Motion to remove museum lease from Douglas County agenda fails; commissioner alleges nonprofit misfeasance

DOUGLAS COUNTY — A motion to remove an item relating to a museum lease from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners' agenda failed after a contested hand vote, and a commissioner used the public meeting to allege misfeasance by a nonprofit.

The motion to remove the lease item, made during the public meeting and said to have been discussed in executive session, was moved by Commissioner Kenner Jones and seconded by Vice Chair Alvarez. The chair called for a hand vote; the tally was announced in the transcript as "3 2," and the chair then stated, "Motion fails," after an immediately corrected remark that had briefly suggested the opposite. The transcript shows inconsistent phrasing during the roll call of hands, and the chair declared the motion failed.

Why it matters: The item had been discussed in executive session, and the dispute over whether to remove it from tomorrow's agenda prompted a public airing of concerns about the nonprofit involved. Vice Chair Alvarez said the board should allow the matter to be discussed in public so those who gave time earlier could appear.

Commissioner Kenner Jones sharply criticized the nonprofit during the meeting, saying the board was "willing to overlook, misfeasance and malfeasance, negligence of duties, and not making sure that there is appropriate records keeping on behalf of a nonprofit that is not owned by the board of commissioners." He framed the concern as a stewardship issue: "once we know that there has been poor records keeping, once we know that there has been malpractice and malfeasance ... we have a responsibility to act specifically as stewards of public funds and public facilities."

Vice Chair Alvarez responded that the item had not yet been voted on for its scheduled discussion the following day and that "we at least wanna give them the decency to tomorrow to be here." Alvarez said keeping the item on the agenda would allow public participants to attend and speak.

Procedural context: The board first voted, 5-0, to come out of an earlier executive session. After the debate over the museum lease item concluded without removal, members later approved a motion to adjourn by a 5-0 vote. The chair announced the board will meet the next morning at 10:00 for its legislative voting meeting.

What was not resolved: The transcript records the accusation of misfeasance by Commissioner Jones but contains no response from the nonprofit or any staff clarification in the public record. The board did not take a formal action to pursue an investigation during the meeting; the matter remains on the agenda for the next scheduled session.