answered on this. And then I just want to point out, too, one of the things that

[1:09:35] we are not doing that we have seen lots of folks do is pulling out of reserves for ongoing

[1:09:42] expenses. And that is just something that continues to shock me when I see governments

[1:09:49] doing that. We know that it's a recipe for disaster. We see that when the state received

[1:09:54] all of these one-time federal funds and then tried to put them into places that

[1:09:58] were ongoing programs and the same thing at the city. You know, we discussed that when

[1:10:04] that happened that that was something that gave a lot of concern. So I think these things

[1:10:07] were very much forecasted by many of us as we watched what happened and knew that if

[1:10:15] we didn't assume that there would continue to be growth. So really grateful for the

[1:10:18] work that is done here by staff and for the governance of this board to have that

[1:10:24] foresight and grateful that we are now in a position where we are not as concerned as

[1:10:30] many of those around us. So thank you.

[1:10:33] Thank you, Commissioner.

[1:10:34] Commissioner Wysong.

[1:10:37] Again, thanks, Nikki. Do you know how we compare to other counties in the state at mid-year?

[1:10:46] Have you been just talking with people?

[1:10:49] You know, I don't want to speak for any other counties. I do talk to several CFOs

[1:10:54] across the state.

[1:10:57] I think that my opinion is that we're in a little bit better spot than many of the counties.

[1:11:02] I'm hearing other counties, specifically the large counties, are looking at hiring freezes,

[1:11:07] revenue shortfalls, things like that, and we're not in that situation right now.

[1:11:13] So that kind of anecdotally, I would say, that we're doing better.

[1:11:16] I think our increased percentages are very similar.

[1:11:19] We're all seeing similar trends in our sales tax.

[1:11:21] It's just going to be how we compared to the budget and the planning for that.

[1:11:26] One thing that we have done as a county is making sure that we stay within a very conservative

[1:11:33] growth.

[1:11:34] I have heard from our county administers since the day he started, the last thing

[1:11:38] he ever wants to do is walk somebody out the door because we don't have enough money

[1:11:43] to pay them.

[1:11:45] We have been very, very conservative in not only our revenue forecast, but also

[1:11:50] Also making sure that we are not increasing the number of FTEs, those ongoing expenditures,

[1:11:56] making sure that we have a stable revenue base before we would ever do that.

[1:11:59] And so making sure that we're focusing on contracting things like that, things that

[1:12:04] can be lowered if we have a shortfall in revenue.

[1:12:08] And so we're, I think we're in a better spot than many of the front-range counties.

[1:12:13] Thank you. And I think to concur with Chair Geithner, it's due to good solid planning.

[1:12:25] Maybe with your recommendation for the media to watch this hearing, they'll go out and

[1:12:32] ask some of those other counties to see how well they're doing. And I think we've got

[1:12:38] a very great story to tell, and unfortunately, it doesn't get told very often or very well,

[1:12:49] but thank you.

[1:12:51] Thank you.

[1:12:55] I just can't help but say when we limit government growth, as I know is a goal of many of those

[1:13:03] that are sitting up here today, this is why we do it.

[1:13:06] When we say it's not because, you know, we don't want to give everyone everything that

[1:13:12] they desire.

[1:13:12] That would be great if we could all do that.

[1:13:14] But the reality is that government can't do that or we end up in a very bad position.

[1:13:19] So it's not compassionate or caring to our citizens to overspend and overgrow because

[1:13:25] we end up in situations that we're seeing in the state and others where something

[1:13:28] has to get cut and it's very frustrating.

[1:13:30] So taking that conservative approach and saying we're not going to grow government

[1:13:34] at a rapid rate until, you know, we know that we have needs

[1:13:38] and we know that that revenue is there with that growth

[1:13:41] is just a very good approach.

[1:13:45] And this is an indication of that,

[1:13:47] not to belabor that point,

[1:13:50] but, and it's not to pat ourselves on the back so much,

[1:13:53] it's just, you know, I want citizens to understand

[1:13:56] why we do what we do here at the county

[1:13:59] and that it's really all about them.

[1:14:01] So every time we say we wanna limit,

[1:14:02] We want to limit what we do. We want to keep that. It's really about preserving

[1:14:07] what we are able to do and providing quality service without those disruptions. So I think Commissioner Applegate also has a comment.

[1:14:16] Thank you for doing our finances. Thank you for being on top of everything, Nikki. Oh, happy birthday by the way. Thank you. Yeah, I hope your 29th was great.

[1:14:24] It was. It's amazing. They're a 15th year in a row. Vice-presidents, everyone's had really fantastic comments and thank you for all you and your staff do. I did want to say at the end of the day too, we have a fantastic group of employees who work very hard every single day for the county and they're very committed to their jobs.

[1:14:45] so thank you to our amazing number of employees. We have these days around 26 or 2700 I think,

[1:14:52] so we appreciate them.

[1:14:56] Okay, any additional comments or questions?

[1:15:00] Seeing none, thank you. Thank you.

[1:15:05] Item 14. Item number 14 is the addendum and there are no addendums today. Item 15. Item number 15 is the executive session, 15a, executive session pursuant to CRS 2464024B and E for the purpose of one conference with the county attorney's office for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions regarding the federal budget and county obligations and authority and

[1:15:32] and administering benefits through the El Paso County Department of Human Services,

[1:15:36] and two, determining positions relative to matters subject to negotiations, developing

[1:15:41] strategy for negotiations, and instructing negotiators regarding El Paso County Department

[1:15:46] of Human Services administrative and financial obligations in relation to these benefits

[1:15:50] programs.

[1:15:51] Stacy Quiddick, Executive Director, Department of Human Services, and Dori Lindman, Senior

[1:15:56] county attorney. And then 15b, executive session pursuant to CRS 2464024b for the purpose of receiving legal advice on the county's liquor licensing regulations and procedures, Kenneth Hodges, county attorney, and Terry Sample, senior assistant county attorney.

[1:16:15] attorney and last 15C, executive session pursuant to CRS 2464024B and E. The county

[1:16:25] attorney's office is requesting executive session regarding the following matters pertaining

[1:16:29] to Marshall versus Dix case number 2101971GPGSTV, one conference with the county attorney's

[1:16:39] office for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions related

[1:16:43] to the above-referenced litigation matter, and two, determining positions relative to matters

[1:16:48] that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategy for negotiations, and instructing

[1:16:53] negotiators related to the above-referenced litigation matter. Kenneth Hodges, county attorney,

[1:16:58] and Nathan Whitney, senior assistant county attorney.

[1:17:02] I move we go into executive sessions for the purpose as stated on the record.

[1:17:08] Second. Okay, that has been moved and seconded. I'll call the roll. Commissioner Weissang.

[1:17:14] Aye. Mr. Nelson. Aye. Mr. Applegate. Aye. Vice Chair Williams. Aye. And the chair votes aye. That passes 5-0. We are in executive session.

[5:50:10] Mr. Noon, we are returning from executive session. Do I have a motion to come out of executive

[5:50:15] session?

[5:50:16] So moved.

[5:50:19] Second.

[5:50:20] Okay, that has been moved and seconded. I'll call the roll. Mr. Weissang?

[5:50:24] Aye.

[5:50:25] Mr. Nelson?

[5:50:26] Aye.

[5:50:27] Vice Chair Williams?

[5:50:28] Aye.

[5:50:29] And the Chair votes aye. That passes 4-0 and we have a statement from our attorney.

[5:50:33] Thank you, Madam Chair. The Board is exiting executive session at which legal advice was

[5:50:38] given and instruction was given to negotiators on items 15a and c and legal advice was provided

[5:50:44] to the board on item 15b. The board made no formal decisions at any of the executive

[5:50:49] sessions.

[5:50:51] Okay, for that we've come to the end of our agenda. This meeting is adjourned.

BOCC Regular Meeting

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