HomeMy WebLinkAbout960431.tiff V T' C CCU In
GREAT OUTDOORS
COLORADO {o..a,, R.,,p fl LU 9: 37
March 7, 1996 CLERIC
TO THE c�;.
Dear Friend:
The State Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO) will be acting on two proposed
clarifications to its bylaws at its April 10, 1996 meeting in Colorado Springs. The Board is
recommending the changes to clarify public access issues. The Board is required to give 30 days notice
of proposed bylaw changes to provide an opportunity for public comment. This letter is to inform you
of the proposed changes and give you such an opportunity to comment. Written comments will be
accepted until 5:00 PM on April 8, 1996 at:
Great Outdoors Colorado
303 East 17th Avenue, Suite 900
Denver, Colorado 80203
You can also fax comments to 303-863-7517 or via our E-mail address at GOCOLO@AOL.COM.
Proposed Bylaw Amendment#1 -- Complaints against the Board --The members of the Board are
concerned about people who may have a complaint about the Board's actions or actions of staff. At
present, there is no procedure for handling such complaints. The Board is recommending the adoption
of a procedure to assure that people with complaints have a fair opportunity to present facts to the Board
and to resolve any concerns formally or informally. Examples of complaints may be an entity claiming
they have been deprived of a property right as through the revocation of a grant or an employee of
GOCO complaining of disparate treatment. If the following suggested bylaw change is adopted, that
same information will be reflected in GOCO grant agreements:
In the event that any person or entity believes that they have been injured in any way by
action of the Board, or its officers or employees, or that such person is threatened with
injury by an impending action of the Board, its officers, or employees, such person shall
first notify the Executive Director of the claimed or threatened injury, and shall attempt in
good faith to resolve such claim informally. In the event that such informal dispute
resolution efforts are unsuccessful, such person may request a formal hearing during a
regularly scheduled Board meeting. Such a request must be made at least twenty days
before a regularly scheduled board meeting. At such hearing, the complainant shall have a
reasonable opportunity to present evidence concerning the merits of the dispute to the
Board, and the Board's staff may present additional evidence.
Proposed Bylaw Amendment#2 --Failure to obtain public comment -- The bylaws leave it up to the
Chair to "assure that there is appropriate opportunity for public comment during meetings of the Board"
on the general policies of the Board and upon specific grant proposals before the Board. Current bylaws
may not make it clear that there will routinely be occasions where limiting public comment at meetings
to allow the Board to proceed with its business will be necessary. The Board is recommending adoption
of the following changes to Article III(A)(1) of the bylaws to address this issue (changes in bold):
Article XXVII, Section 6(2) of the Colorado Constitution provides that the rules and
regulations of the Board "shall give the public an opportunity to comment on the general
policies of the Board and upon specific grant proposal before the Board." Article XXVII,
Section 6(3) provides that"[t]he Board shall adopt rules permitting public access to its meetings
and records which are no less restrictive than state laws applicable to state agencies, as such laws
may be amended from time to time." The Board finds that these provisions of the Constitution
require that its meetings be at least as open to the public as are meetings of state public bodies
subject to the Open Meetings Law and that members of the public be given reasonable
opportunity to comment, in writing and orally at meetings of the Board, on its general
policies and specific grant proposals. The Board finds that an important purpose of this
provision is to assure that the Board will continue to receive the benefit of a variety of
points of view in its deliberations. In no event, however,will the lack of comment from the
public affect the validity of any action taken by the Board."
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If you have any questions regarding these bylaw changes, please contact Chris Leding at 303-863-7522.
Again, the deadline for written comment is April 8, 1996.
Sincerely,
Will Shafroth
Executive Director
Great Outdoors Colorado
303 East 17th Avenue, Suite 900 1°'' /HI)
Denver, Colorado 80203
DALE HALL
WELD COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIR
BOX 758
GREECE' CO 60632-0758
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