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Public commenter presses El Paso County commissioners on transparency in PPLD trustee appointment
Summary
A resident told commissioners the county's process for appointing a Pikes Peak Library District trustee lacked transparency and compliance with Colorado open meetings standards and asked for public, criteria-based deliberations.
Veronica Baker, a resident addressing the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners during the March 11 public-comment period, urged the commissioners to explain the process and timeline for selecting a replacement member for the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) Board of Trustees.
Baker said PPLD trustee Dora Gonzales’ term technically ended Dec. 31, 2024, and that constituents have been “waiting patiently” for the commissioners’ actions to fill the vacancy. She told the commission that the appointment process “has not been meeting the Colorado sunshine law standards,” and asked the commissioners to publicly explain how they evaluate candidates and whether they will adopt objective criteria or a rubric for appointments.
Baker noted that PPLD governs a budget “40 plus million dollars” and said the public needs assurance that trustees have appropriate backgrounds and skills. She contrasted the county’s silence with the Colorado Springs City Council’s public interview rounds for a library trustee and said constituents were concerned by a lack of responses to email inquiries.
Baker concluded by urging commissioners to hold a deliberation session open to the public and said community members were spreading word to neighborhoods and other areas of the library district.
