Gilpin foreclosures predicted to rise in 2007

Lynn Volkens

02/08/2007 - Gilpin County Commissioners Al Price, Jeanne Nicholson and Forrest Whitman conducted County business in record time at their weekly meeting on Tuesday morning. Price gave his gavel a smart smack to begin the meeting at 9:00 a.m. and again just 44 minutes later to adjourn. In between, they covered the following business:

Sales Proposal

  During public comment Del Johnson presented Commissioners with an abbreviated proposal to sell the County new equipment to handle trash collected at the mid-County compacter. Johnson said his company, partnered with Key Bank, could provide a truck, trailer, seven containers and power equipment to on- and off-load the huge dumpsters at a rate that would handle two containers for the same costs the County currently pays to do one. Under a loan program usually available only to municipalities, the County could purchase the equipment immediately but defer payments until 2008, he said. He distributed a packet detailing the proposal and offered to return with a representative from the bank to do a full presentation. Commissioners referred the matter to County Manager Roger Baker and asked him to obtain professional input from Road and Bridge Director Earl Robinson and County Attorney Jim Petrock before returning to their table with his thoughts.

Treasurer’s Reports

  County Treasurer Alynn Huffman submitted several reports. The Treasurer’s report for December 2006 showed 99.9% of County taxes collected at month’s end. At that time, the County coffers totaled $10,607,635. Huffman told Commissioners the County finished the year with only nine outstanding cases of uncollected taxes. “I’m very proud of that,” she said. Huffman has said repeatedly that she and her staff work very hard to help Gilpinites resolve uncollected taxes. Of the nine cases in December, only four remain, she said. The other five have been cleared. Commissioners approved the Treasurer’s Semi Annual Report covering July 1st-December 31st, 2006. The County began that period with a grand total of all accounts at $6,799,262 and finished at $10,607,635. As the County’s Public Trustee, Huffman also submitted a report showing all fourth-quarter funds collected and disbursed through that office. Revenues generated of $487,653 were a near wash with disbursements of $486,479. Foreclosures in the County have been steadily rising since 2000 (15 foreclosures), through 2006 (46 foreclosures), Huffman’s report shows, and she offered her opinion that they would continue to rise in 2007. Huffman attributed the rise to overpriced housing in Colorado and “people getting in over their heads.” It’s not as bad as the metro newspapers have been reporting, however, she said. The Public Trustees have gone to the State and asked that future foreclosure reports include how many of the accounts have been resolved after filing. Currently the reports only state how many foreclosures are filed but not how many are cured or withdrawn – cases where final foreclosure is actually prevented. The current reporting system isn’t accurate, she said. Another new procedure will do away with the redemption period, said Huffman, and replace it with a cure period. That will also save homeowners money and help keep them in their homes.

  Huffman good-naturedly accepted congratulations from the County Manager for “not being indicted-like some county treasurers.” (Baker was referring to Mark Paschall, former JeffCo Treasurer, now facing charges of mishandling taxpayer dollars.)

Amendment 41 Hurts Students

  County Manager Baker provided a copy of one article from the Rocky Mountain news that reports potential ramifications of Amendment 41 on the granddaughter of a Gaming Division employee. Because her legal guardian (her grandfather) is a State employee, a Machebeuf High School student may be denied a $900 Children’s Hospital scholarship. Commissioner Price said his position as Commissioner is jeopardizing his daughter’s chances of getting scholarships and his wife’s annual bonus, thanks to Amendment 41. The Elks, he noted, have decided they won’t give out scholarships until the Amendment 41 entanglements are resolved. If they knowingly give a scholarship to someone affected by “41” they could face legal action, he said. All three Commissioners commented that the amendment, as written, doesn’t reflect the intent and needs to be fixed. However, that may take several years. Meanwhile, the amendment that was meant to limit lobbyist gifts to elected officials is penalizing students and finding marks that will hit close to home for this year’s Gilpin graduates.

Gaming Revenues – Year End

  Baker also distributed a copy of the Gaming Update from Colorado’s Division of Gaming. Of interest, he noted, is the suspension on January 18^th of the casino license for Cripple Creek casino, The Virgin Mule. The suspension forced the casino to close its doors until a mid-February hearing is conducted on 22 alleged charges of gaming violations. Baker commented that violations “have to be egregious to get the license pulled,” but also that the gaming industry is well-policed in Colorado.

  The update included city breakdowns and statewide figures for gaming revenues in 2006. Statewide, casino revenues totaled nearly $782.1 million. That’s up about 3.5 percent from $755.5 million in 2005. December’s revenues were softened by back-to-back weekend snowstorms, declining by 13.6 percent from November ($63.1 million) to December ($54.5 million). That’s also down 5.1 percent from December 2005 revenues of $57.4 million. 2006 revenues in Black Hawk totaled $554.4 million (up 4.3% from 2005). In Central City, revenues totaled $74.5 million (up 2.7%) and Cripple Creek’s revenues of $153 million were up by 1.4%. Last month alone, Black Hawk’s 20 casinos generated revenues of $38.6 million; Central City’s six casinos, $5.5 million; and Cripple Creek’s 19 casinos, $10.2 million.

Victims of Crime in Gilpin County

  Gilpin Victim Services Project Director Monica Woznicki reported 645 victims served during 2006 via a Victims Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) grant funded program. Of the $38,000 awarded, Gilpin had used $28,500 at year-end 2006. The funding pays the salaries of Woznicki and a Victim’s Advocate to provide crisis intervention services for victims of crimes. Those services include social and human services (medical, health, rehabilitative, legal, translation, financial assistance, obtaining records, and other support services). Gilpin partners with Jefferson County to provide some of the services and the VALE is part of that partnership through the First Judicial District.

  The fourth quarter Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) report was also provided by Woznicki. It shows eleven volunteers working to provide services to victims. The volunteers tallied 418 total hours providing services to crime victims for that three-month period ending in December 2006. This report also provides a breakdown of the types of crimes that resulted in victims needing help. Of the 645 total victims served, the largest single cause category was domestic violence with 142 victims. There were 97 victims of assault. Woznicki noted that she was seeing a decrease in the overall numbers for 2006 that did not fit with previous years nor was there any discernable pattern to account for the decline.

Last Shot Liquor License Approved

  Roy and Barbara Stewart, the new owners of Pete’s Beaver Park Inn, which they will reopen (maybe as soon as Saturday) as “The Last Shot,” obtained their Colorado Liquor Retail License. They had been issued a temporary license last week in order to close on the sale and continue operating. Commissioners unanimously approved the license transfer then, reflecting general community curiosity, asked what the new menu might look like. Roy Stewart told them more salads and fish would be added but all menu transitions would take place gradually. A grand opening is planned for later this spring.

Severance Lodge BLE

  County Planner Ray Rears presented a Boundary Line Elimination (BLE 07-01) combining three Severance Lodge lots into one parcel of 7.31 acres. With Commissioners’ prompt approval, applicant Charles Boyd, III, also earned a BLE bounty of $1,000.

Community Center Closed for Repairs

  Parks and Recreation Director Penny Kipley will be closing the Community Center on Friday February 16, 2007, in order to have the lower level floors resealed. Kipley’s notice said this will be the third coat of sealant applied, and should resolve some “leftover issues” from the prior sealing in December.

Field Trips Near and Far

  Commissioners Nicholson and Whitman are scheduled to travel to Washington D.C. in March as part of a lobbying effort with Colorado Counties Incorporated. All three Commissioners reached a consensus that their focus this year will be on Health and Human Services, Secure Rural Schools and opposing unfunded mandates.

  Following their regular meeting, the three were headed to mid-Gilpin for a site tour of the new Road and Bridge facility.