WESTCLIFFE — A resident’s written request that Commissioner Bill Canda consider voluntarily recusing himself from matters involving financial or administrative authority was read into the public record at the Custer County Board of County Commissioners meeting Wednesday, April 15. The request followed Canda’s April 10 arrest on a felony tax-evasion charge. The county attorney also told the board that the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s office is expected to seek Custer County contributions toward legal fees defending a bar complaint. Commissioners also approved two proclamations, cleared more than $218,000 in accounts payable, tabled the 2026 Westcliffe law enforcement services contract, and moved into executive session for legal advice on personnel management. The meeting was held at All Aboard Westcliffe at 1 p.m. and was shifted from its usual morning slot because of a scheduling conflict at the depot. All three commissioners — Chairman Bill Canda, Paul Vogelsong and Lucas Epp — attended, along with County Attorney Dan Slater, Clerk and Recorder Kelley Camper, and BOCC Administrative Assistant Katlyn Wommack.
Resident letter requests Canda recusal
A public-comment email from Custer County resident Staci Kish, dated April 14, was read into the record. The letter asked that Canda consider voluntarily recusing himself from county matters where a conflict of interest or an impairment of public trust may reasonably be questioned.
Kish’s letter cited “recent publicly known circumstances” and said the request was not an assertion of guilt but asked that Canda state for the record whether he intends to voluntarily recuse himself from relevant matters.
The letter followed Canda’s April 10 arrest on one count of tax evasion, a Class 6 felony, after a Colorado Bureau of Investigation inquiry initiated in August 2025 at the request of the Custer County Sheriff’s Office. The case was referred to the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Alamosa for prosecution. Canda posted a $1,250 bond and was released pending further court proceedings. He is presumed innocent.
Resident Ron Klein said during public comment he had full confidence in the commissioners and staff and did not see a conflict of interest. The board took no action on the recusal request during the open session.
DA expected to seek legal fee reimbursement
Slater told the board that Fremont County commissioners that morning approved a request from 11th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Lindsey for payment of legal fees related to the defense of a bar complaint. Slater said the request involves either Lindsey or another attorney in his office and is presumed to also go to Custer, Chaffee and Park counties, the other three in the district.
The notice came informally from the Fremont County attorney as a heads-up, Slater said. Fremont accounts for roughly 70 percent of the district’s population.
Westcliffe sheriff contract tabled
The board declined to ratify a 2026 law enforcement services contract with the Town of Westcliffe because no written contract has been provided. Commissioners said the sheriff intended to carry forward the 2025 terms with no change in payments, but no written version had been circulated or signed.
Slater advised waiting for a signed contract before acting. Canda said he would contact Sheriff Rich Smith to obtain the document and return it at the next meeting. The 2025 contract expired Dec. 31, 2025, and commissioners noted that retroactive mid-year approvals have been handled in recent months.
Responding to an audience question, Slater said the sheriff has jurisdiction throughout the county, including within municipalities, regardless of whether a contract is in place. A contract, he said, allows the sheriff’s office to enforce municipal ordinances and provide routine patrols that would otherwise fall to a town marshal.
Proclamations approved
Commissioners unanimously approved a proclamation declaring April 12 through 18 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Custer County, honoring dispatchers serving through Fremont County’s Frecom911 center. Commissioners noted that center personnel are scheduled to be recognized at an upcoming event in Las Vegas for their work during recent regional fires, including the Buttermilk Fire.
The board also designated April 2026 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stephanie Moses of Family Crisis Services told the board the nonprofit fielded 1,211 crisis calls last year across Custer and Fremont counties, took on 347 new clients and provided 1,477 safe shelter nights. The agency operates a 24-hour crisis hotline at 719-275-2429.
Accounts payable and treasurer’s report
The board approved accounts payable totaling $218,805.20 through April 15. Larger items included $69,174.24 in John Deere Financial motor-grader payments, $30,008 for inmate housing at the Fremont County jail covering January and February, and $16,239.50 for a sheriff’s deputy vehicle claim through CTSI.
Commissioners accepted the treasurer’s February report, showing a beginning balance of $8,811,991.84 and an ending balance of $10,394,744.27.
Federal funding, tires and tourism board
Custer County has received its first payments under the renewed Secure Rural Schools program, commissioners reported, with $19,778.45 in Title III funds and $112,077.90 in Title I funds from the San Isabel National Forest. The funding is scheduled to continue through spring 2027 absent further reauthorization.
The board adopted Resolution #26-25 authorizing the sale of Michelin tires from a county diesel generator for $2,200. The resolution was amended on the floor to correct language that originally referenced the generator itself rather than the tires.
Commissioners accepted Deb Adams’s resignation as a voting member of the Custer County Tourism Board effective April 15, with Adams moving to an ex-officio role. Wendy Rusk was confirmed as the new voting member and treasurer.
Other business
The board unanimously approved the minutes from the April 8 meeting. Commissioners waived landfill fees for the Town of Silver Cliff’s May cleanup day, limited to refuse collected by the town’s contracted haulers. They also removed Emily Connaughton and added Ashton Walker as a signer on the CSU Extension 4-H bank account.
Wommack announced the cancellation of regularly scheduled meetings on April 22, July 22, Sept. 23 and Dec. 23. Sheriff’s Office Threat Liaison Officer Justin Robinson briefed commissioners on a new online controlled-burn-permit system being coordinated with Wet Mountain Fire Chief Jeremiah Coleman.
Commissioners then moved into executive session pursuant to § 24-6-402(4) C.R.S.
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