1
00:01:16,690 --> 00:01:25,010
Order the town council meeting on June 23, 2026. Will you please, please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Do

2
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:39,160
the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it sends one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

3
00:01:43,670 --> 00:01:46,050
Okay, well, the town clerk, please take roll.

4
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:55,160
Mayor Pro Tembel.

5
00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:55,780
Here.

6
00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,840
Commissioner of Council Member Fair.

7
00:01:59,360 --> 00:01:59,720
Present.

8
00:02:00,300 --> 00:02:01,340
Council Member Mordelera.

9
00:02:01,780 --> 00:02:01,880
Here.

10
00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:03,700
Council Member O'Connor.

11
00:02:04,020 --> 00:02:04,240
Present.

12
00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:06,240
Council Member Pessima Rowling.

13
00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:06,900
Present.

14
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:08,460
Council Member Hoback.

15
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:08,920
Here.

16
00:02:09,260 --> 00:02:10,040
And Mayor Moore.

17
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:10,600
Here.

18
00:02:10,900 --> 00:02:11,540
There you have a form.

19
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:12,900
All right, thank you.

20
00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,820
All right, do we have a motion to approve the agenda tonight?

21
00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:16,960
So move.

22
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:17,820
So I can.

23
00:02:17,820 --> 00:02:21,100
The motion is second, all in favor say aye.

24
00:02:21,540 --> 00:02:21,740
Aye.

25
00:02:22,540 --> 00:02:23,540
All opposed, say no.

26
00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:26,120
Motion carries, we have an agenda.

27
00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,200
We've got a number of items on the consent agenda,

28
00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:30,860
so bear with me as I read through these.

29
00:02:31,580 --> 00:02:36,960
The first item is 2026-408, approval of the May 26th,

30
00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,320
2026 town council meeting minutes.

31
00:02:40,340 --> 00:02:44,440
Item 2026-405, Proclamation of Parks and Recreation Month,

32
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,360
sponsored by Mayor Potem Bell and Council Member O'Connor.

33
00:02:48,020 --> 00:02:57,720
Item number 2026-223, a resolution to the town council of the town area approving the agreement for services with Western Plains construction for asphalt maintenance services.

34
00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:09,860
Item 2026-364, a resolution to the town council of the town area approving the First Amendment to the construction contract with Goodland Construction Incorporated for the downtown infrastructure improvements.

35
00:03:09,860 --> 00:03:18,300
Item 2026-367, an ordinance of the Town Council of the Town Area Mending, sections 912-914,

36
00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:23,720
a chapter 1 title 9 of the Eury Municipal Code to correct and update internal cross references.

37
00:03:24,540 --> 00:03:37,800
Item 2026-369, a resolution of the Town Council of the Town Area approving an amendment to construction contract with geosolutions for the Eury Lake Dam, Dam Seepage Rehabilitation.

38
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:43,920
Item 2026-374, a resolution of the town council of town area, approving a fourth amendment

39
00:03:44,380 --> 00:03:50,500
to the construction contract with HDR engineering incorporated for the Erie Lake Dam CPITry

40
00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:53,040
Habilitation Investigation Analysis and Design.

41
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,800
Item 2026-378, a resolution of the town council of town area, approving a first amendment to

42
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,580
the professional services agreement with CTL Thompson for the engineering services for Erie

43
00:04:03,580 --> 00:04:19,740
town center, and last on the consent agenda tonight is item 2026389, a resolution to town council of the town area approving a first amendment to professional services agreement with Kimberly Horn for the on-call multi-modal transportation and traffic planning contract.

44
00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:26,200
We have a motion to approve the consent agenda. So move, second, motion, second, any further discussion?

45
00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:43,960
All right, we'll go into public comment and I know there is a lot of public comment here tonight because so many people have signed up, we're reducing the time to two minutes per person.

46
00:04:44,740 --> 00:04:53,580
Please remember that public comment is not an interactive question and answer for them, but rather a time for you to state your comments on a particular item or issue.

47
00:04:53,580 --> 00:04:58,140
Public comment provides the opportunity to discuss items that are not public hearings.

48
00:04:58,540 --> 00:04:59,960
Please sign up using the key.

49
00:05:01,060 --> 00:05:27,380
If you have a handout, please give it to the town clerk. They will distribute it to council and include it in the meeting record. When called upon, please state your full name and location for the record. Public comment is limited to three minutes per person. You'll excuse me, limited to two minutes per person. You'll be given a 22nd warning when your two minutes are almost at. At the three minute mark, two minute mark, you'll be asked to wrap up your final sentence.

50
00:05:28,540 --> 00:05:34,080
I think all of you were handed a card tonight just to set expectations, we didn't get a card,

51
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,080
they're out there, but I'm going to read it right now.

52
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,380
We know that this is a contentious topic, and so it's important that we all respect

53
00:05:41,380 --> 00:05:46,360
each other and allow opinions to be stated here tonight.

54
00:05:46,940 --> 00:05:51,260
So to ensure everyone feels welcome to share their comments, it's imperative that we respect

55
00:05:51,260 --> 00:05:55,500
the process and do not disrupt the proceedings with disruptive behavior.

56
00:05:55,500 --> 00:06:00,740
We ask that you were framed from cheering, clapping, booing, or loudly talking from the audience.

57
00:06:01,140 --> 00:06:05,220
Overly disrupted behavior, which interferes with the meaning will not be tolerated.

58
00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,260
Those disrupting the meaning will be asked to stop their disrupted behavior.

59
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,280
Refusal to comply may result in being removed from the council chambers.

60
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:20,480
And so we're just asking everybody to be respectful of everybody's views that are in the room tonight.

61
00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:26,080
Okay, with that, I'll look to our town clerk to see who has signed up tonight.

62
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:33,700
So our first speaker is Blue Spikes, followed by Don Colicino and Nita Chedir.

63
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:41,440
So if you're being called on deck, if you can just maybe line up over here, that'll help

64
00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:42,280
us keep it moving.

65
00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,960
We also know there are some people in the overflow area, so this gives them a time to make

66
00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:48,040
their way here to the chambers.

67
00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:48,740
Welcome.

68
00:06:48,740 --> 00:06:52,140
Hi, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

69
00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:53,820
My name is Blue Spikes.

70
00:06:54,500 --> 00:06:56,920
I've lived in Erie with my family since 2013.

71
00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:02,400
During that time, most of Erie's oil and gas reserves have been developed through horizontal

72
00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,680
drilling, and we've lived here through most of that.

73
00:07:05,460 --> 00:07:09,720
I have a PhD in geology, and I own a geological consulting company here at Erie.

74
00:07:10,540 --> 00:07:13,560
Mineral evaluations is one of the services that I provide.

75
00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,340
While I have no involvement in this transaction, I have done

76
00:07:18,340 --> 00:07:22,480
In my own kind of quick evaluation, this is something I do on a regular basis, so I thought

77
00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,260
I should take a look since it's in my own backyard.

78
00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,700
And I can see that this agreement is beneficial to the town.

79
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:36,320
Erie gains surface acreage, upfront cash, royalty revenues, and the plugging of 39 wells,

80
00:07:36,780 --> 00:07:38,260
17 of those prematurely.

81
00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:44,760
Selling mineral rights isn't always a good idea, but in this case, it does make sense because

82
00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:55,280
Because the surrounding minerals are about to be depleted and the city's acreage position is too small and disjointed to retain any real value once that occurs.

83
00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:57,200
That is a real consideration.

84
00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:03,520
The 3% royalty rate is higher than I normally see given the city's acreage position.

85
00:08:04,420 --> 00:08:13,040
The estimated $25 million in revenues is conservative, I think, I do think it's going to be higher based on the performance of other wells in the area.

86
00:08:13,900 --> 00:08:20,000
Most of the money will be made in the first two years of production, so we won't have to wait long to see most of this revenue.

87
00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:27,820
I understand people are leery of the consulting contract and I've heard a lot about that, but I can say otherwise this is a good deal.

88
00:08:28,860 --> 00:08:31,060
Given the reality, the drakego is going to happen.

89
00:08:32,060 --> 00:08:33,040
My position is simple.

90
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,180
If we have to experience the impact, then our community should also receive the benefits.

91
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,800
And I think, yes, it's the only way to do that.

92
00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:42,940
Thank you. All right. Thank you.

93
00:08:45,260 --> 00:08:50,040
Next is Don Colicino, followed by Nita Chettier and Heather Alden.

94
00:08:50,680 --> 00:09:10,680
My name is Don Colicino. I'm a 20 year eerie resident. Based on the defeated council members' comments at last week's meeting, council member Bell's comments to the press and Matthew Owen's social media posts, it appears that you're either missing the point of our comments or deliberately shifting the topic.

95
00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,320
I want to be very, very clear.

96
00:09:13,700 --> 00:09:18,900
My objection to this mineral rights contract is not about impeding the Draco Pad project.

97
00:09:19,420 --> 00:09:21,240
We all understand that's a done deal.

98
00:09:22,060 --> 00:09:28,220
Like most of the commenters at last week's meeting, my objective objection is about the

99
00:09:28,220 --> 00:09:32,580
corruption of the town's process for engaging and managing contractors.

100
00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:38,220
Without even looking for a mineral rights expert, you hired a former executive of an oil and

101
00:09:38,220 --> 00:09:45,560
company who reached out to Mayor Moore, asking to advise you on what his formal

102
00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:51,380
employer wants to buy from you. By itself, that calls your judgment into question.

103
00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:56,720
The facts that you base that decision on conversations that you held behind

104
00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,960
closed doors out of public view, refused to disclose

105
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:29,200
There are no closed, any of those conversations to irreresonance, including the topics that are not protected by the Colorado Open Records Act, an instructed the consultant to skip the competitive bids required in the contract, gives me the impression that you have something to hide. Your secrecy is fueling speculation about your motivations. Maintaining that secrecy despite the objections of all these residents indicates that what would be revealed by disclosing those discussions

106
00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,760
must be worse than what we already suspect.

107
00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:33,740
That's not a small issue.

108
00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,940
It goes to the heart of the trust your constituents put in you.

109
00:10:38,300 --> 00:10:41,840
It's not enough to say you'll investigate your violation of the town's policy

110
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,640
and promise not to do it again.

111
00:10:44,300 --> 00:10:47,480
Both contracts, the contract to hire Alameda Minerals

112
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,500
and the Mineral Rights Sale Contract, should be null and void, period.

113
00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,760
Once again, I ask that you do not approve the Mineral Rights Sale Contract

114
00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:00,980
until you complete a competitive bidding process to determine the market value of our mineral rights

115
00:11:00,980 --> 00:11:06,420
and get a second opinion on the entire process from another mineral's valuation expert

116
00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:09,120
chosen through open public discussion.

117
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:09,800
Thank you.

118
00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:11,120
All right, thank you.

119
00:11:12,940 --> 00:11:20,940
Next, we have Nita Chettier, followed by Heather Alden and Crystal Laraza.

120
00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:27,680
Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

121
00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:32,420
members. My name is Nita Chattiar and I live in Flatine Meadows, one of the communities

122
00:11:32,420 --> 00:11:37,580
that would be directly drilled under. I am asking you to vote no on the sale of towns

123
00:11:37,580 --> 00:11:44,000
minerals. My concern is simple. There are still too many unanswered questions. Colorado

124
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:50,780
law now prevents force-fooling of municipal mineral rights, and the town's own website states

125
00:11:50,780 --> 00:11:58,080
that SM energy may need to redesign the project, drill around the minerals or abandon access

126
00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:58,880
to some of them.

127
00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,520
If this is true, then E.D. still has leverage.

128
00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:06,120
If this is no longer true, what has changed?

129
00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:11,860
The public continues to hear different answers about what SM energy can or cannot do.

130
00:12:12,340 --> 00:12:20,340
Can anyone provide definite documentation showing exactly what rights and options remain available

131
00:12:20,340 --> 00:12:28,220
to SM Energy if eerie keeps its mineral rights. This proposal failed last week. As a resident

132
00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:34,380
I would like to know what new information has emerged since June 16 that justifies bringing

133
00:12:34,380 --> 00:12:40,620
this matter back before Council. If there is new information, please share it publicly. If there

134
00:12:40,620 --> 00:12:46,520
is not, why should the outcome be different this time? I am also concerned about the consultant's

135
00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:51,960
compensation structure, according to publicly available information, Alameda's compensation

136
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,740
is contingent on the transaction being completed.

137
00:12:55,340 --> 00:12:58,300
And no commission is paid if no deal occurs.

138
00:12:58,980 --> 00:13:05,500
I'm not alleging wrongdoing, however, when compensation is dependent on a successful transaction,

139
00:13:06,180 --> 00:13:09,400
residents should expect a higher level of transparency and scrutiny.

140
00:13:10,260 --> 00:13:14,300
And I keep returning to one question that has never been adequately answered.

141
00:13:14,300 --> 00:13:22,280
If these mineral rights have little effect on Draco, why SM energy keeps pursuing them so aggressively?

142
00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:29,220
The existence of negotiation and us gathering here, again, for a vote, suggests these rights have value.

143
00:13:29,620 --> 00:13:39,100
Until the facts are clear, the process is fully transparent and residents receive direct answers to questions raised here today and those submitted via email.

144
00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,320
I respectfully ask you to vote no. Thank you.

145
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:43,440
Thank you.

146
00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:51,240
So I'm showing Heather Alden as our next speaker, but I believe she's pulled her time

147
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,620
with Crystal Lerasa, Lerasa, is that right?

148
00:13:58,420 --> 00:13:58,800
Good evening.

149
00:13:59,140 --> 00:13:59,460
Good evening.

150
00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:00,680
My name is Lerasa Krista.

151
00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:01,520
Thank you.

152
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,460
I'm a resident here in Erie, a mother, a wife, a physicist, a CU professor.

153
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,520
I have lived in Erie for 11 years.

154
00:14:09,180 --> 00:14:10,480
I had my house built here.

155
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:14,140
I stood on the background before all the houses were built in our neighborhood.

156
00:14:14,140 --> 00:14:16,800
My child has been at Medellar since kindergarten.

157
00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:20,860
I watched with joy and excitement as our town took off.

158
00:14:21,140 --> 00:14:24,260
A new school, new restaurants, so many new businesses.

159
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,440
Our property values have doubled in the past decade.

160
00:14:28,260 --> 00:14:32,140
And what is that if not a clear sign that Erie is thriving?

161
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:34,840
And it is attractive in its own right.

162
00:14:35,660 --> 00:14:37,860
Young professional families are moving to Erie.

163
00:14:38,420 --> 00:14:41,700
We heard a young man last week who said he moved here

164
00:14:41,700 --> 00:14:44,640
because Eri was a beautiful place to raise a family.

165
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,680
He also said that he will move and not raise his children here

166
00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,140
if the deal goes through.

167
00:14:50,780 --> 00:14:53,000
I have never thought I would consider moving.

168
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,300
I love this place, but I do now.

169
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,960
And if you are not concerned about the health impacts of oil and gas activities...

170
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:26,460
In our neighborhoods, surely at least you care about your property values. We are told we should accept this deal because drilling will happen anyway. That framing was written by a man whose fee is contingent on this deal closing. The town's own presentation to this council on June 2nd stated that only mineral rights must be avoided by the operator.

171
00:15:26,460 --> 00:15:34,800
Selling those rights permanently surrenders the strongest legal tool this town has to protect its own residents.

172
00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,580
And let's talk about what we're being offered.

173
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:43,720
The town's own officials project the real value at approximately 17 million. This is from a record.

174
00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,380
From a 2% revenue share over 20 years.

175
00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:55,960
We are being asked to permanently surrender our strongest legal protection for less than 5% of one year's town budget.

176
00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:05,720
it. Meanwhile, SM Energy's profit at 98% comes to 850 million. What is that if not shameless

177
00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:13,840
profit-earing? They are offering to Pog 17 wells as a benefit. That is basic safety

178
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:20,080
obligation and not a gift. The Mineral Rights Sale Fair last Tuesday, why was this vote

179
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:27,360
resurrected in such a hurry. We are informed on a Saturday, one business day before the revote.

180
00:16:28,340 --> 00:16:33,500
Last week we heard all these people speak up against this deal. Hundreds of residents are

181
00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:39,980
disgruntled. We have about the sale of the mineral rights, and drilling under our homes,

182
00:16:40,380 --> 00:16:45,400
under our school. Let us have been signed. The Attorney General has been involved. The meeting

183
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:51,120
attracted enough people to fill the chamber. That week and now too. What else do you need to see

184
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:57,420
that we do not want this deal? Last week, Mr. O'Connor heard our arguments and listened to us,

185
00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:04,900
and the sales failed on a 3-2-3 vote. After that vote, the Alameda CEO publicly lobbied for this

186
00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:12,180
revote. Alameda's fee up to 4.5 million is contingent on this deal closing.

187
00:17:12,180 --> 00:17:18,780
draw your own conclusions why we are here today. But let us give grace to people, yes,

188
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:26,300
assume that we are here to make it loud and crystal clear that we do not want this deal.

189
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:34,400
Let us see at least for no votes today. Let's see who listens to the residents and will put our

190
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:43,940
community's health and well-being ahead of money. Our town is thriving. We do not need this deal.

191
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:53,480
I am here to ask you kindly to do the right thing. Listen to us. Please, and vote no.

192
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:55,820
Thank you so much. All right, thank you.

193
00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:03,700
Next is Karen Carroll Campbell, followed by

194
00:18:03,700 --> 00:18:08,240
Eric Lillard and Sarah Baird, I'm a deal.

195
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:12,860
My name is Carol Campbell.

196
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,620
I'm a resident of Erie, Reciting and Morgan Hill.

197
00:18:15,980 --> 00:18:17,560
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

198
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,440
I must say I'm very disappointed in having to comment on this contract and agreement

199
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:23,480
and so soon.

200
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,620
Our main concern about the council and contract process is followed.

201
00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,640
Complex of interest, information provided and not provided.

202
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:39,580
communications and social media, ethics, possible violations of council conversation rules

203
00:18:39,580 --> 00:18:41,640
within and outside of the council.

204
00:18:42,430 --> 00:18:46,720
The only thing that I'm aware of that has changed since the last meeting is a LinkedIn

205
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:53,200
post in the town's consultant, which look like a lobbying effort and a call for oil and

206
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,680
gas supporters to rise up and contact town council members.

207
00:18:57,430 --> 00:19:02,360
There are some statements on social media that there are now more comments in favor of

208
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:03,260
this deal than not.

209
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,260
If you truly cared about what the town thought,

210
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:08,580
you would take this important decision to a vote.

211
00:19:09,140 --> 00:19:11,300
Just because S and energy isn't a rush

212
00:19:11,300 --> 00:19:12,960
doesn't mean we have to be.

213
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,240
I do not know if this is the best deal that the town could get,

214
00:19:17,660 --> 00:19:19,500
or if it is the right deal for Erie.

215
00:19:20,060 --> 00:19:23,660
I wonder how much actual value now in the future

216
00:19:23,660 --> 00:19:26,680
will you also receive once the consultant takes his cut?

217
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,400
I know that we are in non-attainment for ozone,

218
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:41,380
which is exacerbated by oil and gas development, and that I have not been able to go outside to recreate without feeling ill due to many bad air quality days this summer including today.

219
00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:51,940
This development will not help our ozone problem. I know that well closings proposed have a start date, but do not have an end date for remediation of this agreement.

220
00:19:51,940 --> 00:19:59,860
The oil and gas industry is famous for not providing enough financial assurance for well closures going bank.

221
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:18,780
We are not corrupt and never closing wells, which exacerbate our air quality issues. I recommend providing more analysis on options, getting additional bids on the town's mineral rights in a more transparent process. We should not be held hostage to SM Energy's timeline. Thank you. Thank you.

222
00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:29,900
Thank you. Next is Eric Lillard, who has pulled with Diane Lillard, and then we have Sarah Baird Amadillo and Christine Hackett-Eisenberg.

223
00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:35,540
Good evening, my name is Eric Lillard, and I live in Flat Iron Metals subdivision in

224
00:20:35,540 --> 00:20:36,800
District 1 here in Erie.

225
00:20:37,140 --> 00:20:42,840
I recently retired in 2025 after serving as Senior Director of Software Engineering

226
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:44,700
at Discover Financial Services.

227
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:50,460
I share that background because much of my professional career is involved working with

228
00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:53,540
structured policies, procedures, and risk management.

229
00:20:54,260 --> 00:20:57,880
That experience shapes how I am viewing the concerns before us tonight.

230
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:03,980
This Council is divided, and the public has seen finger pointing and accusations that

231
00:21:03,980 --> 00:21:05,380
is damage public trust.

232
00:21:06,460 --> 00:21:12,340
Mayor Pro Tembelle, Mayor Moore, as two of the senior most leaders on this Council, your

233
00:21:12,340 --> 00:21:14,000
leadership is critical right now.

234
00:21:14,740 --> 00:21:20,660
This Council will not return to a functional state if members are spoken to as them or they.

235
00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:23,020
This is not effective leadership.

236
00:21:23,020 --> 00:21:29,000
Mayor Pro Tem Bill, just last week, you stated that three council members chose a path of

237
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:34,660
obstruction, did not cooperate, and did not raise concerns until late in the process.

238
00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:40,900
For the three council members, Mayor Pro Tem Bill referenced a kneel, dan, and Emily.

239
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:46,840
You have been characterized as not voicing your concerns until late in the process and

240
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:48,500
seeking to sabotage the deal.

241
00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:50,640
Those are strong accusations.

242
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:55,400
I welcome your response in your commentary after the public speaks.

243
00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:00,160
This is not intended to be a he said she said moment.

244
00:22:00,780 --> 00:22:05,440
It goes to the heart of what many residents here are concerned about tonight.

245
00:22:06,060 --> 00:22:09,720
A lack of trust and transparency throughout this process.

246
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:16,440
Embarrowing a line from Tom Hanks in the movie Apollo 13, Erie, we have a problem.

247
00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:23,120
Mayor Moore, you have spoken several times about your responsibility to be fiscally

248
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:29,640
and fiduciary responsible. I respect that responsibility. There is another responsibility

249
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:35,900
of equal importance, and that is the responsibility to follow the town of Erie's procurement policies

250
00:22:35,900 --> 00:22:42,900
and procedures. Under your leadership, the deal is ignoring the key component of the procurement

251
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:45,900
Government policy, and that is a significant risk.

252
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,680
You have openly acknowledged the steel, did not follow the town's procurement process

253
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:57,460
procedures, yet you continued to push the deal forward at breakneck pace, and put the

254
00:22:57,460 --> 00:22:59,160
town at obvious risk.

255
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,960
Procurement policies exist for a reason.

256
00:23:03,860 --> 00:23:10,660
They are designed to protect the town, protect taxpayers, and prevent even the appearance of

257
00:23:10,660 --> 00:23:17,740
favoritism, insight dealing, or conflicts of interest. These are genuine concerns given

258
00:23:17,740 --> 00:23:22,120
the nature of how the contract with Alameda Mineral Advisors came to be.

259
00:23:23,300 --> 00:23:30,220
If the town moves forward, not following its policy, it creates public suspicion and risk.

260
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:38,140
It also demonstrates to the public auditors, regulators, attorneys, and the Attorney General

261
00:23:38,140 --> 00:23:49,160
that your aspirations to get this deal approved is more important than preventing legal and financial risks to the town you are elected to serve.

262
00:23:50,120 --> 00:24:02,420
I am not saying anyone acted improperly, but I am saying that by ignoring the speech of policy, you are creating a potential legal mess for the town of Erie.

263
00:24:02,420 --> 00:24:03,800
We don't need that.

264
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,460
Rather than pressing forward under a cloud of concern,

265
00:24:08,020 --> 00:24:10,220
the responsible course is to pause.

266
00:24:10,820 --> 00:24:12,220
Correct the prime second.

267
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,340
And ensure the town is adhering to its own policies.

268
00:24:16,100 --> 00:24:18,260
Mayor Moore, at last week's meeting,

269
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,180
you described this issue as not following best practices.

270
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,500
Respectfully, this is not proper framing.

271
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:26,660
This is not a best practice issue.

272
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,680
This is a policies and procedures issue.

273
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:36,060
those are very different things with very different consequences. In closing, to the

274
00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:42,420
seven of you voting tonight, doing the right thing is often a difficult thing to do,

275
00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:49,080
but it is still the right thing to do. Do not put the town of Erie at legal and

276
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:56,560
financial risk by moving to steal forward knowing a critical procurement process

277
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,540
this was not followed. This is negligence.

278
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,380
And with negligence comes consequences. Thank you.

279
00:25:08,460 --> 00:25:14,020
Sarah Baird, I'm a DO. Christine had to Eisenberg and Marianne Volkowitz.

280
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:36,000
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Dr. Sarah Baird, a Modio. And I live in Country Fields Country Meadows. I am directly downwind from the leak that occurred at will, well, 124. I have Parkinson's and I have EGBA Vasculitis, which you've been shown to have a high correlation

281
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,660
with exposure to environmental toxins.

282
00:25:41,170 --> 00:25:42,350
A funny thing happened yesterday.

283
00:25:42,710 --> 00:25:45,590
It happened after Councilman O'Connor bravely cast his vote

284
00:25:45,590 --> 00:25:46,750
in the last meeting.

285
00:25:47,110 --> 00:25:49,550
Social media lit up with the same verbatim talking points

286
00:25:49,550 --> 00:25:52,290
and AI-generated pseudonalysis against his decision.

287
00:25:52,710 --> 00:25:53,570
It's a done deal.

288
00:25:53,910 --> 00:25:54,790
Might as well get the revenue.

289
00:25:55,250 --> 00:25:56,230
They're going to drill anyway.

290
00:25:56,730 --> 00:25:57,530
And I thought about it.

291
00:25:57,570 --> 00:26:00,470
Where had I heard those talking points before?

292
00:26:01,170 --> 00:26:03,110
This all led me to rewatch the video

293
00:26:03,110 --> 00:26:05,010
from December 16th special meetings

294
00:26:05,010 --> 00:26:10,090
specifically the part about item 25659 and the professional service agreement with

295
00:26:10,090 --> 00:26:14,210
Alameda Mineral Advisors because that's where the talking points really started to service.

296
00:26:14,730 --> 00:26:18,810
At the meeting, Dr. Frank explained the importance of competitive biz, which we're all hearing about

297
00:26:18,810 --> 00:26:24,070
here tonight. But he also elaborated upon the questioning coming from Councilwoman Bair

298
00:26:24,070 --> 00:26:29,210
when she brought up the new state law as it relates to the sale or sale of lease or sales of offers.

299
00:26:29,210 --> 00:26:32,310
Senate Bill 24185.

300
00:26:33,310 --> 00:26:36,850
Dr. Frank did his best to explain his full of jargon, la la la la.

301
00:26:37,170 --> 00:26:41,610
Now my career as an educator is to break down concepts into more comprehensible bites.

302
00:26:42,190 --> 00:26:43,750
So let's break that down again, shall we?

303
00:26:44,270 --> 00:26:47,510
The trickiest word, there is force pooling.

304
00:26:48,190 --> 00:26:52,350
Essentially what this means is that oil and gas companies cannot force various bits of

305
00:26:52,350 --> 00:26:54,250
land into a single drilling unit.

306
00:26:54,910 --> 00:27:01,810
In essence, it protects and the key work here is protects the municipal owners of that

307
00:27:01,810 --> 00:27:04,730
land from being forced into doing something they don't want to do.

308
00:27:05,890 --> 00:27:10,230
If municipal owners of this part of land do not want to be drilled, they do not have to

309
00:27:10,230 --> 00:27:10,930
be forced to.

310
00:27:11,290 --> 00:27:14,030
They can keep the oil and gas company from drilling on their land.

311
00:27:14,390 --> 00:27:16,110
They have agency.

312
00:27:17,250 --> 00:27:20,470
Their hands are not tied like they were in the past before this law.

313
00:27:20,470 --> 00:27:25,490
So looking at our situation here, Erie owns certain unleased parcels of land and have

314
00:27:25,490 --> 00:27:26,090
mineral rights.

315
00:27:26,890 --> 00:27:30,390
Draco wants to drill through them and force pool them into one unit just like they did

316
00:27:30,390 --> 00:27:31,750
before this law was passed.

317
00:27:32,510 --> 00:27:36,330
They can't do that now unless Erie allows them.

318
00:27:37,230 --> 00:27:41,410
The drilling under our neighborhoods is not assumed to be a done deal.

319
00:27:42,410 --> 00:27:47,050
Contrary to your words, Maramore, Erie gets to choose.

320
00:27:47,670 --> 00:27:52,650
are citizens get to choose, which leads me now to this choice.

321
00:27:52,790 --> 00:27:55,350
In the very ethical and financial, it's a way to do it.

322
00:27:55,610 --> 00:27:58,950
We need to wrap up lessons, please, just to give everybody else.

323
00:27:58,950 --> 00:28:00,810
It's a two-minute time frame.

324
00:28:00,970 --> 00:28:02,270
Have I heard my 20 seconds?

325
00:28:02,830 --> 00:28:02,970
Yes.

326
00:28:03,350 --> 00:28:04,110
Okay, I apologize.

327
00:28:04,790 --> 00:28:09,950
So I do want to congratulate me our bear for her efforts and for her comments.

328
00:28:10,210 --> 00:28:10,790
And that's cool.

329
00:28:11,110 --> 00:28:11,490
Thank you.

330
00:28:13,190 --> 00:28:16,910
But I do want to also direct this directly to you, Mayor Moore.

331
00:28:16,910 --> 00:28:19,010
that we might just will get something out of it.

332
00:28:19,390 --> 00:28:21,510
We will get something out of it if we vote no.

333
00:28:21,930 --> 00:28:23,630
We will get our reputation as a community

334
00:28:23,630 --> 00:28:25,630
that holds its values and its residents health

335
00:28:25,630 --> 00:28:27,030
and safety and high priority.

336
00:28:27,370 --> 00:28:29,290
We will get the reputation as a community

337
00:28:29,290 --> 00:28:33,150
that holds its property values for generations to come.

338
00:28:33,270 --> 00:28:34,470
All right, I need you to wrap up.

339
00:28:34,590 --> 00:28:36,270
We have a lot of people to speak tonight.

340
00:28:36,370 --> 00:28:37,430
I need to stick to the rules

341
00:28:37,430 --> 00:28:39,350
out of equity for everybody here.

342
00:28:39,710 --> 00:28:40,290
Thank you.

343
00:28:40,470 --> 00:28:40,950
Please vote no.

344
00:28:41,190 --> 00:28:41,450
Okay.

345
00:28:41,450 --> 00:28:41,510
Okay.

346
00:28:44,170 --> 00:28:50,330
Next is Christine Heisenberg, who is pooling with Rob Eisenberg, then we have Mary Ann Bolkovets

347
00:28:50,330 --> 00:28:51,390
and Braun Mitchell.

348
00:28:56,250 --> 00:28:59,610
My name is Christine Heisenberg and I see my time to Rob Eisenberg.

349
00:29:00,390 --> 00:29:00,590
Okay.

350
00:29:08,540 --> 00:29:09,460
Thanks to my wife.

351
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:10,180
Her sheeding.

352
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:11,520
Her time to me.

353
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:12,140
All right.

354
00:29:13,260 --> 00:29:14,380
That might be a first.

355
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:17,960
Okay.

356
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:20,560
And Rob, if you just pull the mic close to you.

357
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:21,020
This one?

358
00:29:21,180 --> 00:29:21,280
Yeah.

359
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:21,660
That one.

360
00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:22,520
Okay.

361
00:29:22,620 --> 00:29:22,800
Hello.

362
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:24,120
My name is Rob Eisenberg.

363
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:30,420
I've lived in District 1 since 2020, and here's my take on the reality of the vote.

364
00:29:31,340 --> 00:29:36,180
Voting note, asselling the town's mineral rights will not stop the drilling under our homes

365
00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:36,740
and schools.

366
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,800
I think you know this, and no vote does not stop the drilling.

367
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,860
So let's take a look at what a yes vote gets us.

368
00:29:44,540 --> 00:29:46,340
Let's start with what the residents want.

369
00:29:46,340 --> 00:29:54,260
Last year, 3,571 residents responded to the eerie community survey, writing at the top

370
00:29:54,260 --> 00:29:56,820
two or three priorities for the Count Town Council.

371
00:29:57,380 --> 00:29:59,960
I'll tie those priorities directly to the agreement to-

372
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:29,980
We sell our mineral rights in a moment. But first, let's look at what the agreement secures for us, for us. Most importantly, it secures the health and safety of the residents. This is Paramount Importance. A yes vote closes 17 additional oil and gas wells right here in Erie. A yes vote provides for our own on-site inspection of the Draco Pad Wellhead. Also important, the agreement secures a cash payout of $25 million, which is made up of a $4.5 million

373
00:30:29,980 --> 00:30:36,320
up front payment, plus $24 million in projected revenue, less than seven and a half percent

374
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:37,240
consultancy.

375
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:43,440
Add to that, the land transfer is projected to be to generate between 50 and 200 million

376
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,840
in sales tax revenues from new development.

377
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:48,360
That's an average of $125 million.

378
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:57,180
When you combine the $25 million cash payout with $125 million in tax revenue, you get $150 million

379
00:30:57,180 --> 00:30:58,020
to eerie.

380
00:30:58,020 --> 00:31:03,900
So now let's look at those survey answers and see exactly how the money can fund our top priorities.

381
00:31:04,380 --> 00:31:05,600
Let's review the data.

382
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:13,340
1,338 survey responses said our top issue is road maintenance, infrastructure and traffic.

383
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,920
$150 million provides a serious capital needed to invest in our roads and infrastructure.

384
00:31:19,740 --> 00:31:25,440
1,256 survey responses said residents want better shopping and dining.

385
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,400
The land transfer directly drives this development.

386
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:36,480
706 survey responses said residents want more recreation fields and courts, a new pool and expanded rec centers.

387
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,380
150 million dollars can make those facilities a reality.

388
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:47,900
690 revenue responses said residents want more bike trail connections, cross-work safety, and public transit.

389
00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,940
150 million dollars will fund a safer, more connected town.

390
00:31:51,940 --> 00:32:05,120
390 survey responses said residents are worried about water costs and water availability, trees and zero-scaping, $150 million gives us the flexibility to invest in environmental resilience.

391
00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:14,980
207 survey responses said residents want affordable housing, $150 million provide the resources necessary to support housing initiatives.

392
00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:27,420
Choice is clear, town council received 3,571 resident responses to the last year's survey, indicating what the resident wants, and they gave the town council a clear roadmap.

393
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,180
Now we have a realistic way to pay for it.

394
00:32:30,540 --> 00:32:33,520
Listen to the residents and vote yes to the amendment, please.

395
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:34,240
Thank you.

396
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:35,140
All right, thank you.

397
00:32:40,670 --> 00:32:43,950
So next we have Mary Ann Wolkevetz.

398
00:32:43,950 --> 00:32:45,850
Hello, my name is Mary on bulk of that,

399
00:32:46,010 --> 00:32:47,890
and I'm a resident in Col Creek neighborhood.

400
00:32:48,530 --> 00:32:50,850
I spoke last week and I appreciate the opportunity

401
00:32:50,850 --> 00:32:51,710
to speak again.

402
00:32:52,250 --> 00:32:54,890
I will tell you that I don't think that I was fully informed

403
00:32:54,890 --> 00:32:57,410
when I spoke last week, and I've done my homework.

404
00:32:58,250 --> 00:33:03,150
And I would say that my opinion has crystallized

405
00:33:03,150 --> 00:33:04,330
and hasn't changed.

406
00:33:05,130 --> 00:33:07,710
I talked with my sister who always gives me good counsel

407
00:33:07,710 --> 00:33:11,810
and excellent questions and has good insight.

408
00:33:11,810 --> 00:33:17,790
I also spoke with my brother, who's a petroleum engineer, and my brother really poured through

409
00:33:18,370 --> 00:33:24,190
everything that I sent him and helped me to understand what I could understand about

410
00:33:24,190 --> 00:33:25,330
this process.

411
00:33:26,090 --> 00:33:31,070
And I guess the three things that are most important to me this evening, the first is that we talk

412
00:33:31,070 --> 00:33:32,270
to each other with respect.

413
00:33:32,850 --> 00:33:35,770
And I appreciated what we got when we walked in tonight.

414
00:33:36,790 --> 00:33:41,450
No matter what, the town of Erie will win some things and lose some things.

415
00:33:41,450 --> 00:33:46,750
No matter which decision is made, there will be some things that will be good, and some things that won't.

416
00:33:47,070 --> 00:33:54,110
I think it's disingenuous to claim anything else, and I referenced Mike Mansfield who was the

417
00:33:54,110 --> 00:33:59,670
senator when I was a kid growing up in Montana. He said in politics you can question a person's

418
00:33:59,670 --> 00:34:05,930
judgment but not their motivation. I think that's really sincerely very important that we don't

419
00:34:07,010 --> 00:34:11,490
better each other with words that just aren't helpful.

420
00:34:12,090 --> 00:34:18,030
The second thing that I'm asking for is that there be more information about what the

421
00:34:18,030 --> 00:34:19,670
benefits of a no vote would be.

422
00:34:20,010 --> 00:34:24,190
We've heard a lot about what the benefits of a yes vote would be, but there are benefits

423
00:34:24,190 --> 00:34:25,070
for a no vote.

424
00:34:25,490 --> 00:34:31,310
And I think that the town residents deserve to hear that and that we should have the opportunity

425
00:34:31,310 --> 00:34:39,690
as a town to vote, barring that if you don't agree with that, then I would ask that you

426
00:34:39,690 --> 00:34:40,110
vote no.

427
00:34:41,390 --> 00:34:47,350
I saw the cartoon in LinkedIn from the consultant and I found it very distressing.

428
00:34:50,910 --> 00:34:52,550
We don't have to demean each other.

429
00:34:52,750 --> 00:34:57,630
We don't have to pretend like the people who think differently than we do are just idiots.

430
00:34:58,170 --> 00:34:59,050
That's not the case.

431
00:34:59,050 --> 00:34:59,950
We all have

432
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:29,580
I have our own opinions, there's reasons for those opinions. I know that you all are tasked with a very difficult decision, and this is not an easy one. But I think that, again, we need to be respectful with each other. I saw in some of the comments that there were people who felt like they were being told to keep their mouth shut if they wanted a yes vote. I end that they were being intimidated. I hope that's not true.

433
00:35:29,580 --> 00:35:35,980
I don't know anything about that, but again, we need to be being respectful for each

434
00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:36,240
other.

435
00:35:36,420 --> 00:35:42,520
And so I would end by asking that you put a vote forward to the town, and that if

436
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,240
you can't do that, that you vote no.

437
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:45,080
Thank you.

438
00:35:45,420 --> 00:35:45,680
All right.

439
00:35:45,860 --> 00:35:46,220
Thank you.

440
00:35:47,580 --> 00:35:50,100
Next, we have Braun Minscher, who is online.

441
00:35:50,820 --> 00:35:53,800
Mr. Minscher, if you can hear me, you can go ahead and unmute and speak.

442
00:35:54,660 --> 00:35:55,360
Can you hear me?

443
00:35:57,500 --> 00:35:58,320
Can you hear me?

444
00:35:58,540 --> 00:35:58,820
Yep.

445
00:35:58,900 --> 00:35:59,360
We can hear you.

446
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:02,300
Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Town Council.

447
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:06,660
My name is Braun Mintra, my family and I are 10-year eerie residents.

448
00:36:07,380 --> 00:36:11,940
I will admit that I did not follow this issue closely before last week's vote.

449
00:36:12,580 --> 00:36:18,600
However, after seeing the level of public concern and confusion, I decided I needed to educate

450
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:19,080
myself.

451
00:36:19,900 --> 00:36:24,540
I reviewed as many public and sourceable materials as I could find.

452
00:36:24,540 --> 00:36:28,940
I also use the power of AI to help analyze that information.

453
00:36:29,900 --> 00:36:33,240
After debating whether to share my analysis publicly,

454
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,120
I decided it might help other residents who, like me,

455
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:41,520
were trying to understand the facts rather than just social media posts.

456
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:46,540
It is available in the comment packet and online with over 400 views.

457
00:36:47,220 --> 00:36:48,720
I want to be clear.

458
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,280
I did not set out to justify a predetermined conclusion.

459
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:57,760
decision, I tried to separate verifiable facts from uncertainty, speculation, and opinion.

460
00:36:58,580 --> 00:37:02,480
Reasonable people can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions.

461
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,580
We should be able to disagree without being disagreeable.

462
00:37:08,380 --> 00:37:12,000
Having done that review, I now support a yes vote.

463
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:18,020
The reason is straightforward, Draco and all 26 wells are happening.

464
00:37:18,020 --> 00:37:25,240
So the real question is not whether we like Draco. I do not. The real question is whether

465
00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:32,740
Erie is better off keeping a limited and uncertain middle rights position or exchanging that

466
00:37:32,740 --> 00:37:39,600
uncertainty for valuable surface real estate negotiated benefits and a more defined outcome.

467
00:37:40,620 --> 00:37:46,080
This deal is not perfect. There are valid concerns, issues and details the town should explain

468
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:51,600
more clearly during the two-month due diligence window, but I have not seen a factual source

469
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:56,440
face case showing that rejecting this agreement leaves eerie in a better position.

470
00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:56,960
20 seconds.

471
00:37:58,200 --> 00:37:59,640
Thank you for voting, yes.

472
00:38:01,140 --> 00:38:01,860
All right.

473
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:02,520
Thank you.

474
00:38:06,570 --> 00:38:10,870
Next is Joe Sagan, then Meredith Canode, and Steve Ernst.

475
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:19,480
Hi, I'm Joe Sagan.

476
00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:21,800
Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.

477
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:28,100
I do want to start out with something that struck me today.

478
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,360
Sorry, I get emotional when I talk.

479
00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:31,000
It's okay.

480
00:38:31,980 --> 00:38:35,540
Deep breath from my daughter from her school.

481
00:38:35,980 --> 00:38:37,440
And that was learn the truth.

482
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:39,240
Do the good.

483
00:38:40,100 --> 00:38:41,080
Love the beautiful.

484
00:38:42,220 --> 00:38:44,580
And that's what I'm asking you guys to do today.

485
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,740
I did send in a message and I just wanted to share it with everybody

486
00:38:49,740 --> 00:38:59,480
because I felt like, you know, I have some friends that are afraid to speak up and have been

487
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:09,440
threatened and things have been sent to them that are inappropriate, but that just struck me

488
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:15,460
today that it's just respect each other. We can have differences of opinions, respect each other,

489
00:39:15,460 --> 00:39:20,780
Okay, so I'm just going to read the email I sent so that it is public.

490
00:39:21,100 --> 00:39:25,720
I'm writing to ask you to reconsider the Draco Well in Minerite's proposal.

491
00:39:26,660 --> 00:39:31,500
While I did not initially follow this issue closely, I have spent significant time researching

492
00:39:31,500 --> 00:39:36,660
the situation since the recent vote in order to understand the community's concerns and

493
00:39:36,660 --> 00:39:37,800
details of the deal.

494
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:44,600
After consulting with trusted individuals knowledgeable in the oil and gas industry, who have absolutely

495
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:53,360
no stake in this proposal. I have come to believe that this agreement is in the best interest

496
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:59,500
of eerie. While I understand the opposition, I'm concerned that much of the resistance.

497
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:29,420
Stems from misinformation, regarding the confidential nature of the negotiations. As a business executive, I recognize that certain information cannot always be shared immediately. And I find that the unauthorized leaking of privilege of the privileged details to be absolutely unacceptable. Based on my understanding of the facts, public safety, capping the wells, mineral viability,

498
00:40:29,420 --> 00:40:33,120
We kind of lose the value of our minerals.

499
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,740
If we don't do this, it's pretty much surrounded by what Draco is going to do.

500
00:40:38,380 --> 00:40:48,140
And the economic benefit, it provides a significant monetary benefit to an area that is expensive to live in due to taxes.

501
00:40:49,940 --> 00:40:52,900
I hope that this helps with some of that.

502
00:40:52,900 --> 00:41:04,220
You know, the business I'm associated with pays in one month in property tax what our business in Wyoming pays in one year.

503
00:41:04,820 --> 00:41:08,320
So just think of small business when you do this as well.

504
00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:08,960
Thank you.

505
00:41:09,540 --> 00:41:09,740
All right.

506
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:10,340
Thank you.

507
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,220
We have Meredith Canode, Steve Ernst, and then Bob Brottis.

508
00:41:17,980 --> 00:41:19,920
Good evening mayor, good evening council members.

509
00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:22,540
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

510
00:41:22,540 --> 00:41:26,160
I'm asking you to let the June 16th no vote stand.

511
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:31,860
My concern comes down to three things, leverage, trust, and the future of this community.

512
00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,540
We all are aware that this vote does not stop the drilling.

513
00:41:35,940 --> 00:41:39,380
The most residents, as has been said today already, understand that.

514
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:44,180
The question is not whether the drilling stops or whether it happens.

515
00:41:44,780 --> 00:41:46,520
It's who holds the leverage when it does.

516
00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:51,120
If Erie retains its mineral rights, the town retains bargaining power and

517
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,080
we retain leverage, we can get oversight.

518
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,940
We're being asked to trade permanent public asset

519
00:41:56,940 --> 00:42:00,820
for one-time payment, uncertain promises, projections,

520
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,200
and oversight that we can't enforce.

521
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:05,820
Oversight is not the same thing as leverage.

522
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,820
Keeping the minerals preserves options,

523
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:10,980
selling removes them permanently.

524
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:12,980
Second, trust.

525
00:42:13,940 --> 00:42:16,020
Oil and gas companies are accountable to shareholders.

526
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:18,780
The talent of eerie when running appropriately

527
00:42:18,780 --> 00:42:20,640
is accountable to the town's people.

528
00:42:21,340 --> 00:42:23,300
We've seen companies change structures move on,

529
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:25,680
leaving long-term environmental and health impacts behind.

530
00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:28,700
That is not fiction, that is history, and it matters.

531
00:42:29,580 --> 00:42:32,480
At the June 16th meeting, residents were clearly opposed,

532
00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:35,320
both online as stated by Council members and in person.

533
00:42:35,900 --> 00:42:37,780
Hence the no vote, we thought it was settled.

534
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:40,580
Since then, as we all are aware of the Lincoln Post

535
00:42:40,580 --> 00:42:42,760
urging pressure on Council to reverse the vote,

536
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,540
and rhetoric that loudly ridiculed the people of Eerie

537
00:42:45,540 --> 00:42:47,300
for their opinions in a public forum,

538
00:42:47,300 --> 00:42:53,200
made me question the professionalism, dignity, diplomacy, and judgment of the person

539
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:54,060
that the town hired.

540
00:42:54,540 --> 00:42:59,600
So I want to ask this clearly, when the Lincoln Post was posted, who was it serving?

541
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:05,280
When outside, when people of Erie speak, who is it serving?

542
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:11,640
The big question for you today, bottom line is, who is being served when Erie speaks clearly,

543
00:43:12,060 --> 00:43:14,140
but the outcome is put back on the table.

544
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:15,720
Thank you.

545
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:17,100
Thank you.

546
00:43:20,260 --> 00:43:26,260
Steve Ernst, Bob Brottis, and Nehav Pessar Morelli.

547
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:30,940
My name is Steve Ernst. I'm a resident of and a homeowner in the town of Erie.

548
00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:35,580
I strongly encourage the town council to not sell Erie's mineral rights.

549
00:43:36,220 --> 00:43:38,260
Draco should never have been approved.

550
00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:43,520
Draco's health impacts have the potential to last decades, not weeks, months, or years.

551
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:51,200
But now that it has been approved, we need to take every opportunity we can to minimize the impacts of Draco.

552
00:43:51,460 --> 00:43:56,860
Draco, not selling Erie's mental rights is one of the last investments to minimize that impact.

553
00:43:57,580 --> 00:43:59,620
I am also very concerned about the facts.

554
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:05,340
The facts, one of the facts that has not seem to be communicated well to the community is that any

555
00:44:05,340 --> 00:44:14,660
Any mineral areas west of the mineral rights owned by this camp will be very difficult to access through the drilling.

556
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:17,900
It'll be either impossible or be very much more costly.

557
00:44:18,180 --> 00:44:22,220
So that should have been communicated more clearly to the residents of this community.

558
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:25,620
Erie does not need the funds gained from Draco.

559
00:44:25,620 --> 00:44:36,560
Mineral rights, even with looming issues like increased cost for town water and also the loss of potential tax revenue due to slower than expected growth.

560
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:41,360
There are other ways to obtain funds required by the town of Erie.

561
00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:50,780
Voting to secure short-term funding and ignore a long-term health threat is not leadership, rather it is the antithesis of leadership.

562
00:44:50,780 --> 00:44:55,920
A super majority of very residents that have provided public comment have asked you to

563
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,480
not sell in our rights.

564
00:44:57,780 --> 00:44:59,960
You have our support to not-

565
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:06,040
We seek that short-term revenue, such that we can have longer-term gains and health and safety.

566
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:27,540
In closing, the area is literally the dumping ground for the counties in the area by allowing two dumps to be present within the boundaries of the town of Eerie, and those dumps and related traffic have long negative impacts on Eerie. Therefore, no one can accuse the town of Eerie of Nimbism. We have more than given to other communities in the region.

567
00:45:27,540 --> 00:45:35,740
Again, I'm pleased, please vote against selling eerie mineral rights to the utterly disreputable

568
00:45:35,740 --> 00:45:37,580
companies involved in Draco.

569
00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:38,140
Thank you.

570
00:45:38,580 --> 00:45:38,800
All right.

571
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:39,380
Thank you.

572
00:45:40,580 --> 00:45:43,860
Bob Brottis, Niha Pesmeroli, and Tim Larson.

573
00:45:47,140 --> 00:45:49,240
Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Counselor.

574
00:45:49,780 --> 00:45:51,060
My name is Bob Brotus.

575
00:45:51,140 --> 00:45:52,200
I live in Flat Iron Meadows.

576
00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:57,040
As many of you know, I wear several hats in the community when I can clear I'm talking

577
00:45:57,040 --> 00:46:00,640
by myself, as myself, as a role of the town resident.

578
00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:06,240
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have submitted my candid affidavit to run for

579
00:46:06,240 --> 00:46:07,260
a seat for the town council.

580
00:46:08,340 --> 00:46:13,040
I'm not going to discuss the merits of the ordinance being delivered as I feel it's

581
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:13,480
a move point.

582
00:46:14,340 --> 00:46:19,580
There are so many questions surrounding the theality of the ordinance itself.

583
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:24,260
The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem both publicly stated the last council meeting, the town

584
00:46:24,260 --> 00:46:29,940
process was not followed during the development of the ordinance, and Colorado law states that,

585
00:46:30,060 --> 00:46:35,680
and I quote, in Colorado, municipal ordinance enacted through a process that violates the

586
00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:39,700
municipality's home rule charter is generally considered invalid and void.

587
00:46:40,620 --> 00:46:45,040
Under the Colorado Constitution article 20, home rule cities, in our case towns,

588
00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:50,040
have supreme authority over local matters, but local laws must comply with the procedural

589
00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:57,220
and substantive limits, limits explicitly outlined in the city, again, our case towns charter.

590
00:46:57,900 --> 00:47:03,260
This and and of itself should give the town council reason to pause these deliberations until

591
00:47:03,260 --> 00:47:06,300
the process has restarted and followed stated rules and regulations.

592
00:47:07,180 --> 00:47:08,060
However, there's more.

593
00:47:09,240 --> 00:47:13,500
There's also been publicly disclosed that the Colorado Attorney General's Office has started

594
00:47:13,500 --> 00:47:18,960
a process into the issues of whether or not our town process has followed.

595
00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:23,340
It seems appropriate to let that run its course before receiving further.

596
00:47:24,060 --> 00:47:28,060
With all of these concerns, it would be greatly appreciated if the count could disclose

597
00:47:28,060 --> 00:47:33,680
the opinion of the Colorado Valorado in a governmental risk sharing agency.

598
00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:38,260
Circe States, they would have the largest concentration of liability related

599
00:47:38,260 --> 00:47:42,180
experience and knowledge directly applicable to Colorado municipalities.

600
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:44,880
It seems prudent to request and follow their advice.

601
00:47:45,940 --> 00:47:49,960
Next, as it mentioned before, the potential cost of the town if you pass your

602
00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:51,960
ordinance later overturned.

603
00:47:52,220 --> 00:47:57,040
Candidately, I find it unlikely that this, what happens today, is going to be the final

604
00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:57,320
decision.

605
00:47:57,840 --> 00:48:01,200
I think there's enough stuff going on behind the scenes that will do it.

606
00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:05,500
At least my final point, what is the rush for doing this now?

607
00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:07,140
I believe we can all agree.

608
00:48:07,420 --> 00:48:11,560
There's a large divide amongst the residents as to whether there's a good or bad

609
00:48:11,560 --> 00:48:16,800
I never believe anybody here can accurately state which opinion is in the majority.

610
00:48:17,580 --> 00:48:23,180
So my suggestion is with this in revote in November, and if the majority decide, isn't that what democracy is all about.

611
00:48:23,860 --> 00:48:24,480
Thank you very much.

612
00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:25,760
All right, thank you.

613
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:30,840
Neha Pesemorelli, Tim Larson, and then Julie Friday.

614
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,180
Council Mayor Tom Staff, thank you for this opportunity.

615
00:48:40,460 --> 00:48:45,960
My name is Neha Pesemorelli, I live in Rex Ranch, and I was here last week on the same exact issue.

616
00:48:45,960 --> 00:49:09,320
I think what's most frustrating about this issue, and a lot of people here will tell you about pros and cons or material benefits or risks, but I think at the end of the day what's frustrating is that a lot of people here had hope that for once on this council, there would be something other than a 4-3 decision and that all of the time and effort that people put into public commenting actually mattered.

617
00:49:10,060 --> 00:49:21,980
that you all sat here for an hour and listened to our concerns and that genuinely reflected in your decision, yet in that same vein we're still standing here today, reconsidering the same issue.

618
00:49:22,800 --> 00:49:35,540
And so I think what I want to reemphasize from what I said last week is that this listening to public comments, this hearing, your constituents' concerns isn't a performative thing.

619
00:49:35,540 --> 00:49:39,900
it's supposed to be a way to preserve democracy in this process and it's supposed to be

620
00:49:39,900 --> 00:49:45,720
a way for you all to genuinely make your decision and yet what's apparent with this reconsideration

621
00:49:45,720 --> 00:49:51,540
is that this decision has already been made and so we'll have an hour more of comments and then

622
00:49:51,540 --> 00:49:57,200
at the end of this night I like inevitably think that there will be another four three decision

623
00:49:57,200 --> 00:49:59,220
and that this will pass through.

624
00:49:59,400 --> 00:49:59,960
And so I hope...

625
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:27,460
That, even if that is true, that you will sit here and think about what your constituents are actually telling you, and think about who put you in this position. Because at the end of the day, what you personally believe, or your party affiliations don't mean anything when it comes to your job of representing people. So as you sit in your seat and think about who circled your name on a ballot, and what they actually believe is right, I hope that you can make a good decision.

626
00:50:27,460 --> 00:50:32,480
And that's actually in the best interests of not only the public health in eerie, but

627
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:34,480
also in your constituency.

628
00:50:35,640 --> 00:50:41,780
And so even if this decision passes tonight, I hope that in the next 50 days you'll consider

629
00:50:41,780 --> 00:50:49,140
not just material benefits or money gained from this negotiation or deals, that future deals

630
00:50:49,140 --> 00:50:49,720
that can be made.

631
00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:56,780
But also what your job and duty is to this town as well as how this will erode public trust

632
00:50:56,780 --> 00:50:57,420
in the future.

633
00:50:58,160 --> 00:50:59,260
Thank you so much for your time,

634
00:50:59,700 --> 00:51:01,600
and thank you to everyone else who showed up tonight.

635
00:51:02,180 --> 00:51:03,280
All right, thank you.

636
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:07,620
Tim Larson, Julie Friday and Jennifer Hanan.

637
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:11,920
Good evening, my name is Tim Larson.

638
00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:16,560
My wife and I have been a 25-year resident in Kenosha farm.

639
00:51:17,260 --> 00:51:23,350
I would like to ask that at least delay any vote

640
00:51:23,350 --> 00:51:26,230
until we can create a group of citizens, trustees,

641
00:51:26,230 --> 00:51:33,110
and staff develop a credible review of the impact if we do or don't sell the mineral

642
00:51:33,110 --> 00:51:40,290
rights. Citizens need a clear understanding of what Erie would receive and lose without

643
00:51:40,290 --> 00:51:47,430
our mineral rights. Matthew Owen's comments have severely clouded the discussion. Was

644
00:51:47,430 --> 00:51:53,170
he speaking on behalf of the city when he talks about hundreds of millions of dollars?

645
00:51:55,510 --> 00:51:56,210
And

646
00:51:56,210 --> 00:52:03,870
releasing this data. Owens comments on the $20 million or $150 million impact potential

647
00:52:03,870 --> 00:52:08,810
value of the land ignores the fact that if eerie did not take the property, somebody

648
00:52:08,810 --> 00:52:17,450
would develop that land and create the same value. You might also keep in mind that as soon

649
00:52:17,450 --> 00:52:23,610
as they transfer that property from their ownership to ours, we lose the tax revenue

650
00:52:23,610 --> 00:52:25,270
we were collecting on those three properties.

651
00:52:25,970 --> 00:52:28,850
My estimate is that's over $100,000 a year,

652
00:52:29,270 --> 00:52:31,590
and we're obligated to develop the property.

653
00:52:35,370 --> 00:52:38,770
Also, you're out a lot of money out, comes immediately.

654
00:52:38,930 --> 00:52:41,130
I went to the website, the city website,

655
00:52:41,130 --> 00:52:43,890
should which should be the definitive source

656
00:52:43,890 --> 00:52:45,430
of all information and it's not.

657
00:52:46,210 --> 00:52:50,690
I don't see any $150 million, $200 million here.

658
00:52:50,690 --> 00:52:55,290
what I do see is we'll get a immediate payment of $45 million.

659
00:52:57,870 --> 00:52:59,410
Our mineral payments are

660
00:52:59,410 --> 00:53:07,870
going to be over 20 to 30 years. Some of them faster but less. Any part of the, then

661
00:53:07,870 --> 00:53:16,250
meanwhile, we owe a payment to our consultant that's bought the same $4.5 or $0.7 million.

662
00:53:16,250 --> 00:53:21,030
million dollars. Why can't that be paraded over when those mental rights come in? Why?

663
00:53:21,430 --> 00:53:32,070
Right now, if we have to set aside 4.7 million to pay him and we get 4.5 million, we're

664
00:53:32,070 --> 00:53:38,630
in the whole already and now we're losing $100,000 a year in tax revenue until we figure

665
00:53:38,630 --> 00:53:40,130
out how we're going to become developers?

666
00:53:40,130 --> 00:53:46,070
Please don't. Please don't be developers. That's not the city job. Let somebody

667
00:53:46,070 --> 00:53:50,410
professional buy that property, develop it and bring it into the stream.

668
00:53:52,770 --> 00:53:53,470
We need

669
00:53:53,470 --> 00:53:57,850
to pitch your short term and long term, short term. I don't see a lot of money

670
00:53:57,850 --> 00:54:03,290
coming in, at least on your website. The website should be the source people can

671
00:54:03,290 --> 00:54:09,570
go see. Not some consultant that either at our direction or not has sent

672
00:54:09,570 --> 00:54:17,850
not just absurd amount of money that we're going to come into some day somewhere over

673
00:54:17,850 --> 00:54:18,310
the rainbow.

674
00:54:19,170 --> 00:54:24,370
We need a true projections as day one, day three, day five, here's when that money's going

675
00:54:24,370 --> 00:54:24,970
to come in.

676
00:54:25,590 --> 00:54:31,610
And if we don't do that, what money's going to come, that 200 million is still going to come

677
00:54:31,610 --> 00:54:31,910
to us.

678
00:54:31,970 --> 00:54:34,670
That land will be developed and that money will come.

679
00:54:34,670 --> 00:54:43,530
So let's slow down, give the citizens a chance to understand what's going on, and let's make sure that we get them honest information,

680
00:54:44,390 --> 00:54:53,230
easy to access information, credible information, that a group of the trustees, citizens, and the city staff can say,

681
00:54:53,570 --> 00:54:54,510
yeah, we all agree.

682
00:54:54,950 --> 00:54:55,490
This is the truth.

683
00:54:55,850 --> 00:54:56,810
Thank you very much.

684
00:54:56,810 --> 00:54:57,510
Thank you.

685
00:54:58,970 --> 00:54:59,910
Next is Julie.

686
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:05,540
Julie Friday, who is online? Ms. Friday, if you can hear me, please unmute and speak.

687
00:55:11,380 --> 00:55:12,520
Julie, can you hear us?

688
00:55:15,750 --> 00:55:21,330
How about we go to the next speaker and we can come back? Jennifer Hanan, and then Terrence Barr, and Ansel Barnes.

689
00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:40,820
Thank you for taking public comment tonight. I'm Jennifer Hanan, and I'm an eerie resident in a former city council member of Arcada, California. I'm only bringing this up because what is happening here is similar to what happened in Arcada many years ago.

690
00:55:40,820 --> 00:55:43,800
At that time and prior to my election,

691
00:55:44,620 --> 00:55:49,840
Arcade City Council members were having private discussions and executive sessions without public input

692
00:55:49,840 --> 00:55:55,820
with a company to develop pristine agricultural land that would have created a dangerous precedent.

693
00:55:56,860 --> 00:56:03,940
The executive sessions were not illegal, but they were forming the opinion of the council prior to public comment.

694
00:56:04,580 --> 00:56:09,140
It was obvious that the process excluded the public in the early phases.

695
00:56:09,140 --> 00:56:14,200
As more information was revealed, the backlash was huge, and in the end, the community

696
00:56:14,200 --> 00:56:16,100
unceded those council members.

697
00:56:16,980 --> 00:56:21,300
I have come to speak tonight because whether what is being said about this issue is true

698
00:56:21,720 --> 00:56:26,580
or not, the optics of this decision is looking terrible.

699
00:56:27,280 --> 00:56:32,200
It looks like private discussions and back door deals are driving this process.

700
00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:37,400
The request for proposal to find a consultant to help broker this deal should have been

701
00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:40,400
and discuss publicly and included more than one candidate

702
00:56:40,820 --> 00:56:42,280
before the hiring process.

703
00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:44,780
Instead, the consultant that was hired

704
00:56:44,780 --> 00:56:46,760
is a former Civita's executive,

705
00:56:47,340 --> 00:56:49,680
which is also created terrible optics.

706
00:56:50,820 --> 00:56:53,400
When you're trying to pass something at a large scale

707
00:56:53,820 --> 00:56:58,540
as this, everything needs to be 100% by the book

708
00:57:00,080 --> 00:57:03,180
and allowing everybody to see what's going on.

709
00:57:03,820 --> 00:57:06,480
Lastly, now the issue is being reconsidered

710
00:57:06,480 --> 00:57:13,120
After it was already voted down, creating the appearance of further backdoor discussions to influence our elected representatives.

711
00:57:13,720 --> 00:57:19,400
To get notified about this meeting, this last Saturday, in the summer,

712
00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:24,740
while most people already committed to their vacations, their regular activities, their sports,

713
00:57:25,100 --> 00:57:32,840
it's a terrible flaw in the process again, that prohibits your constituents the chance to participate and be heard.

714
00:57:33,900 --> 00:57:37,940
I'm so happy there's such a big turnout today and I've seen that there's a majority

715
00:57:37,940 --> 00:57:42,420
of people that are against this. There are some that are for it. But in any case,

716
00:57:42,660 --> 00:57:48,500
the issue is the way this is being handled is not looking good. The State is watching

717
00:57:48,500 --> 00:57:53,480
us and I sincerely hope you will reconsider voting on this tonight. Thank you.

718
00:57:53,740 --> 00:57:54,600
All right. Thank you.

719
00:58:00,300 --> 00:58:03,340
Terrence Barr, Ansel Barnes and Brett Kavanaugh.

720
00:58:03,340 --> 00:58:13,460
Good evening. My name is Terry Barr. I'm a Royalty owner in the Draco DSU. I happen

721
00:58:13,460 --> 00:58:20,300
to be a resident of neighbouring Lucille, but I'm a patrologist and have 50 years experience

722
00:58:21,020 --> 00:58:27,700
both here in this country and in my birthplace in Australia. I think much has been discussed

723
00:58:27,700 --> 00:58:36,220
on this issue and how it pertains to the city, however little or if anything has been discussed as

724
00:58:36,220 --> 00:58:42,940
how the community generally can value this opportunity. But firstly I wanted to congratulate you

725
00:58:42,940 --> 00:58:50,160
Mayor and your team on concluding what is a very advantageous transaction for the city and I whole

726
00:58:50,160 --> 00:58:58,040
largely endorsed its adoption, but as a rule, I'm privy to the data associated with this

727
00:58:58,040 --> 00:59:03,500
proposal and have used that along with the data from the Mayor's public statements

728
00:59:03,500 --> 00:59:08,080
to assess what this transaction means for the community generally.

729
00:59:09,360 --> 00:59:16,880
Firstly, I note that SM Energy is proposing to spend 225 million on the development of

730
00:59:16,880 --> 00:59:22,900
the issue of the Draco DSU, and some of this, not all of it, but some of this is going

731
00:59:22,900 --> 00:59:28,300
to flow to eerie businesses in the provision of services and that's a real positive.

732
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:39,620
In addition, as well as myself, there are 650, 650 Royalty owners like myself who will directly

733
00:59:39,620 --> 00:59:48,300
receive some 180 million in rotis. These people are part of the eerie community and would

734
00:59:48,300 --> 00:59:56,720
provide support for eerie businesses through the generation of that money. This cash is coming

735
00:59:56,720 --> 00:59:59,160
from $12.2 million.

736
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:06,900
of oil, that will be recovered from the DSU. And if that oil goes to $100 a barrel, which is

737
01:00:06,900 --> 01:00:16,240
more than likely, this road extreme could be close to $300 million versus the $20, so the

738
01:00:16,240 --> 01:00:24,920
rhetorical question comes to the council. So does the council want to reject a proposal

739
01:00:24,920 --> 01:00:31,960
So that would generate $180 million to the community, along with the cash, the property

740
01:00:31,960 --> 01:00:35,960
and the royalty stream assigned to the city as real as this transaction.

741
01:00:36,940 --> 01:00:42,100
Given that a rejection is likely to result in SM Energy seeking friendlier jurisdictions

742
01:00:42,820 --> 01:00:46,500
in which to operate, I therefore encourage you to vote yes.

743
01:00:47,000 --> 01:00:47,220
Thank you.

744
01:00:47,700 --> 01:00:48,000
Thank you.

745
01:00:52,500 --> 01:00:56,840
So we're going to go back to online, Julie Friday, I believe is joining us.

746
01:00:56,840 --> 01:00:59,840
So, Julie, if you can unmute yourself and speak, that would be great.

747
01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:05,080
Julie, can you hear us?

748
01:01:08,390 --> 01:01:11,230
All right, let's go to the next one here, and we'll go back one last time.

749
01:01:11,670 --> 01:01:17,190
Okay, next is Ansel Barnes, then Brett Kavanaugh.

750
01:01:27,760 --> 01:01:28,360
Good evening.

751
01:01:29,480 --> 01:01:30,680
My name is Ansel Barnes.

752
01:01:31,480 --> 01:01:35,600
I'm a proud new homeowner in this fantastic town.

753
01:01:36,140 --> 01:01:39,320
And I'm proud to be able to participate in the democratic process,

754
01:01:39,320 --> 01:01:42,600
us specifically in my town for the first time tonight.

755
01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:51,980
From the research I have done into this issue, I see a cloud of prepared talking points,

756
01:01:53,060 --> 01:01:56,300
a fine mist that smells of corruption.

757
01:01:57,840 --> 01:02:01,540
I'm going to reiterate what will already have been said, planning already tonight.

758
01:02:03,810 --> 01:02:07,170
This deal is one that Erie doesn't need and doesn't want.

759
01:02:08,550 --> 01:02:13,230
We have two few reasons to approve this, and we have too many reasons to question our

760
01:02:13,230 --> 01:02:15,210
leadership about their conduct in this matter.

761
01:02:17,500 --> 01:02:23,480
But more critically, I want to address the matter of trust directly to the council

762
01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:24,020
present here.

763
01:02:27,110 --> 01:02:30,630
Our opinion on this drill deal as a town has already been made clear.

764
01:02:31,650 --> 01:02:34,270
You already know what we want you to do with this deal.

765
01:02:36,300 --> 01:02:38,600
Each one of you was elected,

766
01:02:40,970 --> 01:02:44,230
because we trust you to serve our best interests and our wishes.

767
01:02:44,950 --> 01:02:49,530
If you approve this deal regardless of the benefits to drawbacks in details, you will

768
01:02:49,530 --> 01:02:55,350
have simultaneously betrayed the laws and procedures that govern this town and the

769
01:02:55,350 --> 01:02:59,950
will of your constituents in favor of a private entity who does not deserve ownership of

770
01:02:59,950 --> 01:03:01,110
our public property.

771
01:03:02,190 --> 01:03:06,230
This vote isn't really about investment or lack thereof.

772
01:03:06,930 --> 01:03:08,390
This is about integrity.

773
01:03:08,890 --> 01:03:09,510
Twenty seconds.

774
01:03:09,890 --> 01:03:13,330
It is about our sovereignty as a town and it's about following the law.

775
01:03:13,330 --> 01:03:18,410
I pray to God that those of you who voted yes last week now understand the value of the trust

776
01:03:18,410 --> 01:03:24,410
capital that is really at stake here. What is more valuable to you? For the love of all you hold

777
01:03:24,410 --> 01:03:31,430
sacred, vote this deal down because we need you. Now more than ever, we need leadership we can trust

778
01:03:31,950 --> 01:03:36,450
that we can respect. Show us what you're made of tonight.

779
01:03:40,740 --> 01:03:42,620
Next we have Brett Kavanaugh who's pulled

780
01:03:42,620 --> 01:03:43,620
with Mandy Eury.

781
01:03:49,930 --> 01:03:53,570
Well, good evening mayor, council members in the residence of Eury.

782
01:03:54,150 --> 01:03:56,470
My name is Brett Kavanaugh, some of you might know me.

783
01:03:56,690 --> 01:03:59,470
I serve as the director of the World County Oil and Gas Energy Department.

784
01:04:00,210 --> 01:04:05,210
I'm here tonight to offer my professional perspective based on my work in local government, oil

785
01:04:05,210 --> 01:04:11,150
and gas permitting, stake regulatory coordination, regulatory oversight and mineral development.

786
01:04:11,770 --> 01:04:15,250
I understand this issue brings strong opinions that I think we've all seen tonight.

787
01:04:15,250 --> 01:04:18,310
I also understand that some residents oppose oil and gas development in general.

788
01:04:19,110 --> 01:04:21,750
That is their right and those concerns just deserve to be heard.

789
01:04:22,230 --> 01:04:26,850
But respectfully, the decision before the council tonight is more specifically than a broader

790
01:04:26,850 --> 01:04:27,790
debate about oil and gas.

791
01:04:28,450 --> 01:04:33,650
The Drake allocation has already been an aptly permitted through local and state regulatory

792
01:04:33,650 --> 01:04:34,790
process and approved.

793
01:04:35,490 --> 01:04:40,630
So the question tonight is not no wells or no wells or no wells.

794
01:04:40,770 --> 01:04:44,870
The question is whether eerie accepts the value, the cleanup, the land value, and

795
01:04:44,870 --> 01:04:51,710
And certainty, certainly it negotiated or walks away from those benefits while the approved development still moves on.

796
01:04:52,010 --> 01:04:59,910
That is the decision from what we have publicly discussed the Draco hand consists of 26 wells, which is roughly about.

797
01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:29,840
About 2.7% of the total production. This agreement is not about being foil and gas, or anti-oil and gas. It is about whether Erie makes the most responsible, fiscal, environmental, regulatory, and land use decision available. The agreement provides direct financial consideration. It provides future production related revenue. It includes a retained, override interest of 3%. It includes land that Erie would receive at no cost. It also includes cleanup and mitigation benefits tied to older wells and legacy

798
01:05:29,840 --> 01:05:34,620
oil and gas locations in and around the communities that all these residents live in.

799
01:05:35,260 --> 01:05:38,920
Those are real benefits. The land alone is significant. Erie would receive that land

800
01:05:39,500 --> 01:05:44,340
and can be used for public facilities, sold, developed, or placed in production use.

801
01:05:45,720 --> 01:05:50,940
The land can create value beyond one-time payment that has a long-term community value.

802
01:05:51,500 --> 01:05:55,500
The cleanup matters too. Plugging in the banning of older wells, removing equipment,

803
01:05:55,500 --> 01:05:58,940
reclaiming those sites are practical land use benefits.

804
01:05:59,440 --> 01:06:04,700
In area active oil and gas facilities can create 500-foot setbacks, while plugging in abandoned

805
01:06:04,700 --> 01:06:07,820
wells generally have much smaller, 150-foot setback.

806
01:06:08,360 --> 01:06:12,080
With potential for future reduction after review, that matters for future planning.

807
01:06:12,560 --> 01:06:14,980
The cleanup does more than remove older infrastructure.

808
01:06:15,280 --> 01:06:21,000
It can help convert legacy well areas into cleaner, more usable land, and prove long-term development

809
01:06:21,000 --> 01:06:23,680
flexibility and support better outcomes for the community.

810
01:06:23,680 --> 01:06:26,980
This is not just cleanup, this is a future land use flexibility.

811
01:06:27,360 --> 01:06:28,760
The regulatory certainty also matters.

812
01:06:29,380 --> 01:06:36,000
The development has already gone through Apple process review, at this point, the agreement

813
01:06:36,000 --> 01:06:41,240
gives area defined framework for what happens next, including revenue, land, and cleanup.

814
01:06:42,220 --> 01:06:47,600
A yes vote does not make this pro-oil and gas decision, and no vote does not stop their approved

815
01:06:48,260 --> 01:06:54,460
but a no vote may cost eerie the money, the land, the override, the cleanup, and the added protection.

816
01:06:54,900 --> 01:06:59,000
The regulatory certainty and the long-term public benefits that were negotiated for the town.

817
01:06:59,820 --> 01:07:03,880
That would not be the better outcome, that would not be the better outcome for the residents.

818
01:07:04,060 --> 01:07:08,780
The council has fiduciary responsibility to the town and the taxpayers to evaluate the facts,

819
01:07:09,140 --> 01:07:13,500
the legal realities, the proof permits, the negotiated terms, the long-term public interest.

820
01:07:13,500 --> 01:07:20,560
That responsibility requires counsel to consider not only what the agreement provides, but what the town gives up if it walks away.

821
01:07:21,340 --> 01:07:27,700
People can oppose oil and gas development and still recognize that the agreement puts eerie in a better position than rejecting it.

822
01:07:28,380 --> 01:07:31,020
The vote should not be treated as a referendum on oil and gas.

823
01:07:31,160 --> 01:07:31,720
20 seconds.

824
01:07:31,980 --> 01:07:36,840
It should be treated as a decision about whether eerie secures value, land, revenue, cleanup, and regulatory.

825
01:07:37,420 --> 01:07:42,620
The town participates in process, the town fought for conditions, the town negotiated the town secured value.

826
01:07:42,620 --> 01:07:46,100
Now the question is simple, will Erie accept the value and negotiate it?

827
01:07:46,520 --> 01:07:54,800
A yes vote secures revenue, it secures land, it secures cleanup, it secures certainty, protects the taxpayers, improves long-term, land use flexibility.

828
01:07:55,280 --> 01:08:00,880
A NOVO does not stop the wells, it only risks leveling those benefits behind, leaving those benefits behind.

829
01:08:01,500 --> 01:08:06,720
For that was reasons I strongly encourage the Council to vote yes in this agreement tonight, and I do appreciate your time.

830
01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:07,400
Thank you.

831
01:08:07,740 --> 01:08:08,480
All right, thank you.

832
01:08:14,140 --> 01:08:17,640
Dan Malloy, Emily Brecht, and Joshua Scott.

833
01:08:24,320 --> 01:08:27,420
Good evening, Councilor Dan Malloy, live up in Erie Highlands.

834
01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:31,920
I'm not sure if the time is going to start, but I know I've got two minutes.

835
01:08:33,120 --> 01:08:36,720
The reason I didn't come speak last week is the agreement seems pretty obvious.

836
01:08:37,340 --> 01:08:37,960
That's going to happen.

837
01:08:38,580 --> 01:08:42,980
The drilling is going to occur, and the town can get nothing, or the town can get something.

838
01:08:44,000 --> 01:08:48,620
Now, I've heard a lot of people talk tonight about the process, and whether or not it was

839
01:08:48,620 --> 01:08:52,820
properly followed. When I was in the army, we would always have to get three contract offers.

840
01:08:53,400 --> 01:08:56,080
Didn't give us three good contract offers. We had three contract offers,

841
01:08:56,480 --> 01:08:59,880
and then we could take the best one, but they didn't compete. We already knew ahead of time.

842
01:09:00,800 --> 01:09:04,340
So if we have a good deal, and it makes sense, why doesn't the town still vote on it?

843
01:09:05,620 --> 01:09:09,600
For people say we don't need the money. Okay, where are we going to get it from? Tax payers?

844
01:09:10,160 --> 01:09:14,500
We have the opportunity to get money from this deal and land from it. We'll provide more revenue

845
01:09:14,500 --> 01:09:19,580
to the town. And yeah, we want to tax ourselves more or pay for ourselves more. Why would we want to

846
01:09:19,580 --> 01:09:25,960
do that? Now, there's been the discussion around shady backroom deals and what lobbying is.

847
01:09:26,460 --> 01:09:31,280
Not sure everybody understands what putting an article out versus lobbying and buying dinners and

848
01:09:31,280 --> 01:09:36,120
doing such sales type events is. Pretty sure nobody on the council is taking any payments

849
01:09:36,120 --> 01:09:40,780
from anybody on this because that would actually be a pretty big deal and people would probably go

850
01:09:40,780 --> 01:09:44,960
to jail for that. So as far as I know, there's no investigations into whether or not anybody

851
01:09:44,960 --> 01:09:49,320
on council is being bribed. So let's put that to bed. Now, if there's any guilty on council

852
01:09:49,320 --> 01:09:54,200
who's self-interested and seeing this not go forward, probably be somebody running for a

853
01:09:54,200 --> 01:09:58,280
higher office for the second or third time since being elected to council. I think there's

854
01:09:58,280 --> 01:09:59,120
There's only one person there.

855
01:09:59,760 --> 01:09:59,960
And we've only...

856
01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:29,900
We also mentioned that the attorney general, by the way, is running for governor, is looking into this. What does that mean? Is he open an investigation? Is there a criminal complaint? Or is he just putting up one more tabloid? On his belt notch so that he can keep saying, I made this many more lawsuits with this many more legal fees for our state to pay for? So at this point, why don't we just move forward with this? We take the money. It's going to happen anyways. We get a lot out of it. The town benefits, and we move forward. Or we can bite our nose to spider-feet.

857
01:10:29,900 --> 01:10:33,020
face. I appreciate your time. Have a good night. Thank you.

858
01:10:37,080 --> 01:10:39,720
Emily Brett, who has pooled with Heather's

859
01:10:39,720 --> 01:10:43,900
table. I'm sorry, he has pooled with Heather's table.

860
01:10:51,810 --> 01:10:55,030
Yeah, thanks. And if you can't hear in the back

861
01:10:55,030 --> 01:11:00,270
the room, Sigelt means someway and I'll try to remind you to use the microphone.

862
01:11:06,590 --> 01:11:07,670
I'm Emily Brett,

863
01:11:07,890 --> 01:11:15,790
resident of Canyon Creek. I live in the path of DSU. I read Matt Owen's blog post, like many here,

864
01:11:15,790 --> 01:11:22,130
on the 18th before he edited. I had never seen many of the numbers and data points from his

865
01:11:22,130 --> 01:11:28,610
post before. His post did not match the valuations and projections shared by this council with the

866
01:11:28,610 --> 01:11:36,490
public. His account of multiple rounds of bids was not what was reported by the council. But he

867
01:11:36,490 --> 01:11:43,830
positioned his post, his social media post, as a view behind the curtain of executive session into

868
01:11:43,830 --> 01:11:49,250
the real numbers, projections and negotiations from a subject matter expert.

869
01:11:50,370 --> 01:11:55,350
Ms. Rowan's headline galvanized Erie residents to email council and urge a revote.

870
01:11:56,130 --> 01:12:00,950
Based on his comments, sorry, not his comments, but other people's comments, it seemed like

871
01:12:00,950 --> 01:12:03,070
many were hearing about the deal for the first time.

872
01:12:04,190 --> 01:12:05,650
I want to point out something.

873
01:12:06,570 --> 01:12:12,130
The lack of accessible public information around this deal has left the people of Erie vulnerable

874
01:12:12,130 --> 01:12:18,770
to the influence of anyone who can claim insider information or insight into this deal.

875
01:12:19,710 --> 01:12:22,590
And council has done nothing to disavow Owens post.

876
01:12:23,830 --> 01:12:30,230
In the last two days, a new set of posts each claiming to from other residents,

877
01:12:30,690 --> 01:12:35,970
each claiming to have the most least biased information have flooded eerie social media.

878
01:12:36,530 --> 01:12:39,830
These attempt to separate the facts of the deal from the context,

879
01:12:39,830 --> 01:12:49,870
the distractions of possible legal and ethical issues, and they have completely discarded Mr. Owens' valuation of the deal as biased and irrelevant, really.

880
01:12:50,670 --> 01:12:52,810
But so far, the council is stood by Owens.

881
01:12:53,610 --> 01:12:58,690
So let's talk about Mr. Owens' valuation of the deal, since the council is placing our future in his hands.

882
01:13:00,690 --> 01:13:09,350
Approximately 400 million of his valuation is from the land transfer from SM Energy to chunks of land by the airport.

883
01:13:10,130 --> 01:13:17,530
Oh, and suggests that this land will exceed 350 million in projected sales tax revenue within 30 years.

884
01:13:19,390 --> 01:13:26,630
That's, my math might be wrong, 11.5 million in a matching tax revenue per year for 30 years.

885
01:13:28,470 --> 01:13:31,950
I have to ask, what is the plan for the land by the airport?

886
01:13:32,510 --> 01:13:34,310
This land is known as light industrial.

887
01:13:34,990 --> 01:13:39,210
The comp plan has it listed as employment, which is another way of saying,

888
01:13:39,210 --> 01:13:42,910
in light industrial, Mayor Moore has mentioned

889
01:13:42,910 --> 01:13:44,170
storing snow plows there.

890
01:13:45,050 --> 01:13:49,830
Where do 11.5 million in taxes per year come from?

891
01:13:50,670 --> 01:13:52,750
How much will it cost to change the comp plan

892
01:13:52,750 --> 01:13:53,630
and rezone it?

893
01:13:54,530 --> 01:13:57,270
Will it be sold to developers to create the commercial corridor?

894
01:13:58,130 --> 01:14:00,010
Will the commercial corridor require

895
01:14:00,570 --> 01:14:04,310
the over $50 million road, the airport connector?

896
01:14:05,130 --> 01:14:07,130
The road that came with high risk

897
01:14:07,130 --> 01:14:15,430
and performed poorly in the cost-benefit analysis presented in the study session on May 5th of this year.

898
01:14:16,510 --> 01:14:22,750
Is this the land, oh, this is the land that kept our town from engaging in competitive bidding?

899
01:14:24,210 --> 01:14:28,690
It was because the land was connected with this deal that it's, we're not pursued.

900
01:14:29,570 --> 01:14:36,470
This is the land that kept the mineral rights deal secret covered by executive session because it was a real estate deal.

901
01:14:38,130 --> 01:14:43,490
Last meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Bell, said that basically the entire point of this

902
01:14:43,490 --> 01:14:47,670
mineral rights deal was to acquire this land, 22nd land, by the airport.

903
01:14:48,470 --> 01:14:52,410
But this valuation makes me question the timeline and potential risks of attempting

904
01:14:52,410 --> 01:14:58,970
to develop this land, and question the valuation of those most trusted to assess the

905
01:14:58,970 --> 01:14:59,830
deals potential benefit.

906
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:09,060
I would like to put it to our town. For this and the many reasons I've stated here before in public comment, I urge you to vote no to this deal. All right, thank you. Thank you.

907
01:15:14,850 --> 01:15:33,630
Joshua Scott, Ben Himpill, and Andrew Salish. Thank you for hearing comments. Will you pull the mic down? Thank you. Thank you. Can you hear me better? Yes. Okay. I'm a two and a half year eerie resident. Love the community. We moved here to raise our family. My house backs out onto a well.

908
01:15:33,630 --> 01:15:38,890
So I have a vested interest and I was excited in hearing that there was the potential for more

909
01:15:38,890 --> 01:15:44,310
wells to be capped. This agreement was actually something that I was in favor of in the benefits

910
01:15:44,310 --> 01:15:49,870
of it seemed to be very tangible. I fully understand them, but the problem I have is the more I've heard

911
01:15:49,870 --> 01:15:55,910
scene surrounding the agreement, the more concerns it's raised as far as the cloud as some have

912
01:15:55,910 --> 01:16:01,570
called it. The conflating of the safety and profit are things that I don't think should ever be

913
01:16:01,570 --> 01:16:07,230
be conjoined. So those things, when I hear them, give me pause. The tactics employed

914
01:16:07,230 --> 01:16:12,650
by the consultants, who stands to benefit substantially from this agreement, also give

915
01:16:12,650 --> 01:16:21,110
me pause. And the behavior of many of people involved has given me pause. I think, in general,

916
01:16:21,310 --> 01:16:26,210
the benefits of the agreement have been overshadowed by a lot of these things, and it makes me

917
01:16:26,210 --> 01:16:31,550
very disappointed. The thing that disappoints me most though is I don't feel that I have

918
01:16:31,550 --> 01:16:36,770
the same trust that I did before in the leadership based upon how it's happened.

919
01:16:37,490 --> 01:16:42,150
Now I don't have all the details, I'm not privy to everything that you all are and

920
01:16:42,150 --> 01:16:43,710
I don't want to tell you how to vote.

921
01:16:44,130 --> 01:16:46,950
I would ask though that you find a way to restore trust.

922
01:16:47,370 --> 01:16:52,610
And one thing that I had thought it would be a suggestion to offer is to provide independent

923
01:16:52,610 --> 01:16:53,950
audits going forward.

924
01:16:54,510 --> 01:16:57,630
The City of Denver for instance has an elected independent auditor.

925
01:16:57,630 --> 01:17:02,210
Now, I know we may not be able to have that given the resources of our town is much different

926
01:17:02,210 --> 01:17:05,810
than the municipality, the size of Denver, but it seems to be-

927
01:17:05,810 --> 01:17:06,470
Twenty-second?

928
01:17:06,770 --> 01:17:11,550
Prudent that we should be able to find some way to be able to provide verification along

929
01:17:11,550 --> 01:17:13,810
with the trust back to everyone who's here.

930
01:17:14,290 --> 01:17:14,530
Thank you.

931
01:17:15,050 --> 01:17:15,210
All right.

932
01:17:15,390 --> 01:17:16,270
Thank you.

933
01:17:17,980 --> 01:17:21,460
Ben Hempel, Andrew Sawish, and Ben Solberg.

934
01:17:29,740 --> 01:17:32,480
Hi, John McAllister, your resident, Kenosha Farm.

935
01:17:33,040 --> 01:17:34,800
I transfer my time to Ben Hempel.

936
01:17:35,160 --> 01:17:35,280
Okay.

937
01:17:35,780 --> 01:17:37,700
sorry, I couldn't get this down into two minutes.

938
01:17:41,340 --> 01:17:43,360
Good evening, town council. My name is Ben

939
01:17:43,360 --> 01:17:49,560
Hempill. I live in Erie District 2. My comments tonight are my own. On June 17th, Matt Owens made

940
01:17:49,560 --> 01:17:54,640
a public LinkedIn post about the vote from last week. As we all know, Mr. Owens is a CEO of

941
01:17:54,640 --> 01:17:59,660
Alameda Mineral Advisors, the firm Tau affirmed the town hired to negotiate this deal.

942
01:18:00,940 --> 01:18:06,500
Mr. Owens founded extraction oil and gas and served as president. He was then employed as

943
01:18:06,500 --> 01:18:09,760
the COO of Syvitas Resources, now SM Energy.

944
01:18:10,760 --> 01:18:12,800
Mr. Owens was the President of Extraction,

945
01:18:14,830 --> 01:18:17,650
well, sorry, while Mr. Owens was a President of Extraction,

946
01:18:17,890 --> 01:18:20,450
seven in a subsidiary of extraction

947
01:18:20,450 --> 01:18:22,670
acquired at least two of the three parcels

948
01:18:22,670 --> 01:18:26,990
in this agreement for $10 each in 2018 and 2019.

949
01:18:27,910 --> 01:18:30,330
He is now being presented as an independent advocate

950
01:18:30,330 --> 01:18:30,970
for the town.

951
01:18:32,170 --> 01:18:35,130
Mr. Owens' contract pays him 7.5%

952
01:18:35,130 --> 01:18:38,690
of the aggregate transactional value kept at $4.5 million.

953
01:18:39,710 --> 01:18:43,290
He receives nothing if this deal does not close tonight.

954
01:18:44,010 --> 01:18:48,170
The only direct cash payment in this contract is $4.5 million.

955
01:18:48,830 --> 01:18:53,790
Described in section 2b as additional funds paid by 7 in at closing.

956
01:18:54,430 --> 01:18:58,250
That is the entirety of the immediate cash that the town receives.

957
01:18:58,670 --> 01:19:03,710
Conveniently, it's also the exact maximum fee Alameda is entitled to under its contract with the town.

958
01:19:03,710 --> 01:19:08,330
The town's immediate net cash from this transaction is effectively zero.

959
01:19:09,150 --> 01:19:15,430
The agreement with Alameda was signed December 16, 2025, which was 189 days ago.

960
01:19:16,090 --> 01:19:25,350
At $4.5 million for 180, 89 days, generously assuming a full seven day work week,

961
01:19:25,690 --> 01:19:28,970
the town is paying Alameda nearly $3,000 an hour.

962
01:19:30,790 --> 01:19:34,130
This is why questions have been raised about the no bid nature of this contract.

963
01:19:36,600 --> 01:19:40,000
Draco Health and Safety Improvements are already happening.

964
01:19:40,600 --> 01:19:48,580
I'd encourage the Council to review ECMC Order 407-370-00 approved in March 2025.

965
01:19:49,520 --> 01:19:54,780
Under that order, SM Energy is already required to provide the town monthly email updates on

966
01:19:54,780 --> 01:19:59,020
drilling and flooding and abandonment activities per order to G.

967
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:12,060
Hold quarterly meetings with the town per 2G. Coordinate all planned well-abandonments with town staff per 2H, and maintain three continuous ambient air monitors around the Draco pad per 2E.

968
01:20:12,880 --> 01:20:22,480
SM Energy will also be paving the CR6 and plugging and abandoning 22 existing wells. SM Energy is required to hold two community town halls per order to I.

969
01:20:23,940 --> 01:20:28,260
One before construction and one before completions. When is the pre-construction town hall?

970
01:20:29,300 --> 01:20:31,680
These are not benefits being negotiated tonight.

971
01:20:32,060 --> 01:20:36,440
These are legally binding ECMC commitments that exist regardless of this vote.

972
01:20:37,840 --> 01:20:45,560
Limited monthly inspections with a seven-day notice and an SM energy escort with only enforcement being reporting to ECMC is not enforcement.

973
01:20:47,380 --> 01:20:50,920
We aren't stopping Draco if you approve or reject this agreement.

974
01:20:51,580 --> 01:20:52,140
We know that.

975
01:20:53,040 --> 01:20:58,580
The town is already receiving health and safety benefits required by the ECMC, no matter the outcome.

976
01:20:59,300 --> 01:21:04,540
What you're voting on is transferring property for a few million dollars in land and oil and gas revenues.

977
01:21:05,340 --> 01:21:11,260
And a 45 million dollar payment to a former oil and gas executive who negotiated this deal.

978
01:21:11,760 --> 01:21:13,580
I urge you to vote no, thank you.

979
01:21:14,040 --> 01:21:14,960
All right, thank you.

980
01:21:18,530 --> 01:21:23,450
Andrew Sawish, who is pulled with Scott Charles, Ben Solberg, and Erica Kup.

981
01:21:31,070 --> 01:21:32,290
Andrew Sawish, district one.

982
01:21:34,640 --> 01:21:37,560
Mayor More, Mayor Pro Tem, Bell, and council members.

983
01:21:38,080 --> 01:21:40,860
This is not easy for me to discuss, but it needs to be told.

984
01:21:41,200 --> 01:21:44,520
And it directly relates to the current battle regarding the sale of the Tom Minerals.

985
01:21:45,180 --> 01:21:49,640
Specifically, why there was only one voice that has been heard by residents to date,

986
01:21:49,840 --> 01:21:53,220
and why residents are consistently afraid to come forward to voice their opinions.

987
01:21:54,320 --> 01:21:58,880
As an eerie resident since 2016, a former council member in current planning commission

988
01:21:58,880 --> 01:22:02,680
chair, I understand small town politics and how everybody is entitled to their own

989
01:22:02,680 --> 01:22:02,980
opinions.

990
01:22:03,900 --> 01:22:08,040
For the overwhelming majority of interactions, everybody in town has been courteous

991
01:22:08,040 --> 01:22:12,200
respectful and civil, however political discourse in eerie has been replaced by fear.

992
01:22:13,800 --> 01:22:19,980
During the fall of last year, 20 or so current and former residents, including myself, were

993
01:22:19,980 --> 01:22:23,340
targeted by an individual solely because they saw us as outspoken individuals.

994
01:22:23,780 --> 01:22:28,920
We received unmarked sympathy cards in the mail, which included a powdery substance

995
01:22:28,920 --> 01:22:33,580
and applied death threat on a tight piece of paper after a coordinated FBI,

996
01:22:34,160 --> 01:22:36,840
Erie PD, and US Postal Inspector Investigation.

997
01:22:37,500 --> 01:22:44,160
Sorry, this first time I'm talking about this in public, so the individual is not charged

998
01:22:44,160 --> 01:22:48,680
because sorry, the United States Post Inspector Investigation Individual is identified.

999
01:22:48,680 --> 01:22:55,880
The individual was not charged because it was not deemed to be a legal direct threat but the effect it had on me and the others was real.

1000
01:22:56,180 --> 01:23:01,820
It caused a very real sense of fear and concern for both my family and my family's health and safety.

1001
01:23:02,760 --> 01:23:10,700
Many of the individuals who received one of these file for restraining orders because the individual could easily find me on Wednesday nights at town hall for a planning commission meeting.

1002
01:23:11,200 --> 01:23:14,640
The town attorney's office filed for a temporary restraining order on my behalf.

1003
01:23:14,640 --> 01:23:17,540
The order was later extended through a stipulated agreement,

1004
01:23:17,860 --> 01:23:20,880
outlining specific conditions, which remain in effect to this day.

1005
01:23:21,640 --> 01:23:26,220
The individual who committed these vile, abhorrent acts was known to be instrumental

1006
01:23:26,220 --> 01:23:31,300
in helping coordinate a specific group here in town, and also canvass for

1007
01:23:31,300 --> 01:23:34,160
current elected officials during the November 2024 election.

1008
01:23:35,240 --> 01:23:39,000
The group this individual is a part of is the exact same group of individuals that

1009
01:23:39,000 --> 01:23:42,820
have been largely organizing and have been the most vocal in this current fight

1010
01:23:42,820 --> 01:23:49,500
opposing mineral sale agreement. You're either with them or nothing at all, and if you're against

1011
01:23:49,500 --> 01:23:54,740
them, you are coming, they are coming for you. While there are individuals from both sides on the

1012
01:23:54,740 --> 01:23:59,800
political aisle who can be outspoken, the group of individuals in particular has proven dangerous.

1013
01:24:00,880 --> 01:24:04,960
I know from too many firsthand conversations account that many residents in the town are scared to

1014
01:24:04,960 --> 01:24:10,700
provide their opinions. The bow-breeding, the brow-beating that we all witness on social media and

1015
01:24:10,700 --> 01:24:16,660
public has moved some to become mere onlookers, afraid to speak our minds, especially when

1016
01:24:16,660 --> 01:24:21,960
the topic of oil and gas is evolved. When those with opposing views are too worried about reprisal

1017
01:24:21,960 --> 01:24:28,720
retribution or even bodily harm, this caustic, vitriolic attitude shows that is negatively affecting

1018
01:24:28,720 --> 01:24:36,620
the governance of our town. For you, I absolutely commend you for making the decision to hold

1019
01:24:36,620 --> 01:24:42,760
this tonight and reconsider your vote. Bringing the MIRRAL sales agreement back to the council for consideration.

1020
01:24:43,440 --> 01:24:48,240
It takes absolute courage for an elected official to question his vote and ask,

1021
01:24:48,380 --> 01:24:54,060
did we make the right decision? Please hear the voice from the community that was unfortunately not

1022
01:24:54,060 --> 01:24:59,620
willing to previously stand with you due to our lack of courage. No matter if this agreement is or is not

1023
01:24:59,620 --> 01:24:59,800
accept.

1024
01:25:00,560 --> 01:25:27,700
Draco is still occurring. Using our mineral estate as a blockade against the operator will only harm the residents. The town and our community's future. Mineral should not be used at a game of chicken with the operator, a game that will undoubtedly be unsuccessful. While this agreement is being used as an oil gas issue for those who oppose it, it is really a question of three things. Do we or don't receive compensation and considerations for something that is guaranteed to occur?

1025
01:25:27,700 --> 01:25:31,920
However, do we or don't we force the operator to provide us with direct oversight at the location?

1026
01:25:32,640 --> 01:25:36,860
Do we or don't we make the community safer and healthier for residents by having the operator plug it in and

1027
01:25:36,860 --> 01:25:42,240
wells that are both inside and outside of the proposed land area?

1028
01:25:42,760 --> 01:25:45,900
In my point, opinion, the only option is to vote yes.

1029
01:25:46,120 --> 01:25:46,580
Thank you for your time.

1030
01:25:47,420 --> 01:25:48,280
All right, thank you.

1031
01:25:51,180 --> 01:25:55,040
Ben, Ben Solberg, Erica Cutler, Ben Tiffany Bridget.

1032
01:25:55,040 --> 01:25:55,740
Hello,

1033
01:26:03,080 --> 01:26:07,980
Council. My name is Ben Solberg. I'm unfortunately one of those that Andrew talked

1034
01:26:07,980 --> 01:26:16,640
about that has received threats and other things because I've been not spoken on social

1035
01:26:16,640 --> 01:26:24,400
media. I wasn't really going to go that direction, but I'm going to touch on it here just real

1036
01:26:24,400 --> 01:26:30,040
shortly. I've been a resident of Erie since 2008. When we moved here, my oldest daughter

1037
01:26:30,040 --> 01:26:34,560
was six months old. She graduated from high school last year. I've got two more

1038
01:26:34,560 --> 01:26:37,420
in high school and one in middle school. I'll have been born here and grown up

1039
01:26:37,420 --> 01:26:44,260
here and gone all through school here. Last fall when we received the death

1040
01:26:44,260 --> 01:26:51,880
threats and stuff in the mail, it really affected my family. Before that though,

1041
01:26:52,040 --> 01:26:57,860
we had had windows broken, tires slashed. I own a local business that's been

1042
01:26:57,860 --> 01:27:03,420
attacked on social media groups get together and leave me one-star reviews who've

1043
01:27:03,420 --> 01:27:09,220
never been customers before, things like that. It's been a big thing for a

1044
01:27:09,220 --> 01:27:17,920
long time in my life and many years ago I tried to bridge the gap. I reached out

1045
01:27:17,920 --> 01:27:23,080
to some people on the other side Shabon included. Did a community bar with you

1046
01:27:23,080 --> 01:27:28,240
tried to bring people together after that and throw out some stuff just got

1047
01:27:28,240 --> 01:27:28,580
worse.

1048
01:27:30,760 --> 01:27:35,140
Anybody that's on social media probably knows that I have been

1049
01:27:35,140 --> 01:27:40,640
quieter in the last ten years or so than I had been previously. Some of that

1050
01:27:40,640 --> 01:27:44,100
because I've been kicked off of every freaking town page there is.

1051
01:27:44,120 --> 01:27:51,740
Twenty seconds. And part of it because my wife and kids have asked me to stop being

1052
01:27:51,740 --> 01:27:58,140
outspoken because it's affecting them. This shouldn't be happening. We shouldn't be threatening

1053
01:27:58,140 --> 01:28:01,520
the lives of other people. We shouldn't have this stuff going on.

1054
01:28:02,700 --> 01:28:09,540
Continued threats that the person that was supposed to not be reaching out to any of those 20

1055
01:28:09,540 --> 01:28:14,720
people is now making fake accounts on Facebook and reaching out to those people again.

1056
01:28:15,340 --> 01:28:18,740
And the courts are doing nothing about it. So I don't know what else to do.

1057
01:28:18,740 --> 01:28:40,180
But I'm urging a yes vote on this, it really just be stupid to let all these benefits go away and stop the misinformation, the threats that just all of it, we as a community need to come together instead of pushing anyone that disagrees with us away. Thank you.

1058
01:28:40,720 --> 01:28:41,660
Thank you.

1059
01:28:43,000 --> 01:28:47,660
Erica Cudlett, Tiffany Pritchett, and Diana Huzar.

1060
01:28:54,270 --> 01:28:57,410
My name is Erica Cudlett, and I live in District 2.

1061
01:28:58,690 --> 01:29:03,070
I'm here to ask the members of our town council devote against the sale of our town's

1062
01:29:03,070 --> 01:29:04,550
mineral rights to SM Energy.

1063
01:29:05,090 --> 01:29:10,430
I'm concerned that the deliberations, the initial deliberations regarding this deal took place

1064
01:29:10,430 --> 01:29:13,910
behind closed doors in the form of numerous executive sessions.

1065
01:29:13,910 --> 01:29:19,530
The sole source selection of Alameda Minerals partners consultant Matthew Owens by the town

1066
01:29:19,530 --> 01:29:23,110
was in direct violation of the town's own procurement policy.

1067
01:29:24,370 --> 01:29:31,150
Mr. Owens is the former COO of Savita's resources and was hired with $4.5 million of taxpayer

1068
01:29:31,150 --> 01:29:34,450
money to develop a plan for the sale of the town's mineral rights.

1069
01:29:35,090 --> 01:29:39,690
He has stated that he was advised by certain members of the town council not to run a competitive

1070
01:29:39,690 --> 01:29:43,930
bid and procurement process, which was of inviolation of his contract.

1071
01:29:44,670 --> 01:29:51,070
All this has resulted in only one offer from SM Energy, which is the new name for Mr.

1072
01:29:51,190 --> 01:29:53,570
Owens' former company, Civitas Resources.

1073
01:29:54,090 --> 01:29:59,170
There appears to be little concern among certain members of the town council that Mr. Owens'

1074
01:29:59,170 --> 01:29:59,970
This is former-

1075
01:30:06,610 --> 01:30:31,370
I suspect that nothing that residents say will have any impact on how the mayor and several of the council members will vote on this. If the members of the council who are poised to vote, please remember that an erosion of public trust in government is a terrible theme, and not easily repaired. Most of the people who have spoken out vociferously against this sale, like myself, are residents, property owners,

1076
01:30:31,370 --> 01:30:36,730
and taxpayers within the community. My husband and I have lived in this town for 20 years.

1077
01:30:38,330 --> 01:30:42,290
Please vote no. Thank you. All right, thank you.

1078
01:30:46,090 --> 01:30:49,090
Tiffany Pritchett, Diana Huzar, and Amy Becker.

1079
01:30:55,500 --> 01:30:58,060
I think I accidentally signed up twice. Sorry.

1080
01:31:03,060 --> 01:31:05,960
Mayor and council members, my name is Tiffany Pritchett.

1081
01:31:06,140 --> 01:31:11,480
I live in Flat Iron Meadows. I was born and raised in Odessa, Texas in the heart of the Permian Basin,

1082
01:31:11,480 --> 01:31:15,440
which if you're not familiar is prolific and oil and gas, also high school football.

1083
01:31:17,420 --> 01:31:21,200
I am also a mineral rights founder there myself, so I'm not someone who

1084
01:31:21,200 --> 01:31:25,380
necessarily opposes oil and gas on principle. I understand how it works, and I

1085
01:31:25,380 --> 01:31:29,680
understand economics. I also spent the early part of my career working at the

1086
01:31:29,680 --> 01:31:33,740
state and federal levels of government, so I understand something else, process

1087
01:31:33,740 --> 01:31:38,720
matters. Transparent accountable process is not a bureaucratic formality, it is

1088
01:31:38,720 --> 01:31:40,720
the foundation of public trust.

1089
01:31:41,300 --> 01:31:42,800
And that trust has been broken here.

1090
01:31:43,740 --> 01:31:46,140
This deal moved forward largely behind co-stores,

1091
01:31:46,680 --> 01:31:48,980
the Council met an executive session at least 10 times

1092
01:31:48,980 --> 01:31:50,940
before most residents even knew and offer existed.

1093
01:31:51,760 --> 01:31:54,440
The consultant hired to advise the town with public money

1094
01:31:54,800 --> 01:31:57,320
was a former executive of the very company making the offer

1095
01:31:57,320 --> 01:31:59,760
and was brought on without a competitive bid process.

1096
01:32:00,360 --> 01:32:02,440
When residents finally found out and asked questions,

1097
01:32:02,480 --> 01:32:04,020
the response was to schedule a vote

1098
01:32:04,020 --> 01:32:05,060
rather than open the books.

1099
01:32:06,220 --> 01:32:07,940
The Colorado Attorney General's office

1100
01:32:07,940 --> 01:32:10,200
is now reviewing complaints about this process.

1101
01:32:10,500 --> 01:32:11,260
That is not normal.

1102
01:32:11,980 --> 01:32:13,620
That is a serious institutional failure.

1103
01:32:14,360 --> 01:32:15,600
I want to be clear about something

1104
01:32:15,600 --> 01:32:16,760
from my oil and gas background.

1105
01:32:17,300 --> 01:32:18,900
When a company wants your mineral rights

1106
01:32:18,900 --> 01:32:20,340
badly enough to make a quit offer

1107
01:32:20,340 --> 01:32:21,380
and push for fast-close,

1108
01:32:21,760 --> 01:32:22,980
that is not a sign you should sell,

1109
01:32:23,380 --> 01:32:24,480
that's a sign you have leverage.

1110
01:32:25,280 --> 01:32:27,120
Colorado Law now specifically protects

1111
01:32:27,120 --> 01:32:29,320
municipalities from forced pooling,

1112
01:32:29,640 --> 01:32:31,260
that protection exists for a reason.

1113
01:32:31,960 --> 01:32:33,200
Giving it away in this opaque,

1114
01:32:33,880 --> 01:32:35,900
giving it away in a process this opaque,

1115
01:32:35,900 --> 01:32:42,760
that independent analysis of the true financial impact on eerie homeowners or the health and safety risks is not good governance.

1116
01:32:43,520 --> 01:32:51,420
It's a bargain made in the dark. Decisions about how it goes beneath our community and what comes up through it deserve more than a rush of vote after months of close door negotiations.

1117
01:32:52,280 --> 01:32:56,580
Hundreds of your constituents signed a letter and this council are asking for a legitimate promise.

1118
01:32:56,580 --> 01:32:57,160
Twenty seconds.

1119
01:32:57,460 --> 01:33:03,560
One with a competitive bid, independent analysis and real public voice. That's not a radical ask. That's the minimum standard.

1120
01:33:03,560 --> 01:33:10,000
I urge this Council to vote no on reconsideration and if this issue comes back to start over with

1121
01:33:10,000 --> 01:33:13,120
transparency and community engagement, eerie residents deserve.

1122
01:33:13,460 --> 01:33:13,820
Thank you.

1123
01:33:14,140 --> 01:33:14,420
All right.

1124
01:33:14,580 --> 01:33:15,700
Thank you.

1125
01:33:16,300 --> 01:33:19,320
Diana Hozar, Amy Becker, and Laurel.

1126
01:33:28,360 --> 01:33:28,620
Okay.

1127
01:33:29,200 --> 01:33:30,120
Why don't you come on in?

1128
01:33:39,440 --> 01:33:43,340
My name is Amy Becker and I have been an eerie resident since 2015.

1129
01:33:44,440 --> 01:33:48,480
I would start my statement with a question.

1130
01:33:48,480 --> 01:33:58,840
why are we here? When you were voted in as town council, you agreed to uphold the wishes,

1131
01:33:59,120 --> 01:34:06,800
the desires of the citizens of Erie. And last week, and many meetings before that,

1132
01:34:06,940 --> 01:34:15,800
you have heard overwhelmingly that we as a town are against this, and the vote was no last week.

1133
01:34:16,560 --> 01:34:20,200
So those two things show that the process worked.

1134
01:34:20,640 --> 01:34:22,560
You were voted to represent us.

1135
01:34:23,080 --> 01:34:24,540
We said we didn't want it.

1136
01:34:25,080 --> 01:34:25,920
You voted no.

1137
01:34:26,660 --> 01:34:27,760
So why are we here?

1138
01:34:28,900 --> 01:34:32,660
It is so clear that somehow someone's ear has been bent.

1139
01:34:33,120 --> 01:34:34,080
There has been lobbying.

1140
01:34:34,320 --> 01:34:36,900
There have been efforts to bring this back to the table.

1141
01:34:37,540 --> 01:34:38,940
But we shouldn't be here.

1142
01:34:39,420 --> 01:34:41,660
This was already voted, as a no.

1143
01:34:41,660 --> 01:34:49,780
So with all the impropriety surrounding the back door conversations and all of the lack

1144
01:34:49,780 --> 01:34:57,740
of transparency, I can't imagine how this town council would want a yes vote, a no vote

1145
01:34:57,740 --> 01:34:59,680
to be swung to a yes and compound.

1146
01:35:00,000 --> 01:35:29,880
That level of impropriety. It has been said here many times tonight that the optics are not good. So many eyes are on this. And I am not naive to think that all of the citizens of eerie don't want this. Certainly we have heard tonight from more yes votes than we have heard any other time, which I fully expected the call to action was clear. And their voices should absolutely be heard. But I would say

1147
01:35:29,880 --> 01:35:43,480
to the town council that if you vote yes tonight, that I would implore you, in fact, I would demand that you issue a public statement that answers the question that faced with overwhelming rejection by the town.

1148
01:35:44,080 --> 01:35:58,600
I, so and so town council member, still voted yes against my citizens for what reason? I would want to know why do you think you know better than we do? We have made it clear. We do not want this deal.

1149
01:35:58,600 --> 01:36:01,800
All right, thank you.

1150
01:36:03,540 --> 01:36:06,360
Laurel, then Rhonda Grassee and Justin Brooks.

1151
01:36:16,560 --> 01:36:18,220
Good evening, Mr. Mayor and council members.

1152
01:36:18,560 --> 01:36:19,380
My name is Laurel.

1153
01:36:19,560 --> 01:36:22,820
I am not a resident of Eerie, but my work does bring me here regularly.

1154
01:36:23,440 --> 01:36:27,840
I want to acknowledge, first and foremost, I am the individual who mentioned how many small

1155
01:36:27,840 --> 01:36:31,740
coffins would be town council purchased if we push this through.

1156
01:36:32,340 --> 01:36:38,900
I mention that because it is pertinent to some points that I'm going to make in response

1157
01:36:38,900 --> 01:36:41,740
to a post that was made on LinkedIn.

1158
01:36:42,820 --> 01:36:44,960
So I want to make it clear, first of all,

1159
01:36:45,740 --> 01:36:49,120
I am not in support of any calls for violence,

1160
01:36:50,480 --> 01:36:52,120
intimidations, things like that.

1161
01:36:52,940 --> 01:36:54,560
I bet on the receiving end of those things

1162
01:36:54,560 --> 01:36:57,140
not in relation to this, but I know that it can be terrifying.

1163
01:36:57,760 --> 01:36:58,620
So I want to make that clear.

1164
01:36:59,520 --> 01:37:01,980
What I do want to talk about is that there was a failure

1165
01:37:01,980 --> 01:37:05,060
to uphold the competitive bid process.

1166
01:37:05,700 --> 01:37:07,320
And as you have heard here tonight,

1167
01:37:07,320 --> 01:37:12,880
their even residents of the area who seem to have a high level of expertise in this. They were

1168
01:37:12,880 --> 01:37:19,220
never called from my understanding to give any perspective. And a competitive bid process is a

1169
01:37:19,220 --> 01:37:26,180
standard practice, particularly in the news palates. One thing I do want to know, and I'm not saying that

1170
01:37:26,180 --> 01:37:33,880
this is a deciding factor. However, I haven't heard it on record, is the acknowledgement that the

1171
01:37:33,880 --> 01:37:37,980
The Colorado School of Mines is consistently ranked among the world's best institutions

1172
01:37:37,980 --> 01:37:41,620
for Earth Sciences, Mineral Economics, and Petroleum Engineering.

1173
01:37:44,360 --> 01:37:49,200
Mayor Moore is the Chief Information Officer for the Colorado School of Mines and has

1174
01:37:49,200 --> 01:37:51,880
been since June of 2022.

1175
01:37:53,300 --> 01:38:01,420
Mr. Moore has also been a senior manager in IT applications in Chevron from 1985 to 1997

1176
01:38:01,420 --> 01:38:07,400
27 from 12 years. I say that because I believe that there were probably additional individuals

1177
01:38:07,400 --> 01:38:12,020
who may have been qualified and have a level of expertise, and while that may not have

1178
01:38:12,020 --> 01:38:16,460
come directly from mayor more, I do think that it's important to acknowledge. I'd also

1179
01:38:16,460 --> 01:38:21,180
like to invite Matt Owens to have a conversation with me. If he wants a perspective of someone

1180
01:38:21,180 --> 01:38:29,100
who was told at 10 years old, you have cancer. It's bad. It's really, really bad. And also,

1181
01:38:29,100 --> 01:38:34,840
So I am insulted by his insinuation that all of us are against oil and gas.

1182
01:38:35,040 --> 01:38:39,440
In fact, my former husband was almost killed on a rig saving his best friend.

1183
01:38:40,260 --> 01:38:44,500
So if he would like to have those conversations, he's certainly welcome to reach out to me.

1184
01:38:45,300 --> 01:38:50,300
Lastly, I want to say, and I know I'm at time, in relation to Mr. Owen's post,

1185
01:38:51,440 --> 01:38:57,460
regarding that our statements were impactful but misplaced, and that we didn't make evidence-based decisions.

1186
01:38:57,460 --> 01:39:02,280
I would like to say that the post on LinkedIn was inappropriate and inflammatory.

1187
01:39:03,000 --> 01:39:06,620
I am also an expert in my industry in social work.

1188
01:39:07,300 --> 01:39:12,460
I also teach and have done so at a top 12 graduate school of social work program in the nation.

1189
01:39:13,260 --> 01:39:18,640
And one of the things I talk to people about is that you never make a post online that you cannot take back.

1190
01:39:19,200 --> 01:39:23,000
And that lack of professionalism using inflammatory language.

1191
01:39:24,020 --> 01:39:28,980
providing a cartoon that was derogatory in nature is inappropriate and

1192
01:39:29,900 --> 01:39:36,880
certainly not demonstrating a worth of $4.5 million. I've interviewed for jobs

1193
01:39:36,880 --> 01:39:40,160
what I'm an expert in the field and never gotten in and I certainly never went

1194
01:39:40,160 --> 01:39:46,660
online and had a tantrum about it and that's unkind but I think it's true and I

1195
01:39:46,660 --> 01:39:52,600
implore that the town take part in a competitive bid process as is outlined in the

1196
01:39:52,600 --> 01:39:55,540
town governance. Thank you. All right. Thank you.

1197
01:39:57,960 --> 01:39:59,860
Ronda Grossi, Justin Brooks.

1198
01:40:00,000 --> 01:40:00,980
Ms. Senciv Mayer.

1199
01:40:04,170 --> 01:40:31,410
Hi, everybody. I'm Rhonda Grasje. I live in District 1 for over 27 years now. So as I don't repeat everything that's been said, I'll just say flat out that I do support you voting for this deal. I appreciate the benefits. It gives the town versus us having them drill enough, getting nothing. The things I can say that are different are I've seen the town over the last 27 years have oil and gas issues come before

1200
01:40:32,670 --> 01:40:43,510
council and trustees and it often brings a great big crowd but over the years the town has

1201
01:40:43,510 --> 01:40:51,170
drilling been going on ever since I've been here and properties have continued to grow

1202
01:40:51,170 --> 01:40:58,130
developments have continued to come and property values have come up so much in those 27 years that

1203
01:40:58,770 --> 01:41:03,010
I know so far it hasn't harmed the town in that way.

1204
01:41:03,710 --> 01:41:07,190
I do appreciate what all of you bring to sit here.

1205
01:41:07,770 --> 01:41:12,230
I don't believe any of you have any nefarious intentions.

1206
01:41:12,850 --> 01:41:18,250
I know it takes a lot of effort and soul searching to make these kind of votes.

1207
01:41:18,510 --> 01:41:22,150
And you're trying to do the best you can, representing the entire town,

1208
01:41:22,250 --> 01:41:24,910
and maybe not just the voices in this room.

1209
01:41:25,130 --> 01:41:26,010
You have a lot to consider.

1210
01:41:26,010 --> 01:41:31,070
So I appreciate all you do. I know you care about this town deeply. Thank you.

1211
01:41:31,950 --> 01:41:32,750
Thank you.

1212
01:41:34,690 --> 01:41:37,790
Justin Brooks, Steve Meyer, and then Becky Lesser.

1213
01:41:40,790 --> 01:41:43,770
And my time is pooled with Pam Tixera.

1214
01:41:44,490 --> 01:41:44,970
Oh, okay.

1215
01:41:46,210 --> 01:41:49,150
So I want to thank Pam for donating her time to me.

1216
01:41:52,490 --> 01:41:56,630
Good evening, Mary and Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Justin Brooks.

1217
01:41:56,630 --> 01:42:01,070
I am a former mayor of Erie and a current resident.

1218
01:42:02,370 --> 01:42:06,490
I also live near the project area and have followed the Draco project closely.

1219
01:42:07,670 --> 01:42:11,850
Over the past several months, Erie residents have expressed strongly help use on both sides

1220
01:42:11,850 --> 01:42:16,590
of the proposed mineral rights agreement, including concerns related to public process,

1221
01:42:16,990 --> 01:42:21,810
valuation and environmental impacts, municipal mineral rights and the long-term

1222
01:42:21,810 --> 01:42:28,170
applications of the agreement. Since the June 16th vote, many residents have also submitted

1223
01:42:28,170 --> 01:42:34,090
comments supporting reconsideration and approval. I respect those views. The continued division

1224
01:42:34,090 --> 01:42:38,090
within our community makes balanced public analysis of the benefits, risks and alternatives

1225
01:42:38,090 --> 01:42:44,930
more, not less important. As a resident, one question continues to stand out to me. What

1226
01:42:44,930 --> 01:42:50,610
material facts or substantive analysis concerning the agreement, its risks or its alternatives

1227
01:42:50,610 --> 01:42:55,670
have become available in the last seven days that were not available to come to council or the

1228
01:42:55,670 --> 01:42:56,730
public on June 16.

1229
01:42:59,360 --> 01:43:03,700
In reviewing the materials that have been presented publicly, I have seen

1230
01:43:03,700 --> 01:43:07,460
substantial discussions regarding the potential benefits of the proposed agreement.

1231
01:43:08,000 --> 01:43:13,800
I have not seen comparable public analysis evaluating the potential consequences of alternative scenarios,

1232
01:43:14,400 --> 01:43:19,840
including retaining the town's mineral interests, requiring the development to avoid those

1233
01:43:19,840 --> 01:43:26,560
interests or how Senate bill 24185 may affect those options. The public record reflects

1234
01:43:26,560 --> 01:43:30,660
differing views regarding the value of the agreement and the leverage associated with

1235
01:43:30,660 --> 01:43:36,200
municipal and municipal owned mineral interests. A clearer public discussion of those alternatives,

1236
01:43:36,460 --> 01:43:41,040
their risks, their benefits, and their potential impacts would help residents better understand

1237
01:43:41,040 --> 01:43:47,200
the choices before council. The ECMC's approval of the Draco-Willing Gas Development Plan,

1238
01:43:47,200 --> 01:43:52,740
order number 407-3700, includes conditions requiring that all wells be completed,

1239
01:43:52,740 --> 01:43:57,600
including hydraulic fracturing and installation of production equipment no later than May 13,

1240
01:43:57,760 --> 01:44:05,260
2028. The approval also states that extraction, now SM Energy, will use best efforts to complete

1241
01:44:05,260 --> 01:44:11,140
pre-production activities by October 15, 2027. These timeline requirements are now part of the public

1242
01:44:11,140 --> 01:44:11,420
record.

1243
01:44:13,510 --> 01:44:18,550
In reviewing the town's own records, I also noted multiple remediation notices issued

1244
01:44:18,550 --> 01:44:26,370
during the past year regarding the Arapaho 226, Morris 127, and Woolie 61 and 68 W sites.

1245
01:44:27,190 --> 01:44:33,310
Those notices document the need for contaminated soil removal, environmental sampling,

1246
01:44:33,610 --> 01:44:40,590
and remediation activities under ECMC oversight. The town's Q1-2026 oil and gas inspection

1247
01:44:40,590 --> 01:44:45,190
report also identifies compliance issues at active facilities and documented

1248
01:44:45,190 --> 01:44:49,330
corrective actions taken by operators. I mentioned these records not to suggest

1249
01:44:49,330 --> 01:44:53,470
that every operation will experience problems, but to recognize that oil and gas

1250
01:44:53,470 --> 01:44:57,190
development requires ongoing oversight inspections, corrective actions and

1251
01:44:57,190 --> 01:44:58,230
at time remediation.

1252
01:44:58,630 --> 01:44:59,830
These are matters that

1253
01:45:00,000 --> 01:45:29,980
Now, staff and residents continue to actively manage. Elected officials serve as fiduciary and representatives of the entire community, including people who disagree with them. Public trust is often influenced, not only by the outcome of a decision, but by whether, but by whether residents believed their concerns were heard, understood, and fairly considered. Complex decisions frequently benefit from public understanding of the trade-offs, risks, costs, and benefits involved.

1254
01:45:32,440 --> 01:45:39,860
I believe public confidence and major decisions is strengthened when residents feel they've

1255
01:45:39,860 --> 01:45:43,100
had sufficient opportunity to understand the issues, review the facts and participate

1256
01:45:43,100 --> 01:45:43,760
in the process.

1257
01:45:44,220 --> 01:45:48,960
I urge you to vote no again on this proposed contract and take the time to better evaluate

1258
01:45:48,960 --> 01:45:53,580
the risks associated with it and explore other potential avenues to increase public safety

1259
01:45:53,580 --> 01:45:59,760
relative to plugging old wells and reducing the occurrence of industrial accidents like we

1260
01:45:59,760 --> 01:46:02,780
current sites mentioned before. Thank you for your time and consideration.

1261
01:46:03,460 --> 01:46:09,980
All right, thank you. Next up, Steve Meyer and Becky Lesser and Kasey Hendrick.

1262
01:46:21,140 --> 01:46:25,700
Hello, Steve Meyer. I want to make sure everybody can hear me. I got to leave you

1263
01:46:25,700 --> 01:46:30,520
pull the microphone up a little bit. There you go. I've got a lot of wisdom, so

1264
01:46:31,140 --> 01:46:36,120
I'm going to make sure I'm heard. Ten year resident, I'm impressed by the

1265
01:46:36,120 --> 01:46:40,800
The thoughtfulness and the eloquence of the speakers tonight, especially those in opposition,

1266
01:46:42,700 --> 01:46:49,200
happens at my house is directly in an area where the hearing mineral rights exist,

1267
01:46:49,700 --> 01:46:51,360
but that's far too beside the point.

1268
01:46:51,960 --> 01:46:55,120
I stand in opposition to the sale to the town's mineral rights.

1269
01:46:56,640 --> 01:47:02,120
I indicate this by my presence and words, and want to be counted as such.

1270
01:47:02,120 --> 01:47:08,020
It seems a primary reason to support this proposition is financial, and I say that if the

1271
01:47:08,020 --> 01:47:14,620
town is relying on financial windfalls, we must be in a financial crisis not in evidence.

1272
01:47:15,540 --> 01:47:20,140
It's fortunate that the town of Erie retains these mineral rights and you can simply vote

1273
01:47:20,140 --> 01:47:23,040
no to impede the drilling in limited areas.

1274
01:47:23,320 --> 01:47:24,540
Please do so.

1275
01:47:25,440 --> 01:47:28,880
No, it seems clear that a large majority of residents oppose this.

1276
01:47:28,880 --> 01:47:37,200
As a representative of democracy, I hope that each council member who votes to approve this is voted out at the next election.

1277
01:47:40,530 --> 01:47:40,890
Thank you.

1278
01:47:42,310 --> 01:47:47,590
Next we have Becky Lesser than Casey Hendrick and Jennifer Enriquez.

1279
01:47:54,270 --> 01:47:55,230
Good evening.

1280
01:47:55,890 --> 01:47:58,610
Thank you, Mayor, Council, and all better.

1281
01:48:00,870 --> 01:48:03,230
I'm here just to represent softer voices.

1282
01:48:04,110 --> 01:48:08,990
I'm just here to be somebody standing here for people that may didn't.

1283
01:48:08,990 --> 01:48:13,570
What wasn't weren't able to get here tonight either they would have had to be

1284
01:48:13,570 --> 01:48:17,850
wheeled in or they would have not been able to get here for other reasons.

1285
01:48:18,890 --> 01:48:24,550
Software voices are still really important in our community and sometimes the

1286
01:48:24,550 --> 01:48:29,930
latter voices drown those out. I'm sorry that people have been harmed and threatened.

1287
01:48:30,530 --> 01:48:32,770
This is not who Erie is.

1288
01:48:32,990 --> 01:48:34,830
Can I get you to speak in the microphone to speak those at home?

1289
01:48:34,830 --> 01:48:36,530
This is not who Erie is.

1290
01:48:36,530 --> 01:48:36,930
Thank you.

1291
01:48:37,470 --> 01:48:38,430
Both sides.

1292
01:48:38,610 --> 01:48:39,270
All sides.

1293
01:48:39,370 --> 01:48:40,670
This should not be happening.

1294
01:48:41,870 --> 01:48:46,550
Software voices are still important because we're an intelligent and compassionate and

1295
01:48:46,550 --> 01:48:48,070
passion-filled community.

1296
01:48:49,930 --> 01:48:51,610
We've shared a lot of our resources.

1297
01:48:51,850 --> 01:48:53,310
I think someone brought that up already.

1298
01:48:53,550 --> 01:48:54,730
We've shared the Erie landfill.

1299
01:48:55,010 --> 01:48:58,930
We've shared the coal mines in our land and under our land and through our land.

1300
01:48:59,330 --> 01:49:03,170
We've shared current fracking all around us and mines everywhere.

1301
01:49:03,170 --> 01:49:08,850
somewhere. Maybe our land just wants to rest a little bit. Maybe the people want to

1302
01:49:08,850 --> 01:49:14,850
rest and have our land rest a little bit while we sort through some more of these process

1303
01:49:14,850 --> 01:49:23,390
decisions. If there is one, and I mean one chance that someone gets harmed because we

1304
01:49:23,390 --> 01:49:29,370
sell our mineral rights, is it a child, is it too near a school, is it something that we

1305
01:49:29,370 --> 01:49:30,430
We can't even foresee.

1306
01:49:31,090 --> 01:49:34,570
Is it worth that hazard in that decision tonight?

1307
01:49:36,110 --> 01:49:42,730
I implore you to consider, and I know there were some lots of considerations about bringing

1308
01:49:42,730 --> 01:49:51,050
this back to council, but I implore you to think about our land, our home, the reason we're

1309
01:49:51,050 --> 01:49:58,110
here, the reason we want this smaller community feel, and maybe give our land a rest in our

1310
01:49:58,110 --> 01:49:59,890
people on our land or this. Just

1311
01:50:00,000 --> 01:50:16,700
Just a little bit. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Next is Casey Hedrick, then Jennifer Enriquez and Chris Elliott. All right. And I'm going to pause just for a second. We've been going about two hours. How many are left? We have seven

1312
01:50:33,980 --> 01:50:46,780
or eight. Seven or eight. Okay. So we're about 20 minutes. Is anybody on council? Would you like a break? Or do you want to just get through the public comment and then maybe take a break? Keep going. Okay. Let's carry on. Thank you.

1313
01:50:46,780 --> 01:50:46,940
Thank you.

1314
01:50:46,940 --> 01:50:47,580
We're going to go.

1315
01:50:48,960 --> 01:50:52,380
Thank you, Mayor, and Town Council, Casey, Hedrick, District 1.

1316
01:50:52,780 --> 01:50:57,360
I've been up here and talked to you all before this a little bit with the primary concern around health and safety.

1317
01:50:58,240 --> 01:51:13,700
Councilwoman Beer laid this out a few meetings ago that the potential of the state bill that was passed in 2022 could have the opportunity from a mineral rights perspective to maybe delay or blunt or stop, maybe not stop,

1318
01:51:13,700 --> 01:51:16,000
Draco, but delay the project.

1319
01:51:16,480 --> 01:51:20,280
The point being that we've all have stood up here and I've heard you all say it, too,

1320
01:51:20,500 --> 01:51:21,820
is that you don't want Draco.

1321
01:51:21,940 --> 01:51:22,920
We didn't want it, right?

1322
01:51:23,080 --> 01:51:28,420
And this was a decision made for us, not bias and not by people elected by us, but now we

1323
01:51:28,420 --> 01:51:29,240
have to deal with it.

1324
01:51:29,340 --> 01:51:34,320
And we have to be the one somewhat in harm's way or potentially in harm's way from an environmental

1325
01:51:34,320 --> 01:51:35,900
standpoint and from a health standpoint.

1326
01:51:36,660 --> 01:51:43,360
And if the mineral rights, if there's any possibility that that could avoid some potential

1327
01:51:43,360 --> 01:51:48,040
harm for the thing that we all have said we don't want and we shouldn't sell.

1328
01:51:48,580 --> 01:51:51,320
And I would say we could even take it a step further.

1329
01:51:51,640 --> 01:51:57,060
Why are we accepting that there's this entity that lives at the state that gets to make

1330
01:51:57,060 --> 01:51:59,400
these types of decisions for us?

1331
01:51:59,780 --> 01:52:05,040
Why are we accepting that we have old abandoned wells that are an eerie that haven't been cleaned

1332
01:52:05,040 --> 01:52:07,160
up by the companies that did it in the first place?

1333
01:52:07,340 --> 01:52:08,380
Why do we accept this?

1334
01:52:08,380 --> 01:52:18,300
So I would ask us not only to vote no on selling our mineral rights but take it a step further and start to advocate to the state to change this because this isn't how this is supposed to work.

1335
01:52:18,640 --> 01:52:32,040
You all are incredibly community driven folks and have the ability to influence the state and lobby the state or advocate rather to the state to make these adjustments and I would ask that you do that.

1336
01:52:32,040 --> 01:52:33,760
We don't have to accept this.

1337
01:52:34,040 --> 01:52:38,100
We don't have to accept Draco and we don't have to accept the way that our system is built

1338
01:52:38,100 --> 01:52:43,120
and I would ask you to take a step further beyond saying no to mineral rights but also

1339
01:52:43,120 --> 01:52:45,520
to help make it so that this doesn't happen again.

1340
01:52:45,980 --> 01:52:46,360
Thank you.

1341
01:52:46,380 --> 01:52:46,820
All right.

1342
01:52:47,020 --> 01:52:47,900
Thank you.

1343
01:52:52,540 --> 01:52:55,960
Jennifer Enriquez, Chris Elliott and Austin Acres.

1344
01:52:56,240 --> 01:52:56,860
Good evening.

1345
01:52:57,220 --> 01:53:00,960
Jennifer Enriquez, a resident of Eerie and a property owner.

1346
01:53:02,980 --> 01:53:04,460
We've heard a lot tonight.

1347
01:53:04,460 --> 01:53:07,380
great arguments for and against.

1348
01:53:10,060 --> 01:53:13,500
For me, one of my biggest arguments against this is

1349
01:53:13,500 --> 01:53:20,560
that if we are of selling our literal rights, we as the town are giving up our oversight

1350
01:53:20,560 --> 01:53:28,240
about what happens. Right? So if you, you know, if anyone wants to type this into Google

1351
01:53:28,240 --> 01:53:34,700
will ask chat GPT very specifically what happens with this, that is the answer that you're

1352
01:53:34,700 --> 01:53:35,040
going to get.

1353
01:53:36,180 --> 01:53:39,040
And so it's really important for all of us to consider.

1354
01:53:40,160 --> 01:53:48,240
Yes, we have financial gain, but does that financial gain really, right, what happens here?

1355
01:53:50,400 --> 01:53:56,660
So our oversight is going to be heavily limited in many, many facets.

1356
01:53:56,660 --> 01:53:59,540
And I think that's really important for us to consider.

1357
01:54:02,980 --> 01:54:05,260
I'm in business. My neighbors are in business.

1358
01:54:06,300 --> 01:54:10,620
I have to tell you the consultant should be fired for what he did.

1359
01:54:11,120 --> 01:54:12,080
I think that is shocking.

1360
01:54:16,630 --> 01:54:18,870
Property values. I don't know.

1361
01:54:19,470 --> 01:54:21,370
I don't know if I'm going to be able to sell my property.

1362
01:54:21,390 --> 01:54:24,510
If all of this drilling is happening without any oversight,

1363
01:54:25,210 --> 01:54:27,410
we need to consider that. All of us.

1364
01:54:28,470 --> 01:54:34,210
We also need to consider all the health and wellness issues that are going to go in with

1365
01:54:34,210 --> 01:54:34,610
this.

1366
01:54:37,320 --> 01:54:38,360
It's a big deal.

1367
01:54:39,340 --> 01:54:41,240
How are all of our people going to be affected?

1368
01:54:42,440 --> 01:54:50,580
So please take a step back, really reconsider, what is this going to do to our town?

1369
01:54:51,980 --> 01:54:52,100
Right?

1370
01:54:52,340 --> 01:54:53,880
Is the financial gain really?

1371
01:54:54,120 --> 01:54:56,740
Is that everything we need to consider?

1372
01:54:57,480 --> 01:54:59,960
So thank you for taking that into it.

1373
01:55:00,000 --> 01:55:01,940
Thank you.

1374
01:55:05,430 --> 01:55:09,630
Next is Chris Elliott, then Austin Acres, and Moesha Babs.

1375
01:55:17,760 --> 01:55:40,600
Mr. Mayor, council members. Chris Elliott, I am with the firm that I'm the principal of the firm that is developing Parkdale and Spring Hill in the community. We've been at this for some 15 years. I can tell you that when we first got involved in land development within Erie, one of the first things we did

1376
01:55:40,600 --> 01:55:47,780
It is look at what some of the assets and liabilities were that we had with the properties that we had.

1377
01:55:48,380 --> 01:55:58,180
And one of the things that we quickly determined was that the proliferation of oil and gas wells on the property was a problem.

1378
01:55:58,900 --> 01:56:10,000
It became an issue that of coexistence of oil and gas above ground facilities with the type of communities that we wanted to do.

1379
01:56:10,600 --> 01:56:29,980
And the conclusion that we came to was we need to go out and make a point of acquiring all of the oil and gas wells that are on the property, work with the operators and have them plug and abandon the wells that were there.

1380
01:56:30,800 --> 01:56:33,760
Again, we didn't think it was a good coexistence.

1381
01:56:33,920 --> 01:56:39,440
We also thought from a health and safety perspective that having at least 15 years ago,

1382
01:56:39,620 --> 01:56:44,740
having the potential for an oil and gas well to be right in the backyard or

1383
01:56:44,740 --> 01:56:49,320
close to the backyard of prospective homes was not a good idea.

1384
01:56:50,280 --> 01:56:55,280
So we eliminated every oil and gas well that there was within our communities.

1385
01:56:55,280 --> 01:57:01,740
I can tell you that we spent in excess of $10 million in order to make that kind of thing happen.

1386
01:57:02,360 --> 01:57:10,400
One of the things that I see with this particular proposal, that I don't think gets the attention that it deserves, is that

1387
01:57:11,760 --> 01:57:18,760
there are nearly 2,000 wells that exist out there that are going to go away.

1388
01:57:19,360 --> 01:57:31,780
And we've heard from a couple of folks that lived near them and they're living with the fact that there's oil and gas facilities there that could be a problem for them.

1389
01:57:32,900 --> 01:57:34,340
And they will go away.

1390
01:57:34,340 --> 01:57:47,060
Okay, the other thing is that we've been able to work with seven north and the town to install some drainage improvements along the south end of one of the properties that's being acquired.

1391
01:57:47,620 --> 01:57:57,040
In addition to that, we're installing a significant water main connection that will benefit the airport and benefit the airport properties.

1392
01:57:57,540 --> 01:58:02,060
That's not anything that the town is going to be responsible for, we're taking care of all of that.

1393
01:58:02,060 --> 01:58:23,660
So with the improvements to the drainage facilities it will take care of the drainage needs of the parcels that the town would end up acquiring and making just that much easier to monetize those in some sort of a sale to developers who would do economic development and employment facilities.

1394
01:58:24,380 --> 01:58:28,880
So we urge you to vote in favor of the proposal. Thank you.

1395
01:58:28,880 --> 01:58:35,500
all right thank you next we have Austin Acres who is online Austin if you can

1396
01:58:35,500 --> 01:58:38,760
hear me please unmute yourself and you may speak

1397
01:58:43,850 --> 01:58:46,810
Austin can you hear us yes

1398
01:58:46,810 --> 01:58:52,670
thank you can you hear me yes well thank you so much I'm sorry I couldn't be

1399
01:58:52,670 --> 01:58:57,730
there in person but I appreciate the opportunity to speak my name is Austin

1400
01:58:57,730 --> 01:59:03,710
acres, I'm a native Colorado, the father of a six-year-old Jack, and a passionate

1401
01:59:04,330 --> 01:59:09,830
outdoorsman. I'm also the CEO of Bison Oil and Gas, which is the largest private oil

1402
01:59:09,830 --> 01:59:16,050
and gas company in Colorado. I want to be clear that I have nothing to gain at all here

1403
01:59:16,050 --> 01:59:22,950
from this hearing. I have no interest in anything being done here, but the misinformed and sad

1404
01:59:22,950 --> 01:59:30,250
decision made last week compels me to speak here. These drako wells are being drilled regardless

1405
01:59:30,250 --> 01:59:37,190
of how this vote goes. Let's be 100% clear about that. I also want to clear up some misunderstanding

1406
01:59:37,190 --> 01:59:45,150
from earlier in this session. Any perceived property value decreases, which is nonsense based on

1407
01:59:45,150 --> 01:59:52,050
the data we have about property values with oil and gas associated, will happen no matter what,

1408
01:59:52,050 --> 01:59:55,810
But as these wells are going to be drilled regardless of this decision today.

1409
01:59:56,410 --> 01:59:59,950
And if your taxes rise because of budget deficits without-

1410
02:00:05,420 --> 02:00:25,160
The statement that you're giving up leverage by selling your mineral rights is inaccurate. With all due respect, you have absolutely no leverage if you vote no. You just walk away from an estimated $400 million. Any statement that you are not abiding by the will of the people is misleading.

1411
02:00:25,160 --> 02:00:30,180
leading, areas a town of 40,000 people. As of 7 p.m.

1412
02:00:30,360 --> 02:00:36,920
in this evening, 227 people had signed the petition against voting to sell them in our lights.

1413
02:00:37,760 --> 02:00:40,020
That is one half of 1%.

1414
02:00:40,020 --> 02:00:45,900
Scare tactics saying that this is not the will of the people are pure manipulation.

1415
02:00:47,180 --> 02:00:52,880
The $400 million you're being offered is far more than any other company could actually offer you.

1416
02:00:52,880 --> 02:01:02,100
My firm, which actually looked at this particular property sale, could offer a maximum of 5.5 million dollars.

1417
02:01:02,980 --> 02:01:15,980
SM Energy, who is one of my competitors and not someone I'm looking to benefit, can offer you this 20-second value because they own property within your city boundaries and that they will trade that property you.

1418
02:01:15,980 --> 02:01:19,820
This is a unique, highly beneficial situation for eerie.

1419
02:01:20,480 --> 02:01:23,300
The stars have aligned and it's a shame to let it go.

1420
02:01:24,300 --> 02:01:26,680
Colorado has the most stringent oil and gas rules

1421
02:01:26,680 --> 02:01:30,480
in the world, not just this country but in the entire world.

1422
02:01:30,940 --> 02:01:33,040
Oil produced here carries exponentially

1423
02:01:33,040 --> 02:01:35,820
less environmental impact than oil produced elsewhere.

1424
02:01:36,540 --> 02:01:39,240
Our borders do not keep out global warming, sadly.

1425
02:01:39,820 --> 02:01:41,740
So deferring production under eerie

1426
02:01:41,740 --> 02:01:43,660
when the wells will be drilled regardless

1427
02:01:43,660 --> 02:01:47,280
is actually worse for the environment than drilling them

1428
02:01:47,280 --> 02:01:49,080
and not sharing in the benefit.

1429
02:01:50,060 --> 02:01:52,260
My wife would, of course, reject the designation

1430
02:01:52,260 --> 02:01:54,100
that I'm an expert in everything.

1431
02:01:54,940 --> 02:01:56,000
And I mean everything.

1432
02:01:56,920 --> 02:01:58,980
But when it comes to oil and gas

1433
02:01:58,980 --> 02:02:01,420
and its financial environmental impacts, I am.

1434
02:02:02,240 --> 02:02:05,140
Your vote yesterday means not only an economic windfall

1435
02:02:05,140 --> 02:02:08,460
for the city, but lower emissions and environmental impact

1436
02:02:08,460 --> 02:02:09,800
for eerie and the world.

1437
02:02:10,400 --> 02:02:12,500
That is an absolute no-brainer.

1438
02:02:13,100 --> 02:02:20,360
Thank you so much for this opportunity and God bless America and everyone trying to make a better world for all of us now and in the future.

1439
02:02:21,080 --> 02:02:21,820
Thank you so much.

1440
02:02:22,560 --> 02:02:23,460
All right. Thank you.

1441
02:02:24,800 --> 02:02:31,480
Next we have Moisha Babs, Olivia Almondio and Kim Roblooski.

1442
02:02:39,270 --> 02:02:42,210
Good evening, Mayor Moore and members of the town council.

1443
02:02:42,450 --> 02:02:46,310
Thank you for hearing my comments tonight. My name is Moisha Babs.

1444
02:02:46,310 --> 02:02:50,330
I'm a resident of the town of Erie for nearly 18 years.

1445
02:02:51,170 --> 02:02:56,350
There's an old adage that many of you, I'm sure have heard, all money is not good money.

1446
02:02:57,230 --> 02:03:02,750
While a deal can seem lucrative today, the effects of it can be long lasting.

1447
02:03:03,570 --> 02:03:07,610
I oppose a yes vote to this sale, the sale of the town mineral rights, and

1448
02:03:07,610 --> 02:03:13,310
strongly urge you all to take the time to go through the competitive bid process and

1449
02:03:13,310 --> 02:03:17,390
conducted due diligence of research on this deal and what it means to our community.

1450
02:03:18,970 --> 02:03:26,690
I grew up in a coastal Texas town that houses many refineries along with other coastal towns as well.

1451
02:03:27,130 --> 02:03:30,490
Most of your fuel and petroleum products come out of these coastal areas.

1452
02:03:31,250 --> 02:03:38,570
I'd like to give you a small parallel example of how big companies use small coastal communities or use small communities.

1453
02:03:38,570 --> 02:03:47,610
On March of 2005, just over 20 years ago, a hydrocarbon vapor cloud ignited and violently

1454
02:03:48,290 --> 02:03:53,350
exploded at the BP-owned refinery in Texas City, Texas, of which I'm from.

1455
02:03:54,750 --> 02:03:57,270
BP started out very kindly.

1456
02:03:57,830 --> 02:04:05,130
They offered many concessions to the community, to the schools, and many of the red parks

1457
02:04:05,130 --> 02:04:07,190
and rec, prior to this.

1458
02:04:07,190 --> 02:04:11,170
When this particular thing occurred mind you, that was 20 years ago.

1459
02:04:11,370 --> 02:04:14,450
So I was still in that community or near that community at the time.

1460
02:04:14,950 --> 02:04:20,610
The effects that we've seen now nearly 20 years later has truly affected the community.

1461
02:04:21,170 --> 02:04:26,930
Many people have come with cancer, cancer, and certain other diseases.

1462
02:04:27,590 --> 02:04:33,350
The explosion occurred in over $2 billion of cost and repairs.

1463
02:04:33,350 --> 02:04:36,950
And when that occurred, BP took their operations and moved out.

1464
02:04:37,630 --> 02:04:43,610
Leaving the community, struggling financially as well as with health issues.

1465
02:04:44,130 --> 02:04:51,870
Many of my friends, family members, and classmates have since either developed health issues or cancer or have died since.

1466
02:04:52,350 --> 02:04:53,670
I'm not even 50 yet.

1467
02:04:54,730 --> 02:04:59,610
So I say to you, many people have moved out of this community in this town.

1468
02:04:59,610 --> 02:04:59,870
I'll leave.

1469
02:05:00,000 --> 02:05:29,680
It's struggling financially and to rebuild on its own. While this is not something that we are probably having as an issue here, it's a direct parallel to you seeing what large companies will do to small towns. So I urge you tonight to take the time to really do your research to ensure that you are doing everything possible, not for money value, not for a dollar today, but looking what your children, your grandchildren will incur in the future. Thank you.

1470
02:05:30,340 --> 02:05:31,180
Thank you.

1471
02:05:33,860 --> 02:05:35,880
Olivia Amadillo and then Kim.

1472
02:05:37,800 --> 02:05:38,740
Love Blouse.

1473
02:05:38,980 --> 02:05:39,660
Love Blouse.

1474
02:05:39,660 --> 02:05:39,840
Love Blouse.

1475
02:05:40,300 --> 02:05:40,480
Sorry.

1476
02:05:41,040 --> 02:05:41,360
I'm sorry.

1477
02:05:41,980 --> 02:05:43,380
I knew I was going to mess up.

1478
02:05:45,320 --> 02:05:45,760
Hi there.

1479
02:05:46,180 --> 02:05:47,560
My name is Olivia Modio.

1480
02:05:47,820 --> 02:05:50,100
I have lived in Erie for 21 years.

1481
02:05:50,300 --> 02:05:52,360
I grew up here in my last name.

1482
02:05:52,440 --> 02:05:53,280
Probably sounds familiar.

1483
02:05:54,200 --> 02:05:55,860
I originally didn't want to speak tonight,

1484
02:05:55,860 --> 02:05:58,720
but I felt like I needed to make my voice heard

1485
02:05:59,380 --> 02:06:00,720
as someone who is young

1486
02:06:00,720 --> 02:06:06,860
and has a feature here in Erie. I really care about this town. I really care about

1487
02:06:06,860 --> 02:06:13,820
my home and most importantly my mom. I have no fancy background. I just have an

1488
02:06:13,820 --> 02:06:18,100
English degree. I wanted I'm going to library school and I know that's about

1489
02:06:18,100 --> 02:06:22,140
research but I didn't bring any fancy research for you tonight. I just have a

1490
02:06:22,140 --> 02:06:28,340
voice and I have a mom who I watch suffer every day and who won't meet an

1491
02:06:28,340 --> 02:06:37,520
early grave. I have really no words. I'm just disappointed in the people supposed to represent

1492
02:06:37,520 --> 02:06:42,220
my town that I've called home for so long. So I just urge you to think about the future,

1493
02:06:42,600 --> 02:06:47,260
think about people like myself who are up and coming and who are growing up here and have grown

1494
02:06:47,260 --> 02:06:54,820
up here. Is the health of your constituents really worth it? What is it worth? And how much our lives

1495
02:06:54,820 --> 02:06:57,560
I was worth as opposed to a payout.

1496
02:06:58,420 --> 02:06:59,180
Everyone is watching.

1497
02:06:59,480 --> 02:07:03,320
I know that a lot of a common theme now in this tonight

1498
02:07:03,320 --> 02:07:07,480
is to make the right decision and to do what's right.

1499
02:07:07,940 --> 02:07:09,760
And I know that's said and said again,

1500
02:07:10,160 --> 02:07:13,620
but young people like myself are watching you.

1501
02:07:14,060 --> 02:07:17,840
And they really expect you to make a good decision for all of us.

1502
02:07:18,340 --> 02:07:20,660
And I just wanted to make my voice heard

1503
02:07:20,660 --> 02:07:23,840
and be the voice of young people today.

1504
02:07:24,260 --> 02:07:25,480
So thank you for your time.

1505
02:07:25,940 --> 02:07:26,340
Thank you.

1506
02:07:30,860 --> 02:07:34,140
Hi mayor, council members.

1507
02:07:34,560 --> 02:07:35,700
My name is Kimberly Blaskey.

1508
02:07:36,120 --> 02:07:38,100
I am a 10 year resident of eerie.

1509
02:07:38,480 --> 02:07:42,860
I am a full time working mother of two proudly and importantly.

1510
02:07:43,660 --> 02:07:46,460
My son Charlie, my daughter Marlo,

1511
02:07:46,840 --> 02:07:48,580
are being raised in eerie.

1512
02:07:49,400 --> 02:07:51,460
And my family and I moved here 10 years ago

1513
02:07:51,460 --> 02:07:55,620
because we saw the promise of this community,

1514
02:07:55,820 --> 02:07:58,680
the small town feeling of what it had to offer.

1515
02:07:59,520 --> 02:08:01,480
And I am a first time commenter.

1516
02:08:01,720 --> 02:08:05,300
I've never felt so compelled to show up.

1517
02:08:05,460 --> 02:08:07,480
I've unprepared, I have no preparation,

1518
02:08:07,940 --> 02:08:09,480
but midway through the meeting,

1519
02:08:09,520 --> 02:08:14,440
it felt important for me to rise and ask for things of you.

1520
02:08:15,120 --> 02:08:18,000
And I do so saying that each and every single one of you

1521
02:08:18,000 --> 02:08:27,200
It works for me in every resident in this meeting room here today, and every resident who

1522
02:08:27,200 --> 02:08:31,520
can't be here who hasn't commented and lives within this town's limits.

1523
02:08:32,700 --> 02:08:38,660
And the four things that I'm rising to ask are number one, please oppose and vote against

1524
02:08:38,660 --> 02:08:42,440
the measure tonight, which leads me to my second request.

1525
02:08:42,440 --> 02:08:51,280
I can't stand here and say that I appreciate and can stand other four or against the merits of this opportunity

1526
02:08:51,280 --> 02:09:00,520
for the town, because I can't get beyond the lack of integrity that seems to be lacking around the process itself.

1527
02:09:01,240 --> 02:09:09,200
And I think that that is deeply important as you sit in service of this town and the citizens of its community.

1528
02:09:09,200 --> 02:09:18,940
And so my second is, oppose it, go back to the drawing board, do it properly with a no-bid process.

1529
02:09:19,540 --> 02:09:24,300
The third action that I would ask of you is to immediately fire Matt Owens,

1530
02:09:24,600 --> 02:09:29,980
beneath the dignity and integrity of this town and the people of its residents.

1531
02:09:30,580 --> 02:09:38,220
His behavior is important and he should not receive a single taxpayer dollar from this town.

1532
02:09:38,220 --> 02:09:41,780
We can do better in who we're working with and representing.

1533
02:09:42,500 --> 02:09:48,920
And then fourth and lastly, ties into somebody, a moment ago said, we are a town of about 40,000 people.

1534
02:09:49,320 --> 02:09:59,960
I would ask you instead of fast tracking this, take it to a vote, push the peel out to the residents, explain what it is that we're looking at here and allow the people.

1535
02:10:00,000 --> 02:10:10,380
Thank you all to have their voices heard. And so that's all I have to say thank you for your time and I do thank you for your public service to our community. Thank you.

1536
02:10:15,440 --> 02:10:17,680
Bill Hughes and then Shannon Milliken.

1537
02:10:45,240 --> 02:11:01,660
I have to tell her one. I'm Bill Hughes. I live in Erie comments. I can give you a little history. 15 years ago I was a planner for the swings. All this 360 acres.

1538
02:11:01,660 --> 02:11:10,640
in here. And we, the talent plan was residential. We did a bunch of different drawings and sketches,

1539
02:11:11,100 --> 02:11:18,240
and for different residents. And I worked in this quite a while. Every proposal we had required

1540
02:11:18,240 --> 02:11:25,200
us to bring in water rights. It required us to put the water lines in. It required us to put the

1541
02:11:25,200 --> 02:11:30,280
sewer lines in. It required us to pave all the streets around the side of it. We're talking

1542
02:11:30,280 --> 02:11:33,260
25 to 30 million dollars worth of improvements.

1543
02:11:33,680 --> 02:11:34,900
If you look around the city,

1544
02:11:35,200 --> 02:11:37,320
that's what all the developers have to pay.

1545
02:11:38,000 --> 02:11:40,960
Well, for some reason, after a year or so,

1546
02:11:41,460 --> 02:11:44,000
we tried to, and we couldn't get it but it did put,

1547
02:11:44,160 --> 02:11:46,160
all those improvements, it's betty that side.

1548
02:11:46,360 --> 02:11:47,420
It didn't have sore.

1549
02:11:48,420 --> 02:11:50,140
It was really a tough side to do that.

1550
02:11:52,240 --> 02:11:55,920
So, mysteriously, some, I think this is in the county,

1551
02:11:56,620 --> 02:11:58,540
he came in and he said, you know,

1552
02:11:58,540 --> 02:11:59,900
I don't need any of that, shit.

1553
02:12:00,520 --> 02:12:01,760
I don't need anything.

1554
02:12:02,060 --> 02:12:03,340
I can get my use.

1555
02:12:04,220 --> 02:12:06,100
So somehow they slipped in the county

1556
02:12:06,100 --> 02:12:09,640
and they put that industrial use right in the middle.

1557
02:12:10,220 --> 02:12:13,020
They didn't do any improvements to anybody,

1558
02:12:13,260 --> 02:12:15,260
to the county, to the city, the improvements.

1559
02:12:15,900 --> 02:12:18,080
Period, they didn't do one damn thing.

1560
02:12:18,520 --> 02:12:20,160
So the damn city is stuck with it.

1561
02:12:20,320 --> 02:12:22,560
I saw a use in the middle of a property

1562
02:12:22,560 --> 02:12:23,980
supposed to be residential.

1563
02:12:25,220 --> 02:12:26,820
And who in the hell would be there

1564
02:12:26,820 --> 02:12:29,320
What's that industrial use right in the middle of that?

1565
02:12:29,780 --> 02:12:32,400
How would got in there to someone new somebody else?

1566
02:12:32,600 --> 02:12:34,680
And I don't think it's still zone industrial.

1567
02:12:35,840 --> 02:12:37,720
Still, you want it for residential.

1568
02:12:38,240 --> 02:12:43,400
Well, my think is illegal operation to begin with.

1569
02:12:43,480 --> 02:12:45,260
That was in there, I'm talking about the original,

1570
02:12:45,500 --> 02:12:46,760
that minor little to use.

1571
02:12:47,000 --> 02:12:49,360
They said, we don't need any water.

1572
02:12:49,740 --> 02:12:51,240
So we're not going to begin to water it.

1573
02:12:51,760 --> 02:12:54,680
And we're not going to, we don't flush toilets.

1574
02:12:54,680 --> 02:13:01,560
But so we're not going to provide through lines that that property and we're not going

1575
02:13:01,560 --> 02:13:02,280
to use the streets.

1576
02:13:02,280 --> 02:13:04,360
So we're not going to put any pavement on the street.

1577
02:13:04,360 --> 02:13:05,820
We're not going to pay for the streets.

1578
02:13:06,380 --> 02:13:13,100
So we're stuck right now with an eye saw in the middle of a residential to a post residential

1579
02:13:13,100 --> 02:13:13,960
development area.

1580
02:13:14,320 --> 02:13:15,500
No streets around.

1581
02:13:15,640 --> 02:13:20,180
Have you driven around that property out there and you're right across the street for the

1582
02:13:20,180 --> 02:13:20,600
landfill?

1583
02:13:21,160 --> 02:13:23,460
But have you seen the way it looked like?

1584
02:13:23,700 --> 02:13:24,720
Which stuck with that?

1585
02:13:25,140 --> 02:13:26,540
Someone's going to have to pay for that.

1586
02:13:26,920 --> 02:13:28,760
And right now, you're not going to get

1587
02:13:28,760 --> 02:13:31,460
a residential developer to locate in there.

1588
02:13:32,440 --> 02:13:34,460
And if whatever they have, whatever comes,

1589
02:13:34,960 --> 02:13:36,520
there's a huge amount of improvements.

1590
02:13:36,860 --> 02:13:38,540
I don't think you're going to get enough money

1591
02:13:38,540 --> 02:13:41,160
from the oral company to pay for those improvements.

1592
02:13:42,460 --> 02:13:45,740
As far as I know, that's going to be an eyesore period.

1593
02:13:46,200 --> 02:13:47,560
I don't know how I've got to prove

1594
02:13:47,560 --> 02:13:51,480
and who they knew that that was in the county when they got approved, it was that you guys,

1595
02:13:51,900 --> 02:13:59,480
but it mysteriously got allowed, and I don't think it is still an industrial, any place.

1596
02:14:00,440 --> 02:14:08,420
It mysteriously got out, but which stuff was it, that bad use right in the middle of

1597
02:14:08,420 --> 02:14:16,840
The polls residential area, which needs everything, sewer work, and the dam sewer line is east,

1598
02:14:17,560 --> 02:14:20,020
way east, and goes down the interstate.

1599
02:14:20,140 --> 02:14:24,380
I mean, we're talking about it very expensive, somehow we're stuck with.

1600
02:14:24,440 --> 02:14:27,360
I don't know who we're going to get it, but it's got to prove.

1601
02:14:28,460 --> 02:14:30,360
And that's what we're stuck with right now.

1602
02:14:30,700 --> 02:14:31,920
And this is how it came about.

1603
02:14:32,540 --> 02:14:32,800
All right.

1604
02:14:33,100 --> 02:14:35,740
And you were out of time tonight, but appreciate your comments.

1605
02:14:36,380 --> 02:14:37,100
Thank you.

1606
02:14:49,900 --> 02:14:54,880
All right. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers. My name is Shannon. My pronouns are she

1607
02:14:54,880 --> 02:14:59,960
her and while I'm not a resident in Viery, I'm deeply invested in this community and the impact the decisions of

1608
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:29,940
This town council have on the people who lived here. I wear many hats, but I consider myself a community advocate, especially when it comes to what's best for children. I'm not here to speak on mineral rights or any specific policy issue. I'm here because the way of leaders show up how you communicate, listen, and navigate disagreement, shapes the culture or children grow up in. It shapes our town, it shapes how people show up, it shapes the safety and well-being of your community. Your behavior becomes the model our children learn from. As you move into your comments tonight, I'm asking each of you

1609
02:15:29,940 --> 02:15:36,020
to do so professionally. At least two members of Council made extremely disrespectful comments

1610
02:15:36,020 --> 02:15:40,620
toward their colleagues last week, and this is not the first time. Public attacks don't show

1611
02:15:40,620 --> 02:15:45,300
disagreement. They show a breakdown in respect. They erode trust and they signal to community

1612
02:15:45,300 --> 02:15:51,100
that conflict is more important than collaboration. Mr. Mayor, you ask the audience tonight to show respect,

1613
02:15:51,460 --> 02:15:56,000
and I'm asking you to hold the same expectation to the Council. The personal attacks we witnessed

1614
02:15:56,000 --> 02:16:00,660
this last week are disrespectful and below the standard of what of leadership this community

1615
02:16:00,660 --> 02:16:05,360
deserves. We choose to engage my young daughter in these conversations so she can learn.

1616
02:16:05,860 --> 02:16:09,800
And when we were watching last week's meeting and got to one specific council member's comments,

1617
02:16:10,280 --> 02:16:14,180
her first comment was, wow, he isn't being very nice to other people.

1618
02:16:15,780 --> 02:16:21,160
Kids are watching. They are learning from how you treat one another. We've heard from residents

1619
02:16:21,160 --> 02:16:25,140
tonight who have been afraid to speak up because they don't feel safe. And that matters.

1620
02:16:25,140 --> 02:16:29,600
As a leadership of this town, people look to you to understand what is acceptable.

1621
02:16:30,120 --> 02:16:36,060
The tone you set here and online shapes how this community believes they can act.

1622
02:16:36,740 --> 02:16:39,880
We've also seen what's possible when this council chooses to build bridges.

1623
02:16:40,400 --> 02:16:44,120
When you set aside disagreement, lean in, and truly value residents' voices.

1624
02:16:44,540 --> 02:16:48,320
When you choose connection over conflict, you create space for real collaboration and

1625
02:16:48,320 --> 02:16:51,320
a healthier system for the children who are watching you.

1626
02:16:51,720 --> 02:16:53,740
That's the leadership that this town deserves.

1627
02:16:53,740 --> 02:16:54,700
Thank you.

1628
02:16:55,020 --> 02:16:55,400
All right.

1629
02:16:55,620 --> 02:16:56,460
Thank you.

1630
02:16:57,180 --> 02:16:58,600
That was our final speaker.

1631
02:16:58,900 --> 02:16:59,160
All right.

1632
02:16:59,400 --> 02:17:01,880
I'm going to call our attorney up, Brina Ming.

1633
02:17:11,400 --> 02:17:13,220
We're double checking, but-

1634
02:17:13,820 --> 02:17:14,400
Let him speak.

1635
02:17:14,880 --> 02:17:15,600
How-

1636
02:17:15,600 --> 02:17:16,340
Let him speak.

1637
02:17:17,540 --> 02:17:17,800
Please.

1638
02:17:18,460 --> 02:17:21,720
How many people are students still like to address this tonight?

1639
02:17:22,880 --> 02:17:23,760
Just three.

1640
02:17:27,140 --> 02:17:28,020
Do you want to speak?

1641
02:17:28,540 --> 02:17:28,740
Yeah.

1642
02:17:29,060 --> 02:17:29,440
Four.

1643
02:17:34,480 --> 02:17:36,220
I'm going to take a short break.

1644
02:17:36,540 --> 02:17:41,200
Please sign up, our town clerk is not seeing that, that's the public record.

1645
02:17:41,820 --> 02:17:43,280
So please take the time to do that.

1646
02:17:43,820 --> 02:17:47,220
We'll come back in five minutes, we'll pick this back up.

1647
02:18:07,960 --> 02:18:13,260
And does the town clerk now have the additional four people?

1648
02:18:13,740 --> 02:18:14,000
I do.

1649
02:18:16,840 --> 02:18:20,580
Winifred right-gold, I'm sorry, I always mispronounce your name.

1650
02:18:20,580 --> 02:18:21,620
Good

1651
02:18:26,070 --> 02:18:34,690
evening everybody, everybody, my name is Ben Friedricheld and I live in Erie, not that long but that shouldn't matter.

1652
02:18:37,810 --> 02:18:43,930
So there are multiple facets that I would like to touch in respect of this whole discussion.

1653
02:18:44,530 --> 02:18:51,430
Number one, the process seems to be highly suspicious or just not how it should be.

1654
02:18:51,430 --> 02:19:03,130
That's number one. Number two, little history. Anybody knows Woody Guthrie? Probably lots of people know Woody Guthrie, right?

1655
02:19:03,830 --> 02:19:13,910
Yeah, what does Woody Guthrie have to do with this? In the 1930s, the federal government contracted with Woody Guthrie for a campaign,

1656
02:19:13,910 --> 02:19:30,290
And the campaign was to bring energy prices down because some people held monopolies, and of course they loved it, and they had the money so they lobbied Congress and they lobbied whoever was in a situation of power.

1657
02:19:30,930 --> 02:19:36,130
So the energy prices stayed high, the government wanted to change, and I think that was in Roosevelt.

1658
02:19:36,130 --> 02:19:40,330
built, all of them communists, socialists, whatever,

1659
02:19:40,730 --> 02:19:42,550
the usual in such situations.

1660
02:19:43,330 --> 02:19:45,590
And why did they hire Woody Guthrie?

1661
02:19:45,850 --> 02:19:49,350
Because they started a huge campaign to fire the people up

1662
02:19:50,270 --> 02:19:55,630
to support the government spending money to build dams

1663
02:19:55,890 --> 02:19:58,430
to create electricity.

1664
02:19:58,430 --> 02:19:59,710
And

1665
02:20:03,800 --> 02:20:29,980
We're going to have to do it today. 20 seconds. Okay. Okay. It costs you $28,000 in the U.S. to put solar panels 7 kilowatt on your roof in Australia, because 4,000 in Germany, which is not a poor country, because 10,000, you get 7 kilowatt on your roof, you get an electrical car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car,

1666
02:20:29,980 --> 02:20:33,920
You're not dependent on gasoline prices anymore.

1667
02:20:34,500 --> 02:20:38,500
You're not dependent on gas prices for your heat pump, et cetera, et cetera.

1668
02:20:38,880 --> 02:20:41,780
It's the same fight, and I don't want part of it.

1669
02:20:42,220 --> 02:20:44,380
And we all shouldn't have part of it.

1670
02:20:44,800 --> 02:20:48,860
And subsidies will come back when the next government comes back.

1671
02:20:49,020 --> 02:20:54,680
And all of this money that we're going to make from these contracts is pie in the sky

1672
02:20:55,180 --> 02:20:56,840
because there will be renewables.

1673
02:20:56,840 --> 02:21:04,460
And, by the way, last point, just today it was in the news, these super benevolent companies

1674
02:21:05,960 --> 02:21:13,700
that produce oil, gas, gasoline, whatever, just today, multiple of them in Wales County

1675
02:21:14,100 --> 02:21:22,340
were fined, what I call the mineral commission of Corrado, two million dollars each, because

1676
02:21:22,340 --> 02:21:30,780
They've frudged the numbers of the pollutants that their whales are spewing. Thank you. All right. Thank you.

1677
02:21:33,550 --> 02:21:34,790
Megan Hughes.

1678
02:21:47,670 --> 02:21:50,770
We pull the microphone down. Not that one.

1679
02:21:51,370 --> 02:21:52,510
That's fine. Okay.

1680
02:21:53,210 --> 02:21:53,710
Testing.

1681
02:21:54,310 --> 02:21:59,950
All right. I'm a resident of eerie and I have expressed my concerns about this deal multiple times in the past.

1682
02:22:00,650 --> 02:22:04,910
My question today here is why are people who don't live in eerie

1683
02:22:04,910 --> 02:22:08,250
able to speak about an issue that impacts eerie residents.

1684
02:22:08,950 --> 02:22:13,510
Why is a geologist from Lewisville able to speak when he doesn't live here?

1685
02:22:13,770 --> 02:22:19,650
Why is an oil and gas lobbyist or an oil and gas CEO able to speak about this issue that

1686
02:22:19,650 --> 02:22:22,850
impacts eerie residents when they don't live here?

1687
02:22:23,450 --> 02:22:27,950
And then why would you move forward with a consultant who essentially pouted out loud on LinkedIn

1688
02:22:27,950 --> 02:22:32,450
about the decision that was made last week and you're still willing to hire him?

1689
02:22:32,450 --> 02:22:44,990
Why is that? Why is that the case? I feel like this public process has been anything but public and even the process today has been heavily corrupted by external people whose only interest is in how they benefit.

1690
02:22:45,770 --> 02:22:57,890
I work in public relations and I can tell you that anyone who posted a public tantrum on LinkedIn would be immediately fired and their client would be advised to fire them immediately.

1691
02:22:57,890 --> 02:23:07,670
If all of the comments against the steel don't move you today, Mr. Owens behavior and the process by which he was selected should.

1692
02:23:08,470 --> 02:23:09,130
Thank you for your time.

1693
02:23:09,690 --> 02:23:10,970
All right, thank you.

1694
02:23:14,740 --> 02:23:17,700
Josephine Sturr, then Christian Van Woodenberg.

1695
02:23:26,320 --> 02:23:27,760
Good evening, town council.

1696
02:23:28,020 --> 02:23:32,200
My name is Josephine Sturr, and I have been an eerie resident for ten years.

1697
02:23:32,200 --> 02:23:39,800
I am deeply disappointed by this council's purpose, a decision to pursue a no-bid contract.

1698
02:23:40,560 --> 02:23:46,300
What is worse is you fail to consider alternatives viable alternatives, including a lease option,

1699
02:23:46,320 --> 02:23:51,800
that would have protected the town's financial interests by rushing into this agreement

1700
02:23:51,800 --> 02:23:57,060
through backroom dealing and violating your own established rules.

1701
02:23:57,060 --> 02:24:05,020
you are inviting significant legal liability. Make no mistake, there will be lawsuits.

1702
02:24:06,000 --> 02:24:09,060
I urge you to think very carefully about how you vote tonight.

1703
02:24:10,480 --> 02:24:16,740
If this measure passes, discovery will expose everything that has happened behind closed doors.

1704
02:24:17,640 --> 02:24:23,460
You will find yourself sub-spinad, forced to testify, and entangled in litigation

1705
02:24:23,460 --> 02:24:25,700
that could reach the State Supreme Court.

1706
02:24:26,540 --> 02:24:30,860
Are you truly confident enough in this backroom deal

1707
02:24:31,380 --> 02:24:34,740
to risk your personal and your professional standing?

1708
02:24:36,200 --> 02:24:40,740
Protect this town, uphold your rules, and vote no.

1709
02:24:41,680 --> 02:24:42,200
Thank you.

1710
02:24:43,700 --> 02:24:46,380
Christian Van Mudenberg and then Catherine Clark.

1711
02:24:49,770 --> 02:24:51,110
Good evening, Council.

1712
02:24:51,930 --> 02:24:54,370
I'm speaking to you tonight as a former trustee

1713
02:24:54,370 --> 02:24:57,210
who faced almost this exact decision eight years ago.

1714
02:24:57,290 --> 02:24:58,470
Can you pull the microphone up?

1715
02:24:58,690 --> 02:24:59,130
Thank you.

1716
02:25:01,390 --> 02:25:31,290
Because only a few of you remember the disastrous Crestone operator agreement of 2018. I'm going to call this your Tina Peters moment. In 2018, then Mayor Jennifer Carroll attempted to push through a hastily crafted operator agreement with Crestone Peak Resources, the initial vote failed. Trustee Gip was then convinced to reopen the vote and the operator agreement passed at a special Sunday meeting at the Erie Police Station. That agreement gave away many

1717
02:25:31,290 --> 02:25:33,970
Any of the rights also included in this agreement.

1718
02:25:35,850 --> 02:25:39,790
It's all Jennifer Carol will ever be remembered for.

1719
02:25:42,080 --> 02:25:48,140
The choice before you is this, will you listen to the voices of your community, or will you

1720
02:25:48,140 --> 02:25:53,700
do something that defies logic to appease someone whose interests do not align with those

1721
02:25:53,700 --> 02:25:54,440
of this community?

1722
02:25:55,180 --> 02:25:58,840
Will you do what's ethical, or will you do what's convenient?

1723
02:25:59,580 --> 02:26:05,720
Will you rush through this because SM Energy says so, or will you use their timeline

1724
02:26:05,720 --> 02:26:08,800
to your advantage to negotiate better terms?

1725
02:26:10,120 --> 02:26:11,120
My plea is simple.

1726
02:26:12,120 --> 02:26:14,400
Learn from the mistakes of the 2018 Council.

1727
02:26:15,660 --> 02:26:19,940
Don't make this the singular bad decision for which you'll be remembered.

1728
02:26:20,780 --> 02:26:21,580
All right.

1729
02:26:21,860 --> 02:26:22,780
Thank you.

1730
02:26:22,780 --> 02:26:26,080
Is that our last speaker last speaker is Catherine Clark.

1731
02:26:34,120 --> 02:26:35,420
Hello, there we go.

1732
02:26:35,700 --> 02:26:37,780
Hi, I'm Catherine Clark.

1733
02:26:37,780 --> 02:26:39,780
I live in Erie or five years.

1734
02:26:39,900 --> 02:26:41,060
I'm a small business owner here.

1735
02:26:41,240 --> 02:26:41,680
I love it.

1736
02:26:42,880 --> 02:26:45,660
My problem is I'm here because I was surprised.

1737
02:26:46,380 --> 02:26:47,780
I was not informed.

1738
02:26:48,220 --> 02:26:50,840
So I want to represent the other 40,000 people

1739
02:26:50,840 --> 02:26:52,020
who aren't in this room.

1740
02:26:52,360 --> 02:26:56,340
Who had no idea that this whole thing is even going on.

1741
02:26:56,340 --> 02:27:00,940
So, I don't, I don't know, I don't care if you vote yes or no.

1742
02:27:01,140 --> 02:27:03,040
I'm asking you to please delay the vote.

1743
02:27:03,520 --> 02:27:05,900
Do what people are saying and slow down.

1744
02:27:06,460 --> 02:27:08,880
And I saw a few meetings back.

1745
02:27:09,120 --> 02:27:11,580
There was some airport discussion and it was easily delayed.

1746
02:27:11,860 --> 02:27:12,180
I don't know.

1747
02:27:12,620 --> 02:27:14,340
Maybe this could be easily delayed as well.

1748
02:27:14,700 --> 02:27:15,220
So, thank you.

1749
02:27:15,660 --> 02:27:16,460
All right, thank you.

1750
02:27:17,840 --> 02:27:21,420
I want to say thank you to all the speakers in the audience tonight.

1751
02:27:22,460 --> 02:27:25,120
I asked that you be respectful and you did that

1752
02:27:25,120 --> 02:27:30,820
And it made the whole process go smoothly, and people were able to hear everybody who spoke.

1753
02:27:31,100 --> 02:27:32,620
So thank you for doing that.

1754
02:27:33,320 --> 02:27:38,440
We're going to move on to general business now, and we're going to take a break from oil and gas for one moment here.

1755
02:27:39,060 --> 02:27:42,920
And that is so that I can actually read a proclamation.

1756
02:27:43,260 --> 02:27:49,460
It's a proclamation about America's 250th birthday and Colorado's 150th birthday.

1757
02:27:49,460 --> 02:28:11,520
And this feels timely right now because it is America that allowed every one of you to come up here tonight with a free voice and to express that voice, and that means it means a hell of a lot to me that those voices are out there and we live in a society that you can actually come up and talk to your elected officials.

1758
02:28:11,520 --> 02:28:19,320
All right, the American 250th birthday is right around the corner on July 4th, as well as

1759
02:28:19,320 --> 02:28:25,380
Colorado's 150th birthday, and so this proclamation is to acknowledge that.

1760
02:28:25,940 --> 02:28:33,460
Whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

1761
02:28:34,220 --> 02:28:40,880
And whereas the year 2026 marks Colorado's 150th anniversary of statehood.

1762
02:28:40,880 --> 02:28:48,400
And whereas the 206th, in 2016, the United States Congress established by joint resolution

1763
02:28:48,400 --> 02:28:55,020
the American 250 Commission to encourage observance of the 250 years of our nation's existence.

1764
02:28:55,760 --> 02:29:04,080
And whereas the Colorado Legislature established, the America 250 Colorado 150 Commission with

1765
02:29:04,080 --> 02:29:10,540
the passage of Senate Bill 2022-011, and the commission has determined its mission and

1766
02:29:10,540 --> 02:29:16,880
purpose to celebrate Colorado by acknowledging the completeness of our shared history honor

1767
02:29:16,880 --> 02:29:20,820
that makes Colorado unique and strive towards a more perfect union.

1768
02:29:21,320 --> 02:29:27,980
And whereas the Towne Erie incorporated in 1874 and has been in existence continuously since

1769
02:29:27,980 --> 02:29:28,760
that time.

1770
02:29:28,760 --> 02:29:35,960
where as the town of eerie has contributed proudly and significantly to our community and our state for more than 152 years.

1771
02:29:36,640 --> 02:29:43,240
And whereas it is appropriate that the town of eerie engages fully with our past and looks forward to a shared future.

1772
02:29:43,980 --> 02:29:53,780
And whereas the town of eerie thus encourages the creation and participation in programs that will commemorate the history of our city, our state and our nation.

1773
02:29:54,240 --> 02:29:59,960
Now, therefore, the town council and the town of Eri hereby recognizes July 1st through

1774
02:30:16,660 --> 02:30:29,980
All right, with that, we'll get right back to the topic at hand here. And the next item on the agenda is 2026-413. It's a request to reconsider ordinance number 2026.

1775
02:30:30,000 --> 02:30:53,260
28, 2026, an ordinance of the town council of the town of Iri, authorizing the sale of minerals to 7N LLC, accepting the conveyance of real property from 7N LLC, and approving agreements with 7N LLC, SM Energy Company, and Extraction Oil and Gas Incorporated, regarding the exchange of middle rights for the real property.

1776
02:30:53,880 --> 02:30:56,300
With that, I'll turn it over to Council Member O'Connor.

1777
02:30:56,300 --> 02:31:03,700
Thank you, so it has been asked why I asked this for this to be revisited, what has changed?

1778
02:31:04,780 --> 02:31:10,060
And really what has changed is I had learned after the meeting on June 16th that a number

1779
02:31:10,060 --> 02:31:16,940
of residents who were going to speak in favor of the agreement chose not to out of being

1780
02:31:16,940 --> 02:31:17,400
intimidated.

1781
02:31:18,200 --> 02:31:23,700
And so they had prepared speeches and they chose not to get up and speak.

1782
02:31:23,700 --> 02:31:35,700
And after that, we, Town Council received numerous emails and comments requesting that there be a motion to reconsider this item 2026-394.

1783
02:31:36,480 --> 02:31:53,040
And many residents along those who claim intimidation but requested a reconsideration, this also allowed for other residents to become more aware of the proposed agreement.

1784
02:31:53,600 --> 02:31:59,180
Through the new stories, social media, word of mouth, even the town has been pushing out information for a while.

1785
02:31:59,520 --> 02:32:07,860
So with many residents requesting the item to be reconsidered, I believe the agreement is too important to the town and its future not to reconsider.

1786
02:32:09,140 --> 02:32:17,700
It also should be noted that no members of council nor did the consultant from Alameda Minerals Advisors lobby me to put forth this motion to reconsider.

1787
02:32:17,700 --> 02:32:19,340
It was a residence who did.

1788
02:32:20,060 --> 02:32:21,260
It also

1789
02:32:25,930 --> 02:32:29,310
much leaked knowledge that the numbers and the LinkedIn post created by Matthew Owens

1790
02:32:29,310 --> 02:32:34,090
of Alameda Mineral Advisors after the June 16th meeting were greatly exaggerated.

1791
02:32:34,490 --> 02:32:38,790
The numbers that have been on the town's website are more close to reality.

1792
02:32:40,270 --> 02:32:46,370
So here is my request to reconsider item 26-394.

1793
02:32:46,370 --> 02:32:56,810
On June 16, Council had a 3-3 tie on item 26-394 because it was a tie vote and the motion

1794
02:32:56,810 --> 02:32:57,690
did not pass.

1795
02:32:58,050 --> 02:33:02,350
I was on the prevailing side and can make this motion according to Council's rules

1796
02:33:02,350 --> 02:33:05,990
of order and procedure 7.4 F.

1797
02:33:06,570 --> 02:33:14,530
I move to reconsider item 2026-394 in ordinance of the town council of the town of Erie authorizing

1798
02:33:14,530 --> 02:33:21,130
the sale of minerals to 7N LLC, accepting the conveyance of real property from 7N LLC

1799
02:33:21,130 --> 02:33:28,430
and approving agreements with 7N LLC, SM Energy Company, and extraction oil and gas incorporated,

1800
02:33:28,750 --> 02:33:32,290
regarding the exchange of the mineral rights for the real property.

1801
02:33:33,610 --> 02:33:35,830
All right, we have a motion, is there a second?

1802
02:33:36,030 --> 02:33:36,190
Second.

1803
02:33:37,230 --> 02:33:38,650
All right, we have a motion and a second.

1804
02:33:38,930 --> 02:33:42,970
Now I'll bring you back to council to see if there's any further discussion before calling the vote.

1805
02:33:42,970 --> 02:33:52,450
vote on the motion to reconsider. This is not the vote on the actual agreement. Any councillors

1806
02:33:52,450 --> 02:33:57,570
like to add anything at this point? Seeing none, I'll call the vote. All in favour say

1807
02:33:57,570 --> 02:34:03,890
aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed say no. No. No. I probably should have done that in a roll

1808
02:34:03,890 --> 02:34:07,830
call vote. So I'm going to look to our town clerk to take roll.

1809
02:34:10,870 --> 02:34:19,890
Councilmember Bair. No. Councilmember Mordellero. Yes. Councilmember O'Connor. Yes. Councilmember

1810
02:34:19,890 --> 02:34:27,770
Pessamorelli. No. Councilmember Hoback. No. Mayor Pro Tembel. Yes. And Mayor Moore. Yes.

1811
02:34:28,090 --> 02:34:34,770
Motion passes. Okay, so that takes us on to our next item, which is item 2026-414,

1812
02:34:34,770 --> 02:34:40,690
re-consideration of ordinance number 28, 2026, an ordinance of the town council, the

1813
02:34:40,690 --> 02:34:46,370
town of Eury, authorizing the sale of minerals to seven-end LLC, accepting the conveyance

1814
02:34:46,370 --> 02:34:52,410
of real property from seven-end LLC and approving agreements with seven-end LLC, SM Energy Company,

1815
02:34:52,910 --> 02:34:57,810
and extraction oil and gas, regarding the exchange of mineral rights for the real property.

1816
02:34:57,810 --> 02:34:59,950
Before I see if there's a

1817
02:35:00,000 --> 02:35:28,960
Motion to approve this. I want to bring our town attorney, Brina Ming, who's been helping us on this journey. And a lot of things were said tonight. I want to know if the attorney general's office has reached out to us with anything regarding this matter. Not that I'm aware of, no. Are you aware of any laws that were broken in this process? No. All right. Are you? And I think the next question is to our

1818
02:35:32,840 --> 02:35:37,140
I read this last time, and I'm going to read it again, because this is really

1819
02:35:37,140 --> 02:35:39,280
important to an underlying theme here.

1820
02:35:39,780 --> 02:35:45,180
It is true that the town staff did not follow procurement best practices,

1821
02:35:45,240 --> 02:35:47,360
specifically sole source justification.

1822
02:35:48,160 --> 02:35:54,280
This is highly concerning to me, just as it is to you, and is being handled

1823
02:35:54,280 --> 02:35:57,380
as a separate matter, including an independent audit.

1824
02:35:57,380 --> 02:35:59,660
that this lapse and internal procurement,

1825
02:36:01,360 --> 02:36:03,500
hey, Chief, thank you.

1826
02:36:05,490 --> 02:36:07,670
This is highly concerning and is being handled

1827
02:36:07,670 --> 02:36:10,630
as a separate matter, including an independent audit.

1828
02:36:11,130 --> 02:36:13,510
This lapse in an internal procurement process

1829
02:36:13,510 --> 02:36:16,130
does not negate the contract development of minerals.

1830
02:36:16,950 --> 02:36:20,510
Now I'm looking to our town, acting town manager,

1831
02:36:21,230 --> 02:36:23,630
to basically share what you shared last time

1832
02:36:23,630 --> 02:36:26,930
on what happened with this actual contract.

1833
02:36:27,910 --> 02:36:32,470
From every the research that the town attorney and I have done, it not go through a proper

1834
02:36:32,470 --> 02:36:37,830
purchasing policy process, neither of us were involved at the time when that happened

1835
02:36:37,830 --> 02:36:40,710
and other than we can say, it didn't happen, I couldn't tell you why.

1836
02:36:41,670 --> 02:36:47,130
Our auditors are, we do have independent auditors that audit all of our finances, they are aware

1837
02:36:47,130 --> 02:36:53,970
of the error we made, we are doing everything on internally to make sure that those processes

1838
02:36:53,970 --> 02:36:59,530
are followed, properly going forward, the error was on staff.

1839
02:37:00,510 --> 02:37:06,110
All right, and just for the record, this was under our prior town manager, and it was

1840
02:37:06,110 --> 02:37:11,010
during that era, this has to be fixed, period full stop.

1841
02:37:11,790 --> 02:37:18,590
All right, with that, I'm going to take us to the next item here, which is 2026, 414.

1842
02:37:18,590 --> 02:37:40,830
The reconsideration of ordinance number 028, 2026 and ordinance of the town council of the town area authorizing the sale of minerals to seven in LLC accepting the conveyance of the real property seven in LLC and approving agreements to seven LLC SM energy and extraction oil and gas regarding the exchange of the mineral rights for the real property.

1843
02:37:40,830 --> 02:37:46,030
So I'll see if there's a motion and a second, and if there is, then we'll go into deliberations.

1844
02:37:46,550 --> 02:37:47,930
So is there a motion to approve?

1845
02:37:48,550 --> 02:37:49,330
Motion to approve.

1846
02:37:50,110 --> 02:37:50,810
There's a second.

1847
02:37:51,370 --> 02:37:51,690
Second.

1848
02:37:52,410 --> 02:37:55,650
We have a motion and a second, but that'll bring it back to Council.

1849
02:37:56,330 --> 02:38:00,930
And I think I'll just start with Councilman Rubair, and we will move ourselves around the

1850
02:38:00,930 --> 02:38:01,270
dies.

1851
02:38:05,560 --> 02:38:07,720
Yeah, I think we all need to take a deep breath again.

1852
02:38:13,720 --> 02:38:23,100
So first, I was asked by a public speaker, Mr. Lillard, to address that I have been characterized

1853
02:38:23,100 --> 02:38:27,280
as not voicing my concern from the beginning, and I just want to be expressly clear that

1854
02:38:27,280 --> 02:38:32,540
I have voiced my concern from the very beginning, from the very first meeting, and repeatedly

1855
02:38:32,540 --> 02:38:37,140
in every meeting, and every discussion, that this is not what our community wants, because

1856
02:38:37,140 --> 02:38:46,480
our community has shown up over years and in surveys, and to show that this is not an alignment

1857
02:38:46,480 --> 02:38:53,460
with our values. And I have repeatedly said that. So I appreciate Mr. Lillard, wherever you are,

1858
02:38:53,540 --> 02:38:55,020
thank you for calling that out.

1859
02:38:57,400 --> 02:39:02,260
So with that, I'll read my statement. It is true that the Draco

1860
02:39:02,260 --> 02:39:05,420
site was approved by the state in March of 2025.

1861
02:39:06,360 --> 02:39:11,060
It remains true that eerie does not have the authority to deny Draco as a whole.

1862
02:39:11,940 --> 02:39:13,580
Eerie is a proximate local government.

1863
02:39:14,360 --> 02:39:19,420
It's also true that we have the authority to refuse to relinquish our town owned minerals

1864
02:39:20,000 --> 02:39:22,140
that are included in the Draco project.

1865
02:39:22,720 --> 02:39:26,480
That does not end Draco and that was never ever the point.

1866
02:39:27,300 --> 02:39:34,560
The contract before council includes a termination clause in section 41.A. That states neither

1867
02:39:34,560 --> 02:39:39,280
the town council nor anyone we authorize can take formal action to object to the drake

1868
02:39:39,280 --> 02:39:48,140
opad and please latch on to this next phrase prior to the production of wells, prior to the

1869
02:39:48,140 --> 02:39:54,040
production of wells. This means we abdicate our authority to stand with residents during

1870
02:39:54,040 --> 02:39:59,580
the pre-production phase that has the most impacts for people. This includes drilling.

1871
02:40:00,000 --> 02:40:28,340
Historically in our area, complaints with drilling include noise, vibration, nose bleeds, from exposure to drilling mud, odor, eye and throat irritation. It also includes perforation and well completion. When explosives are put down the well bore, and in Draco's case, those explosions will be occurring a mile beneath thousands of homes in an unprecedented five mile lateral. What could go wrong?

1872
02:40:29,720 --> 02:40:36,420
Hydraulic fracturing, historically in our area impacts have included noise, vibration,

1873
02:40:36,760 --> 02:40:41,140
cracks, and concrete, and drywall, dishes crashing out of cabinets in the case of the

1874
02:40:41,140 --> 02:40:44,860
interchange A and B pads and broomfield, and flow back.

1875
02:40:45,520 --> 02:40:50,100
An extremely immersive part of the process, when serious health impacts have been reported,

1876
02:40:50,100 --> 02:40:56,220
including spontaneous bleeding, nausea, cyclical vomiting, eye and throat irritation,

1877
02:40:56,220 --> 02:40:58,660
my grains just to name a few.

1878
02:40:59,160 --> 02:41:03,520
All of these things happen prior to the production of wells.

1879
02:41:04,800 --> 02:41:08,800
This deal is being billed as a win for health and safety as some,

1880
02:41:08,960 --> 02:41:13,740
and as someone who has been on the front lines at the legislature and regulatory tables,

1881
02:41:14,180 --> 02:41:18,860
fighting for health and safety and oil and gas production for the last eight years,

1882
02:41:19,540 --> 02:41:23,100
I am telling you this is not a win for health and safety.

1883
02:41:23,100 --> 02:41:29,580
This is an abdication of our authority, and it's history repeating itself.

1884
02:41:30,980 --> 02:41:37,580
Former trustee Van Woodenberg took my thunder a little bit, but the Crestone Operator Agreement

1885
02:41:37,580 --> 02:41:44,540
was billed as a win for health and safety to support anyone in the room, remember the Crestone

1886
02:41:44,540 --> 02:41:47,720
Operator Agreement from 2018ish.

1887
02:41:48,680 --> 02:41:53,580
Hundreds of people showed up to town hall and begged the council not to make that agreement.

1888
02:41:55,580 --> 02:41:57,520
That agreement failed.

1889
02:41:58,620 --> 02:42:04,300
But Crestone, which became Civitas, which became SM Energy, by the way, promised to do

1890
02:42:04,300 --> 02:42:10,060
some extra monitoring and consolidate wells from the planned vessel site and locate them

1891
02:42:10,060 --> 02:42:12,520
all on a superpat site called Akmi.

1892
02:42:12,520 --> 02:42:18,740
And exchange the town of Erie would administratively approve Acme and never protest it.

1893
02:42:19,100 --> 02:42:23,800
That left residents on their own, me, that left me on my own.

1894
02:42:25,460 --> 02:42:31,220
In front of the COGCC and the legislature, but I found my neighbors there.

1895
02:42:31,900 --> 02:42:34,120
Friends I connected with in a common cause.

1896
02:42:34,800 --> 02:42:40,660
I fought for Senate Bill 1981, along with all of my newfound friends.

1897
02:42:40,660 --> 02:42:48,780
And when it passed, the director of the COGCC flagged Acme as triggering his director's

1898
02:42:48,780 --> 02:42:49,960
objective criteria.

1899
02:42:50,520 --> 02:42:53,340
It could not be cited there because of the new law.

1900
02:42:53,980 --> 02:42:59,840
And because Acme was gone, the cone flower site that had been designed into the new Parkdale

1901
02:42:59,840 --> 02:43:01,960
neighborhood went away as well.

1902
02:43:03,420 --> 02:43:10,320
The day we as a council could vacate the Crestroon Operator Agreement we did, it was a terrible

1903
02:43:10,320 --> 02:43:15,360
agreement. And I was on council to support that effort. I say all of this because I want you

1904
02:43:15,360 --> 02:43:20,300
to understand that I am not new to this conversation, or these tactics, or this playbook.

1905
02:43:21,480 --> 02:43:26,680
Dangling the plug and abandon of wells that should have been plugged in abandoned years ago

1906
02:43:26,680 --> 02:43:32,240
as incentive to facilitate further oil and gas production is a gross tactic.

1907
02:43:33,100 --> 02:43:39,120
And I commit to working to change policy to hold operators accountable for a more timely approach

1908
02:43:39,120 --> 02:43:42,980
because health and safety should never be a bargaining chip.

1909
02:43:45,890 --> 02:43:49,610
Mr. Owens published a blog on LinkedIn after our meeting last week.

1910
02:43:49,950 --> 02:43:54,530
He disparaged council members, staff, and town residents, and among other things,

1911
02:43:54,530 --> 02:43:58,870
posted an egregiously bloated valuation for this deal.

1912
02:43:59,990 --> 02:44:06,150
The facts are that the cash payment to the town for signing the contract is $4.5 million.

1913
02:44:06,150 --> 02:44:14,110
dollars. The contract with Alameda Minerals is 7.5% of the valuation or capped at, and

1914
02:44:14,110 --> 02:44:20,390
you're never going to believe this, $4.5 million. It behooves Alameda Minerals to

1915
02:44:20,390 --> 02:44:26,490
bloat the valuation to meet that cap. So let's go back to the termination clause. If

1916
02:44:26,490 --> 02:44:32,390
the town does anything to trigger the termination clause, as it takes formal action to

1917
02:44:32,390 --> 02:44:36,570
object to the drako pad prior to the production of wells.

1918
02:44:37,570 --> 02:44:39,850
Seven, this is a quote from the contract.

1919
02:44:40,030 --> 02:44:45,250
Seven in May, in its discretion, terminate this contract by written notice to the town

1920
02:44:45,630 --> 02:44:51,470
in which case all parties shall be relieved of their obligations here under end quote.

1921
02:44:52,490 --> 02:44:59,050
I've been advised that that means everyone gets all of their stuff back and the deal is

1922
02:44:59,050 --> 02:44:59,170
So

1923
02:45:00,000 --> 02:45:29,700
We return the land. They are not obligated to plug an abandoned the additional wells within a set timeline. We forego the 3% revenue somewhere between $17 and $40 million over many decades. And we return the $4.5 million cash payment. Only the town paid our consultant $4.5 million. So we'd actually be in the red. And if the operator hasn't approved DSU with the state and has already begun to

1924
02:45:29,700 --> 02:45:33,000
the periphery, our subsurface estate, what is our recourse?

1925
02:45:35,320 --> 02:45:41,160
This disincentivizes the town to stand with residents when impacts inevitably happen

1926
02:45:41,160 --> 02:45:42,660
as a result of this project.

1927
02:45:43,720 --> 02:45:47,900
This is why it's dangerous to entangle our budgets with oil and gas money.

1928
02:45:48,300 --> 02:45:50,140
I have said it many times before.

1929
02:45:50,660 --> 02:45:56,200
It is hard for health and safety to rise to a level of importance when projects and services

1930
02:45:56,200 --> 02:46:05,260
in this case land rely on that money. There's no new information tonight. I do appreciate

1931
02:46:05,260 --> 02:46:10,260
Councilmember O'Connor that you brought this back as is your right and you followed the process

1932
02:46:11,280 --> 02:46:17,940
and we heard from many many many more residents on this, the vast majority of whom

1933
02:46:17,940 --> 02:46:28,680
Um, um, in email and in public comment, including a letter that was more than 200 signatures asked us not to approve this deal.

1934
02:46:32,340 --> 02:46:45,800
So for all of these reasons, um, and all the reasons I have previously stated, and because of my commitment to stand with an amplify the voices of the people of eerie, I am an ardent no on the vote to approve this ordinance.

1935
02:46:45,800 --> 02:46:51,000
And I encourage my fellow council members to join me with an audit, no.

1936
02:46:52,380 --> 02:46:55,140
All right, Councilmember Morklera, thank you.

1937
02:46:55,780 --> 02:47:00,000
And thank you, everybody, for attending tonight, and especially those who spoke.

1938
02:47:00,620 --> 02:47:04,160
And thank you very much for being respectful for one another.

1939
02:47:05,020 --> 02:47:07,080
Again, Draco is happening.

1940
02:47:07,860 --> 02:47:13,080
Anyone who says otherwise is either in denial or intentionally trying to mislead you.

1941
02:47:13,080 --> 02:47:22,780
approved by ECMC March 2025 by 4-1-4-1 vote, 26 wells and all the health concerns that go along with it.

1942
02:47:23,420 --> 02:47:30,500
The community did a great job coming together at the middle school and in the writing campaign and the two ECMC hearings.

1943
02:47:30,840 --> 02:47:34,400
I participated in all of those. It was still approved.

1944
02:47:35,260 --> 02:47:41,380
Every expert involved in this process agrees that Draco is happening no matter who they represent.

1945
02:47:42,860 --> 02:47:45,760
Draco is a one and a half billion dollar operation.

1946
02:47:46,740 --> 02:47:49,240
Civitas has been working on it for over three years.

1947
02:47:49,940 --> 02:47:58,200
They have acquired the approvals, the mineral rights, and the commitments, and made commitments based on that.

1948
02:48:00,320 --> 02:48:08,420
I don't believe that 2.7% of the total minerals is going to significantly impact the scope of the project.

1949
02:48:09,360 --> 02:48:17,760
I heard in the news this week that maybe SM is bluffing, billion dollar companies don't bluff.

1950
02:48:20,350 --> 02:48:27,810
I worked for a $10 billion company for over 16 years, they have plans, they have multiple backup plans,

1951
02:48:28,330 --> 02:48:29,530
they have risk management teams.

1952
02:48:30,390 --> 02:48:40,250
Do you think that a billion and a half dollar project with eerie minerals was not looked at as a risk early on?

1953
02:48:40,250 --> 02:48:57,650
Even before the middle school ECMC meeting, so I, every project I worked on, I came before executive management in a phase zero review.

1954
02:48:58,210 --> 02:49:05,630
Before I could get any funding or build a team, I had to present to the executives a full layout of the project.

1955
02:49:05,630 --> 02:49:10,590
part of the presentation for the known risk and mitigation plans.

1956
02:49:11,370 --> 02:49:18,810
If I had missed a risk, like there is with the eerie minerals, my team would have been

1957
02:49:18,810 --> 02:49:21,210
led by somebody else at the next review.

1958
02:49:22,890 --> 02:49:29,330
The most influence we may have is possibly impacting the path of some of the lateral wells.

1959
02:49:30,010 --> 02:49:34,930
So instead of going through maybe your property, it's going to go, you'll have more density

1960
02:49:34,930 --> 02:49:39,890
at the property, you know, 400 feet down the street, your neighbor's property.

1961
02:49:40,590 --> 02:49:49,890
This would actually make the lateral boards longer, longer lateral boards do not help and is a further health concern.

1962
02:49:50,950 --> 02:49:53,730
Let's talk about health and safety improvements.

1963
02:49:54,530 --> 02:49:58,230
This deal provides 17 wells near homes and commercial properties.

1964
02:49:58,230 --> 02:49:59,970
and connoisse of

1965
02:50:14,020 --> 02:50:28,000
So, these are older wells. Most of the 17 are outside the Draco drilling area. Why is this important? Some of these wells could operate for several decades without this deal.

1966
02:50:28,960 --> 02:50:35,200
These are older wells, they do not have leak detection equipment like the one near my house.

1967
02:50:37,180 --> 02:50:39,900
ONG operators have no incentive to plug these wells.

1968
02:50:40,440 --> 02:50:48,340
Not only is it about $150,000 to do so, but as soon as they do, they give up their mineral rates.

1969
02:50:49,260 --> 02:50:50,880
There's no incentive to do that.

1970
02:50:51,620 --> 02:50:57,940
Plus during the drilling process, they could discover that they've been leaking like the

1971
02:50:57,940 --> 02:51:01,800
Well, 500 feet from my home, it was mentioned tonight.

1972
02:51:02,100 --> 02:51:07,860
I lived near Arapaho, 2-26, for the past 25 years.

1973
02:51:10,340 --> 02:51:21,360
So again, no incentive to plug these wells, at least meeting someone at the last meeting,

1974
02:51:21,520 --> 02:51:27,220
someone said that SM should plug these out of the kindness that are the hard or to do the right thing.

1975
02:51:27,220 --> 02:51:31,220
Well, that's not the way business works.

1976
02:51:32,020 --> 02:51:37,720
That would be great, I would love that, but it's not going to happen.

1977
02:51:37,860 --> 02:51:43,200
That's not how business is done, companies are responsible to their shareholders.

1978
02:51:43,540 --> 02:51:44,060
That's how it is.

1979
02:51:44,200 --> 02:51:47,380
I worked in corporate America for nearly 40 years.

1980
02:51:48,040 --> 02:51:50,320
Their primary responsibility is to shareholders.

1981
02:51:52,020 --> 02:51:56,300
And yeah, they're going to do what's right for

1982
02:51:56,300 --> 02:52:01,640
them first. So to think that they're going to do it on the kindness of the harder because

1983
02:52:01,640 --> 02:52:10,660
the right thing, you know, that's wishful thinking again. So, but if I compare moving

1984
02:52:10,660 --> 02:52:17,960
some of the laterals path that are 8,000 feet below us with a thousand foot impermeable

1985
02:52:17,960 --> 02:52:24,680
shall layer between us, versus 17 wells, next to our homes and businesses.

1986
02:52:26,200 --> 02:52:33,840
I'm going to plug the 17 wells and get monthly access to the well pad every day of the week.

1987
02:52:34,320 --> 02:52:40,160
That would be my choice because that is better for the town and for the community.

1988
02:52:40,160 --> 02:52:41,160
So,

1989
02:52:43,660 --> 02:53:10,660
and for those who suggested that, you know, council members voting for this have any other reason other than to benefit the town, you know, those are the same, you know, folks who say all for love and love for all until it goes against what they believe and then they lash out and they're, you know, at folks, to me, that seems hypocritical.

1990
02:53:10,660 --> 02:53:19,960
So I want to thank the team that negotiated our staff and the team that negotiated this epic proposal.

1991
02:53:20,540 --> 02:53:23,980
Without this deal, we abandon our minerals.

1992
02:53:24,660 --> 02:53:27,860
There's no other way to get to them other than through Draco.

1993
02:53:29,000 --> 02:53:34,840
We lose the leverage to plug the 17 wells and the onsite monitoring.

1994
02:53:34,840 --> 02:53:42,380
This deal makes our town safer, once we accept the fact that Draco is happening.

1995
02:53:45,580 --> 02:53:46,880
All right, Councilor Hoback.

1996
02:53:47,860 --> 02:53:48,100
Thank you.

1997
02:53:49,200 --> 02:53:54,040
First, I am compelled to address the personal attacks made last week, mostly, but not

1998
02:53:54,040 --> 02:53:55,660
exclusively by Mayor Pro Tem.

1999
02:53:56,680 --> 02:54:00,780
When you're repeatedly and thoroughly misrepresented three counselors who have been

2000
02:54:00,780 --> 02:54:06,240
opposed to this deal for a variety of valid reasons, many of which have been

2001
02:54:06,240 --> 02:54:09,580
I'm illuminated by residents tonight, as well as in the past.

2002
02:54:10,640 --> 02:54:16,280
Referring to us as disingenuous, obstructionist, and saboteurs is beyond unacceptable, as I

2003
02:54:16,280 --> 02:54:18,600
made loud and clear from this day as only three weeks ago.

2004
02:54:19,500 --> 02:54:24,460
The truth is, we sat in the executive session pushing just as hard for the best ear he could

2005
02:54:24,460 --> 02:54:26,560
get in the event we ended up with a deal.

2006
02:54:27,080 --> 02:54:32,360
We lobbied for inspections, monitoring, annexation, and more, just as much as the other four,

2007
02:54:32,360 --> 02:54:35,100
as you like to calling them about 10 times in his speech.

2008
02:54:36,700 --> 02:54:39,720
As for not following the talent procurement process,

2009
02:54:40,240 --> 02:54:43,600
to my knowledge, that process was never passed to town staff.

2010
02:54:44,320 --> 02:54:48,160
Town Council was in complete control of the vendor selection process.

2011
02:54:48,580 --> 02:54:50,320
The buck stops up here.

2012
02:54:51,880 --> 02:54:53,840
I want to share an appreciation for

2013
02:54:53,840 --> 02:54:57,660
council member O'Connor's concerns raised last week.

2014
02:54:57,660 --> 02:54:59,960
that residents still may not be

2015
02:55:00,000 --> 02:55:29,820
He informed enough on this topic, and his expressed hesitancy to move forward without more information being put out there. He stated well that there seems to be a misunderstanding as to what this is all about. I agree it completely. And unfortunately, the misunderstanding and misinformation is significantly worse today than it was only a week ago. Due to the well-publicized LinkedIn blog by Ivaku Owens of Alameda Miranels, minerals loading around

2016
02:55:29,820 --> 02:55:33,900
are now grossly exaggerated figures of financial benefits to the town.

2017
02:55:34,300 --> 02:55:39,040
There's nothing on the table that results in hundreds of millions of dollars in benefit to the town.

2018
02:55:39,680 --> 02:55:44,160
Even projecting a far off development and expansion of the airport area,

2019
02:55:44,640 --> 02:55:51,300
which is not what a lot of residents want, does not bring that level of tax benefit in any reasonable time frame.

2020
02:55:52,020 --> 02:55:57,880
Those numbers were notably used to incite residents to lobby both council member O'Connor

2021
02:55:57,880 --> 02:56:01,540
and council them as a whole to reverse last week's vote.

2022
02:56:02,940 --> 02:56:07,220
This deal, since the beginning, has had valuations all over the place.

2023
02:56:08,000 --> 02:56:10,900
Is the last latest, really the best price we could get?

2024
02:56:12,720 --> 02:56:16,760
Oddly, even the cost to plug an abandoned 38-wills has changed.

2025
02:56:17,120 --> 02:56:22,800
It's gone down from an original estimate of $6.7, $7.6 million to $4.4 million.

2026
02:56:23,560 --> 02:56:29,440
And although not a monetary benefit of the town, the buyer includes their cost any time they are valuing the deal

2027
02:56:30,640 --> 02:56:36,740
We started off a year ago with an offer valued at 2.8 million dollars in about following one parcel of land

2028
02:56:37,560 --> 02:56:42,520
Then there was an offer for two parts of the land valued at 4.9 million. I

2029
02:56:42,520 --> 02:56:47,560
Believe we did in a litter of intent a product valued at approximately 12.5 million

2030
02:56:47,560 --> 02:56:52,420
These were increases brought about by the talent's own negotiations before contracting with

2031
02:56:52,420 --> 02:56:57,860
Maddoans to allegedly just value our menu or mineral rights to see if the Siphon's offer was

2032
02:56:57,860 --> 02:57:04,920
enough to use the mayor's words. That brings us to today and the contract with $4.5 million of

2033
02:57:04,920 --> 02:57:12,420
immediate value, another current value of $3.9 million in land that could be sold or used and another

2034
02:57:12,420 --> 02:57:15,940
Another $22 million or so spread over 20 or more years.

2035
02:57:16,840 --> 02:57:20,520
Today's value being less than $20 million on a present value basis.

2036
02:57:21,320 --> 02:57:24,660
That's cash at closing and the appraised value of land persons.

2037
02:57:25,360 --> 02:57:30,540
In today's dollar, that adds up to less than $30 million in present value.

2038
02:57:30,880 --> 02:57:32,860
That marks the highest value to date.

2039
02:57:33,980 --> 02:57:38,880
However, as acknowledged by the broker, Matthew Owens, SM Energy values at significant

2040
02:57:38,880 --> 02:57:41,140
multiples of the appraised values.

2041
02:57:41,840 --> 02:57:47,040
Internally, according to Mr. Owens, SM Energy values town of Erie writes at $103 million

2042
02:57:47,680 --> 02:57:50,300
because they overvalue the land at $71 million.

2043
02:57:51,200 --> 02:57:56,040
Calculations for their side understandably include the PNA work, but that's not a monetary

2044
02:57:56,040 --> 02:57:57,000
benefit to Erie.

2045
02:57:57,500 --> 02:58:04,780
They feel they're getting a good deal offering what they value as $103 million and getting

2046
02:58:04,780 --> 02:58:05,660
it for $40 million.

2047
02:58:06,320 --> 02:58:08,600
Actual present value less than $30 million.

2048
02:58:08,600 --> 02:58:12,120
So, we've been load-balled for the fourth time.

2049
02:58:12,940 --> 02:58:15,560
We have to ask ourselves, did we get the best value?

2050
02:58:18,150 --> 02:58:23,390
I understand, and have come to be grudgingly except that SM Energy will drill, for

2051
02:58:23,390 --> 02:58:24,190
you go no matter what.

2052
02:58:25,050 --> 02:58:30,630
That hasn't been beaten into my head, but I still still ask myself, as do many residents,

2053
02:58:31,310 --> 02:58:33,730
why are they pursuing our rights so aggressively?

2054
02:58:34,590 --> 02:58:37,330
Why have they continued to up the anthee of the contract?

2055
02:58:38,290 --> 02:58:43,630
Stopping it or not, do we really want to stop it or not, do we really want to enable

2056
02:58:43,630 --> 02:58:45,910
and more importantly expand their drilling?

2057
02:58:48,480 --> 02:58:52,260
The reason the answer to the question about pursuing our rights is that it's because

2058
02:58:52,260 --> 02:58:54,380
they're going to make a pile of money off them.

2059
02:58:56,740 --> 02:59:01,040
I object to the legal, financial, and ethical responsibilities to clean up all the wells

2060
02:59:01,660 --> 02:59:08,220
that is not as to now be held out as a carrot and contract benefit, or cause to celebrate

2061
02:59:08,220 --> 02:59:13,120
when they give in and work with the developer to remediate that which they are already responsible

2062
02:59:13,120 --> 02:59:19,640
to clean up. That has outpushed the loot, regregious profiteering. It's sad that companies

2063
02:59:19,640 --> 02:59:23,060
do not follow what I learned in the middle of business school, that they are responsible

2064
02:59:23,060 --> 02:59:28,100
to many different stakeholders, including the communities in which they operate, or maybe

2065
02:59:28,100 --> 02:59:34,920
oil and gas companies are just different. I have concerns about the contract tax as

2066
02:59:34,920 --> 02:59:39,620
is eliminated by council member bear, that remains the town's right to protest under

2067
02:59:40,420 --> 02:59:42,240
Draco under any circumstance.

2068
02:59:43,920 --> 02:59:49,060
A contract clause that none of us were aware of, until only 11 days ago, when the contract

2069
02:59:49,060 --> 02:59:50,860
was posted on the agenda.

2070
02:59:51,900 --> 02:59:54,840
I have questions about the paving of Kwak County Road 6.

2071
02:59:55,100 --> 02:59:59,680
Has this been vetted or evaluated by transportation, or anyone for how it fits with recommendation

2072
03:00:00,000 --> 03:00:29,980
to move the entrance to the landfill. How will it impact County Road 4? Will this become a new shortcut from County Road 7 to County Road 5, adding traffic to two uncontrolled intersections? Telling us that we administratively created a special reserved open space zoning category, and then failed to utilize it, thereby leaving all open space unprotected from the whims of a town council. I guarantee is not the intent of the town calendar charter, approved by a margin of 15%.

2073
03:00:29,980 --> 03:00:32,020
percent by voters of the town of Erie.

2074
03:00:33,100 --> 03:00:35,580
Some of these issues were not even known to council.

2075
03:00:35,940 --> 03:00:40,180
Much less discussed into the contract was posted in the agenda 11 days ago.

2076
03:00:41,080 --> 03:00:46,240
Until we can have open public discussions about all these issues, we should not be approving

2077
03:00:46,240 --> 03:00:49,260
a contract with undiscussed terms that restrict town rights.

2078
03:00:49,880 --> 03:00:50,100
Thank you.

2079
03:00:50,840 --> 03:00:51,040
All right.

2080
03:00:51,220 --> 03:00:51,680
Thank you.

2081
03:00:52,260 --> 03:00:53,840
Council Member Pestermelli.

2082
03:00:55,160 --> 03:00:55,720
Thank you, Member.

2083
03:00:57,240 --> 03:01:03,280
First of all, I want to thank all the residents who showed up for the public comment and

2084
03:01:03,280 --> 03:01:04,560
shared their concerns today.

2085
03:01:06,180 --> 03:01:14,340
So I did call the nation to ask us to permanently sell a public asset while accepting significant

2086
03:01:14,340 --> 03:01:18,140
uncertainty and risk on behalf of our residents.

2087
03:01:19,780 --> 03:01:25,600
While it's not a question about Draco will continue, it is imperative that we consider

2088
03:01:25,600 --> 03:01:32,960
the gravity of approving this thing. Once these mineral rights are sold, they are gone forever.

2089
03:01:34,120 --> 03:01:41,940
We cannot undo the decision and we lose the leverage that future councils and future generations

2090
03:01:41,940 --> 03:01:49,980
minute. My concerns begin with the process of the deal. For a transaction of this magnitude,

2091
03:01:49,980 --> 03:01:58,040
We should have had more transparent competitive bidding, with clearly published RFPs, regarding

2092
03:01:58,040 --> 03:02:04,800
the, suppose 25 bidders that the proposal was sent, without the published data, there

2093
03:02:04,800 --> 03:02:09,440
is no public guarantee that the bidding process did even happen, and was it thorough.

2094
03:02:10,760 --> 03:02:16,240
Or the, all the alternatives were truly weighted, to ensure that the taxpayers were receiving

2095
03:02:16,240 --> 03:02:17,700
the best possible value.

2096
03:02:18,340 --> 03:02:24,400
So, as of now we don't have any guarantees that this deal is the best one because it

2097
03:02:24,400 --> 03:02:31,920
is not even through any third party evaluations or things like that.

2098
03:02:34,090 --> 03:02:40,250
But instead we are asked to approve a deal without fiduciary safeguards which are standard

2099
03:02:40,250 --> 03:02:41,770
in major public transactions.

2100
03:02:43,400 --> 03:02:47,560
Secondly, transparency matters.

2101
03:02:48,920 --> 03:02:55,200
Resistance have repeatedly expressed concern about the overuse of executive sessions throughout the process.

2102
03:02:56,360 --> 03:03:03,120
While executive sessions have a legitimate purpose, too much of this discussion has occurred outside of public view.

2103
03:03:04,120 --> 03:03:10,440
And when we have residents that repeatedly do not understand this process or the details of the issue,

2104
03:03:10,440 --> 03:03:15,820
it is our responsibility to improve transparency and public access to this

2105
03:03:15,820 --> 03:03:22,000
information. I do understand there is a client privilege at or near level of

2106
03:03:22,000 --> 03:03:32,300
discussions going on but a lot of things happen which led the town residents to

2107
03:03:32,300 --> 03:03:39,000
lose trust in the council. So over the last few months it started with fear

2108
03:03:39,000 --> 03:03:45,180
Amongering by the council majority about the retail ranch, the 23 million had to be paid,

2109
03:03:45,820 --> 03:03:52,000
which was sued by the developer, where a lot of decisions were also made in executive

2110
03:03:52,000 --> 03:03:57,420
sessions, and the town was not provided details about that.

2111
03:03:59,000 --> 03:04:04,260
Then it was a mega charge on the page property, which I also came to know about in an executive

2112
03:04:04,260 --> 03:04:10,260
due to session. Though Mayor Moore and Mayor Prattam Bell were involved in discussions

2113
03:04:10,260 --> 03:04:12,780
many months before I came to know about it.

2114
03:04:14,880 --> 03:04:18,700
So this is so many things that just the

2115
03:04:18,700 --> 03:04:25,440
town is not aware of and we lost us. Even the negotiations with SM Energy and the introduction

2116
03:04:25,440 --> 03:04:33,280
of Matt Evans, which I expressed before was not an unanimous 7-0 decision. We had mistrust

2117
03:04:33,280 --> 03:04:41,120
all the way, with all the issues in the town being 4-3 votes, I wanted to ask four of you

2118
03:04:41,120 --> 03:04:48,000
like, is there not one argument you want to agree with me, at least one? All of the issues

2119
03:04:48,000 --> 03:04:56,240
are voted 4-3. Our constant split and lack of non-partisanship in many issues reflects very

2120
03:04:56,240 --> 03:04:59,900
partly on our council as a whole. And strains are released.

2121
03:05:01,920 --> 03:05:09,740
So considering that, this is about to be a fourth-rate decision. I don't believe a yes-port is totally

2122
03:05:09,740 --> 03:05:15,480
because of fiscal reasons. The town of eerie balanced budgets before this sale was proposed.

2123
03:05:16,700 --> 03:05:24,120
We balanced $393 million, put all money into every possible thing, we saved money by canceling

2124
03:05:24,120 --> 03:05:32,240
some projects. We are not facing the financial emergency or fiscal necessity to sell our assets

2125
03:05:32,240 --> 03:05:38,100
and fulfill some projects or we are in debt or something like that. The question is whether

2126
03:05:38,100 --> 03:05:46,760
one-time payment justifies giving up a future leverage forever or not. Also the 548 acres with

2127
03:05:46,760 --> 03:05:53,940
the negotiations is simply not worth the value they claim, with its proximity to the airport

2128
03:05:54,700 --> 03:05:59,700
and no studies being performed to see the viability of economic development in that area

2129
03:06:00,700 --> 03:06:06,880
or that can be even developed to financially build with the town. We have no proof of any

2130
03:06:06,880 --> 03:06:13,300
studies that happened or any facts that shows that this is useful for the town.

2131
03:06:14,760 --> 03:06:19,060
So, good stewardship requires us to think beyond the next birth cycle.

2132
03:06:19,820 --> 03:06:26,620
We must consider long term revenue opportunities, future negotiations and interests of residents

2133
03:06:26,620 --> 03:06:28,580
who live here for decades from now.

2134
03:06:29,780 --> 03:06:37,060
If this is truly the best deal we have, I cannot support this for a proposed fiscal benefit.

2135
03:06:38,320 --> 03:06:41,380
And finally, it's all about accountability.

2136
03:06:42,800 --> 03:06:47,800
We are told that certain commitments will be honored within this deal, but history

2137
03:06:47,800 --> 03:06:56,260
has shown that these energy companies can and have restructured, sold assets, merged and

2138
03:06:56,260 --> 03:06:57,700
even declared bankruptcy.

2139
03:06:57,700 --> 03:07:05,480
The promises on paper do not always translate into accountability decades later.

2140
03:07:06,560 --> 03:07:11,420
There is no absolute guarantee that future owners will honor the spirit of today's

2141
03:07:11,420 --> 03:07:18,060
negotiations, because if this deal was truly made in good faith like every previous deal,

2142
03:07:19,100 --> 03:07:20,560
the wells would already be closed.

2143
03:07:20,560 --> 03:07:30,070
However, more importantly, our own accountability and responsibility as elected officials is at stake.

2144
03:07:30,870 --> 03:07:34,410
It is our job to consider the health and well-being of our residents.

2145
03:07:35,310 --> 03:07:40,810
Many people in the community have expressed concerns about the impact of expanded drilling activity

2146
03:07:40,810 --> 03:07:45,750
and high radon levels near homes, schools and neighborhoods.

2147
03:07:46,650 --> 03:07:49,590
Whether one agrees or disagrees on those impacts,

2148
03:07:49,590 --> 03:07:57,610
We owe it to our residents to proceed with caution, transparency and diligence when public

2149
03:07:57,610 --> 03:07:59,170
health concerns are being raised.

2150
03:08:00,950 --> 03:08:07,350
This decision has the prospect to impact not just current constituents but also future

2151
03:08:07,350 --> 03:08:07,890
councils.

2152
03:08:09,210 --> 03:08:15,910
Since the last meeting countless news outlets and residents have tuned into this issue and

2153
03:08:15,910 --> 03:08:17,790
and commended our town for taking a stand.

2154
03:08:18,830 --> 03:08:25,430
So whether or not Draco continues or whether our stake is 3% of Draco Pads minerals or

2155
03:08:25,430 --> 03:08:29,350
100% it matters how we respond.

2156
03:08:30,470 --> 03:08:36,490
Past material benefits or considerations, it's our duty to do what's right and take a stand.

2157
03:08:38,320 --> 03:08:45,530
My values cannot be bought, I'll be listening and standing up for a community and I urge

2158
03:08:45,530 --> 03:08:49,190
These are council members to not succumb to the pressure from special interests.

2159
03:08:49,950 --> 03:08:51,650
That's why I'm voting no for this one.

2160
03:08:54,140 --> 03:08:55,440
All right, council member O'Connor.

2161
03:08:55,720 --> 03:08:55,960
Thank you.

2162
03:08:56,180 --> 03:08:59,520
I've got a, excuse me, a question for our town attorney regarding.

2163
03:09:00,780 --> 03:09:09,900
The, if the agreement is unwound, does Alameda mineral receive their 4.5 million or do they

2164
03:09:09,900 --> 03:09:10,040
not?

2165
03:09:10,760 --> 03:09:17,340
I think it would depend on what point and what the, the reason for the unwinding of the

2166
03:09:18,700 --> 03:09:24,700
Well, I oppose the Draco project like many others, but it's going to move forward.

2167
03:09:24,960 --> 03:09:30,060
We keep hearing about the mineral rights as leverage, but in the end we might be left with

2168
03:09:30,060 --> 03:09:34,520
a worthless mineral island when SM Energy drills around the unsold mineral rights.

2169
03:09:35,520 --> 03:09:39,800
The real leverage just might be the items gained through the negotiation process with them.

2170
03:09:40,800 --> 03:09:46,340
The town is only agreeing to sell some of the mineral rights down to around 7,500 feet with

2171
03:09:46,340 --> 03:09:52,540
focus on a few of the lowest formations, which is approximately 300 feet thick. The town will

2172
03:09:52,540 --> 03:09:58,380
retain their mineral rights below, which contain more hydrocarbons and leverage with those mineral

2173
03:09:58,380 --> 03:09:58,580
Alright.

2174
03:10:02,220 --> 03:10:31,700
I could list off with the town who will get in return, but that's been done before earlier. But to me, it's the ability to pursue our own environmental testing at the Draco pad instead of standing on the outside looking in. I know the 17 wells have been dismissed that they should just be plugged, but it puts them on a defined timeline to get plugged. And then there's 158 acres of land.

2175
03:10:31,700 --> 03:10:35,300
And which would allow the town to have more control over its development.

2176
03:10:35,940 --> 03:10:41,440
We hear as a council that, why are we getting another, this type of restaurant, that type

2177
03:10:41,440 --> 03:10:41,900
of business.

2178
03:10:42,100 --> 03:10:47,180
This would give us more control over that corridor of where that land is along.

2179
03:10:52,410 --> 03:10:57,770
The, then there's a 4.5 million cash payment to the town and the amount being paid to

2180
03:10:57,770 --> 03:11:02,650
mineral advisers for their services. There has been a lot of misinformation around this detail.

2181
03:11:02,830 --> 03:11:06,830
If the agreement is reached between SM Energy and the town after closing,

2182
03:11:07,050 --> 03:11:13,690
Alameda mineral advisers would receive commission of 7.5 percent of the total agreed upon land value

2183
03:11:13,690 --> 03:11:19,390
approximately 13.5 million in monetary payment that the town would receive in the agreement,

2184
03:11:19,390 --> 03:11:26,450
which is 4.5 million. That means at closing, Alameda would receive an estimated payment of less than

2185
03:11:26,450 --> 03:11:31,050
$72 million. The town would keep the remaining amount of that $4.5 million.

2186
03:11:31,830 --> 03:11:35,770
Keep in mind these are all estimates. After the wells are producing, and SM Energy

2187
03:11:35,770 --> 03:11:42,270
has recouped 200% revenue off of those well heads, the town would receive 3% royalty

2188
03:11:42,270 --> 03:11:48,250
payments over the life that the wells are producing. Of that, 3% Alamina mineral would

2189
03:11:48,250 --> 03:11:54,150
receive a 7.5% commission up to the remaining balance of their $4.5 million cap.

2190
03:11:54,830 --> 03:12:00,850
The life of the wells is expected to be approximately 20 to 25 years, which means it will take a long time for

2191
03:12:00,850 --> 03:12:05,650
Alameda Mineral to receive their full compensation, again, capped at 4.5 million.

2192
03:12:07,150 --> 03:12:12,510
There's been a question, there's been questions regarding the potential issues with the land and if potential defects are discovered,

2193
03:12:12,890 --> 03:12:17,190
there is a 50-day inspection period with the option of extending at 15 days.

2194
03:12:17,450 --> 03:12:23,170
If issues are discovered making the land not usable as thought or environmental issues are found,

2195
03:12:23,170 --> 03:12:27,450
on both parties can walk away retaining their cash, real property and mineral rights.

2196
03:12:27,690 --> 03:12:33,150
If no sale goes through, the town keeps the mineral rights.

2197
03:12:35,860 --> 03:12:38,240
I'd like Drake to stop, but it's not going to.

2198
03:12:38,620 --> 03:12:42,040
My home is being drilled under, regardless if this agreement is signed or not.

2199
03:12:42,260 --> 03:12:45,300
If the agreement is signed, I have property that will also be drilled under,

2200
03:12:45,620 --> 03:12:47,520
which we use to live in and might again.

2201
03:12:47,520 --> 03:12:58,290
And so just after looking back and forth at this agreement, I think it's in the best

2202
03:12:58,290 --> 03:13:02,190
interest of the town to move forward with it.

2203
03:13:04,170 --> 03:13:04,990
You know, for Tim.

2204
03:13:06,590 --> 03:13:07,510
Thank you.

2205
03:13:10,230 --> 03:13:16,930
Last time I read a mostly written statement, and since my vote was made clear last time,

2206
03:13:16,930 --> 03:13:23,710
I just decided to be a little bit more addressing certain points that I'd heard so this is

2207
03:13:24,290 --> 03:13:29,230
may sound somewhat stream of conscious but I was writing down things that I'd heard and

2208
03:13:29,810 --> 03:13:38,230
responses to them. First off, I want to say to council member Connor, I totally understand

2209
03:13:38,230 --> 03:13:45,930
your vote last week and the public can either believe this or not.

2210
03:13:47,190 --> 03:14:00,570
But I never, you know, the game of four or so called, I never expect anybody to vote a particular way.

2211
03:14:02,910 --> 03:14:09,350
And Council Member O'Connor, first off, if you think Council Member O'Connor can be pressured

2212
03:14:09,350 --> 03:14:15,790
in devoting something, you don't know him at all. And I can say that you are a person of integrity.

2213
03:14:16,930 --> 03:14:25,030
And you are a person that makes decisions based on logic and based on what you are presented.

2214
03:14:27,330 --> 03:14:30,970
And you are not going to be forced into anything.

2215
03:14:31,270 --> 03:14:42,170
So the things that I read online, especially that accusations of bribery are completely

2216
03:14:42,170 --> 03:14:52,770
unfounded and are not even worthy of discussion and I'm sad that it's come to that so I do want to

2217
03:14:52,770 --> 03:14:59,910
say for the public comment beginning here that especially compared to last week.

2218
03:15:00,000 --> 03:15:14,500
I was very impressed with the respect that everyone had regardless of what side they were on. And, you know, we had a number of people speak, and we were able to get through everyone, and I just want to appreciate that no matter where you stand on this issue.

2219
03:15:40,590 --> 03:15:47,530
loud opinion that we heard from one segment of the population and I can tell you that people

2220
03:15:48,270 --> 03:15:54,730
who did support the deal for whatever reason did not come out. I'm sure you know whether it

2221
03:15:54,730 --> 03:16:00,970
was intimidation or another factor I can't say but I can tell you that since Tuesday that we've

2222
03:16:00,970 --> 03:16:08,730
been inundated with emails and the vast majority of them were in support of the agreement.

2223
03:16:11,370 --> 03:16:17,090
I want to read too in particular because these ones spoke to me the most, because whether

2224
03:16:17,090 --> 03:16:23,870
you're pro oil and gas or anti oil and gas, I think two of the most effective emails

2225
03:16:23,870 --> 03:16:28,890
and I'm not going to read the names of people and I'm going to read the words that they

2226
03:16:28,890 --> 03:16:33,010
wrote because I think it's important, but these were people that were opposed to Draco

2227
03:16:33,010 --> 03:16:36,430
that spoke out against Draco, but are for this agreement.

2228
03:16:37,390 --> 03:16:44,190
First one that says, Dear Town Mayor and Counselors, I'm an environmentalist and I support

2229
03:16:44,190 --> 03:16:50,290
the agreement with Draco as a lead leadership and energy and environmental design,

2230
03:16:50,430 --> 03:16:56,630
accredited professional, I am disappointed that the state regulators approved this project,

2231
03:16:56,850 --> 03:17:02,410
meaning Draco. However, we lost that fight and now we need to make the best of it.

2232
03:17:02,410 --> 03:17:07,510
With our declining capital funds, a vote against this agreement is now a vote against

2233
03:17:07,510 --> 03:17:11,410
by-pass recreation centers, parks, and affordable housing.

2234
03:17:12,710 --> 03:17:18,550
Yet, this is a hard choice, but I urge you to faithfully represent what is best for

2235
03:17:18,550 --> 03:17:21,490
our community and vote and support of this agreement.

2236
03:17:21,870 --> 03:17:25,990
The second one here, dear council members, I recently moved back to

2237
03:17:25,990 --> 03:17:28,090
area after approximately 11 years away.

2238
03:17:28,390 --> 03:17:31,570
I was deeply disappointed to hear about this fracking project.

2239
03:17:31,570 --> 03:17:36,730
It's still unclear how this was approved, despite the community pushback at the time.

2240
03:17:37,030 --> 03:17:43,710
In any case, since this is a done deal, it is critical that the town of Erie secure the best possible agreement moving forward,

2241
03:17:43,950 --> 03:17:46,930
especially when it comes to plugging old wells.

2242
03:17:47,310 --> 03:17:54,930
I remember the terrible 2017 explosion in Firestone that killed two residents due to severed gas lines that

2243
03:17:54,930 --> 03:18:00,850
anodarko failed to seal properly. It is incumbent on our town council to consider the safety,

2244
03:18:01,330 --> 03:18:06,550
resident concerns, and property values of its residents. As such, I support a motion to reconsider

2245
03:18:06,550 --> 03:18:13,410
the vote on the agreement when the full council's in session, June 23, 2026, ever do you vote yes on

2246
03:18:13,410 --> 03:18:13,950
the agreement?

2247
03:18:17,020 --> 03:18:26,300
The next thing I will say is that I think from the opposition to the agreement on

2248
03:18:26,300 --> 03:18:32,620
here tonight, and I hear from a lot of you, and I think it falls into certain categories.

2249
03:18:32,880 --> 03:18:41,480
And I understand that there is sincere opposition to this, to this agreement.

2250
03:18:41,760 --> 03:18:47,140
And I understand that, and even though we might disagree, I appreciate your position

2251
03:18:47,140 --> 03:18:49,700
and I do believe it's sincere.

2252
03:18:49,700 --> 03:18:56,660
I do believe that there is a gross amount of misinformation that has been spread

2253
03:18:58,920 --> 03:19:04,420
from many who are in the opposition, and some of it, I think, they are hearing

2254
03:19:04,420 --> 03:19:05,180
from other people.

2255
03:19:05,400 --> 03:19:10,940
And that brings me to, unfortunately, the third group that I believe that there is deliberate

2256
03:19:10,940 --> 03:19:15,580
misinformation that has been spread online in another formats.

2257
03:19:15,580 --> 03:19:24,740
And the first form of that is the fact that, well, we keep hearing that this isn't about Draco or,

2258
03:19:25,280 --> 03:19:27,560
you know, we're not trying to stop Draco.

2259
03:19:27,720 --> 03:19:28,920
This is about the mineral rights.

2260
03:19:29,620 --> 03:19:35,520
The fact is that online communications and stuff that I read this week, things that have

2261
03:19:35,520 --> 03:19:44,000
been sent to me made it clear that there were talking points sent out that asked people to stick

2262
03:19:44,000 --> 03:19:52,620
to the mental rights and the no-bid contract agreement, so that the mayor and I couldn't bring

2263
03:19:52,620 --> 03:19:58,580
up that well, Draco's happening anyway. When in reality, and you heard a few people bring it up here,

2264
03:20:00,000 --> 03:20:28,960
Many people referring to deadlines in the SM contract with the ECMC for the May 13, 20, 2028 deadline, that agreement was made with Southern Land Company. And it specifically has to do with, I believe, 20-some units that would be within the 2000-foot setback of the Well-Pad.

2265
03:20:28,960 --> 03:20:36,020
It was an agreement that was reached at the time the ECMC made a pass-out agreement

2266
03:20:36,020 --> 03:20:44,100
that at that time, Civitas would be completed with production operations before

2267
03:20:44,100 --> 03:20:52,240
the permits went into those houses to prevent as little disturbance as possible to new

2268
03:20:52,240 --> 03:20:53,440
residents moving in there.

2269
03:20:56,360 --> 03:21:00,400
I'm here to tell you that if you're not paying attention to what's happening

2270
03:21:00,400 --> 03:21:06,640
and Western or other parts of town, you show me where the houses are selling.

2271
03:21:07,840 --> 03:21:11,520
That particular phase of development hasn't even started yet.

2272
03:21:11,660 --> 03:21:13,620
They're not even finished with their current phase.

2273
03:21:15,020 --> 03:21:19,360
Go look at the number of building permits that the town has issued in the last year compared

2274
03:21:19,880 --> 03:21:20,960
to the last five year.

2275
03:21:21,080 --> 03:21:24,300
Go back and compare that to 2024.

2276
03:21:24,300 --> 03:21:33,200
for. The fact of the matter is, is that it's highly unlikely that those particular units

2277
03:21:33,200 --> 03:21:42,420
would even have broke ground by May of 2020, making the point of them being finished with

2278
03:21:42,420 --> 03:21:49,900
production kind of mood. But they are correct, it is an agreement in the ECMC contract.

2279
03:21:49,900 --> 03:21:55,860
And what we were told is basically, if it ever actually happened where they were in

2280
03:21:55,860 --> 03:22:04,740
jeopardy, you mean that timeline, all that has to happen is SM will go to Southern

2281
03:22:04,740 --> 03:22:09,800
Land Company and say, hey, we're not going to make this timeline.

2282
03:22:10,900 --> 03:22:12,360
How can we strike a deal?

2283
03:22:12,360 --> 03:22:21,240
And as somebody pointed out, you know, with potentially $1.5 billion that they're dealing

2284
03:22:21,240 --> 03:22:27,220
with, they have quite a bit of leverage to work with Southern Land to move that timeline.

2285
03:22:27,700 --> 03:22:35,270
And after that, if Southern Land agrees to it, I highly doubt that ECMC is going to say

2286
03:22:35,270 --> 03:22:35,930
no to it.

2287
03:22:37,410 --> 03:22:44,090
So, the idea that we're going to stall this agreement, and then with the hopes that we'll

2288
03:22:44,090 --> 03:22:49,750
kick the can down the curb, we'll make it more difficult for SM to go change the drilling

2289
03:22:49,750 --> 03:22:56,490
and spacing unit, get some more time, and then, hey, we'll hit that May 13, 2028 deadline.

2290
03:22:57,090 --> 03:22:57,930
That's not going to happen.

2291
03:22:59,130 --> 03:23:00,470
They're not going to tell you that.

2292
03:23:00,870 --> 03:23:01,750
I will tell you that.

2293
03:23:01,750 --> 03:23:02,670
So

2294
03:23:05,200 --> 03:23:12,140
the other thing as far as Draco moving forward, you've heard from many people

2295
03:23:12,140 --> 03:23:16,220
tonight, of course SMs telling you Draco's moving forward.

2296
03:23:16,520 --> 03:23:20,140
Of course Matt Owens is telling you Draco's moving forward.

2297
03:23:20,240 --> 03:23:26,660
What they're not telling you is our own attorneys and town staff said Draco will move

2298
03:23:26,660 --> 03:23:27,260
forward.

2299
03:23:27,260 --> 03:23:31,300
In fact, our director of environmental services,

2300
03:23:31,560 --> 03:23:38,400
very much said he has no reason to believe that there won't be 26 wells drilled.

2301
03:23:40,520 --> 03:23:45,780
So it comes down to a question of, are we going to get something for this?

2302
03:23:48,220 --> 03:23:50,820
Or will we get nothing for this?

2303
03:23:52,780 --> 03:23:58,740
I heard talking about, we need to hold on to this, to hold on to our leverage.

2304
03:24:00,440 --> 03:24:07,380
You're talking about the town's minerals, 3% of the DSU.

2305
03:24:09,040 --> 03:24:14,680
If I came to you all tonight, and I said, hey, guess what, folks, we cut a deal.

2306
03:24:14,860 --> 03:24:18,680
They're only going to be able to drill 97% of the DSU.

2307
03:24:19,000 --> 03:24:21,380
Would any of you find that satisfactory?

2308
03:24:23,770 --> 03:24:28,830
The fact of the matter is they have multiple ways of drilling those wells.

2309
03:24:28,830 --> 03:24:34,390
they have multiple ways to either go around us, they could go through us and get a

2310
03:24:34,390 --> 03:24:38,750
subsurface easement and they'll tell you oh no no we have to issue that with them

2311
03:24:38,750 --> 03:24:43,510
guess what? Where I live in Erie Highlands, we're not in the DSU but we are

2312
03:24:43,510 --> 03:24:49,030
getting drilled under and SM will have to come to the town to get a subsurface

2313
03:24:49,030 --> 03:24:53,970
easement for them to be able to do that. Do you think for a moment that the town is

2314
03:24:53,970 --> 03:24:59,190
going to fight SM when the ECMC has already approved this.

2315
03:25:00,500 --> 03:25:08,660
And that's going to get denied. That's not going to happen. We have tons of subsurface easements

2316
03:25:09,120 --> 03:25:15,060
with other oil companies and other parts of town for other various reasons. It's not

2317
03:25:15,920 --> 03:25:25,270
a reality-based argument. I want to talk for a second about the LinkedIn post.

2318
03:25:31,050 --> 03:25:31,790
And I will

2319
03:25:31,790 --> 03:25:59,710
I saw that, I was concerned, and we'll say I sent an email to the town attorney and the acting town manager, and that's not going to say I don't think it was a wise move, specifically because it asked for people to reach out to council member O'Connor for a company that we were under contract with, I'm going to leave it at that.

2320
03:25:59,710 --> 03:26:13,890
I will say that the agreement before us tonight and the contract agreement with Alameda Minerals are two separate entities.

2321
03:26:14,830 --> 03:26:16,850
We can deal with both.

2322
03:26:18,290 --> 03:26:28,470
I also want to say, as far as this thing with the AG, the

2323
03:26:30,480 --> 03:26:35,800
town's procurement process is

2324
03:26:35,800 --> 03:26:37,960
defined in the home road charter.

2325
03:26:40,780 --> 03:26:45,380
The AG typically deals with criminal activities.

2326
03:26:45,380 --> 03:26:58,100
These sometimes could potentially be civil, but the particular issues with the RFP, as far

2327
03:26:58,100 --> 03:27:05,620
as our process and issuing RFPs or process and following RFPs, is enforced by the town

2328
03:27:05,620 --> 03:27:05,960
charter.

2329
03:27:05,960 --> 03:27:11,960
that is a municipal responsibility being as a home rule entity.

2330
03:27:13,780 --> 03:27:20,580
I'm sure there was probably some form letter saying from the AGO's office saying,

2331
03:27:20,880 --> 03:27:23,200
when they got the complaint, we'll look into this.

2332
03:27:23,340 --> 03:27:26,280
That doesn't particularly mean anything.

2333
03:27:27,440 --> 03:27:33,500
And I find it interesting that as somebody who is actually being affected by this

2334
03:27:33,500 --> 03:27:39,380
because my house is right, I'm outside the DSU, but my house is being drilled under.

2335
03:27:39,980 --> 03:27:46,680
I don't own mineral rights, but even if I did, I wouldn't benefit from this because I'm

2336
03:27:46,680 --> 03:27:55,380
outside the DSU. And yet, this individual came out and threw in my face that the AG is looking

2337
03:27:55,380 --> 03:28:02,880
into this, and that somehow I acted unethically when he was in the drilling path or in the DSU.

2338
03:28:05,940 --> 03:28:09,980
So, this gets personal up here.

2339
03:28:10,120 --> 03:28:13,760
If you're up here making these decisions, this is difficult.

2340
03:28:14,080 --> 03:28:16,040
And we try to make the best decisions we can.

2341
03:28:16,160 --> 03:28:24,320
But when you have arrows flying at you constantly, accusing you of things that in all honesty,

2342
03:28:25,300 --> 03:28:31,800
the mayor and I had many discussions where we were trying to figure out how to get out as

2343
03:28:31,800 --> 03:28:38,660
much possible in the public after we concluded our last of the executive sessions which were held

2344
03:28:38,660 --> 03:28:44,820
back in February. And you can believe that or not. But I have no reason to lie to you.

2345
03:28:47,520 --> 03:28:48,240
I

2346
03:28:50,900 --> 03:29:00,720
will say somebody mentioned SIRSA, our staff constantly works with SIRSA. They are the town's

2347
03:29:00,720 --> 03:29:08,640
insurance company if there is an issue that the town possibly faces liability, they reach out

2348
03:29:08,640 --> 03:29:21,480
to us. And guess what, folks, if we as counselors, if we break certain protocols, now we generally

2349
03:29:21,480 --> 03:29:26,640
get covered by them, but if we do something where we are not acting in the town's interest,

2350
03:29:26,640 --> 03:29:29,340
because we could potentially be on our own.

2351
03:29:36,080 --> 03:29:48,760
I won't belabor the point, but Council Member O'Connor did lay out that the 4.5 million for payment for Alameda again is being grossly exaggerated.

2352
03:29:49,200 --> 03:29:56,200
It's 7.5% on each particular item that comes forward.

2353
03:29:56,400 --> 03:29:59,800
A lot of this is due to royalties that will be paid out in the future.

2354
03:30:00,210 --> 03:30:16,850
There is no guarantee that Alameda will reach the $4.5 million threshold. That's a subjective figure and still needs to be seen out over time.

2355
03:30:19,550 --> 03:30:29,790
I want to make a point. Based on something councilmember Hoback said that there never was a plan in the work plan.

2356
03:30:29,790 --> 03:30:39,770
or anywhere else that we were going to change any areas to reserve open space. That's most likely

2357
03:30:39,770 --> 03:30:45,170
a future issue for a future council and future planning commission.

2358
03:30:48,010 --> 03:30:50,250
We have certain open space

2359
03:30:50,250 --> 03:30:55,270
like Wyce Farm where there's an agricultural lease on that. We have to be very careful

2360
03:30:55,270 --> 03:31:12,910
If we're going to put something as reserved open space because a lot of those uses are not permitted on something that's reserved open space and so we're, you know, there we're only going to apply reserved open space or a future council should only apply reserved open space.

2361
03:31:14,230 --> 03:31:23,670
If it is a benefit to the public and does not affect any other other uses we have on that on that property.

2362
03:31:23,670 --> 03:31:35,040
I will say in response to Council Member Pestermelli, where he says, why are we always having

2363
03:31:35,040 --> 03:31:40,440
four three votes, when are we going to have a vote that includes me?

2364
03:31:41,200 --> 03:31:57,490
Well, I remind Council Member Pestermelli and Council Member Hullback and Council Member

2365
03:31:57,490 --> 03:32:01,930
go down every rabbit hole of everything I was accused of, but I'm just here to point out

2366
03:32:01,930 --> 03:32:09,770
that the page property was re-zoned on a seven-nothing vote. We did it because we did

2367
03:32:09,770 --> 03:32:16,130
the hard work beforehand to ensure what was the proper use for that property and we heard

2368
03:32:16,130 --> 03:32:24,110
from the public. But that's outside the scope of what we're talking tonight, so I'll leave

2369
03:32:24,110 --> 03:32:32,010
say, as far as the contract amounts that you've heard, yeah, I agree the whatever was

2370
03:32:32,010 --> 03:32:38,850
$450 million. That's not an accurate figure. I don't believe that's maybe would be the

2371
03:32:38,850 --> 03:32:45,730
maximum potential value of future economic activity. However, I would also say that

2372
03:32:45,730 --> 03:32:49,710
of how this deal at 20 million is also not accurate.

2373
03:32:50,430 --> 03:32:53,170
There will be potential royalties.

2374
03:32:53,490 --> 03:32:57,490
They have to happen over time, but those are real valuations.

2375
03:32:58,790 --> 03:33:00,530
The number of the town is used,

2376
03:33:00,670 --> 03:33:02,550
and the number that you've seen is somewhere 43,

2377
03:33:02,810 --> 03:33:05,950
44 million, and that is probably the number I would go with.

2378
03:33:06,090 --> 03:33:07,990
And I would say personally,

2379
03:33:08,270 --> 03:33:13,030
I was not happy with every item in this particular deal.

2380
03:33:13,030 --> 03:33:16,270
We talked about County Road 6, right?

2381
03:33:17,930 --> 03:33:24,370
Personally, I don't know why even with the ECMC, I don't know why SM was ever

2382
03:33:24,370 --> 03:33:30,450
agreeing to County Road 6 being developed because the landfill and

2383
03:33:30,450 --> 03:33:33,450
our discussions with them had already agreed that they were going to make that

2384
03:33:33,450 --> 03:33:37,370
improvement and council member Hobak was talking about moving the landfill entrance.

2385
03:33:37,370 --> 03:33:44,410
There's been one person since 2018, when a deal fell through for moving the landfill

2386
03:33:44,410 --> 03:33:49,070
entrance, that has been screaming at the top of their lungs that we need to move that

2387
03:33:49,070 --> 03:33:50,770
landfill entrance, and it was me.

2388
03:33:51,110 --> 03:33:57,370
So I didn't particularly understand why all of a sudden we're now creating something

2389
03:33:57,370 --> 03:34:04,710
that somebody else are agreed to build as a valuation in what we're doing in this agreement.

2390
03:34:04,710 --> 03:34:09,550
But as all things considered, do you get everything you want in a deal note?

2391
03:34:09,870 --> 03:34:17,710
These are negotiated points and only to say that I'm trying to paint this as sunshine and roses, I certainly am not.

2392
03:34:19,930 --> 03:34:26,650
I would also like to say the valuation of the land for the airport that somebody brought up earlier.

2393
03:34:28,630 --> 03:34:33,490
Those numbers came from somewhere and it came from a report from ABS Aviation

2394
03:34:33,490 --> 03:34:48,710
that we'd done back in 2023, the town paid $100,000 to ABS to do that study for the airport and it was viewing potential future economic activity at that airport.

2395
03:34:49,210 --> 03:34:59,970
Light industrial, yeah, that's exactly the zoning that's out where the other NASA developments are where we have a lot of economic activity.

2396
03:35:00,000 --> 03:35:03,620
There's a lot of businesses out there. That's what we're talking about.

2397
03:35:05,780 --> 03:35:27,620
And the airport road connection, again, I was the person that brought back the airport economic development advisory board along with two residents wanting to see it come back. That road connection has been on there since 2020, since before mayor more even considered coming back to run again for mayor.

2398
03:35:32,640 --> 03:35:35,820
So I'll last, I'll just, I kind of gone on along here.

2399
03:35:35,940 --> 03:35:38,940
I'll just finish up because I know we've got a long night here.

2400
03:35:39,200 --> 03:35:44,000
But I would just say if you look at the value of what we are getting,

2401
03:35:47,070 --> 03:35:54,970
this deal far exceeds any negative outcomes on this.

2402
03:35:55,190 --> 03:35:59,490
And to me, the biggest things are the plugging

2403
03:35:59,490 --> 03:36:06,330
and abandonment of wells that are in the area and the inspection to the site and I think

2404
03:36:06,330 --> 03:36:13,450
that is extremely important in additional land and somebody said it before yes the origin

2405
03:36:13,450 --> 03:36:20,470
of this came because we were trying to get a deal for the land in front of the airport and when

2406
03:36:20,470 --> 03:36:26,430
we started negotiating with SM directly we were getting nowhere despite what Councillor

2407
03:36:26,430 --> 03:36:37,870
Senator Hoback said nobody was happy with those offers and we went from 3 point or sorry, 2.8 million to 43 or 44 million somewhere in there.

2408
03:36:38,630 --> 03:36:53,210
I don't think you may not like this deal, but you're not going to tell me with a straight face that we didn't do everything to try to get the best monetary exchange for our negotiation, and I'll leave it in there.

2409
03:36:53,210 --> 03:36:55,410
All right, thanks, Mayor Portem.

2410
03:36:58,990 --> 03:37:00,270
I'm a resident too.

2411
03:37:01,930 --> 03:37:08,470
And it is hard to sit up here and try to do the right thing and have so much said about

2412
03:37:08,470 --> 03:37:10,970
you, said about the town.

2413
03:37:11,710 --> 03:37:13,610
It is just absolutely not true.

2414
03:37:14,050 --> 03:37:15,010
But I get the politics.

2415
03:37:15,190 --> 03:37:19,710
All you have to do is look at the national politics, pick up that narrative, run with that playbook.

2416
03:37:20,710 --> 03:37:28,250
and if you can't fight something on the facts, you fight it on the character, you fight it on the process and all that.

2417
03:37:28,910 --> 03:37:36,230
And man, if I was sitting out there, I'd be pissed and I am pissed that we did not follow the procurement process.

2418
03:37:37,890 --> 03:37:41,590
I also work in government and there's two processes in procurement.

2419
03:37:42,430 --> 03:37:46,790
There's the RFP process when you believe there's competitiveness out there

2420
03:37:47,330 --> 03:37:52,350
And there's the sole source process, which is what this should have followed.

2421
03:37:53,750 --> 03:37:58,710
Because when we started, we had the bid for a few million dollars.

2422
03:37:58,850 --> 03:38:03,690
And I don't think any of us up here would say, yeah, a few million dollars is going to be worth

2423
03:38:03,690 --> 03:38:06,690
this stress, this public outcry.

2424
03:38:08,980 --> 03:38:13,060
It was a landowner in Erie's planning area that had contracted

2425
03:38:13,060 --> 03:38:22,640
with Alameda minerals that had gotten his mineral values up and he made the connection to me.

2426
03:38:23,400 --> 03:38:28,060
I did not negotiate with Alameda minerals. I forwarded that on to town staff

2427
03:38:28,720 --> 03:38:37,860
who used the input from us to negotiate the deal. I didn't learn about the fact that our procurement

2428
03:38:37,860 --> 03:38:44,400
process was not followed until sometime in the late spring. There was nothing I could have done

2429
03:38:44,400 --> 03:38:48,640
about it at the time. It does not affect the contract, though.

2430
03:38:50,790 --> 03:38:51,930
We have processes in

2431
03:38:51,930 --> 03:38:57,690
this town and our prior town manager from the million dollars of the bridge fund. Some

2432
03:38:57,690 --> 03:39:03,310
of you may remember that. That was a procurement process. To this procurement process, I've

2433
03:39:03,310 --> 03:39:09,270
started to ask way more questions about processes, because we would never know the processes without

2434
03:39:09,270 --> 03:39:13,110
actually asking. We just approved a bunch of contracts on the consent agenda.

2435
03:39:16,720 --> 03:39:17,740
I have faith

2436
03:39:17,740 --> 03:39:23,540
now that they've gone through the right procurement process. But when you think of all the contracts

2437
03:39:23,540 --> 03:39:28,440
we approve, any of those maybe didn't go through the process, I don't know. Or at least

2438
03:39:28,440 --> 03:39:34,660
I'm with you, that at least it raises a question in my mind, which isn't good. But I'm taking

2439
03:39:34,660 --> 03:39:38,740
it seriously, and I'll stay on top of that until we get the audits, until we get to the bottom

2440
03:39:38,740 --> 03:39:46,020
of what happened, and to ensure it doesn't happen again. In this particular situation, I fall

2441
03:39:46,020 --> 03:39:52,600
back on my fiduciary responsibility to the town, and that means that I am and everybody

2442
03:39:52,600 --> 03:39:58,500
else up here are legally and ethically bound to act in the absolute best interest in the

2443
03:39:58,500 --> 03:39:59,260
town of Eerie.

2444
03:40:00,210 --> 03:40:28,430
As a fiduciary, we must put Erie's needs, financial well-being and interests of head of our own. That is just the definition of fiduciary responsibility. We have a duty of loyalty and that we must act solely in the interest of the town and cannot use any position to further our own personal or business interests. And we must avoid conflict of interest.

2445
03:40:28,430 --> 03:40:34,190
We have a duty of care in that we must make informed, prudent, and competent decisions.

2446
03:40:34,630 --> 03:40:39,570
This means doing our homework and analyzing all the data and acting with the same diligent

2447
03:40:39,570 --> 03:40:43,030
that a reasonable person would use in a similar situation.

2448
03:40:43,590 --> 03:40:47,890
That doesn't mean we read everything on Facebook and make our decision based on that.

2449
03:40:48,390 --> 03:40:54,290
We are listening to our attorneys, we are listening to our staff members, and I take that

2450
03:40:54,290 --> 03:40:57,030
very, very, very seriously.

2451
03:40:57,750 --> 03:41:02,830
It also, we have a duty of confidentiality that we cannot disclose sensitive or private

2452
03:41:02,830 --> 03:41:07,750
information about anything that we're doing here without permission to do so, and that's

2453
03:41:07,750 --> 03:41:08,830
the executive session.

2454
03:41:09,030 --> 03:41:14,570
So, I go back and I question myself, and to say, what happened in the executive session,

2455
03:41:14,950 --> 03:41:17,870
where people are questioning what happened in there?

2456
03:41:18,430 --> 03:41:24,670
Nobody raised issues at the time, so my commitment to the public is any executive sessions from

2457
03:41:24,670 --> 03:41:29,810
this moment on, at the end of every executive session, I'm going to ask the question, does

2458
03:41:29,810 --> 03:41:34,550
anybody in this executive session feel that there is something that happened here that

2459
03:41:34,550 --> 03:41:35,710
shouldn't have happened here?

2460
03:41:37,150 --> 03:41:39,830
And our lawyers are in there to help us navigate that.

2461
03:41:40,170 --> 03:41:42,290
That is important and this is a presiding officer.

2462
03:41:42,930 --> 03:41:46,090
I have to do that and I will do that and that's the right thing to do.

2463
03:41:47,290 --> 03:41:52,790
As far as this agreement, I think everybody has gone over the reasoning, the four deal points.

2464
03:41:54,050 --> 03:41:56,570
It's really, do we get something or nothing?

2465
03:41:57,150 --> 03:42:00,210
The drilling will happen whether we do something or not.

2466
03:42:00,830 --> 03:42:07,810
And so in the fiduciary responsibility that I have, I don't feel that I can take a personal

2467
03:42:07,810 --> 03:42:11,790
belief that I believe Jericho should not happen, that we should not have this horizontal drilling.

2468
03:42:13,510 --> 03:42:18,410
I have to put that aside because that is not what I'm being asked to answer today.

2469
03:42:18,410 --> 03:42:19,330
I

2470
03:42:30,820 --> 03:42:35,500
go back often to this and the plug-in of the Wells is very important to me because

2471
03:42:35,500 --> 03:42:40,220
when we talk health and safety, those are putting off VOCs right now at this moment.

2472
03:42:41,600 --> 03:42:44,760
But I look at the land as really the valuable thing here.

2473
03:42:45,000 --> 03:42:48,780
It's not the $4.5 million, it's not even really the well-held revenue.

2474
03:42:49,260 --> 03:42:53,560
I agree with those in the Council and others that have said in the big picture in our budget

2475
03:42:53,560 --> 03:42:54,960
that's not that much money.

2476
03:42:55,660 --> 03:42:57,620
It'll help us, believe me, it'll help us.

2477
03:42:57,620 --> 03:43:08,780
And we'll certainly be able to expand our public works facility to serve us the needs of this town because the land sits right there, but the land is the goose that lays the golden egg.

2478
03:43:09,880 --> 03:43:24,220
It is the land that if and when it is developed, it will put off money because it will be of such development that it generates sales tax and property tax.

2479
03:43:25,040 --> 03:43:30,800
and that goes on into perpetuity. Some people have said, well, why don't you just buy the land?

2480
03:43:32,140 --> 03:43:37,320
SM Energy owns this land. If we walk away from this deal, I don't suspect they're going to have

2481
03:43:37,320 --> 03:43:42,980
the red carpet out for us to go negotiate the purchase of the land. So if I can get it in this deal

2482
03:43:42,980 --> 03:43:52,440
for long-term benefit, that is where I'm at. So with that, I feel it's my fiduciary responsibility

2483
03:43:52,440 --> 03:43:57,700
ability to take the best deal we can. This deal is 10X, what it was before we hired

2484
03:43:57,700 --> 03:44:02,920
Alameda Minerals. Maybe we could have gotten more. I don't know where we would have gotten

2485
03:44:02,920 --> 03:44:06,840
more. This is a good deal compared to where we started for sure.

2486
03:44:08,560 --> 03:44:12,920
All right, with that we have a motion and a second for the

2487
03:44:16,240 --> 03:44:18,780
reconsideration of the ordinance

2488
03:44:18,780 --> 03:44:24,340
Since 028, 2026, with that, I'll look to our townclip to take the roll call vote.

2489
03:44:25,260 --> 03:44:26,580
Councilmember Mordellero?

2490
03:44:26,940 --> 03:44:27,580
Yes.

2491
03:44:28,480 --> 03:44:29,740
Councilmember O'Connor?

2492
03:44:30,060 --> 03:44:30,260
Yes.

2493
03:44:31,000 --> 03:44:32,520
Councilmember Pessa Morelle?

2494
03:44:32,940 --> 03:44:33,260
No.

2495
03:44:33,920 --> 03:44:35,220
Councilmember Hoback?

2496
03:44:36,000 --> 03:44:36,320
No.

2497
03:44:37,220 --> 03:44:38,700
Mayor Pro Tembeau?

2498
03:44:39,000 --> 03:44:39,240
Yes.

2499
03:44:40,120 --> 03:44:41,180
Councilmember Bair?

2500
03:44:41,880 --> 03:44:42,260
No.

2501
03:44:42,840 --> 03:44:43,320
Mayor Moore?

2502
03:44:44,860 --> 03:44:45,620
Yes.

2503
03:44:45,620 --> 03:44:55,080
All right, with that, I'm going to look to the council to see if you want to break or do you want to go right into the next public?

2504
03:44:55,420 --> 03:44:56,060
I don't know about waiting.

2505
03:44:57,600 --> 03:44:58,260
Take a break.

2506
03:44:59,180 --> 03:44:59,320
All right.

2507
03:44:59,480 --> 03:44:59,960
We will wreak.

2508
03:45:00,000 --> 03:45:03,000
convene at 1035. We

2509
03:45:49,430 --> 03:46:16,110
will continue on with our meeting tonight onto the last item in general business. It's item 2026-370. It's a public hearing. A resolution to the town council, the town area approving, the eerie junction duplex special review use with a condition. And with that, to the way, Chris. Thank you, Chris Leroux with planning and development department. Here tonight, present the eerie junction duplex special review use.

2510
03:46:16,110 --> 03:46:20,510
I'll try to go fairly quickly, and again, it's a special review.

2511
03:46:20,950 --> 03:46:24,790
Special review use, the project site's about 2.73 acres.

2512
03:46:25,150 --> 03:46:30,590
It's zoned, hometown residential, or OTR, and the existing use is as vacant lots.

2513
03:46:31,870 --> 03:46:37,290
So the normal development review process starts with annexation, it goes to rezoning, the need

2514
03:46:37,290 --> 03:46:43,130
to preliminary and final plat, typically you would do the special review use with the preliminary

2515
03:46:43,950 --> 03:46:53,430
In this case, the decision was made to separate it from the normal process and as a result,

2516
03:46:55,250 --> 03:47:00,930
we're here tonight to review the special review is the project has been built, again has

2517
03:47:00,930 --> 03:47:05,650
a DA final plot with it, so it's a little out of a normal sequence.

2518
03:47:07,450 --> 03:47:12,350
So that's the background, in terms of why we're here tonight, I'll go over some specifics

2519
03:47:12,350 --> 03:47:18,590
with the site and area. It's northeast of County Line Road in Balcon Street. It's highlighted in

2520
03:47:18,590 --> 03:47:20,530
the red on the screen in front of you.

2521
03:47:24,700 --> 03:47:28,860
Here's a couple shots looking at the site and area. This

2522
03:47:28,860 --> 03:47:34,560
is looking north on County Line Road and the red arrow on the subset kind of shows the direction

2523
03:47:34,560 --> 03:47:36,500
that it's facing out there on the street.

2524
03:47:39,020 --> 03:47:43,080
And this is looking east on Balcon, down the long side

2525
03:47:43,080 --> 03:47:47,160
to the rectangle of the site, and then this is looking east into the site.

2526
03:47:51,020 --> 03:47:55,460
So the existing zoning of the site is Old Town Residential, OTR, which only allows

2527
03:47:55,460 --> 03:47:57,900
single-family detached as permitted uses.

2528
03:47:58,520 --> 03:48:04,340
It does allow duplex or single-family attached only by the special review use.

2529
03:48:06,020 --> 03:48:09,000
Comprehensive plan designates the site as residential medium.

2530
03:48:09,640 --> 03:48:15,060
That designation does allow housing types, a variety of housing types, to include small

2531
03:48:15,060 --> 03:48:20,540
lot, single-family detached duplexes, town homes, and smaller-scale apartments.

2532
03:48:20,860 --> 03:48:25,680
It currently lists a density of 8 to 18 dwelling units per acre.

2533
03:48:28,060 --> 03:48:32,180
So there's a couple of comprehensive plan policies that are appropriate for this site.

2534
03:48:32,320 --> 03:48:37,320
It just ensures that new development meets comp plan vision priorities and resource management.

2535
03:48:37,920 --> 03:48:42,060
Developing duplexes will help contribute to the need for more diverse housing typologies

2536
03:48:42,060 --> 03:48:44,400
and approved affordability in the community.

2537
03:48:44,400 --> 03:48:49,040
You want to locate higher density housing and mix use development areas that are currently

2538
03:48:49,040 --> 03:48:54,500
served, or maybe served by bus transit and neighborhood centers, area town centers just

2539
03:48:54,500 --> 03:48:55,520
down the street from there.

2540
03:48:56,080 --> 03:49:01,860
At some point there is an area where a bus stop may be located, medium density development

2541
03:49:01,860 --> 03:49:06,340
support the neighborhood center of historic old town and it is near the town center.

2542
03:49:08,220 --> 03:49:13,140
So just going over the proposal really quickly there's 10 buildings that are part of the

2543
03:49:13,140 --> 03:49:19,300
requests total of 20 units. There are six Western units that are front loaded,

2544
03:49:19,460 --> 03:49:24,320
meaning that their garages are oriented towards the street. And then 14 units

2545
03:49:24,320 --> 03:49:29,780
are alley-loaded. They include these center ones and one on the end up here. This

2546
03:49:29,780 --> 03:49:35,200
last building is not part of the request tonight. It's a triplex that does also

2547
03:49:35,200 --> 03:49:39,280
require special reviews and site plan. That would be subject to a future

2548
03:49:39,280 --> 03:49:45,180
application. The applicant did not want to include that with these at this point.

2549
03:49:46,680 --> 03:49:54,060
It's just a quick view of some of the concepts that they have worked up for the duplexes.

2550
03:49:54,480 --> 03:49:59,300
Feature architecture reviews will need to ensure design elements are met consistent with her code.

2551
03:50:00,690 --> 03:50:06,330
Here's another view of them. This one shows the alley-loaded garages.

2552
03:50:10,100 --> 03:50:12,800
It's just another view that shows some of the architecture.

2553
03:50:17,290 --> 03:50:33,570
And so staff reviewed the approval criteria for the project and found that it meant all of the requirements that are listed, being consistent with comp plan, the UDC, purposes intent of the zone district. It's generally consistent with any use standards.

2554
03:50:34,630 --> 03:50:41,970
It's a compatible with adjacent uses in terms of scale site design and operating characteristics,

2555
03:50:41,970 --> 03:50:47,830
not really anticipating any kind of negative impacts other than a short construction timeline,

2556
03:50:48,230 --> 03:50:55,130
but they'll be required to follow requirements from their plans for that. Any significant

2557
03:50:55,130 --> 03:51:01,210
adverse impacts anticipated result from the use will be mitigated or offset. I guess I would just

2558
03:51:01,210 --> 03:51:06,290
would point out that the final plat had been reviewed and approved, all the CDs were approved

2559
03:51:06,290 --> 03:51:10,770
through the town, so very confident that it's going to meet all of those requirements.

2560
03:51:13,450 --> 03:51:20,010
Adequate maintenance has been provided, DA is on file, there's no significant adverse

2561
03:51:20,010 --> 03:51:24,650
impacts anticipated with natural environment with this project.

2562
03:51:26,510 --> 03:51:31,570
So staff does find the application complies with the criteria, we recommend that the town

2563
03:51:31,570 --> 03:51:37,410
Council adopt a resolution approving the Duplex Special Review Guests, the Planning Commission

2564
03:51:37,410 --> 03:51:43,650
heard this project and unanimously voted for a recommendation of approval on May 20th.

2565
03:51:43,650 --> 03:51:48,450
They had a discussion, they talked about things to include fencing and maintenance of which

2566
03:51:48,450 --> 03:51:53,470
the condition that's included addresses the concerns of the Planning Commission had.

2567
03:51:54,230 --> 03:51:59,470
They talked about product types, number of units, access, comp plan designation and a couple

2568
03:51:59,470 --> 03:52:05,670
questions on the process. Applicant did hold a neighborhood meeting back in April, they

2569
03:52:05,670 --> 03:52:12,190
reported four attendees, notes were included in the application. All the appropriate notices,

2570
03:52:12,590 --> 03:52:16,670
that says planning commission, they should have said for town council, a story about that,

2571
03:52:17,210 --> 03:52:22,330
but all the notices were appropriately done to include publishing, posting the property,

2572
03:52:22,630 --> 03:52:28,350
and letters to adjacent property owners. So that concludes the staff presentation

2573
03:52:28,350 --> 03:52:30,630
for the e-rejunction duplex special reviews.

2574
03:52:31,150 --> 03:52:33,950
I do know that the applicant is attending online.

2575
03:52:34,350 --> 03:52:37,370
He does not have a PowerPoint prepared,

2576
03:52:37,590 --> 03:52:39,110
but may want to say a few words.

2577
03:52:39,510 --> 03:52:40,610
So with that, I'll conclude.

2578
03:52:41,150 --> 03:52:42,090
All right, thank you.

2579
03:52:42,970 --> 03:52:45,010
Let's see, I'll make sure the public hearing is open

2580
03:52:45,010 --> 03:52:46,410
and I'll ask, is there anybody,

2581
03:52:47,490 --> 03:52:49,510
is there anybody that signed up for public comment?

2582
03:52:49,730 --> 03:52:50,510
Not to my knowledge.

2583
03:52:50,850 --> 03:52:52,110
All right, is there anybody in the audience

2584
03:52:52,110 --> 03:52:53,990
who would like to address us on public comment?

2585
03:52:55,270 --> 03:52:57,030
The two people that are in the audience,

2586
03:52:57,030 --> 03:53:05,590
for the record have said no. All right. With the applicant like to say a few words.

2587
03:53:07,530 --> 03:53:11,230
Good evening, Town Councilor Mayor. My name is Nick Jacobs. Can everyone hear me?

2588
03:53:11,650 --> 03:53:20,290
Yes. I do not have any comments to add. I am standing by for any questions or clarifications

2589
03:53:20,290 --> 03:53:25,190
from Councilor Mayor. Thank you. All right. Sounds good. I'll close the public hearing and I'll

2590
03:53:25,190 --> 03:53:29,290
We'll bring it back to Council for any questions for the applicant.

2591
03:53:30,530 --> 03:53:31,370
I think I brought Tim.

2592
03:53:31,750 --> 03:53:32,090
Thank you.

2593
03:53:32,330 --> 03:53:33,810
I know it's late, so I'll keep this short.

2594
03:53:34,550 --> 03:53:40,170
Just out of curiosity because I think I'm the only one up here that was here at the very

2595
03:53:40,170 --> 03:53:49,710
beginning of the Southern preliminary plat, which I think was back in 2021 or 2022, I'm just

2596
03:53:49,710 --> 03:53:57,510
I'm just curious, were there, did you guys have some delays that were enabled to bring

2597
03:53:57,510 --> 03:54:00,270
the center, or for either for the applicant?

2598
03:54:00,490 --> 03:54:05,110
You're referencing the special reviews, as to why that's here at this point, or?

2599
03:54:05,370 --> 03:54:11,930
Well, I do, I'm just curious what, I mean, like I said, I think it was, I thought it was

2600
03:54:11,930 --> 03:54:13,910
late 2021, but I can't remember.

2601
03:54:14,170 --> 03:54:15,070
Yeah, that's right.

2602
03:54:15,350 --> 03:54:15,850
Yeah, okay.

2603
03:54:15,850 --> 03:54:20,110
Okay, I just curious what delays we ran into or something.

2604
03:54:20,270 --> 03:54:22,330
Yeah, I could give you a quick history in 21.

2605
03:54:22,690 --> 03:54:24,010
That's January of 21.

2606
03:54:24,270 --> 03:54:26,010
It's when the sketch plan was considered.

2607
03:54:26,630 --> 03:54:29,650
And then in December of 22, the pulmonary plat

2608
03:54:29,990 --> 03:54:31,750
was a group that are recommended for approval

2609
03:54:31,750 --> 03:54:32,710
by planning commission.

2610
03:54:33,070 --> 03:54:37,150
And then the then board of trustees approved

2611
03:54:37,150 --> 03:54:39,550
that pulmonary plat in January of 22.

2612
03:54:40,110 --> 03:54:42,290
Then the final plat was approved in 23

2613
03:54:42,290 --> 03:54:44,210
with along with the development agreement.

2614
03:54:44,210 --> 03:54:50,350
November of 23. I know that the applicant may be able to provide a little more

2615
03:54:50,350 --> 03:54:57,490
information but I know at some point it was listed for sale and then I

2616
03:54:57,490 --> 03:54:59,010
I don't know if it's a history in terms of that.

2617
03:54:59,010 --> 03:54:59,510
Yeah, yeah.

2618
03:55:00,000 --> 03:55:02,100
Yeah, I was trying to refresh myself. Okay.

2619
03:55:05,300 --> 03:55:31,620
Okay. There's questions, comments? Go ahead, council member. Thank you. Um, so I don't know if I'm talking to the applicant or to Chris. Um, so it's the same owner. Then has the property sold a development. No, it's the same owner that originally had the projects in with town. So I remember there were some concerns with parking. Um,

2620
03:55:31,620 --> 03:55:38,160
and sort of the plan for on-street parking with this development, has that been considered

2621
03:55:38,160 --> 03:55:39,520
with any changes?

2622
03:55:41,420 --> 03:55:43,960
No changes have been made to the proposal.

2623
03:55:44,280 --> 03:55:47,780
Every site is required to have two off-street parking.

2624
03:55:48,800 --> 03:55:50,500
Here I can show the plan really quick.

2625
03:55:50,940 --> 03:55:52,480
And they all have, we'll have that.

2626
03:55:53,020 --> 03:56:00,020
It also would allow some on-street parking on the private portions of the street.

2627
03:56:00,020 --> 03:56:04,500
here and then potentially maybe on

2628
03:56:04,500 --> 03:56:07,540
balcony. But we think that there's

2629
03:56:07,540 --> 03:56:09,740
probably plenty of parking available

2630
03:56:09,740 --> 03:56:11,440
to meet the needs of the development at

2631
03:56:11,440 --> 03:56:13,480
this point. I remember the concerns

2632
03:56:13,480 --> 03:56:15,500
with the parking spilling out on

2633
03:56:15,500 --> 03:56:17,040
to welcome and perhaps across the

2634
03:56:17,040 --> 03:56:21,440
street even. So just ensuring there's

2635
03:56:21,440 --> 03:56:24,540
adequate space. Yes it meets the UDC

2636
03:56:24,540 --> 03:56:26,700
requirements. I mean as to whether or

2637
03:56:26,700 --> 03:56:28,780
not people potentially could park in

2638
03:56:28,780 --> 03:56:32,560
the streets they could. They're public streets, so we don't

2639
03:56:32,560 --> 03:56:35,380
wouldn't necessarily have control over that, but it does meet

2640
03:56:35,380 --> 03:56:37,880
the minimum requirements for parking for the development.

2641
03:56:38,940 --> 03:56:42,240
Okay. Um, and then I see we only have one public comment

2642
03:56:42,240 --> 03:56:43,640
attached. Um,

2643
03:56:45,830 --> 03:56:46,610
they're

2644
03:56:49,520 --> 03:56:54,360
asking about a fence. Um, that there

2645
03:56:54,360 --> 03:56:59,980
should be a fence along that, I guess, Eastern edge can

2646
03:57:02,930 --> 03:57:03,110
take

2647
03:57:03,110 --> 03:57:07,510
you're sensing along the entire northern perimeter should be I'm sorry it's the northern

2648
03:57:07,510 --> 03:57:13,090
perimeter but I don't think that that would be a decision to make it's just I just want

2649
03:57:13,090 --> 03:57:16,970
to note that in that public comment okay that's

2650
03:57:20,900 --> 03:57:23,020
all for me thanks okay councilman remorch

2651
03:57:23,020 --> 03:57:29,840
Lara all right thanks Chris thanks for hanging in here with us today problem so the planning

2652
03:57:29,840 --> 03:57:36,520
commission and the one condition was around the events the build and pass along in the maintenance

2653
03:57:36,520 --> 03:57:38,720
in some responsibility of the fence.

2654
03:57:39,000 --> 03:57:43,320
So, as a developer responsible for building the fence

2655
03:57:43,320 --> 03:57:48,120
and then the residents or HOA or whatever responsible

2656
03:57:48,120 --> 03:57:51,220
for maintaining it after that, is that the condition?

2657
03:57:52,020 --> 03:57:55,980
Yes, it basically just says that the developer would build

2658
03:57:55,980 --> 03:57:58,040
and then pass long maintenance responsibility

2659
03:57:59,380 --> 03:58:03,140
for those northern lots that are here.

2660
03:58:03,140 --> 03:58:03,280
here.

2661
03:58:05,320 --> 03:58:06,560
They would pass those

2662
03:58:06,560 --> 03:58:08,720
responsibilities on probably to the

2663
03:58:08,720 --> 03:58:11,660
homeowner. Okay, ultimately take

2664
03:58:11,660 --> 03:58:13,580
that over. I doubt those V H 2 A

2665
03:58:13,580 --> 03:58:15,800
and says is only yeah.

2666
03:58:18,210 --> 03:58:21,750
And so a

2667
03:58:21,750 --> 03:58:24,930
height, what is 27 inches or 27 feet

2668
03:58:24,930 --> 03:58:27,730
on the top of the second floor plus

2669
03:58:27,730 --> 03:58:29,530
the roof. I guess I probably could

2670
03:58:29,530 --> 03:58:31,850
have done some geometry, but I

2671
03:58:31,850 --> 03:58:32,930
figured I'd just ask you.

2672
03:58:37,050 --> 03:58:48,090
Yeah, the maximum height is 35 feet in the zone district, I believe I could double check it, but most of the homes that you see aren't going to be that they're limited to two stories.

2673
03:58:49,730 --> 03:58:58,950
It could allow some larger peak roofs, but I don't think we'll see anything that's all that imposing based on the designs that he's going with here.

2674
03:58:58,950 --> 03:59:04,570
Okay, and it looks like the duplex are side by side.

2675
03:59:05,430 --> 03:59:06,070
Yes.

2676
03:59:06,470 --> 03:59:07,170
Yeah, it would be.

2677
03:59:09,850 --> 03:59:10,530
Okay, thanks.

2678
03:59:10,550 --> 03:59:11,050
It's all ahead.

2679
03:59:11,450 --> 03:59:12,030
All right.

2680
03:59:12,310 --> 03:59:13,310
I hope I can do something.

2681
03:59:13,470 --> 03:59:14,690
Thank you.

2682
03:59:14,870 --> 03:59:17,590
I just have a question.

2683
03:59:17,710 --> 03:59:29,150
It was in the in the neighborhood meeting notice page or it mentions that potential buyers

2684
03:59:29,150 --> 03:59:33,370
have spoken, I know a longer view, eerie junction, as a higher end development.

2685
03:59:34,210 --> 03:59:37,870
They viewed as low cost projects similar to the affordable housing project.

2686
03:59:38,610 --> 03:59:46,470
So it's already been developed, like the roads in that infrastructure is in place.

2687
03:59:46,810 --> 03:59:54,350
Are they changing what they were intending to build to, like, bring it down to a lower price point?

2688
03:59:55,030 --> 03:59:59,910
Not to my knowledge, I don't think that's the plan. I think they're doing market rate.

2689
04:00:00,000 --> 04:00:29,580
We could confirm with Nick that Mr. Jacobs that's on the phone call, but no, I think they're doing market rate. Is there sense of the price point for the units? I would defer to Mr. Jacobs on that. Okay. Go ahead. Hi, everyone. So not right now, we don't have a market rate. I did plan at the very beginning of this development to do a high-end luxury duplex unit similar to the 45 units that we built in downtown.

2690
04:00:29,580 --> 04:00:36,820
I don't see a market for that now given the surrounding environment and the development

2691
04:00:36,820 --> 04:00:37,840
that's happened around it.

2692
04:00:38,360 --> 04:00:46,580
I don't think we're doing anything that anyone would remotely call low cost or something

2693
04:00:46,580 --> 04:00:48,220
similar to that, right?

2694
04:00:48,380 --> 04:00:53,740
Whatever phrase people like to use today, we're still going to be building things that are

2695
04:00:53,740 --> 04:00:58,180
going to be north of 700,000 and that's pretty much where we're at.

2696
04:00:58,180 --> 04:01:03,060
I'm going to try to develop a product there that I can sell that's going to be in the high

2697
04:01:03,060 --> 04:01:07,660
sixes, but I don't think it's possible given our construction costs and wherever I'm with that.

2698
04:01:09,690 --> 04:01:14,450
Thank you. Okay, any other further questions?

2699
04:01:16,510 --> 04:01:22,550
Okay, then we'll come back and we'll see if there's a motion to approve resolution 26-1-1-9.

2700
04:01:22,550 --> 04:01:29,030
move to approve. Second motion. Second, any further discussion? All in favor say aye.

2701
04:01:29,550 --> 04:01:36,790
Aye. All opposed, say no. Motion carries. All right. Looking forward to seeing those

2702
04:01:36,790 --> 04:01:40,050
command of the ground. I think it will be a great product for all town.

2703
04:01:41,070 --> 04:01:45,810
Thank you. All right. We will move on to Council Member Reports and Announcements and because

2704
04:01:45,810 --> 04:01:52,190
is the late hour it is that just ask everybody to keep it as brief as possible tonight.

2705
04:01:52,690 --> 04:01:54,790
I'll start with a minute per terminal work the other way.

2706
04:01:56,090 --> 04:02:02,770
Just two things real quick, since we didn't have comments last week, so I just wanted

2707
04:02:02,770 --> 04:02:13,090
to say congrats to former Erie resident hometown hero, Jacob Slaven, the second American

2708
04:02:13,090 --> 04:02:18,850
can ever to win the gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the year, had quite a year.

2709
04:02:19,110 --> 04:02:23,870
And I also would like to say, just a little brother, Josiah, was in the Calder Cup,

2710
04:02:24,010 --> 04:02:27,170
which is the AHL's championship game.

2711
04:02:27,610 --> 04:02:29,350
He plays with the Chicago Wolves.

2712
04:02:29,530 --> 04:02:32,810
They didn't win that, unfortunately, but I was certainly proud of him.

2713
04:02:33,550 --> 04:02:42,090
I also like to say, local Colorado native, Wyndham Clark winning the US Open for the second

2714
04:02:42,090 --> 04:02:42,390
time.

2715
04:02:42,390 --> 04:02:47,190
So we've got a lot of Colorado people, you know, winning these procedures awards.

2716
04:02:47,510 --> 04:02:49,290
So, anyway, that's all I got.

2717
04:02:49,690 --> 04:02:49,970
All right.

2718
04:02:50,290 --> 04:02:51,050
That's part of Hunter.

2719
04:02:51,290 --> 04:02:51,870
I'll keep it short.

2720
04:02:52,030 --> 04:02:54,050
We're not going to be back to after the 4th of July.

2721
04:02:54,270 --> 04:02:55,430
So happy Independence Day here.

2722
04:02:57,310 --> 04:02:57,650
Great.

2723
04:02:58,590 --> 04:02:59,190
No, I'm dead.

2724
04:02:59,530 --> 04:02:59,830
All right.

2725
04:03:00,210 --> 04:03:00,710
That's where I'll go back.

2726
04:03:00,850 --> 04:03:01,010
Yeah.

2727
04:03:01,150 --> 04:03:01,570
I'm going to do late.

2728
04:03:01,930 --> 04:03:02,250
All right.

2729
04:03:02,410 --> 04:03:02,650
Thanks.

2730
04:03:03,550 --> 04:03:05,470
Just happy Independence Day.

2731
04:03:06,910 --> 04:03:12,210
I just want to thank EVN for hosting Juneteenth and I said, Kato, I didn't get to go,

2732
04:03:12,210 --> 04:03:19,070
but I heard it was a blast and then I am still committed to convening a working group and we're

2733
04:03:19,070 --> 04:03:25,050
having our first meeting in July to discuss what we need to change at the state level as far as

2734
04:03:25,050 --> 04:03:33,750
policy goes to ensure that our legacy wells in eerie are logged and abated and especially near

2735
04:03:33,750 --> 04:03:39,250
schools and homes in our neighborhoods so that this situation never happens again.

2736
04:03:41,540 --> 04:04:03,480
Okay, I don't have anything other than to say, we are not going to be up here for three weeks, and I don't think that's ever happened at least since I've been elected, so I'm going to look at our Acting Town Manager to say thank you for however we scheduled this, so let's see back on the 14th, but that I'll look to our Mayor Pro Tem to take us into executive session.

2737
04:04:03,480 --> 04:04:20,600
I move to go into executive session, discuss item 2026410 to hold a conference with the attorney's pursuant to CRS 2464024b and E to receive legal advice and

2738
04:04:20,600 --> 04:04:26,520
to help a strategy or an instructor negotiator is related to construction defects on a town project.

2739
04:04:27,440 --> 04:04:28,320
All right, do we have a second?

2740
04:04:29,360 --> 04:04:29,640
Second.

2741
04:04:30,240 --> 04:04:31,180
We have a second.

2742
04:04:31,460 --> 04:04:32,300
Any further discussion?

2743
04:04:32,980 --> 04:04:34,160
All in favor say aye.

2744
04:04:34,800 --> 04:04:35,040
Aye.

2745
04:04:35,700 --> 04:04:36,660
All opposed say no.

2746
04:04:37,300 --> 04:04:43,760
Motion carries, we will not come back after the executive session, we will end the meeting after executive session.