2007 pay increases for County employees

was to add the name of Jan Petersen to the license. The County had already forwarded the renewal application to the State Liquor Enforcement Office when it had been originally submitted to Commissioners back in December, 2006. The original license was issued only in her partner’s name, John Dunham, because more paperwork was needed from Petersen.  With that paperwork in order, Petersen’s name is now added and will appear on the next hardcopy of the license issued a year from now.

  The second license, a temporary liquor license permit, was approved for Roy and Barbara Stewart, the new owners of Pete’s Beaver Park Inn. They plan to rename the restaurant/bar, “The Last Shot.” The temporary license allows them to begin operating the establishment immediately, though Roy Stewart said they would probably close for about a week to make the transition. Pete Graham, longtime owner of the local haunt, said he was taking a year off to relax and weigh his options. Commissioners wished all parties well and thanked Pete for his contributions to the community over the years. Directing her comments to the Stewarts, Commissioner Nicholson told them Pete’s had been an important part of the community and the site has served as an important community meeting point for a long time. “I hope it will continue,” she said, adding “and that no one is over-served alcohol and no minors are served alcohol.” The Stewarts assured her of their best intentions.

Animals and Roads – Public Comment

  A Gilpin resident of Meadow Way (S. Beaver Creek area) asked Commissioners if there was any oversight of the animal control service Gilpin County pays Clear Creek County to provide. Noting that Gilpin pays the neighboring County $125,000 annually for animal control services, and also contributed $500,000 for the new animal shelter located west of Idaho Springs, he said he didn’t think Gilpin was getting its money’s worth. Dogs running loose are a problem in his area and he said he had not seen the Clear Creek animal control vehicle nor any animal control services there. Commissioner Price advised the man to call the Gilpin Sheriff (303-582-5500) the next time there is a problem and Gilpin’s dispatch would handle it from there.

  Later in the meeting County Manager Roger Baker said there had been periods of time when he agreed that animal control service was not up to the level Gilpin County expected. As a result, the County withheld payment for one month. A recent decline in service was attributed to lack of access to some areas due to snow and staff issues in Clear Creek County. Baker said he was working with Clear Creek to resolve the problems, and that oversight of the service is ongoing. Commissioners all commented they had observed the Clear Creek animal officer driving the County in the animal control truck in the north end as well as other areas of the County. Nicholson wondered if the resident had called to get assistance for animal control or was reporting his observances only. They were not consistent with her observances, she said.

  The man also expressed dissatisfaction with road conditions in Mountain Meadows. Homes there are occupied year-round, now, he said, and the roads that once accessed them as seasonal summer cabins have not been improved. At fourteen-feet-wide or less, the roads are too narrow to safely handle two-way traffic and are hazardous to children and people walking. Recent snowfall has made them even narrower. Emergency vehicle access is also a concern. He said residents there deserve the same attention to their roads as those living in Bun Gun, Colorado Sierra, Paradise Valley Estates and other Gilpin areas. He faulted the County, including prior Commissioners, for issuing building, well, and septic permits to develop the area but doing nothing to improve the infrastructure. He told Commissioners to buy the necessary easements to widen the roads. Commissioner Nicholson said the Board would take the matter under advisement and respond to the man later in writing. During the County Manager’s report, further into the meeting, Commissioners returned to the subject. Commissioner Whitman commented that residents of the Mountain Meadows/Beaver Creek area are not in agreement as to what should happen to their roads. One homeowners’ association has attended Commissioner meetings more than once to say leave their roads alone, he noted. Baker agreed there isn’t any unanimity in the area on that issue and commented that it would be “phenomenally expensive” to buy easements. Nicholson also noted that well permits are issued by the State, not Gilpin County. The County also does no work on Paradise Valley Estate roads as they are all privately owned. Commissioners directed Baker to write a letter responding to the man’s concerns.

Human Services Presentation

  Families United Director Deb Turnham updated Commissioners on services the organization provides to Gilpin families. They work primarily with dysfunctional families and children at risk of being removed from their families, she said. Their goal is preventing that removal unless the child’s safety or welfare is in danger. The service provided by Families United is different from social services in that the family and child have a voice and input into the types of services and degree to which they participate. Those services include parent education, therapeutic crisis intervention, family problem solving and conflict resolution training, life skills, alcohol and drug education, academic help and family therapy – all offered in the home when possible. Families who need the help are often more open to getting it when no law enforcement is involved, said the Family Services representative. There is a problem in Gilpin with “lack of respite,” said Turnham. Those parenting children with emotional, mental or behavioral difficulties need a break but can’t always get even a few hours away because of the rural, sometimes isolated location of their homes. Transportation to some of the services is a problem, especially in the mid-north parts of the County. Nicholson told Turnham that Commissioners are working to expand public transportation to those areas via the Connector bus service. Turnham said Families United had been helping seven Gilpin children and had provided support and services with enough success that five of them had been able to remain in their homes and community. Removing them from their homes is not only hard on the kids and their families, it is expensive, she noted, costing about $5,000 per child for out-of-home placement. Gilpin County provides $5,000 annually to fund Family United services to Gilpin County residents. The organization is primarily grant-funded with only a few fee-based services. Commissioner Price asked if the representatives were seeing any gang/drug-related problems within the County and were told not at this time.

Ameristar Warehouse in Braecher Park

  A public hearing regarding Black Hawk based casino, Ameristar’s proposal to build a four-story warehouse in the Braecher Park area drew only one resident who attended the meeting to speak personally. She was against allowing the required special use permit (needed because the warehouse is for storage of materials not for use on site). Citing the area along Highway 119 near the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) building, she called Commissioners’ attention to the failure of the required berm and trees “all dead,” to screen the building from highway view. “The whole area is becoming an eyesore,” she said, expressing surprise that Colorado Sierra residents weren’t at the meeting, en masse, to object. Her other concerns included increased truck traffic as semi-trucks bring in deliveries and smaller trucks shuttle the supplies (mostly hotel goods, paper towels, toilet paper, soap  etc.) to the casino below. Ameristar representatives, Rich Segro and Jack Nevin, had outlined their plan to “be good neighbors” by realigning the frontage road from the highway to include access to a nearby business (Renaissance Solutions) and plow that driveway as needed. They also intend to drill a commercial well and install a 135,000-gallon water storage tank that will be available to local firefighters as needed. Their well permit will allow use of 210,000 gallons per year, they said, though they expect to use only 60,000 gallons if the full ration of 15 gallons per day per person on site (three employees) is utilized. The impact of the commercial well and storage tank on nearby residential wells was another concern for the resident. The woman lives further north of Braecher Park but objected to the pollution and noise impacts the development would bring out into the County from the gaming area. “Commissioners should not even consider allowing gaming-related activity out in the County,” she said. “We were promised this would not happen when the County first started with gaming.” “First use/first right,” should be honored for residents, she maintained. Her views were all backed up by an Aspen Springs resident who had written a letter asking Commissioners to deny the special use permit. Commissioners shared the height and landscape/screening concerns, but noted the building is allowable per the County’s zoning and Master Plan – except, said Commissioner Nicholson, it isn’t necessarily in harmony with the surrounding area and doesn’t promote economic diversity as intended by the Master Plan. Commissioners voted to continue the public hearing until February 6, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. and asked Ameristar representatives to provide traffic study results and further landscape ideas.

Zoning Violations – Please Stop

  At the final public comment period, the north-County woman returned to the Commissioners’ table to ask them to stop allowing the County’s Planning Department to negotiate arrangements that violate zoning code. A mobile home had been allowed in her area, violating zoning code to start with, she said, then had been allowed to remain for six months in an arrangement okayed by the Planning Department. The deadline for removal of the mobile home was December 15^th; however, winter conditions are such that it cannot be removed now and will probably be there until spring. Change the procedure, she requested, so such “deals” can no longer be made. Commissioners directed Baker to investigate and report back on his findings.

Monthly Departmental Reports

  The Detentions Division’s December 2006 report showed 65 total bookings for that month (54 male). The average daily population in the jail was 51 inmates. December’s new bookings included eight gaming-related cases, seven domestic-related cases and 17 DUI/DWAI arrests. Seven of those arrested were Gilpin residents. The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office accounted for 41 of the arrests. Colorado State Patrol made nine arrests, followed by Black Hawk Police Department with eight arrests and the Division of Gaming with seven. Central City Police Department had no arrestees ending up in the County jail last month.

  Human Services Director Betty Donovan’s December report showed holiday gift donations had been made for over 30 Gilpin families, brightening the holidays for at least 40 children. The gifts were made possible by local businesses, governmental groups, service organizations and many others. The donation of a large refrigerator/freezer from the City of Portland has allowed for increased food bank items. There are 55-65 individuals participating in that program per month. The food stamp program is the largest, most utilized program. Total caseload for all services was 249. Meals on Wheels and the Senior Luncheons continue to be well utilized.

  Child Protection and Youth Services had received ten referrals over the past three months and had a current caseload (in December) of 15 cases with five subsidized adoption cases. Parental rights for one child had been terminated in November, the report stated, when the child had been placed with the maternal grandmother. The Colorado Benefits Management System, long plagued by computer software problems, is finally generating reportable data. Donovan had included that first report tracking participation in the various programs. There were no veterans services participants reported. The County is currently in need of a Veterans Officer.

County Salaries Too Low

  By the time the Commissioners reached their 10:30 a.m. agenda item, a report of the 2006 Market and Salary Range Analysis, the gallery of their meeting room had filled with County employees. Commissioners had contracted with Mountain States Employers Council, Incorporated (MSEC), to do a comparison study of Gilpin County’s salaries against similar rates of pay in the labor market. The conclusion: not all of Gilpin County’s current pay rates are at competitive levels. The County is competitive at the lower grade positions, but needs to catch up at the higher grades, said Nicki Aggers of MSEC. Her recommendation was to adjust salaries by an average five percent pay increase in 2007, at a cost to the County of approximately $820,000. Commissioner Nicholson commented the survey “was extremely thorough” (Aggers said MSEC sourced thousands of salary comparisons matching them to an 80% similarity of job duties, responsibilities and skill levels), but that it was salaries only. She asked if MSEC could also survey benefits packages. Gilpin County’s benefits are considered particularly generous. Can do, Aggers said, for $3,500-$5,000. Commissioners decided to postpone implementation of new salary ranges until July 28, 2007 in anticipation of gaming revenues that generally arrive in August. At that time the ranges per this MSEC grid will be:

Salary Grade 10: $18,700-$27,100
Salary Grade 11: $21,800-$31,600
Salary Grade 12: $25,300-$36,700
Salary Grade 13: $27,400-$39,800
Salary Grade 14: $30,700-$44,500
Salary Grade15: $33,600-$48,600
Salary Grade 16: $36,600-$53,000
Salary Grade 17: $41,600-$60,200
Salary Grade 18: $47,300-$68,500
Salary Grade 19: $51,700-$77,500
Salary Grade 20: $59,400-$89,200
Salary Grade 21: $63,400-$95,200
Salary Grade 22: $67,400-$101,200
Salary Grade 23: $71,400-$107,200

  Parks and Recreation Part-Time/Temporary Employee hourly pay ranges start at $8.65 under the new plan and reach a maximum of $22.45.

Insurance Companies Require Drop Insurance

  Allstate Insurance Company inspectors may visit Gilpin County residences in the near future, Baker said. That company, and possibly others as well, is visiting their clients’ properties located in wildfire risk areas. If fire mitigation isn’t done, the companies may refuse to insure the property, said Baker. He distributed an article from the Rocky Mountain News detailing Allstate’s intent to protect themselves from fire-related claims by insisting on fire mitigation measures. The article states that they have begun inspecting nearly 800 homes located in 22 Colorado zip codes. 80403 is one of the zip codes they’ll be visiting, warned Baker.

  Commissioners adjourned the meeting at noon. They meet again January 30^th.