2026 Town Hall Series: 1 of 4 – September 16, 2026
Main Subject
The primary focus of the September 16, 2026 Custer County town hall was a call to come together as a community and defend what this county is and stands for — self-reliance, neighbor-to-neighbor help, honest local government, and a valley that does not get talked into becoming something else — while the open-mic still ran through sewage and water grants, workforce / “affordable” housing, paper ballots, ignored county-assembly resolutions, Wetmore ambulance coverage, and the sudden closure of Valley Assisted Living. One sitting commissioner was in the room. No official votes.
Summary
This was not a Board of County Commissioners meeting. It was a September 16, 2026 town hall uploaded on the Red County Blue Nation channel, opened by Elizabeth around the Readiness and Resilience Network (R2) and moderated by Kitshai, a former commissioner. The frame they set was bigger than any one grant or housing project: stop treating neighbors as opposing camps, put the county’s character first, and defend what Custer County is — a small, independent mountain valley that takes care of its own, keeps government limited and visible, and does not outsource its future to whoever shows up with a program. Four town halls are planned so that argument can continue in public. The night was open-mic, not an agenda with motions.
Recurring fights: Westcliffe / Round Mountain sewer “kicked down the road” for two decades; a speaker said $1.4 million was promised for sludge/sewer work and about $300,000 was delivered; a $1.5 million water-and-sewer infrastructure grant posted on the Town of Westcliffe page became a transparency fight over what was applied for versus what was awarded. Workforce and low-income housing split the room — some called it government weakening people and a workaround after the justice center was voted down; Westcliffe Trustee Bob Fulton said the Silver Cliff project is nonprofit workforce housing on donated land, not Section 8, aimed at people who work in the county, with about 22 units and a waiting list. Accessory dwelling units, density, water, and sewer were tied to that fight. Election talk: November ballot with about 17 measures, “Protect Colorado Kids” proposals, distrust of mail ballots, and a push to back Clerk Kelley Camper on paper ballots. Commissioner Bill Canda said the county is looking at roughly a $9 million budget against about $12 million in needs, Road & Bridge is fully staffed, grants fill holes the mill levy cannot, and he supports paper ballots. Wetmore’s Jerry Drake flagged ambulance coverage after Florence quit in 2019 and a proposed 7.9% ambulance tax. Valley Assisted Living is closing: 12–14 rooms, notices about two to two-and-a-half weeks earlier, repair estimates $258,000–$300,000, a $500,000 mortgage, about $30,000 raised, Medicaid timing problems, six or seven residents still in place, target around early October. A firefighter fundraiser was announced for September 26 at the Wetmore Community Center, 3–8 p.m. No official votes.
Key Points
What This Meeting Was
- Grassroots town hall, September 16, 2026. Opened by Elizabeth (R2). Moderated by Kitshai (former commissioner).
- Four town halls planned. Not pothole night and not an official vote session.
- Steve pointed people to the Custer County Chronicle (kustercountychronicle.org).
Coming Together to Defend What This County Is
- Elizabeth and Kitshai opened on unity with a spine: faith over fear, talk to the person in the other chair, and do not let state programs, housing models, or outside money redefine a county settled by people who wanted to be left alone and still show up for a neighbor.
- The point of the four town halls is to name what Custer County stands for — self-reliance, local control, paper-trail government, private charity before public subsidy — and then defend those things in the sewer, housing, election, and senior-care fights that followed.
- Test used in the room: does this grant, unit count, or ballot measure leave the valley looking like itself, or does it import a denser, more administered version of somewhere else?
- Practical version: show up at BOCC and town-board meetings, use the Chronicle so people argue from the same minutes, back the Clerk on elections, keep Wetmore on the map, and do not let Valley Assisted Living close in silence.
- Disagreement was not treated as the problem. Disappearing into factions and letting decisions happen off-mic was.
Sewer, Water & Grants
- Jim McMahon: sewer deferred about 20 years.
- Steve: $1.4 million promised / about $300,000 delivered.
- Bob Fulton: $1.5 million water-sewer grant applied for / posted July 5, 2024; infrastructure cost described as less than half that ask.
- Room demand: publish applied-for vs. awarded vs. spent.
- Canda: ~$9 million budget vs. ~$12 million needs; grants close the hole.
Housing, ADUs & “Workforce”
- Justice center previously voted down; some treat new housing as an end-run.
- Fulton: ~22 nonprofit units on donated land, not Section 8, for people who work in the county.
- House-price example: under $50,000 years ago, later ~$448,000.
- Assembly resolutions cited as ignored: tax reduction, no subsidized development, accounting standards. Property taxes described as doubled in five years.
Elections & Clerk
- ~17 November measures. Paper ballots. Support for Clerk Kelley Camper. Canda supports paper ballots.
Wetmore, Roads, Ambulance
- Florence quit in 2019. Coverage described as stopping at the Fremont line. Proposed 7.9% ambulance tax. Canda said Road & Bridge is fully staffed.
Valley Assisted Living
- 12–14 rooms. $258k–$300k repairs. ~$500k mortgage. ~$30k raised. Closing around early October. Six or seven residents still there.
Votes
Summarized Transcription
Elizabeth opened on faith, readiness, and a county that talks past itself. Kitshai framed the night as ideas, not a complaint session: come together, defend what this place is, then argue the particulars. He turned the mic loose.
Sewer and housing ate the first hour. Election integrity came next, then Wetmore’s ambulance hole and Canda’s $9 million vs. $12 million budget math. Valley Assisted Living closed the substance of the night. Steve pointed people at the Chronicle. No vote.
One Response
We need someone to edit these off of AI before they go up – Kitshai sounds like some sort of Japanese guru. Looks like the article says “one commissioner present” while E said Canda and Vogelsong were both there.