A proposed resolution to formally establish the Joe Pelley Center and delegate authority for county-run alternative sentencing programming was presented to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners on July 29, 2025, and the board voted to table the item for additional briefings with attorneys and program staff.

County Attorney’s Office attorney Kate Burke described the resolution as the formal legal step to establish the Joe Pelley Center and the county-run programs that will operate there. Burke said the center "formally establishes the Joe Pelley Center" and described it as the site for work release, day reporting, electronic home monitoring, residential programs and behavioral-health services. She said staff and the Community Justice Services Division have been designing the facility using voter-approved sales tax dollars since at least 2018, and that the center is expected to open on a phased basis in the next couple of months.

Why it matters: The Joe Pelley Center is a newly built facility intended to move many alternative sentencing functions out of the county jail and into a dedicated center focused on diversionary programming and treatment. The resolution would clarify how the county will operate the center and the role of the Boulder County Community Corrections Board in overseeing programs there.

Most important facts: Kate Burke said the center is a "252-bed" facility (phrase in staff presentation) that will increase options for justice-involved community members, shifting programming from reliance on jail space and outside contractors to county-run services. Commissioners raised two areas that prompted tabling: 1) statutory and ballot-authority questions about using voter-approved sales tax proceeds for ongoing program operations, versus construction only, and 2) whether the resolution’s language is too broad in requiring that "all" diversion and transitional participants be served by county-run programs at the center, potentially limiting flexibility to place people in services outside the center when that would be a better fit.

Discussion and follow-up requested: Commissioners asked staff to confirm (1) whether the 2018 ballot language specifically allowed ongoing program operations in addition to construction and (2) whether the draft resolution should be narrowed so the county retains flexibility to place individuals in appropriate programs that might not be run at the Joe Pelley Center. Burke said staff could make those clarifications and that staff had no statutory deadline to act, so tabling was reasonable.

Outcome: The board voted to table the resolution (motion to table made on the record and passed; motion and second were recorded but not attributed in the public transcript). No final action was taken; staff and attorneys were asked to meet with commissioners and return with clarified language and funding documentation.

Context and next steps: Staff described the center as the product of several years of work using voter-approved sales tax funds and said Community Justice Services is staffing up to operate the center. Commissioners asked for clear documentation about whether there are leftover or ongoing funds available for operations and suggested redrafting the resolution to preserve programmatic flexibility. Staff indicated they would return after consultation with attorneys and budget staff.

Ending: The item was tabled; staff will bring additional analysis on ballot and statute language, funding sources and specific redrafted resolution language before the board takes further action.