According to a recent email, sent by the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners, “there has been some confusion by citizens of Archuleta County regarding the Board of County Commissioners’ request for applications for the County Public Health Department. This notice is to clarify the Commissioners’ intent.”
Archuleta County is accepting applications for qualified appointees to an advisory committee for the 2023 transition period, creating a County Public Health Department and a Board of Health that will be empowered to meet in an organizational capacity for the purpose of ensuring that Archuleta County’s Public Health Department (ACPHD) is ready to be fully operational on January 1, 2024.
The Archuleta County Transition Advisory Committee Application is available here.
Previous announcements had suggested that the BOCC was appointing a ‘Board of Health’. That is not the case.
The organizational actions of the advisory committee may include, but are not limited to, selecting a public health director for the ACPHD, recommending a budget for the ACPHD to be included in the 2024 budget for Archuleta County, developing public and general policies for ACPHD, and securing such employees, property, contracts and leases as may be necessary to operate the ACPHD beginning January 1, 2024.
The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners will choose members of the public who live in Archuleta County and have the education, experience, or a combination of both, in finance, public administration, public governance, or a public health discipline such as environmental health, health education, epidemiology, social and behavioral health, biostatistics, or public health administration.
Members of this advisory committee may or may not become members of the Board of Health beginning in 2024. The Board of Health structure will be one of the items that the transition advisory committee will research. Please be advised that this is a completely voluntary position; members shall receive no compensation for services, but shall be entitled to the necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the discharge of their duties.
Meeting requirements may vary depending on workload and prospective members should be prepared to meet on a monthly or bi-weekly basis as necessary throughout 2023.
Interested candidates should submit an application which can be downloaded from the link below no later than January 20, 2023. Please return applications to County Administration located at 398 Lewis Street, Pagosa Springs, mail to PO Box 1507, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 or email AdminP@archuletacounty.org. Interviews will be scheduled for late January or early February and conducted during an open public meeting. Interviewees will be offered the option of attending in person or via Zoom.
The BoCC reserves the right to appoint one, several, or none of the respondent candidates to the Board of Health and may withdraw or terminate this invitation in its discretion for any reason, including its own convenience, at any time.
Materials provided to the County may be subject to public disclosure and candidate qualifications may be discussed in open public meetings.
Archuleta County is subject to the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. §24-72-101 et.seq., as amended (“CORA”). The BoCC is subject to and conducts its meetings in accordance with the Colorado Open Meetings Law, C.R.S. §24-6-401 et.seq. Records of its proceedings are kept and open to inspection by the public at all reasonable times pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. §24-72-201 et.seq.