After a lengthy discussion during a very lengthy meeting, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school board voted Tuesday night to engage a law firm to review contracts for the district’s new and departing superintendents.
Toward the end of the four-hour meeting, the board voted to engage the Boulder-based firm Caplan & Earnest.
Much of the discussion centered on whether the district already has an agreement in place with that firm, which used to be its general counsel. Board president Josh Shumway said the firm had not been used since 2022 but he could not find documentation that the relationship had been terminated.
Director Mike Lynch raised concerns, saying, “If you don’t use a business for years I think they get the idea you’re not doing business with them.”
He recommended the firm be engaged only for the specific purpose of reviewing the contracts of Tom Burris, who is retiring, and new superintendent Eddie Ramirez. Lynch noted that that would be in line with the motion the board passed at a special meeting a week ago, which said an outside firm would be sought to do that specific work.
The board finally voted 5 to 2, with Lynch and Jason Hall opposed, to approve an engagement letter with the firm to review the contracts.
GOCO, or Great Outdoors Colorado, has awarded $2.6 million to projects in Southwest Colorado. Those include more than $1.1 million for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for parks and trails and $750,000 to Montezuma County for an eight-mile pathway from Mancos to Mesa Verde. The Town of Dolores also received about $56,000 for trails along the Dolores River and Joe Rowell Park. The release from GOCO is below:
Great news for Southwest Colorado communities! Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) awarded $2,599,655 to expand access to the outdoors, restore trails and habitats, protect working lands, and support collaborative efforts advancing conservation and recreation in the region.
Highlights include:
· $1,000,000 to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to construct two pocket parks on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
· $750,000 to Montezuma County to build eight miles of a shared-use pathway from downtown Mancos to Mesa Verde National Park.
· $112,800 to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to restore and maintain trails and expand access to historic sites in the Pool Canyon and Casa Colorado areas.
· $75,000 to Montezuma Land Conservancy to protect the last private 320-acre property surrounding Mesa Verde National Park.
· $81,600 to the City of Durango for trail and ecological improvements across high-use areas, including Dalla Mountain Park and City Reservoir.
· $55,800 to the Town of Dolores to improve user access and restore trails along the Dolores River and Joe Rowell Park.
· $55,200 to La Plata Open Space Conservancy for habitat improvements along the La Plata and Florida Rivers.
· $55,000 to Montezuma Land Conservancy to protect a 165-acre property and complete the permanent protection of the Mancos River watershed.
· $28,200 to the Town of Bayfield for trail and open space improvements at Little Pine, Eagle, and Joe Stephenson Parks.
· $300,000 to Montelores Coalition and $86,055 to Pagosa Area Recreation Coalition to support collaborative efforts advancing regional conservation and recreation goals.
The grants are part of more than $25.5 million in GOCO funding awarded statewide for conservation and recreation efforts.
