Mesa County commissioners approve multiple contracts, reappoint veterans services officer

Mesa County commissioners on Feb. 17 approved a slate of contracts and amendments covering auditing, road services, solid-waste consulting and child-welfare services, and the Board of Human Services reappointed Anthony Lee as the county Veterans Services Officer for a two-year term.

The board approved a contract extension for auditing services with Ida (Eddie) Bailey LLC for the 2025 fiscal year, with a not-to-exceed amount of $249,081. Sheila Reiner, finance director, told commissioners the contract was first bid in 2023, has had two change orders and now includes federally required single audits for eight programs. Reiner said the county pushed the auditors’ field work to June to allow time for Mesa County’s Workday implementation and estimated audit completion in July. "This first year is gonna be tough, but I think we'll see it in 2026 and 2027," Reiner said, adding that continuity with an existing auditor can improve efficiency.

The board also approved an intergovernmental agreement with the town of De Beque for snowplow assistance after the town lost a plow truck. Matt Nichols, Road and Bridge supervisor, said Mesa County crews will assist De Beque as needed and be compensated for truck time and the operator, but that county plow routes will be prioritized. "We're gonna be over there helping out the town," Nichols said, describing the arrangement as an as-needed, compensated support service.

For solid-waste management, the commissioners authorized a contract with Weaver Consulting not to exceed $163,000. Jennifer Richardson, Solid Waste and Sustainability Division director, described two budget buckets: $100,000 for routine compliance work (reports, groundwater sampling, required annual tasks) and $63,000 for special projects such as a rate study and a weeklong waste audit to inform diversion planning under new state emissions rules (referred to in the record as Regulation 31). "So the total contract for this year is a 163,000," Richardson said. Commissioners stressed the cost pressures of new state and federal requirements and noted the landfill operates as an enterprise fund with limits on county subsidy.

The Mesa County Board of Human Services reappointed Anthony Lee as the county Veterans Services Officer for a term running March 5, 2026, through March 5, 2028. Jill Calvert, executive director of human services and the workforce center, cited statutory requirements and Lee’s record of service, saying Lee’s team assisted more than 1,200 veterans in 2025 and helped secure more than $6,000,000 in one-time awards and $864,000 in increased monthly awards for Mesa County veterans. Anthony Lee thanked the board for the reappointment.

Human Services also approved a second contract amendment with Northwoods Consulting Partners for the Traverse child-welfare case-management system, with a first-year amount of $209,100 split among federal ($46,002), state ($121,278) and county ($41,820) funds. Joe Keleby, division director for Child Welfare and Adult Protection Services, said the software provides digital forms, in-field access, supervisor review workflows and faster document transfer to families.

Finally, the board approved a fourth amendment with Bridal Clinical Services for child-welfare core services, increasing the not-to-exceed amount from $425,000 to $625,000 for the rest of the year. Keleby said the increase stems from greater service volume and provider staffing limits following state changes that expanded service demand; he said about 189 children and youth were in out-of-home placement as of January and estimated that 80–85% receive the family-time service funded by this contract.

All motions on Feb. 17 passed by recorded voice vote, with the clerk announcing each motion carried 3 to 0. The meeting recessed for the Human Services board items and then reconvened; the chair adjourned the County Commissioners meeting after business concluded.