Lake County commissioners enter closed session for legal advice on Alpenflow variance

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners convened a special meeting at 8:27 a.m. and voted to enter an executive session to receive legal advice from the county attorney on the Alpenflow variance application, citing Colorado law. The board returned to open session at 9:28 a.m. and the chair said no official decisions were made during the closed session.

The chair announced the move to close the meeting, saying, "We are going into executive session pursuant to CRS 24-6-402(4)(b) for the sole purpose of receiving legal advice from the county attorney regarding the legal standards and risks associated with the Alpenflow variance application." A commissioner made the motion and another commissioner seconded it before the board entered the executive session.

A board official read a certification of privilege before the recording was stopped. The official stated, "I hereby certify that all our portion of the matters to be discussed in this executive session are protected by the attorney-client privilege," and directed that the electronic recording may be stopped while legal advice was received.

When the meeting returned to open session the chair announced the time as 9:28 a.m., said that no official decisions were made during the executive session, and closed the special meeting at 9:30 a.m. The transcript does not record any votes by name or a tally; the motion to enter executive session was made and seconded and the board proceeded into the closed session as announced.

Because the substance of the closed session is protected by attorney-client privilege, the record available to the public is limited to the procedural actions stated on the record: the statutory basis for closing the session, the purpose (legal advice about the Alpenflow variance), the certification of privilege, and the board's statement on returning that no formal decisions were taken.