Pine beetles invade north Gilpin

Lynn Volkens

05/01/2008 - Gilpin County Commissioners Jeanne Nicholson, Ron Slinger and Forrest Whitman met Tuesday morning with an agenda that stretched from Gilpin Past to Gilpin Future.

150^th Anniversary Party

  Commissioners ante’d up $3,500 to the Sesquicentennial Committee for the 2009 celebration of John Gregory’s discovery of gold. Commissioners had previously pledged $2,000 but the committee needs a total of $7,500 as a match for a Colorado Tourism Office grant of $15,000. Commissioners pitched in all but $2,000 of the additional request and asked the committee to visit Black Hawk and Central City for further contributions. They noted the County’s budget is also tight and hoped the municipalities would also look hard to find money to help. There is a deadline of June 1 for the CTO grant so the committee must come up with the match by then. During public comment, a Gilpin woman said she would like Commissioners to take a look at the Historical Society’s financial plan for this event, as they are involved in the funding and planning. She said she had heard members comment that if they could get the money from the County, they wouldn’t have to spend their own funds.

Treasurer’s Report

  County Treasurer Alynn Huffman, presented her March report. At that time, County coffers contained $5,699,214. 29.53% of County taxes had been collected. Huffman uses several accounts to hold County funds before disbursements. The funds are drawing interest at 3.07% to 3.81%.

EPA Cleans Up

  In Russell Gulch and Nevadaville, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) are planning to remove mine waste and construct a sedimentation basin to improve the quality of water draining into North Clear Creek. They have already built a new dam in Nevadaville. Gilpin County created a land parcel to contain one basin and is allowing another to be constructed on a County-held conservation easement near the Young Ranch. At the EPA/CDPHE’s request, Commissioners signed a consent form granting them access over County-owned American Flag Extension and Northrop mining claims in Nevadaville.

  The EPA/CDPHE project will hopefully improve riparian habitat and clean up North Clear Creek to the point in can once again support brown trout.

Mitigating Beetle/Fire Risks 

  Gilpin’s CSU Extension Director, Irene Shonle, asked Commissioners to consider developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), and applying to become a Community Demonstration Project for the Front Range Fuels Treatment Roundtable. She would also like them to buy a chipper for small length logs and slash. Shonle said future grant opportunities with the Forest Service will hinge on having a CWPP. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act gives proactive communities funding priority. The fire risk is increasing, she said, thanks to the pine beetle and drier climate. That makes the need for a CWPP more pressing.  Shonle estimated the CWPP would cost about $20,000, but it could be more. It involves mapping the County’s wildland-urban interface, assessing fire fuel conditions by area, planning ways to prepare for wildfire, determining areas to be protected, and creating an implementation plan. Summit, Teller, Eagle and Clear Creek Counties currently have a CWPP in place. Commissioners directed Shonle and County Manager Roger Baker to research the cost of doing a CWPP, taking into consideration the County can do much of the mapping in-house, the Yankee Hill and Lump Gulch areas have been evaluated already by the Forest Service and some subdivisions have already been mitigated. Commissioners will then decide how to proceed.

  Front Range Fuels Treatment Roundtable is looking to select one community as a demonstration project. If Gilpin County is chosen, the County could obtain more than $50,000 in funding for technical support in forest health action. Local residents will be encouraged to actively participate. Shonle said the pine beetle infestation has been officially declared an epidemic. Gilpin is 22% infested, she said, with 17,000 acres of infested lodgepole pines, mostly in the area between Skydale Subdivision and the Moffat Tunnel. Last year there were only 1,900 acres of infested trees. “The pine beetle will change the county even more than gambling did,” she told Commissioners. They directed her to pursue the project. A Gilpin resident, during public comment, requested Commissioners try to organize a group meeting and coordinate efforts and funding from as many agencies as possible.

  Purchasing a chipper helps tie the CWPP fuel reduction efforts to homeowner thinning efforts and to Forest Service fuel mitigation efforts, said Shonle. The chipper could be used to prepare fuel for the Road and Bridge biomass heater, saving the County approximately $35,000 per year by eliminating chipper rental fees and reducing hauling costs. Having the chipper would also make it easier for the county to dispose of the shorter log lengths produced by homeowner mitigation efforts. (The County only accepts 12 foot lengths now.) Her attempts to acquire grant funding for a chipper have been unsuccessful, Shonle said. A used chipper costs around $85,000. She’d like to have a chipper in May so it will be ready for the mass tree clean-up that comes each June. Commissioners directed Shonle to get expert help in determining the best machine, then put $100,000 at her disposal and told her to go shopping.

  Shonle was congratulated for the success of energy workshops held last Saturday.

They were well attended and the only complaint was that meeting room temperature in the Community Center was too cold for comfort.

Biomass Workshop

  On May 8^th, Gilpin’s Road and Bridge facility will be the site for a Front Range Roundtable workshop on heating with biomass. The day-long event will bring in members of federal and state governmental agencies, schools, environmental groups, and people in private business to look at where wood works, funding sources, and operations.

Neenan Wins Again

  Commissioners again selected Neenan, the Design/Build firm that built the Road and Bridge facility, to design the Justice Center parking structure and evidence room. In making this selection, Commissioners also committed to have Neenan do the construction. Facilities Manager Bill Paulman was directed to bring Commissioners a contract specifying time line and costs. Public meetings will be held for input on the building design.

Connector Expansion Stalled

  LCS Transportation Consultant’s Mike Felschow, presented a scenario of phasing in expanded bus (Connector) service to Nederland and Idaho Springs over the next seven years. Commissioners weren’t satisfied that Felschow really understood the County’s needs or what they hoped to accomplish with the service. The proposed plan did not seem equitable to north-Gilpin residents as there was more service in the Black Hawk and Central City areas. Commissioners clarified what they were looking for and directed Felschow to return with a revised feasibility plan after making sure maps and information he was using to develop the plan were accurate. Gilpin County paid $11,000 of the $30,000 bill for the feasibility study. The Colorado Department of Transportation paid the rest.

Can You Hear Us Now?

  Inadequate amplification of proceedings at the Commissioners’ table has long plagued those in the gallery of the meeting room. Events Coordinator Vicki Nemec proposed replacing the sound system in the room at a cost of about $1,500. She also proposed purchasing a mobile sound system to be used in other County buildings for large community events and meetings, also at a cost of $1,500. Commissioners directed her to purchase the mobile system and set it up in the meeting room. There are seldom events that would conflict with their meetings, they noted, so the mobile system will serve both purposes for now. Replacing the meeting room system can wait for next year’s budget, they said.

Paid “Volunteers”

  Gilpin County currently compensates volunteers who serve on advisory boards, commissions and committees $50 per attended meeting, up to $600 per year. Some volunteers are attending more than the 12 meetings that amount pays for and County Manager Baker asked Commissioners to address the compensation policy. They decided to leave the annual cap at $600 and let volunteers choose how many and which meetings to attend. “The intent is to foster participation of many people,” said Commissioner Nicholson, “and not create jobs for a few.”

No Tax Break

  The large (Tier VI) casinos in Gilpin County generate around 93% of state gaming revenues. That source accounts for almost 60% of County revenues. In 2007, Gilpin’s gaming revenues made up $10,317,452 of total annual revenues, $17,525,948. By comparison, the County took in $3,298,539 in taxes, last year, the next largest source of revenue. Commissioner Slinger expressed concern for the smaller casinos, but all three Commissioners oppose any reduction in gaming tax rates for Tier VI casinos. They directed County Manager Baker to draft a letter to the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission of the Division of Gaming officially stating that position. In planning this year’s budget, Commissioners had projected the gaming revenues to be up 8%. It now looks as if that will be more like 3%, Commissioner Nicholson noted. Commissioners are hoping the revenue decline will be short-term.

  A ballot question is being proposed to ask state voters to increase casino bet limits (currently set at $5), add new games and extend casino operating hours. County Commissioners have not taken a formal position on any of those issues, as yet.

Head’s UP!

  Spring is coming-and so is the rockslide season. Snowmelt over the next few months increases the danger of falling rocks. Highway 119, three miles south of Black Hawk, is considered one of the state’s riskiest areas for rockslides, as is an area on Highway 119 about a quarter mile south of Black Hawk’s Main Street. Highway 6, between Tunnels One and Two, is another high risk area.

  CDOT plans to begin widening Highway 119 from two to four lanes, one mile south from Black Hawk, later this year. Before they do that, they plan to straighten a curve on Highway 119, a mile north of the intersection with Highway 6. That project is to begin later this spring and continue through the summer.   

  A federal land swap with Michael Coors, developer of the Eclipse Snow Park on Fall River Road, could mean public parking, trailhead facilities and access to the James Peak Wilderness Area. If that happens, Gilpin County may see increased traffic, particularly along Bald Mountain Road, the County Manager warned.

  Commissioners meet next on May 6^th.