Charred piles of furniture, cars, fenceposts and foundations destroyed by the Marshall fire will stay put for a while longer as disputes over the multimillion dollar debris cleanup contract are assessed.

This means that Boulder County residents who had hoped to begin rebuilding by  July 1, the original proposed date for completion of the Debris Removal Program, will likely have to wait another couple of weeks for the huge haul to be completed.

Who’s at fault for the delay depends on whom you ask.

At least one watchdog group and a few of the companies that lost out on the competitive multimillion dollar debris cleanup job have filed either a lawsuit or a notice of protest. They contend that Boulder County didn’t properly consider each bid, and that commissioners met in private before they awarded the job to the lowest bidder instead of giving it to the company that would do the best job. Eleven companies vied for the contract, which may eventually amount to $100 million once the debris removal is complete.

The organization Demanding Integrity in Government Spending has filed a preliminary injunction request in Boulder County District Court alleging that the county violated the state’s open meetings law during proposal evaluations. The lawsuit says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has strict rules about fire cleanup costs that must be followed if there is to be reimbursement, and that Boulder County may have already violated some of those rules. DIGS contends that if this happens, that money will come out of county and state taxpayers’ pockets.

But city leaders and County Commissioners, who analyzed and awarded the bid, say the bid review committee has “never been viewed as local public bodies before.” As a result, it did not break any laws regarding meetings that were held in executive session.

On Wednesday, Boulder County Commissioner Matt Jones voiced his annoyance with the legal stoppage, promising weary fire victims that their land will be cleared as quickly as possible as lawyers work this issue through the courts.

“The County isn’t happy about this delay. We did everything properly to comply with the law, and we are confident we’ll prevail against this lawsuit,” Jones said.

Jones’ comments didn’t sit well with DIGS attorney Chad Williams, who said it’s the county’s unfair practices and not DIGS’ lawsuit that is causing the disruption.

“While the county publicly is saying DIGS is causing a delay, it’s privately telling DIGS the delay is attributable to the county because the county has not finalized its contract with DRC,” said Williams. “It was this misrepresentation on top of the already opaque process that led us to where we are now.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the debris cleanup contract had not been finalized, said Boulder County Public Works spokesman Andrew Barth. “It’s still being worked through,” he said. 

Louisville City Manager Jeff Durbin confirmed Tuesday that the debris won’t be removed for two weeks and that at least three appeals have been filed against the contract. In a mission statement on the city’s website, Durbin promised to bring residents “home as quickly as possible,” even giving an Aug. 1 deadline for the debris to be cleared, which would give the green light for residents to start construction on new homes.

Said Jones: “It’s frustrating that anyone would want to delay our community’s ability to recover from this devastating wildfire.”

The county awarded the $52 million cleanup contract to DRC Emergency Services on Feb. 10 in what one lawsuit contends was a 15-minute meeting during which one of the County Commissioners admitted that she hadn’t reviewed the contract. Upon awarding the contract, the committee said DRC has “extensive experience with FEMA-declared disaster projects including debris removal with numerous large wildfires.” 

But Ceres Environmental, one of the country’s largest disaster relief companies, contends in a notice of protest appeal filed Feb. 22 that DRC has “almost no fire cleanup experience” and that the only wildfires the company has assisted on were as a subcontractor for Ceres and for another company, ECC, which was the runner-up in Boulder County’s bidding process. 

A public meeting to give residents a chance to sound off about the cleanup was canceled Tuesday night because of the legal tangles. This week, The Denver Gazette reported an unusual move: All of the judges in Boulder County recused themselves from deciding whether to block the recently awarded contract for Marshall fire debris cleanup.

For its part, DRC has already been working to haul off trash placed in right of way areas under an existing on-call contract it has had with Boulder County since 2017. DRC President John Sullivan told The Denver Gazette from his office headquarters in Metairie, Louisiana, that despite the protests, he is ready to get to work soon so that fire victims  can move forward.

“We truly believe the bid was more than fair and reasonable and open. I’m sure whomever reviews it will see it the same way,” he said.

As of Feb. 27, 3,280 residents have registered with FEMA for disaster assistance. Out of impatience to rebuild, some of those residents may decide to start hauling off their charred belongings on their own. If they do, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program will not reimburse them.

“This is due to the legal responsibility, cost reasonableness, and procurement requirements,” FEMA spokesman Anthony Mayne said in an email.

On Dec. 30, the 6,000-acre fire destroyed 1,084 homes, causing $513,212,589 in residential damage.