Mountain Village Council Briefed on Probe

Mountain Village Town Council received a closed-door update April 23 on the independent investigation into former mayor Marti Prohaska’s role in an attempted Telluride ski-resort deal. (townofmountainvillage.com) The update came from Nick Boeving of Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, the law firm Mountain Village hired after Prohaska resigned on January 14. (townofmountainvillage.com 1) (townofmountainvillage.com 2) Mayor Scott Pearson said the investigation was first expected to take five to six weeks and include 10 to 15 interviews. It has now stretched longer, with 21 interviews completed and two more still to come. (townofmountainvillage.com) Pearson said the delay reflects scheduling with people investigators considered critical to the fact-finding effort, not a change in scope. He said the town expects a public report within two to four additional weeks, and in May. (townofmountainvillage.com) The case started in late December, when Prohaska and Telluride Mayor Pro Tem Meehan Fee traveled to California to meet Telluride Ski and Golf owner Chuck Horning during the ski patrol strike. Prohaska later said they went as private citizens. (koto.org) (coloradosun.com) Records later surfaced showing a proposed purchase offer for 51% of the Telluride Ski Resort by an entity called the Telluride Ski Resort Fund, controlled by Prohaska and Fee. KOTO reported the document listed a $127.5 million deal and was signed by Prohaska and Fee, but not by Horning. (koto.org) (coloradosun.com) Mountain Village formally opened its own investigation on January 25, saying it had learned new information after Prohaska’s resignation and needed a “thorough, all-encompassing” review before deciding on a response. (townofmountainvillage.com) The fallout spread beyond Mountain Village. Fee resigned from the Telluride Town Council on January 26, and Telluride later hired Investigations Law Group to examine her involvement in the same proposed purchase. (telluride.gov) (koto.org) Pearson said the Mountain Village report will answer “a lot of questions” and provide a “granular” account of what happened. For now, the council has heard the details in private, and the public is still waiting for the full record. (townofmountainvillage.com)