Letter to the Editor: Attorney General’s Office to Review Erie Residents’ Complaint

This letter was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. As with all Letters to the Editor, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. We value providing space for community voices.

I am a resident of Erie who is not directly impacted by the Draco Pad project footprint and I have zero political aspirations. I also believe that there is a place for oil and natural gas extraction in our energy supply. That said, I stepped off the sidelines and entered into discussions with Mayor Moore and the Town Council four months ago about the potential sale of the Town of Erie mineral rights.

Myself, and other Erie resident requests for Mayor Moore and the Town Council have been straightforward:

1) Provide a forum for all Erie residents to express their concerns or their support related to the potential sale of Erie’s mineral rights. Listen to these concerns and follow-up with third-party studies that help provide answers. 

2) Allow residents of Erie to vote on whether they want these Town-owned mineral rights to be sold, held and/or used to push back against the Draco Pad. This decision has a huge financial impact on the Town of Erie and an enormous impact on residents.

3) If Erie residents choose to sell these mineral rights then run a legitimate process to sell. Issue an RFP to find a low-cost and high-quality Consultant who will run a competitive bid and solicitation process. This will ensure that Erie gets fair representation and that our Town gets top dollar. 

Mayor Moore and his loyal block of Town Council voters (Mayor Pro Tem Bell, Council Member Brian O’Connor and Council Member John Mortellaro) chose to not give residents of Erie a voice or a vote. They chose to withhold all information from Erie residents – feeding messages that this group wants residents to hear while withholding the rest in confidential sessions. Irrespective of your view, Mayor Moore has led a process that has denied you your voice and your vote.

This group also chose to hire the founder of Civitas for $4.5 million of Erie taxpayer money to represent Town of Erie residents in this sale…to SM Energy, who merged with Civitas earlier this year. Per explosive comments from Town Council Members and the Consultant during the June 2nd Town Council Study Session, it does not appear that this Consultant completed his contract. 

The Consultant’s contract required him to complete a competitive bid and solicitation process and to provide competitive offers to the Town Council for them to consider. Instead, the Consultant brought only a single offer from SM Energy / Civitas. His former company.  Rather than addressing this issue, Mayor Moore scheduled a vote for the sale of Erie’s Town-owned mineral rights to SM Energy for June 16th. 

COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE INVOLVEMENT

On June 11th, over 120 Erie Residents sent a letter to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asking for State help in this situation. 

On Friday, June 12th, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office (AGO) responded that the AGO has started an official process to review our situation on behalf of Erie residents. The AGO asked me to provide them with all materials related to the Town Council issues noted above, which I sent off over the weekend. I believe others in Erie are supplying details to the Attorney General’s Office for this review as well.

The AGO noted that the official review process could take weeks – well past the June 16th scheduled vote.

Will the Erie Town Council move forward with a vote on June 16th knowing that the Colorado Attorney General’s Office is officially involved? Good question for Mayor Moore and the Town Council. Especially given all of <waves vaguely at the hot mess this group facilitated> this. 

Will Mayor Moore and this Town Council do what’s right for the Town of Erie by working with the AGO and Colorado Attorney General? To officially address all concerns from the AGO and residents prior to a vote? Goodness – I hope so. Better to start doing the right thing late rather than not at all.

Whether you are for the sale of Town-owned mineral rights or whether you are against, please show up to the Town Council meeting on June 16th  where they are set to vote. Let Mayor Moore and the Town Council know that we need a legitimate process to be completed prior to approval of any contract. That all Erie residents – irrespective of their views – should have a voice and a vote in what happens to our Town of Erie mineral rights.

Signed Erie resident,

Steve Drew