Council clears EPIC appointments after procedural challenge; Rocky Teeter named second council liaison

Commerce City Council revisited appointments to the Environmental Policy and Innovation Commission (EPIC) after members raised concerns about balance and prior attendance at commission meetings. A motion by Council member Craig Kim to reconsider the council’s earlier appointment of Council member Renee Chacon required a two-thirds vote to proceed; that motion failed to reach the required six votes and did not pass.

Following the failed reconsideration effort, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Noble moved to nominate Council member Christy Douglas to EPIC; Douglas later declined the nomination. Council member Christy Douglas then nominated Council member Rocky Teeter for the second liaison seat. The nomination for Teeter was seconded and approved in a roll-call vote, 6 to 2, making Council member Teeter the second council liaison to EPIC alongside Council member Renee Chacon. City staff said the EPIC Commission will continue with its full membership and that council liaisons serve as two of the commission’s 13 members.

Council members debated whether the council should overturn the previous appointment, and several members stressed the limited role of council liaisons on advisory boards and commissions. Mayor Pro Tem Susan Noble and others argued that the board-and-commission appointment process is the appropriate forum for balancing representation, and Council member Kim said he sought reconsideration because of resident feedback about commission attendance.

The council’s final roll call confirmed that EPIC’s council liaisons will be Council member Renee Chacon and Council member Rocky Teeter.