Disclaimer: I am not a registered Republican in Archuleta County.
I was, in fact, registered as a Republican for a couple of years… because it seemed like, here in Archuleta County, any candidate selected during the Republican caucus process or during the Republican primary was almost guaranteed to be elected in November, due to our generally conservative voters. (And I do mean any candidate.)
I wanted to be able to weigh in on those pre-election decisions, which I could not do as an Unaffiliated voter. But recently, I’ve been rather disappointed in the Archuleta County Republican Party leadership, and I’ve changed my registration back to ‘Unaffiliated.’ (Also, a new Colorado law allows Unaffiliated voters to request a ballot during either the Democratic or Republican Primaries… one ballot or the other, but not both.)
My decision to cease being a Republican was reinforced this past winter, when the leadership of the Republican Party and our three Republican County Commissioners actively supported the construction of a rather massive 54-bed jail — without voter approval — to be funded by a new multi-million-dollar debt yoked around the shoulders of the local taxpayers. I personally view this action as a violation of the Colorado Constitution, but the BOCC keeps a well-paid County Attorney who is paid (by our tax dollars) to defend the BOCC when the commissioners feel the need to violate the Constitution, or the Colorado Revised Statutes.
When Resolution 2019-35 came before the all-Republican Board of County Commissioners — Ronnie Maez, Steve Wadley and Alvin Schaaf — at their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 2, the debt agreement was described this way in Finance Director Larry Walton’s report:
The Resolution establishes the following fiscal restraints and parameters for the COP financing:
Lease Purchase Agreement:
Base Rentals payable by the County shall not exceed $880,000 per year.
Agreement to Construct:
The Fixed Price payable by the Trustee to the County (i.e., the amount of COP proceeds to be applied to the construction of the Project) shall not be less than $13,000,000.
Indenture of Trust:
- Aggregate Principal amount of the 2019 Certificates shall not exceed $13,950,000.
- Coupon Interest shall not exceed 5.00% per annum.
- Final Maturity of the 2019 Certificates shall not be later than December 31, 2044.
Here’s how I interpret the several agreements unanimously approved by the BOCC on April 2. The County will borrow somewhere between $13 and $14 million from UMB Bank NA, to build a new detention center to replace the one abandoned in 2015. The County will then “lease” the detention center from UMB Bank for up to 25 years, promising to pay an interest rate of up to 5 percent.
You can download the 225-page draft Resolution 2019-35 here. As you might notice, the draft document included in the April 2 BOCC packet included numerous incomplete paragraphs, with blank spaces waiting to be filled in, or references to unavailable documents.
For example, this rather uninformative Table I: Schedule of Base Rental Payments:
The BOCC approved the documents anyway. But surely our BOCC knows what they are doing.
According to a mortgage calculator featured on Google, a 25-year mortgage of $13,950,000 at 5 percent interest equals $24,465,000. I was unable to find any similar number mentioned in the draft Resolution. I believe the interest rate on a new home mortgage is typically around 4 percent.
Meanwhile, those same three Republican County Commissioners — Ronnie Maez, Steve Wadley and Alvin Schaaf — spoke in favor of supporting the US and Colorado Constitutions, at their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 2, when they considered Resolution 2019-36. The BOCC resolution was titled:
“A RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF ARCHULETA COUNTY, COLORADO, DECLARING ARCHULETA COUNTY TO BE A SECOND AMENDMENT PRESERVATION COUNTY
As many Daily Post readers are aware, the Colorado House and Senate recently approved HB19-1177, the so-called “Red Flag” gun bill that creates the ability for a family or household member or a law enforcement officer to petition the court for a temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) beginning January 1, 2020.
The petitioner must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a person poses a significant risk to self or others by having a firearm in his or her custody or control or by possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm. The petitioner must submit an affidavit signed under oath and penalty of perjury that sets forth facts to support the issuance of a temporary ERPO and a reasonable basis for believing they exist.
The court must hold a temporary ERPO hearing in person or by telephone on the day the petition is filed, or on the court day immediately following the day the petition is filed. This (frantic?) process is conducted ex parte — without any right of the accused person to represent himself or herself at the hearing.
If the court rules in the petitioner’s favor, we’re faced with a rather awkward situation. Law enforcement is now required to somehow confiscate one or more firearms from a person who has been verified by a judge as dangerous to themselves and/or others — and who has not been allowed to defend themselves in court.
The Archuleta BOCC was a bit late weighing in on this issue, when they took action on April 2. The House passed the bill on March 4; the Senate approved it on April 1. If Colorado Governor Jared Polis signs the bill — as he has pledged to do — Colorado will become the 15th US state with a “red flag” gun law of some kind.
The BOCC Resolution officially described itself to be a “Second Amendment Preservation Resolution”:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Board does hereby pledge not to appropriate funds, resources, employees, or agencies to initiate what it believes to be unconstitutional seizures in unincorporated Archuleta County and also affirms its support for the duly elected Sheriff of Archuleta County, Colorado and decisions he makes to refuse to initiate any unconstitutional actions against citizens.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in coordination with the Archuleta County Sheriff, the Board commits to resist the bill in its current and subsequent forms to protect the Second Amendment rights of all lawful gun owners in the state, and not just in Archuleta County. We invite all like-minded counties to join us in this effort…
The funny thing is, the Colorado government has been taking guns away from citizens for many, many years.
But maybe it’s not funny?