Hospital District seeks legal review of board chair’s authority

Questions about the Park Hospital District board chair’s authority were intertwined with concerns over the district’s ongoing financial challenges during a special meeting on Tuesday, June 23.

Before adjournment, the board authorized Chair Cory Workman to spend up to $750 to obtain an independent legal opinion on whether the duties assigned to the board chair under the district’s bylaws comply with state law.

The action comes as board members continue to grapple with unresolved financial issues. The board tentatively scheduled July 14 to consider potential remedies and review a revised 2026 budget. Adoption of a new budget is necessary to bring the district into compliance with state law.

At the center of the discussion is whether the district’s bylaws grant the board chair too much decision-making authority. Board members are examining whether those provisions allowed more than $210,000 in legal fees to be incurred without their knowledge or approval.

Motions or resolutions have authorized all legal work, Workman said Tuesday. “There are not things happening that are outside of that,” he said.

“We anticipated $50,000 in legal fees, and then it escalated and escalated,” said Brigitte Foust, board treasurer. “I think we should have had the discussion, and say we are accruing more legal fees. Do we approve it? How can we avoid it, or do we amend the budget first?” she said.

According to the affiliation agreement with UCHealth, PHD can spend only $200,000 across all budget line items, including ongoing management costs for the former Estes Park Health retirement plan, the audit, office rent, and other general administrative fees. UCHealth is slated to receive the estimated remaining $4.2 million in property tax collections.

Attorneys for both PHD and UCHealth have been negotiating an increase in this year’s funding for the district, but no resolution has been reached. Without additional income, PHD has no way to bring its budget and corresponding spending into compliance with state law.

“We need to get the attorneys out of it and have a very candid discussion that it’s in everybody’s best interest that this is taken care of,” said board vice chair Steve Alper.

“These are legitimate expenses that occurred. It’s a function of this transition. It’s not going to occur again,” Alper said.

While the review of the current bylaws, which say the board chair “will have general and active control of the District’s affairs and business and general supervision of its officers, agents and employees,” is ongoing, board member Tom Leigh asked his cohorts to consider amending the bylaws.

Leigh suggested a new definition that includes specific references to executing agreements only after being authorized by the board, and that the chair has no independent authority to obligate the district to expenditures.

Alper agreed with the concept of a new description of duties for the chair.

“So much is different now in what we’re doing than what it was before,” Alper said. “It makes sense to take a look at this and revise it, because it was a whole different environment” prior to the UCHealth affiliation.

No action on the subject was taken other than approving a motion to have a firm specializing in special district law review the current bylaw definition of duties of the chair.

In other business, the board approved a master services agreement with Eide Bailly for audit of the district’s 2026 finances.