April 14, 2026 Minutes

Weld Regional Opioid Council Meeting

Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment, Room 103
1555 North 17th Avenue, Greeley CO 80631
April 14, 2026 Minutes @ 9:00 am to 10:00 am

Voting Council Members in Attendance: Claud Hanes, Amy Anderson, Lindsay Radcliff-Coombes, Cathy Hoover, Commissioner Jason Maxey, Melissa McDonald, Chief David Angelo, Captain Marcy Roles-Foos, Deputy Chief Mike Zeller, Julie Witkowski

Advisory and Non-Council Members in Attendance: Angie Higgins, Kyle Higgins, Olivia Egen, MJ Jorgensen, Izzy Pike, Rebecca McLaughlin, Eric Barker, Heidi Christensen, Adria Schiel, Raissa Huntley, Dana Johnson, Jack Patterson, Kyla Pfeif, Louis Piotti, Brad Lucero, Kylan Bain, James Delaney, Mark Pollard 

Minutes

  1. Call to order, Quorum Verification, Introductions
  2. Vote: Approve Minutes from October 2025 Meeting
    • Motion to approve by Chief Angelo, seconded by Deputy Chief Zeller, no dissent.
  3. Updates
    • Coordinator updates: Kelley McCandless
      • Welcome to new members: excited to move forward with new voices and goals
    • Data update: Raissa Huntley
      • Overdose counts are down, as are non-emergency overdose rates for opioids. Some communities and populations not seeing decreases at the same time as other populations.
    • Fiscal agent updates: Bill Fritz
      • New invoice templates will be sent to awardees.
      • Reminded members that the 2025 expenditure report was sent out for review via email.
  4. Appointments
    • Voted to confirm following nominations, with remarks by nominees:
      • Commissioner Jason Maxey: Weld Board of County Commissioners
      • Melissa McDonald: City of Greeley
      • Lindsay Radcliff-Coombes: North County (Severance)
      • Claud Hanes: South County (Ft. Lupton)
      • Captain Marcy Roles-Foos: Weld County Sheriff's Office
    • Motion to confirm nominees: Julie Witkowski, seconded by Captain Roles-Foos, no opposition voiced.
    • Chair open for nominees: Cathy Hoover is current chair.
      • No additional nominees brought forward. Motion to approve by Commissioner Maxey, seconded by Captain Roles-Foos, no opposition.
  5. Discussion: 2027 Funding Schedule
    • Cathy Hoover: explained that the state opioid abatement council operates on a two-year funding and planning cycle while the WROC operates on a one-year cycle. She explained that there may be advantages to aligning with state.
    • MJ Jorgensen: explained that each region has their own way of doing things, but that a two-year cycle would be fine for their organization as a recipient.
    • Officer Pollard: asked if funding is consistent or if the state can reallocate funding based on needs.
    • Kelley McCandless: expressed that funding varies a little bit but not exponentially.
    • Jack Patterson: said that state funding is fairly set and that it cannot reasonably be allocated differently than it currently is.
    • Heidi Christensen: expressed that her organization would appreciate funding on a two-year cycle.
    • Julie Witkowski: expressed concern that new entities might miss out, limits innovation.
    • Chief Angelo: asked what issue, precisely, the group is trying to solve.
    • Kelley McCandless: suggested that a write up of pros and cons is prepared and presented to council for virtual vote. Council agrees with this.
    • Cathy Hoover: introduced RFP.
      • Proposed timeline:
        • July: meeting to review RFP questions, process
        • August: RFP goes live for prospective applicants
        • September: scoring committee meets to draft funding proposal
        • October: council votes to approve funding plan, which is then submitted to COAC.
      • Open floor for questions, suggestions, etc.
      • Reminder to start considering joining scoring committee. 
  6. Vote: Colorado Health Network Emergency Funding Request
    • Izzy Pike: due to SAMHSA funding cuts, Colorado Health Network (CHN) clean syringe access programming is at risk. Izzy presented the benefits of this program, expressed need for about $220,000 between now and December in order to preserve program and jobs. She explained that the program exclusively helps people in Weld County.
    • Cathy Hoover: explained that the WROC does have enough funding for this request.
    • Commissioner Maxey: expressed concerns over both the relationship of the program to drug use and the precedent for reopening the RFP.
    • Dep. Chief Zeller: stated concerns about fairness to other organizations who might also appreciate the opportunity to apply for emergency funding.
    • Kelley McCandless: explained that other regions are also trying to confront issue of emergency funding, said that it could be arranged to have RFP reopen for other organizations.
    • VOTE: Option A: open emergency RFP. Option B: do not open emergency RFP.
    • In roll-call style vote, unanimous decision to not open RFP. 
  7. Adjourn
    • Motion to adjourn by Lindsay Radcliff-Coombes, seconded by Commissioner Maxey, approved. Presentations outlined in agenda will be given at July Meeting.
    • Link to recorded meeting available on request: kmccandless@weld.gov

Next Meeting:  July 14th, 2026 @ 9:00 am at 1555 North 17th Avenue, Greeley, CO (Room 103 or via Microsoft Teams)

 

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