By Clayton Chaney
Staff Writer
During the most recent Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners’ (BoCC) meeting held on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the agenda item in regard to Commissioner Veronica Medina’s request for the county to cover attorneys fees incurred in connection with a complaint filed with Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) Division of Real Estate was removed from consideration.
According to the meeting’s agenda, “This agenda item is to consider the request of Commissioner Veronica Medina for the payment of legal fees incurred to respond to a complaint filed with the [DORA] Division of Real Estate Commission relating to actions taken by the Commissioner in the course and scope of her duties as a County Commissioner.”
The agenda also states, “The complaint has been dismissed by the Division of Real Estate which found no real estate license law violation.”
For more information on the complaint and the Division of Real Estate Commission’s consideration and decision on the matter, see the article “Real estate commission dismisses complaint against county commissioner” published in the June 11 issue of The Pagosa SUN. It is also available online at www.pagosasun.com/stories/real-estate-commission-dismisses-complaint-against-county-commissioner,139935.
During the Aug. 18 BoCC meeting, Medina requested to make an adjustment to the meeting’s agenda prior to approving the agenda.
Medina then motioned to remove Item B from the new business portion of the agenda, which was seconded by Commissioner John Ranson.
Before voting to approve the amended agenda, Medina offered comments on her reason behind the request and the reasoning for asking the item to be removed from the meeting’s agenda.
“I requested this item to be placed on the agenda because … DORA found no violation and determined that I was acting in my official capacity as a county commissioner,” Medina said. “Accordingly, I requested for the invoice to be paid to the attorney.”
She went on to explain that the request to cover the attorney fees has brought on more allegations.
“I understand this request has resulted in additional allegations,” she said.
Medina also spoke about hardships the community has faced while she’s been in office.
“I have been vindicated, and our community has endured significant hardship due to a Molotov cocktail thrown into a county building, recent flooding, fires, and now the continuing fire at Rio Blanco,” she said.
Medina went on to express that the community should be focused on supporting and uniting each other.
“Our focus should be on healing, supporting one another and remaining united, which is of the utmost importance. For this reason I have requested this item to be removed,” she said.
The amended agenda was then unanimously approved with no further comments on the matter form the BoCC.
clayton@pagosasun.com
>