Al Price takes over as Chairman of County Commissioners

Lynn Volkens

01/11/2007 - Gilpin County Commissioner Forrest Whitman conducted his last meeting as Chairman of the Board at Tuesday morning’s meeting, then passed the gavel to Commissioner Al Price, who will serve as Chair for 2007. Commissioner Jeanne Nicholson was sworn in for her second term, followed by other officials who won elected County positions last November.

Elected Officials Sworn Into Office

  Assessor Anne Schafer, Clerk and Recorder Jessica Lovingier, Coroner Zane Laubhan, Sheriff Bruce Hartman and Treasurer Alynn Huffman each repeated the oath of service as administered by District Judge Fred Rodgers. This marks the fourth term of office for Hartman and the second for Huffman, Lovingier and Schafer. Laubhan, who was appointed Coroner by the previous Board of County Commissioners, won his first term.

County Appointments/Committee Assignments

  Commissioners made their County Appointments for 2007. They began by conveying themselves as Commissioners with Price as Chairman. The Commissioners also serve as the Board of Adjustment. Roger Baker was appointed County Manager. Jim Petrock was appointed County Attorney. Sharon Cate was appointed Administrative Assistant to the Commissioners. The Chief Building Inspector is Tony Petersen. The County’s Budget Official is Clorinda Smith. Wells Fargo, Colorado Trust plus, Colorado Trust, C-Safe and Colorado Diversified Trust were appointed as the County’s depository banks. The Weekly Register-Call was appointed the newspaper of record.

  For the most part, Commissioners will serve on the same CCI (Colorado Counties, Incorporated) steering committees. Commissioner Price represents the County on Tourism and Resorts, General Government, Taxation and Finance, Transportation and Telecommunications committees. Price also serves on the Eagles’ Nest Advisory Board, 911 Authority Board, Public Forfeiture Funds Committee and Gilpin Water District. Commissioner Nicholson serves on CCI committees for Health and Human Services. She also sits on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and committees for Community Health Assessment, National Association of Counties (NACo) Health committee, Youth Action, Human Services, Jefferson Center for Mental Health, Metro Mayors and County Commissioners Youth Awards and Colorado Limited Gaming Control. She and Commissioner Whitman serve on the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). Whitman represents Gilpin County at CCI’s committees on Public Lands, Agriculture Wildlife and Rural Affairs, Land Use and Natural Resources and Legislative committee. He also serves on the Upper Clear Creek Watershed Association, Gilpin Ambulance Board, Rollins Pass Restoration Association and the Labor and Employment steering committee of NACo. The Gaming Area Sub-regional planning Commission was removed from the list as that organization is no longer meeting.

Fire Department Withdraws Request

  Sitting as the Board of Adjustment, Commissioners accepted the withdrawal of a variance request by Colorado Sierra Fire Protection District. Planner Ray Rears told Commissioners the fire department had proposed building a garage addition at its station next to Taggert’s but has decided to explore another option at this time. A public hearing was opened for public input but no one came forward to speak either for or against the issue.

Clerk and Recorder’s Monthly Reports

  County Clerk Jessica Lovingier presented her November and December reports to the Treasurer. In November the County took in $104,385. Of that, $61,482 was disbursed to the Gilpin Treasurer; the Clerk retained $12, 232. The State received $29,095 and Central City received $1,575. In December, Gilpin County had revenues of $88,434. Lovingier said the final month of 2006 was not as busy as usual but also noted the offices had been closed four days for holidays and two more days due to snow. Of December’s revenues, $43,991 was disbursed to the County Treasurer, the Clerk retained $19,375, the State received $19,042 and Central City received $6,026.

Supplemental Revenue Appropriations

  County Finance Director Clorinda Smith requested and received approval of Resolution 06-37, appropriating supplemental revenues of $120,895 for the Parks and Recreation Department, $6,000 in unanticipated revenue for the Events Fund, $98,000 in revenue for the Human Service Fund and $120,000 in revenue to the Reserve Fund. The funds will cover the supplemental expenditure appropriations approved in December.

Potential FEMA Aid for Gilpin

  County Manager Roger Baker wryly confessed he had caused the recent snowstorms by taking time off over the holidays. The last time he’d vacationed at Christmastime was 1982, he said, the year of another large holiday blizzard. He then addressed the matter more gravely, informing Commissioners that he is in the process of requesting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement for some of the fuel and labor costs the County incurred cleaning up the recent snowfalls. Gilpin is eligible for funding for up to 75% of some of the costs of the initial (December 18-22) storm under its national classification as a disaster. Arapahoe, Custer, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson, Las Animas and Washington are other counties eligible for the relief, as are the cities of Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and Pueblo. The process is lengthy, he said. It will take many months and will produce its own blizzard (of paperwork). He will update Commissioners throughout the process. The second wave of the storm is not included in the federal disaster classification, he said, but the costs of cleaning up the recent windstorm effects may be. Meanwhile, Gilpinites continue to dig out. Baker will meet with the Sheriff and Road and Bridge Director to work out procedures for future storms. The goal is to develop a policy designating priority roads for snowplowing and potential assistance to help “vulnerable” residents with emergency access to their homes. This last may take the form of financial aid to hire a private contractor to clear their driveways. That has yet to be worked out, however, with liability, eligibility and funding limits to be considered. Baker said he is working on a database of private contractors for snow removal (similar to the list of plumbers, electricians, etc. maintained by the County’s Development Department) to distribute to residents via the County’s website and newsletter. All three Commissioners concurred that defining a true “emergency” situation is imperative. Nicholson noted there had been no emergencies during the recent storms that the County hadn’t been able to respond to, though there had been a couple of “challenging” ones. Baker confirmed that most phone calls were from residents upset that their driveways weren’t cleared, not about the County roads. He said Laubhan (Director of Gilpin Ambulance) had reported that County assistance to that agency’s calls had been good.

Rollins Pass: Two-Wheel Drive/Ride

  As the snow continued to accumulate and the wind commenced to blow, one inquiry arriving via e-mail from a non-Gilpinite was originally received with incredibility. A man asked if he could traverse Rollins Pass on a mountain bicycle. Further communication revealed that he meant next summer, not right now. His inquiry, once clarified, sparked a conversation regarding the County’s hopes to someday open Rollins Pass to two-wheel-drive vehicles. “The idea of the Rollins Pass Authority is still alive,” Whitman said, “the attorneys from the involved counties have met.” Gilpin’s attorney, Jim Petrock, noted the attorney from the United States Forest Service still needs to be in on the Rollins Pass talks. The process of opening the pass is ongoing but was described at a meeting last summer as a long-term project.

  Commissioners plan to attend a Department of Local Affairs meeting in Denver on January 31^st to discuss the local Government Limited Gaming Impact Program. Their next regular meeting is Tuesday, January 16^th.