Noticias

An independent investigation into the conversations and actions surrounding an offer to purchase a portion of the Telluride Ski Resort by former Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska and former Telluride Town Councilmember Meehan Fee, with support from former Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor, found that neither Prohaska nor Wisor violated local, state or federal ethics codes in their actions.

The Town of Telluride hired an independent law firm to conduct its own investigation of Fee. That report is expected to be released within the next week.

Prohaska, Wisor and Fee resigned from their respective positions at various points during the ongoing investigation.

Nick Boeving, a partner at Denver-based law firm Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, is the lead investigator for the Mountain Village report, which was released Tuesday, June 2.

“The main conclusions we were asked to look at, at least in this report, was whether or not any officer or employee of Mountain Village essentially violated the Town Code of Ethics,” Boeving said. “At bottom our conclusion was, based on the conduct we identified, neither Marti or Paul violated the code of ethics. That was the bottom-line conclusion. We understand the optics may not be ideal, but at bottom, they didn’t violate the Town Ethics Code.”

In addition to a determination on Prohaska and Wisor’s conduct, the report also concluded no other town officials or staff knew of the offer to purchase before it was leaked to the public in mid-January.

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell’s investigation encompasses more than 300 pages and paints a picture of the events that took place beginning in early December 2025. Those events ultimately culminated in Prohaska and Fee taking a trip to California to speak with Telski owner Chuck Horning, a proposition to purchase a majority portion of the ski resort and the fallout that ensued.

The report stitches together interviews from more than 20 individuals, including Mountain Village and Telluride town councilmembers and staff, San Miguel County commissioners and staff, and individuals close to Horning.

Prohaska, Fee and Wisor all participated in the investigation.

Despite cooperation from dozens of individuals, Boeving noted there were also key players who did not participate. He acknowledged that missing information from those individuals creates a deficit in the full picture.

“Because we don’t have information from them, we weren’t able to weave it in,” Boeving said. “They may have a completely different perspective, or a completely different relocation of what happened. But based on the information we got, I believe our investigation is very accurate.”

Telski owner Chuck Horning, his son Chad Horning, and Chuck Horning’s counsel, Lupe Mendoza, declined to participate. While their personal experiences are not shared, their participation in events is detailed through text messages, emails and accounts from those interviewed.

The report provides historical context to what have become known as the “California Meetings,” including the strained relationship between Telski and the local community and governments, and prior efforts by individuals and groups to purchase the ski resort.

The report discusses a Dec. 5, 2025, meeting with representatives from Mountain Village, Telluride, San Miguel County and Chad Horning, which investigators describe as the “primary event” that ultimately led to the meetings in California and the offer to purchase the resort.

It continues in detail through the four days Prohaska and Fee spent in California meeting with Horning and his staff, the push and pull of negotiations, and the urgency of making a deal as the Telluride Ski Patrol Union strike and resort closure continued to impact the region.

The report spends several pages exploring “Exhibit B,” a portion of the purchase offer that was leaked to the public. The exhibit included a number of promises should the purchase go through, including efforts to broker an agreement with the Telluride Ski Patrol Union, keeping water rates for snowmaking at a set level for the remainder of the season, working to create more employee housing and additional flights to Telluride, investment in capital upgrades at the resort, and an understanding that Wisor would step down from his position as town manager.

The report goes into detail as to why Exhibit B does not constitute improper conduct, describing the promises as vague and noting that neither Prohaska, Fee nor Wisor could guarantee their outcome. As such, the report states, they hold little weight.

In addition, the report notes that because the purchase offer never went through, the outcome of any promise is a moot point.

The report concludes that Prohaska did not “technically” violate the Town Ethics Code, but notes she likely should have disclosed her actions to town leadership, adding that her conduct “did not promote public confidence in the Town government.”

At the same time, the report states it is “more than likely” that Prohaska’s goal of finding a new owner for the ski resort would have been viewed by many in the region as “in the broader public interest.”

Similarly, the report finds Wisor did not violate any ethics code, but likewise should have disclosed his involvement in the matter.

Boeving said he hopes the report gives the community a clearer understanding of what happened and provides a timeline of events.

“I hope the public gains knowledge form our report,” Boeving said. “I hope it’s a fair report. We did our best to be as even handed as we could, based on the information we had. We weren’t trying to draw credibility determinations, or say we believe this version of events, or that one. We just wanted to give the public the information that we had, and we hope it is helpful to the public, and the town can move forward well.”

With the report now public, Prohaska said she remains saddened that the community had to go through the investigation and lost dedicated public servants in the process, but hopes the community can move on.

“I hope we can, as a community, recognize that all the drama and conspiracy theorizing doesn’t lead us anywhere,” Prohaska said. “Those of us that have been in the community a long time, I think, all have our hearts in the right place. I have the utmost gratitude for the outpouring of support I’ve received leading up to now. I’m hopeful that others can begin to rebuild their lives after this, because it’s been really difficult.”

Prohaska said the conversation she and Fee began needed to be had. Where that conversation goes from here remains uncertain.

“I hope that we can continue to work collaboratively towards investing in the ski resort, and investing in our community because we deserve that, and our community really deserves it,” Prohaska said.

Wisor was not available for further comment.

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell will provide two more reports to Mountain Village on the matter. The second report will publicly share recommendations on improvements the town can make to policies and procedures. The third report will be confidential to Town Council and discuss potential liability the town could face.

Mountain Village will hold a work session to discuss the report and its findings June 17. Boeving will be available during the meeting to answer questions from the community.

The full investigation report is available at townofmountainvillage.com.