One minute. Thank you for your patience.
Good morning, everyone. I want to welcome you to these Los Animas County Board of County Commissioners special meeting.
Thank you so much for your patience and we welcome each and every one of you here today.
It is now 10 a.m. On this Tuesday, February the 11, 2025.
This meeting has been called to order. Please rise for an invocation.
By Commissioner Tony Huss. Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Commissioner Lucero.
Lord, we come before you offering our thanks for bringing us together safely today.
As we prepare for this meeting, we ask that you would be with us.
We are thought to be led by you. And our conversations be inspired by you.
Help us to put our own agendas aside, seek your will and outcome for this meeting.
Please grant us wisdom in times of uncertainty. And clarity in times of confusion.
Lead us to solutions in jesus name we pray amen I pledge allegiance to the fact.
Of the space. And she said everything. It's just facts.
Oh my God.
Thank you, Commissioners. Roll call mr door encamps. Mr. Hess. Mr. Lopez.
I'm here. Approval of the agenda. Mr. Doringtham, do we have any changes to the agenda? No changes, Commission.
Thank you, sir. I will entertain a motion to approve the agenda as posted.
Move to approve the agenda. Second. Commissioner Cerro? Yes. Commissioner Hatz? Yes.
Mr. Lopez. Yes, thank you. I want to thank all of you for being here. We're going to go into new business here in a moment. Let me give a couple of just announcements today. We're not going to be taking any public comment
Because this is the continuity of the public comment that was held And on January 28th, 2025.
Simply today, we're going to be making a decision and or recommendation as to the hearing that took place on that particular day.
And I want to thank the community for engaging and all of those of you that participated on that hearing and I can assure you that this has been One of the opportunities for us to do a lot of Reading, statue searching.
And going through the process of what is the next step on this particular decision.
As a commissioner, I don't take any of these opportunities lightly.
I'd like to delve into the legalese of what's going on.
But more than anything else, as we said on the previous meeting, any and all decisions and recommendations that I will be making today.
Some might be my opinion, but I'm always going to be going by statute.
So having had the opportunity to go through all of the hearing notes The comments?
And every piece of information that came to us on the 28th of January It has given us an opportunity to ponder and study.
One of my personal opinion And this is going to be my personal opinion on it. And I'm going to yield the floor to my fellow commissioners I have reviewed every piece of statute.
And one of my main concerns is as I go through the entire process that the Trinidad Ambulance district was voter approved.
I believe way back in 1989. And being such.
My personal opinion is this. That it was approved to operate as an ambulance district and ambulance district only.
Going through the entire process, going back, I have had an opportunity to, as presented go through the proposed service plan to the initial 1989 if you will document ours utilized to form this district So my opinion at this point in time, I'm going to hold it. And as we go through the process.
Is that I have reviewed once again everything that exists in statute And I personally don't believe that there is a pathway.
As one single opinion here today that would allow me to support.
Having the ambulance district merge and or become merge a health service district.
The… The statue is pretty clear.
Created to do one thing and one thing only to provide the ambulance service.
From 1989. But let me go ahead and at this point in time put a period on that. And I'm going to yield the floor to my fellow commissioners.
Commissioner Tony Haas, would you like to uh I don't know if you can formulate an opinion, but certainly I welcome your thoughts, sir.
I have formed an opinion and form Off the cuff, I'm not as good as you, so I prepared a statement here.
And thank you, Chairman. Today in my decision to approve or deny will be based solely on the evidence presented at the pasturing and the advice provided by legal counsel.
I have had the opportunity to review my notes. And the evidence, as well as to consult Los Animas County Attorney.
Regarding Colorado law. That is applies to this matter.
After reviewing, it came to my attention that the Trinidad Ambulance District was voter approved and legally authorized to operate as an ambulance district.
As an ambulance district, Trinidad Ambulance district is only authorized to provide a set of services as outlined in statute.
An ambulance district is not authorized to offer many of the services stated in the amended service plan.
Those services are only allowed by a health services district It is my understanding is my understanding After advisement from my council that there is no language that would allow an ambulance district to convert and officially operate as a health services district.
Especially by only filing an amended service plan and not considering the will of the voters.
Furthermore, if Trinidad Ambulance District were to get it. A court order authorizing a name change nothing in law states that that would authorize a special district Operating as an ambulance district.
To become an entirely new health services district This would significantly expand hours authorized by the state statute.
This is a huge step with major impacts on the county as well as its citizens.
Even if allowed, this change would have to follow a process much more stringent and in line with the process of forming a special district.
Than just a simple service change plan. And a court-ordered name change.
Again, as an ambulance district, Trinidad Ambulance District is only authorized to provide certain services. They are not authorized to offer many of the services outlined in their amended service plan.
Therefore, I cannot support the amended service plan, sir.
Thank you, Commissioner Haas. Commissioner Lucero.
Yes. After reviewing all the documentation.
Could not find any place where an amended and restated service plan was allowed as the Trinid Ambulance District was approved under a special district.
And the… proposed health service district falls under a special district.
So to me, they're two separate entities here. So at this point, it would be hard for me to support and approve a be amended and restated service plan.
Trinidad district. Thank you, Commissioner.
Let me close with this particular statement.
This decision I have had many sleepless nights.
All right as a representative of my community. I have researched probably more than I should have.
But in consultation with council always bouncing back a firing process
My recommendation, my opinion, not recommendation, my opinion today is align with my fellow commissioners.
So having said that commissioners, I don't know if there's any more discussion hearing that, I am going to at this point in time then entertain a motion either to approve or disapprove this uh Trinidad Ambulance District amended and restated service plan.
I would move to deny the Trinidad Ambulance District amended restated service plan.
I check in that. Commissioner Searle. Yes. Mr. Hess? Yes.
Mr. Lopez. Yes. So the next steps for this board are going to be council I want you to take a couple of notes. One of the things that I'm going to ask you to do is once again.
Go back It is the responsibility of this board to inform the Trinidad Ambulance District of this decision in writing.
And so if you please, I want you to pen a letter stating the reasons by which this board stance with this decision.
In addition to that, there may be, and I totally understand there may be venues for an appeal counsel, if there are any.
I'm not sure that there are, but at this point in time, I'm sure that we'll wait for the next steps. But the letter if you please.
State exactly the decision of this board having had this vote And from that perspective, I believe that i believe that is going to be my last comment unless my fellow commissioners have any other I will draft that, Commissioner. You will need to come back and have another special meeting.
To authorize or to approve that letter to make sure it says what you want to say, you have to send that writing out before this coming Monday, you have to notify them in writing 20 days since the hearing.
So we'll have to schedule another special meeting just for the approval of that letter.
Thank you, Madam Council and Mr. Bernkamp. Let's take a look at the calendar and please calendar that meeting in the next couple of days. Let's get it done this week.
Commissioners, I don't want to get into uh is your calendar. We can check that and please follow up after this meeting.
But my prerogative be uh counselor for a couple of days is sufficient for you to draft a letter okay thank you so much.
Commissioners at this time, there is an opportunity to go into executive session if you so choose to do.
I believe it would be worth going into exactly to review this.
Okay. Well, having said that, I am going to entertain a motion to suspend this Board of County Commissioners.
Meeting and going to executive session under CRS 246424B conferring with the county attorney for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions.
Item A, the service plan And for the purposes of this meeting, pretty much this concludes and we'll set up a meeting in the next couple of days. We'll post it. We'll send it out.
To the community to come back and make the final decision to uh have the letter ready as well as council will need a resolution as well The resolution is only if for approval. However, you have a tabled resolution, so you will have to address that as well. So your meeting will need to cover both old business and new business. Thank you, Congressman.
I want to thank you all for waiting.
Commissioners have had an opportunity to go over some of the concept and concepts of the letter. Oh, before we do that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn executive session and resume the regular Board of County Commissioner meetings on a special agenda
Second the motion. Commissioner Hess? Yes. Commissioner Cerrell? Yes. Mr. Lopez. Yes.
Once again, thank you for waiting. And we have had an opportunity to uh visit with council and highlighted some of the concepts of the letter.
And so at this time also, we looked at the calendar for the special meeting which has to take place this week if we're going to be able to meet the 20 the 20-day deadline.
The courts are going to be using these chambers, so we're probably going to have to have that meeting virtually these chambers are going to be occupied the rest of the week.
We will send out the agenda I'm hoping it's going to be in the next couple of days.
So for that, you'll get the agenda and we'll go through the proceedings in the next couple of days so At this time, that's all we have on this particular agenda unless I have any other comments from my fellow commissioners.
This was a tough one, guys. And… I can speak on my behalf. I see the merit.
But we've got to follow state statute as commissioners. And that's why the legal counsel was very beneficial because I'm no attorney shares so we had to thing on her heart.
But that's all I got to say. Thank you, Commissioner Sheriff.
Having all other items on this particular agenda, I will entertain a motion to adjourn this meeting.
So moved. Second. Commissioner Seer? Yes, Commissioner Hatch? Yes. Commissioner Lopez.
Yes.