Citizen use of County buildings – New policy in works

Lynn Volkens

1/20/2005 - With Commissioner Al Price absent (due to illness), from the Tuesday morning meeting, Commissioners Jeanne Nicholson and Forrest Whitman decided to postpone action on some of the planned agenda items.

County Buildings/ Citizen Use

   Vicki Nemec, Administrative Services Technician, is in the process of crafting a policy statement for use of Gilpin County Facilities by non-county sponsored groups. The Gilpin County Facilities Use Master Plan, adopted in October 2002, provides some guidelines for use of County facilities, but Nemec is working to “flesh out the more general statements” it contains, according to County Manager Roger Baker. The policy

 draft submitted for Commissioners to consider, covers the Justice Center Meeting Room, Exhibit Building Meeting Room, Indoor Arena, Outdoor Arena, all Community Center Meeting Rooms, the baseball fields, Gilpin Library Meeting Room and use of the County’s Public Roads. The policy, when adopted, will provide specifications for fees, deposits, application procedures, advance reservation requirements, and qualification as a Gilpin community-sponsored group. Nemec said that situations are now developing whereby one particular group is using a County meeting room for up to seven hours per week. The organization has several sub-groups reserving the room ahead of time and Nemec said that in February that group will need to be “bumped” in order to accommodate another group. County Attorney Jim Petrock asked for a list of the groups currently using County facilities and what the facilities are being used for by those groups. He noted that there is nothing in current policy that stipulates a time limit for each usage so that one group could theoretically reserve a meeting room and use it all day. Petrock was concerned that some groups are using County facilities for a “disproportionate amount of time.” Penny Kipley, Director of Parks and Recreation, contributed the use policy and practices currently occurring at the Recreation Center. Commissioners expressed a desire to have a comprehensive policy, addressing use issues as specifically as possible, to cover all County facilities. They asked Nemec to refine the policy and bring it back to them next week.

Expense Reimbursement Proposed Policy

   Although the County Assessor, Coroner, Clerk, Treasurer, and Sheriff all turned out to hear Commissioners’ discussion on Resolution 05-02, Elected Official Travel and Expense Policy, they will need to wait until next week’s meeting. Commissioner Nicholson removed the item from the agenda due to the absence of Commissioner Price. Currently, all elected officials are receiving $500.00 per month for home office expenses. Elected officials using their personal vehicles for County business are receiving a car allowance of $500.00 per month. County Commissioners receive $1,000.00 per month as car allowance. Under the proposed policy change, elected officials will need to submit receipts and turn in Expense Account sheets to be reimbursed for their actual expenses.

Planning Commission Revises By-Laws

   The Gilpin County Planning Commission By-Laws have been revised as of December 14, 2004. The by-laws regarding membership, officers and terms of office, resignation conditions, meeting schedules and agenda policy were all spelled out in the revised document. Gilpin Commissioners voted to accept the revision with a few amendments. The Planning Commission meetings are open to the public and are held on the second Tuesday of each month.

New Liquor Store at Beaver Park

   Xtract, LLC doing business as Mid-County Liquors at 17270 Highway 119, applied for a new license as a retail liquor store. The business is owned by John Dunham of Rollinsville and will be located in the small building by Pete’s Beaver Park Inn. Dunham appeared for a public hearing before commissioners to provide any further information for Commissioners and citizens. Pete Graham, owner of the building said it had been sitting vacant for several months after having been used as a real estate office for several years. Graham urged Commissioners to approve the license and “keep another business in the county.” Commissioners did just that, approving the license unanimously. Dunham said he hoped to open in about a month. Plans for the business include installing a drive-up window along one side of the building. Some of the proceeds from the business will be used to support a swimming program for youth at the Gilpin Recreation Center, said Dunham.

County to Govern Highway Access

   Tony Petersen, County Planner, notified Commissioners that he will meet with the Colorado Department of Transportation on January 26^th, to work out the permit process for State Highway access. At the January 11^th meeting, Commissioners voted to transfer the permit authority from CDOT to Gilpin County.

 Coroner’s Yearend Report

   Gilpin County Coroner Phyllis Bennett provided a yearend report, as requested by Commissioners. During 2004, Bennett reported handling a total of 24 cases, six of which were directly related to gaming, plus one case that was indirectly gaming-related. Commissioners had asked Bennett to break out the gaming related cases so that she could use that information for DOLA funds grant application. Her report shows that at least 25% of total deaths in Gilpin County, last year, were gaming related. Bennett’s report further breaks down the classifications of the deaths as four suicides, one motorcycle accident, one ATV accident and the remainder as hospice and natural deaths.

Victim Services Yearend Report

   In the 2004 Year End Report for Gilpin County Combined Victim Services, that department handled 636 new cases in 2004, serving 727 new clients. The City of Black Hawk accounted for the majority of the cases at 418, followed by Gilpin County with 164 cases. Central City had 26 cases requiring Victim Services and there were 28 cases from various other sources. A breakdown of the cases shows 142 related to domestic violence. Of the 142, 18 resulted in felony charges, 84 resulted in misdemeanor charges, and 40 resulted in other types of domestic violence charges. Gaming related cases numbered 492. There were 508 non-residents who received Victim Services and 219 Gilpin County residents who received services. The department was called out a total of 162 times for crisis calls in 2004.

Report From the Library

   Larry Grieco, Director of Gilpin County’s Public Library, provided a yearend report listing activities and accomplishments for 2004. There have been several Girl Scout events held at the library and a special holiday story hour with Santa (Forrest Whitman) doing the read-aloud. Regular weekly story hours are also a favorite. A fund-raising idea for the Friends of the Library (the Barnes and Noble Book Night) was submitted to the Mountain and Plains Library Association/Colorado Association of Libraries Jam Session and won $100.00 for the “best idea from a Colorado public library.”  Grieco is awaiting word on an entry for “Best Small or Rural Library in America” competition. The American Library Association and the Gates Foundation have teamed up to award $10,000.00 to the winner. Also in the works, a joint project between the Friends of the Library and seniors in Gilpin High School’s “Film Criticism” class. The Library Board currently has an opening for a trustee’s position. Three letters of interest have been received.

 Treasurer/Public Trustee Report

     County Treasurer Alynn Huffman reported that her department has successfully collected 99.77% of taxes due Gilpin County year to date for 2004. The grand total of County funds at the end of December 2004, was $6,878.045.06. A more extensive report, the Semi Annual Report of the Gilpin County Treasurer, shows revenues and disbursements from July 1^st through December 31^st, 2004. With a starting balance of $3,853,471.48, the County took in $726,963.79 in current taxes plus $13,894.11 from delinquent taxes and interest. Specific Ownership taxes for the six-month period totaled $507,660.86. Revenue collected in various amounts to 38 of the County’s funds amounted to $12,115.721.05. Transfers into the various account totaled $1,975,697.81, offset by transfers out of the account of $2,164,681.80. Pay outs of $10,140,214.68 and Treasurer’s Fees of $10,467.56 account for the rest of the disbursements. Part of the Treasurer’s responsibilities includes recommending investment opportunities and tracking investment performance. During the period from July through December 2004, the County earned $41,059.63 in interest on eight of its accounts. Commissioner Whitman, who had recently attended a meeting of Colorado Counties, Incorporated, commented that Gilpin County was in far better shape financially than many other Colorado counties. Commissioner Nicholson pointed out that, not only is Gilpin County in the black, financially, but also has $302,305.87 in a reserve fund. Additionally, the Public Nuisance Fund (Sheriff’s Account) has a balance of $73,909.93.

   Huffman’s year-end Foreclosure report showed 54 total foreclosures, five commercial and 49 personal. That compares to 35 total foreclosures (one commercial, 34 personal) for 2003 and 31 total foreclosures for 2002. Huffman noted that the number of foreclosures in Gilpin County is increasing.

Students Collecting For Tsunami Relief

   Commissioner Nicholson shared a letter from Jane Yerkman, Information and Data Manager at Gilpin County School. Yerkman thanked the County for allowing students to collect funds on behalf of the American Red Cross. Funds collected are to be forwarded to the Tsunami Relief Effort. Yerkman said that students are continuing to collect funds and have not yet counted the money.