Residents press commissioners to remove RISE board members and require meeting livestreams

Multiple residents used the public‑comment period to press the commissioners on transparency at the RISE board and to call for removal of board members and consultant Jerry Acey.

Nolan Myhail said the community's trust in RISE had been broken: "At 5 or 6 years old, I learned that trust is much easier to break than it is to reforge," he told the commissioners, and urged the board to replace the remaining RISE members and Jerry Acey. Stephanie Simpson and other speakers likewise accused the RISE board of operating with insufficient transparency and urged immediate removal or nonrenewal of contracts. Speakers also raised specific procedural concerns — for example asking whether RISE meetings should be livestreamed and whether the board's meetings had been properly recorded.

Derek Doherty recommended a legal workaround for livestreaming: pass an ordinance requiring county boards to hold meetings in the Commissioner's Courtroom so they fall under existing livestream mandates. Several residents suggested expanding public representation on the committee that will review UDO changes and moratorium options; commissioners said an initial task committee email was sent and appointments were being awaited from APC, county council and RISE.

The commissioners said they were reviewing screenshots and documentation provided by citizens and will discuss personnel and contractual concerns, in part, in an executive session scheduled for Sept. 15 to review applicants and complaints. They encouraged continued public input and pledged to consider procedural approaches to increase transparency.