The following is a letter from Erie residents that was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. We are publishing it in pursuit of community transparency and public accountability. Signed by over 100 community members, the letter calls on the Colorado Attorney General to intervene in the ongoing, controversial sale of local mineral rights.

Dear Attorney General Weiser,

This letter is from Erie residents related to the Town of Erie and the potential sale of Town-owned mineral rights and real estate assets to SM Energy (Civitas). This is a legal and ethical matter where there is no recourse for these issues at the Town level. 

We are reaching out to you for State assistance to investigate and hopefully resolve these matters on behalf of residents of the Town of Erie. Please note that I have been in correspondence with your office prior, but the situation has grown more urgent. 

The Council is set to vote on the sale of these mineral rights Tuesday, June 16th. In open meetings and during the Study Session on June 2nd it was revealed that several important and legal steps were not completed in this process including:

The Town Council signed a Consultant contract involving a bid and solicitation process that was ignored in favor of a single-source agreement with SM Energy; and
Town of Erie policy required the issuance of an RFP to select the Consultant in a $4.5 million contract and, instead, the Consultant was sole-sourced without vetting.

The Town of Erie Town Council has placed a significant amount of information related to this transaction within Executive Sessions. Please note that this timeline and information are based on what has been made publicly available to-date.

MINERAL RIGHTS SALE TIMELINE

In December 2025, four Town Council Members led by Mayor Andrew Moore approved the hire of Alameda Minerals Partners as a sole-source $4.5 million contract to represent the Town of Erie in the potential sale of Town-owned mineral rights. However, this was done behind closed doors, of which the public did not learn of the discussions that had been occurring for over a year until Feb 2026 when local reporting revealed it. 

Alameda Minerals Partners CEO is Matthew Owens, a founder of Civitas Energy (now SM Energy) who owned the Draco Pad at that time. The Town Council did not vet Owens for financial conflicts of interest and, at a later date, Mayor Moore advised that he knew Owens had ongoing financial interests with Civitas.
When asked why the Town did not issue an RFP for this $4.5 million contract, Town employee David Frank is on record stating they did not seek any other consultants, and that “they didn’t know any other consultants.” Not knowing is a core reason as to why RFPs are conducted.
There are three versions of how Owens and the Town of Erie started working together. The Mayor stating he had a conversation, then others stating Owens came to the Town. Regardless, it appears that the Mayor was in talks with Owens for 6 months before the council was aware. 
This was a sole-sourced contract without an RFP. The Town Interim Manager advised the Council during a June 2nd Study Session that this violated Town procurement policy. 
Per the Contract with the Town, Alameda Minerals Partners was required to run a competitive bid and solicitation process and to provide those results to the Town Council. The public learned during the June 2nd Town of Erie Study Session that Owens did not run this process and that Town Council members have not seen competitive bids.
Owens indicated during the meeting and stated specifically to a reporter after the meeting that he was advised by certain Town Council members to not run a competitive bid and procurement process.
The public has limited information about discussions, processes and details around this potential transaction as Mayor Moore has held both confidential and traditionally non-confidential information within rolling Executive Sessions. This includes inappropriate direction from the Town Council to Owens to breach his Contract and not conduct competitive bid and solicitations.
The process run by Owens resulted in a single offer from SM Energy (Civitas), his former company. There is no record that Owens reached out to competitors, confirmed by the acting Town Administrator and Town Attorney, as well as Owens himself
The Town Council was advised by Erie residents during the June 9th Town Council open session about this breach of contract and how this violates Town Council’s role in that contract as well as Town Council fiduciary duty.
The contract from SM Energy appears to be significantly one-sided in favor of SM Energy. The Town’s financial and negotiation representation through Owens and his conflicts of interest may have had a significant impact on the terms of agreement and the value of the Town’s assets.
Mayor Moore set a vote for June 16th to approve the offer from SM Energy. Per Moore’s voting block of four Town Council members, residents expect this contract to be approved in a 4-3 vote.

Residents are clearly against this decision and have been showing up and speaking out in large numbers since learning about it. What adds another layer is that SM Energy has a timeline to meet per the ECMC and Erie holding onto their mineral rights requires them to work around that location. With ownership it opens up their access considerably. Mayor Moore has been meeting in secret for months, and rushing the process without proper vetting and without following proper RFP procedures. Mayor Moore is placing this single-source contract with SM Energy up for vote on June 16th knowing that a competitive bid and solicitation process was required, but not completed. 

For these reasons we believe the Attorney General should step in to ensure this process is meeting the legal standards at the State level, set in the Consultant contract and the Town Charter. 

TOWN OF ERIE RESIDENTS

The following Town of Erie residents agreed to be part of this letter and are asking for direct assistance from the Office of The Attorney General.

Tiffany Breaux Pritchett 

Sharleen Bakeman, Retired Colorado DOT & USDOT

Dr. Mark E. Bakeman, Retired Washington State DOT

Carol Campbell, Retired Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation, US EPA Region 8Marifay Makssour

Michiko Elizabeth Mackanin 

Christiaan van Woudenberg

Josh Gaffga 
Beth Gaffga