The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction): A lawsuit has been filed against county officials alleging that they violated provisions of the state’s open meetings laws when they met behind closed doors last month.

In the suit filed earlier this week, government watchdog Dennis Simpson claims that not only did the Mesa County Board of Commissioners improperly go into executive session at the end of a regular public meeting July 6, but discussed matters that don’t qualify for the legal right to do so.

The closed-door meeting was to discuss a pending contract bid for an underwriter to refinance a type of bond known as certificates of participation. The county sold those bonds in 2010 to refinance the debt it incurred to pay for the construction of the Mesa County Justice Center in 2000.

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