The future of Douglas County with the Tri-County Department of Health is being called into question again after a top official told Castle Rock leaders this week that the country would set up its own health agency by the beginning of 2023.
The news comes six months after Douglas County first announced it would leave Tri-County Health following the agency’s decision to order the wearing of masks to stem the spread of COVID-19. The mandate along with others to close restaurants and businesses is seen by many in the conservative province of south Denver as a heavy-handed government.
Douglas County softened its position in November and told Tri-County Health it was withdrawing its notice to withdraw from the agency it has been a part of for 73 years – at least until the end of 2022 – while continuing to investigate its partnership. ”
But on Tuesday, Castle Rock Town manager Dave Corliss shared an update from Douglas County manager Douglas DeBord with the city council, saying that ‘the current direction to establish a separate department of health in Douglas County, will continue, with the possible full implementation aimed at January 1, 2023. ”
“It therefore represents Doug’s understanding of the views of his land commissioners,” Corliss told the council.
The elected leaders of Castle Rock, who spent part of Tuesday’s meeting to discuss whether to establish their own public health department for the city of 65,000, voted 6-1 to draft a resolution calling for becomes that Douglas County must “deliver” its rhetoric with Tri-County.
The dispute between Douglas County and Tri-County Health reflects the well-known pressure and pull that played across the state in 2020 between largely Republican provinces and health officials over how strict restrictions and closures should be enforced.
People resist orders to close businesses or wear masks – or in the case of Weld County openly opposed – on the grounds that they are burdensome and a uniform response to a dynamic situation.
“We do not have a strategy and a plan to reopen and remove (COVID-19) restrictions,” Castle Rock Councilman Kevin Bracken said. “Our businesses are closed, lives are being ruined and we cannot get straight answers. People are upset – that’s why we want to move out of Tri-County. ”
Douglas County underestimated the words of its provincial manager and told The Denver Post he stands by the position he expressed in November. The country needs to conduct another feasibility study to ‘evaluate what best serves the needs of citizens for public health’, reads a statement attributed to the three land commissioners.
Meanwhile, Tri-County Deputy Director of Health Jennifer Ludwig said she did not view DeBord’s assessment of the situation this week as a “renewed attempt … to break away from the agency.”
“We know all along that it is likely that Douglas County will conduct an evaluation to evaluate what will best serve the public health needs in the country,” she said.
Tensions between Douglas County and the Tri-County Department of Health, which provide public health services to more than 1.5 million people in Douglas, Arapahoe and Adams counties, flared up as soon as the coronavirus arrived in March.
Just a few weeks into the pandemic, Douglas County Republican lawmakers urged commissioners to cut ties with Tri-County Health after the agency issued a home order.
In May, C&C Coffee and Kitchen in Castle Rock opened its doors to a mostly maskless crowd of customers in defiance of Colorado’s public health orders. The eatery’s business license has been suspended, and the owners have filed a lawsuit against government Jared Polis and state health agencies.
As early as November, Tri-County Health temporarily closed five Douglas County restaurants that were open in violation of public health orders that are not allowed to eat.
These sentiments were echoed at Castle Rock City Council meeting this week, with Mayor Jason Gray saying an independent health department in the province is responding more to the situation at the Douglas County site than a sprawling agency like Tri-County Health.
“We have a healthier population, we do not have a dense population, we have less population,” he said, comparing Douglas County to its northern neighbors. “We’re just different.”
Castle Rock councilor Tim Dietz said he would like to see municipal leaders from across Douglas County sit on a board of directors of a new health agency to keep the health workers in check.
“Ultimately, there must be ‘enough,'” he said. ‘I think people are a little burnt out and that they really care about this and want something done. They want their businesses to be open. ”