Estes Valley Voice: A meeting anticipated to last just one hour stretched to two on Thursday as Estes Park Health Board members spent the first 22 minutes haggling over whether topics on their agenda constituted legitimate reasons for entering yet another executive session.

“Items listed on the agenda do not meet the statutory requirements of your executive session discussion,” said Board member Tom Leigh. “This raises concerns, in my mind, that the public may have been misled about the purpose of this meeting,” Leigh said.

Brigitte Foust agreed, saying, “I believe a lot of things could be done in open session.” She noted that the District’s legal advisor could inform Board members of the specific advice or questions that would justify entering into an executive session. The Park Hospital District has now met in closed-door, private executive session 158 times over the past three years.

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