County Commissioners respond to Private Property Debris Removal lawsuit

Boulder County, Colo. - In response to the lawsuit filed by Demanding Integrity in Government Spending, the Boulder County Board of Commissioners expressed frustration and dismay that this lawsuit is causing delays in the launch of the coordinated debris cleanup effort that is part of the Private Property Debris Removal (PPDR) program. The Commissioners want to assure Marshall Fire survivors that the county is committed to working as expeditiously as possible in the courts and on the ground to start debris clean-up.

The lawsuit alleges that the bid review committee that recommended awarding the PPDR program work to DRC Environmental Services, LLC. (DRC) is a local public body subject to Colorado open meetings and public records laws. The Commissioners accepted the committee’s recommendation and awarded the bid to DRC on February 10. The use of review committees is a common practice in government operations in order to ensure effective and timely procurement of government bids. Bid review committees have never been viewed as local public bodies before. The lawsuit also alleges without basis that County Commissioner executive sessions on this topic were improperly noticed.

“The County isn't happy about this delay,” said Commissioner Matt Jones. “We did everything properly to comply with the law, and we are confident we’ll prevail against this lawsuit. We will be responding as expeditiously as possible with the hope that the courts will resolve the lawsuit quickly. Marshall Fire survivors are waiting for debris removal to happen. Our awarded contractor is ready to go and is lining up subcontractors to perform cleanup work. It’s frustrating that anyone would want to delay our community’s ability to recover from this devastating wildfire.”