The Garfield County Public Library District board of trustees has really gotten stuck in the craw of Trish O’Grady, Rifle resident and vocal library critic. She opened this week’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting Tuesday with complaints about how the library board reappointed two incumbent trustees without BOCC approval at the regular monthly meeting on Nov. 7.
If you think the library board appointment issue was settled last spring, think again. Three positions on the board have opened up. Crystal Mariscal recently resigned her position representing New Castle. Two incumbents, for Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, are eligible for another term.
At the Nov. 7 library board meeting, Board President Adrian Rippy-Sheehy, in response to a question from trustee Myrna Fletchall, referred to the library board of trustee bylaws, stating that only new members of the board will be presented to the BOCC for appointment.
“We’re just going with our bylaws. The county commissioners need to follow our bylaws,” said Rippy-Sheehy. She added that the BOCC has misunderstood the bylaws. “This is a reappointment so this says only new members need to go before the county.”
O’Grady stated that the only action on the library board’s agenda that day was to recommend the reappointments. “I would assume these action items would have been fully explained, discussed and understood by all the trustees prior to this to know exactly what they were voting on,” she said, adding that Fletchall’s questions indicated otherwise. “I believe this was purposely orchestrated by Adrian,” O’Grady continued. “There are no meaningful checks and balances on this board whereby they can vote themselves to be reappointed for a total of 10 years.”
Commissioner Tom Jankovsky stated Tuesday that the library board does not have the final say on their board members. “That has been in the purview of the [BOCC] since the library board was established,” he said.
Garfield County Attorney Heather Beattie pointed out Tuesday that Resolution 24-12 specifically gives the BOCC authority to appoint any new library board members or any members whose terms are expiring. “That’s actually being misunderstood by the library board,” she said. “And, frankly, the law requires that we have an IGA [Intergovernmental Agreement] and that’s why the IGA was so important and we’re currently going to discuss that,” she said, adding that if the library board had responded sooner to the county’s IGA request, this wouldn’t be happening right now. “As far as how [the incumbent trustee appointment] is going to work is that this board is going to appoint new members and — who knows? They may end up being the same members that the library board has appointed.”
As for the library board’s Nov. 7 decision? “It’s our opinion that it’s not effective,” said Beattie.
The meeting to discuss the IGA is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the BOCC meeting room in Glenwood Springs. Library Board trustee interviews are scheduled for Dec. 5. Both meetings are open to the public.
On to other news… The BOCC approved most of the fourth quarter discretionary grant requests. County Manager Fred Jarman said that $33,550 remained in the fund and the “asks” were for a total of $37,500. Approvals include Mt Sopris Nordic Council for $5,000, Western Slope Veterans’ Coalition $5,000, Liberty Classical Academy technology upgrade $5,000, KDNK Community Radio $5,000, Symphony in the Valley $5,000, Colorado Mountain College Foundation $2,500, Rifle Middle School $2,500.
A new nonprofit, Roaring Fork Show Up (RFSU), working to raise awareness of racial disparities and amplify voices of under-represented races in the county, was not awarded any of its $5,000 request. Jankovsky said funding was denied because no operational outline was presented about how RFSU would use the funds, and encouraged the nonprofit to come back next year.
Commissioners approved the county budget for 2025 and three new county fair board members. They listened to an update on the recent state Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) rulemakings on pre-application consultations, oil and gas siting authority, disproportionately impacted communities, community liaisons, oil and gas impact areas, biological resources and alternative oil and gas well location analyses. Jankovsky also presented an update on a meeting with West Slope county commissioners and Colorado Parks and Wildlife about the next gray wolf release, scheduled for December.
You can watch the entire meeting on the Garfield County website.