A meeting anticipated to last just one hour stretched to two on Thursday as Estes Park Health Board members spent the first 22 minutes haggling over whether topics on their agenda constituted legitimate reasons for entering yet another executive session.
“Items listed on the agenda do not meet the statutory requirements of your executive session discussion,” said Board member Tom Leigh. “This raises concerns, in my mind, that the public may have been misled about the purpose of this meeting,” Leigh said.
Brigitte Foust agreed, saying, “I believe a lot of things could be done in open session.” She noted that the District’s legal advisor could inform Board members of the specific advice or questions that would justify entering into an executive session. The Park Hospital District has now met in closed-door, private executive session 158 times over the past three years.
In an effort to shorten the discussion about the contents on the agenda, Chair Cory Workman attempted to dissuade Leigh from continuing by saying, “We have a pretty packed agenda to get to. I understand you disagree with what’s going on here.”
The only topics on the posted agenda that had been prepared by the district’s attorney, David Snow, were to meet in an executive session “pursuant to Section 24-6-402(4)(f) C.R.S. for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter; and pursuant to Section 24-6-402(4)(b) C.R.S. to conference with an attorney for Estes Park Health for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions.”
One item that could have been under discussion was a resolution granting UCHealth, a private corporation, access to and signing authority over PHD bank accounts, subject to the approval of the Board chair and vice chair. Foust, who is the Board’s treasurer, was not included in the approval process.
The Park Hospital District is a special district and, as such, is a government entity in the state of Colorado, authorized to collect property tax revenue.
A draft copy of the resolution had been sent via email by Workman to Board members. After the document was sent, Workman sent a follow-up email claiming that the resolution was confidential. By the time of Thursday afternoon’s executive session meeting, several community members reported having printed or emailed copies of the document.
The resolution regarding signature access to tax money in Park Hospital District bank accounts may be addressed and voted on by the Board on Thursday, November 20, at 5 p.m. during a public meeting, which will be held in the Town Hall Board Room. This will likely be the last time the Park Hospital District Board meets publicly before the acquisition of Estes Park Health by UCHealth, a deal which is set to close on Dec. 1.
In objecting to the agenda that called for meeting in private, Leigh read a statement to the board, saying, “I believe that the current agenda does not fully reflect the nature of our discussions, particularly regarding a proposed executive session. Most of the items listed on the agenda do not meet the statutory requirements for your executive session discussion.”
“This raises concerns, in my mind, that the public may have been misled about the purpose of this meeting. If the public believes that this is primarily an executive session, they may have had no interest in attending, as there would be little information. In light of these concerns, I propose that we do not approve the agenda as it stands. Instead, I suggest reassessing and ensuring that it accurately reflects our discussions. That will allow us, I believe, to maintain transparency and uphold the trust of the community,” Leigh said.
Despite Leigh’s concerns, approval of the agenda proceeded.
After a motion to enter an executive session, Leigh continued trying to persuade other Board members that an executive session was inappropriate. The agenda, he said, “is essentially a ‘to-do’ list of administrative activities that we need to do. I don’t think it is specific legal advice,” he said.
“I think this all deserves to be in the public eye. They deserve to hear it. They deserve to understand what we are talking about,” Leigh said in an appeal to the other Board members for transparency and accountability. “There’s no specific legal issue at hand to be discussed.”
Steve Alper threatened that if the Board decided not to enter executive session, he would walk out.
The motion passed 4-1 in spite of Foust’s initial objection to the agenda.