Weekly Register-Call/ Gilpin County News

No route through Central City or Black Hawk

Gilpin County Commissioners Buddy Schmalz, Jeanne Nicholson and Forrest Whitman renewed the contract with Jefferson County Public Health, revisited the County’s zoning regulations, reviewed Colorado Department of Transportation’s plan to widen Highway 119, as well as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s mine reclamation work, plus several other issues for the good of the order at their June 29, 2010 meeting.

Silver Sneakers

Kathi Lambert of the Parks and Recreation Department was told to pursue bringing the Silver Sneakers program to Gilpin’s senior population, once the County’s attorney reviews the contractual requirements. Silver Sneakers is a fitness program for seniors, funded through individual insurance plans and Medicare. A reimbursement rate of $3 per visit means Gilpin County will receive up to $30 per month for each senior citizen who uses the Community Center, whether that’s for a fitness class, walking the track or trail or using the cardio and weight equipment (but not swimming). Healthways, the managing company, guarantees the County a minimum of $250 per month, until the program is self-sustaining (50 members), to cover the cost of two program instructors, regardless how many seniors visit. Another $250 is paid annually for equipment replacement and/or marketing the program. Equipment and music is provided by Healthways at no cost to the County. Healthways will also pay the County $200 per month for program administration. Bringing in the program could net the County additional annual revenue of at least $5,650. Commissioner Nicholson suggested that revenue, after paying any program costs, be put into a scholarship fund for seniors whose insurance doesn’t cover the program.

Parks and Recreation staff presented a new promotional DVD they’ve created for use at the Community Center.

Gilpin County/JeffCo Public Health

Commissioners, acting as the Board of Health, renewed the arrangement with Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) to provide community health and environmental health services to Gilpin County. Commissioners signed a contract good through June 30, 2011. Commissioner Schmalz said the JeffCo arrangement has worked very well, although there was “some uncertainty” when it started.

Ann Marie Bailey is employed by JCPH as Gilpin’s Public Health Coordinator. Gilpin County reimburses JCPH for Bailey’s salary and benefits plus 15% to cover administrative costs. Nurse home visits to high risk families and children with special needs are billed to Gilpin at the rate of $65 per hour. Bailey is charged with identifying priority public health problems and solutions, directing, monitoring and evaluating public health programs, investigating and controlling certain communicable diseases, policy and budget recommendations, reporting and more. Per the contract, Bailey maintains a Gilpin office (located in the Public Health building near the fairgrounds).

Craig Sanders, also employed by JCPH, has been handling Gilpin’s environmental health services (individual Sewage Disposal Systems, well tests, food establishment, child care facility, school, body art studio and swimming pool inspections plus administration, program and policy development, etc.). Gilpin pays JCPH at an hourly rate of $65 for environmental health services.

CSFS 2010 Grant

When Commissioners decided to fund the study and creation of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, one reason was that having a CWPP in place opened up grant funding opportunities. Now, Gilpin has been granted $48,466 from the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) for fire mitigation work around County facilities. The County must contribute matching cash plus an in-kind (office accommodations) valued at $7,920. County Manager Baker noted Commissioners had planned for that match in this year’s budget. Fire mitigation work will be done at the Justice Center/ Community Center complex, the Road and Bridge building, and the Library. These areas are considered Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas adjacent to critical need or otherwise highly valued facilities. Commissioner Nicholson commented the County had invested a lot of money for these structures and it would be irresponsible not to act to protect them. The work covers 52 acres and is to be completed by September 1, 2011. Some of the funding will be used to hire a half-time CWPP Implementation Coordinator. Most of the work will be done next year.

Zoning Revisions

Community Planner Ray Rears distributed a copy of the County’s current Zoning Code with proposed revisions to hearing notification procedures, circumstances in which Administrative Variance Fees will be reduced-or doubled; Use-by-Right for areas zoned Heavy Commercial and Use-by-Right for all zones regarding utilities and communications, and regarding changes to an established cemetery or grave yard; screening requirements when there are more than 4 operable and/or 1 inoperable vehicles in residentially zoned areas; definitions; light emissions; buffers and screens; wetlands setbacks; re-vegetation requirements; and exemptions from building fees for green-built, alternative energy and fire proofing/prevention utilizations in building. The code addressing the number of animals allowed was clarified and is broken out by the specific animal and acreage. Rears will hone some of the revisions and Commissioners will look at them again at a future meeting prior to approving them.

Superfund Site Update

Jim Lewis and Steve Laudeman told Commissioners their CDPHE project, with input from the Environmental Protection Agency, will soon address mining reclamation work in the Virginia Canyon area and along the main stem of North Clear Creek, plus a potential Chase Gulch project in Black Hawk. Waste rock is being removed from these areas and relocated at a repository site near Virginia Canyon (Pewabic Mountain). The project is being coordinated with the Highway 119 widening project that CDOT will do south of Black Hawk. Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of waste rock will be moved to the repository and then another estimated 10,000 cubic yards of fill rock from the Highway 119 construction area will be deposited on top. The proposed haul route bypasses Black Hawk and Central City by using Miners Mesa Road to Lake Gulch Road to Missouri Flats Road (or alternatively Virginia Canyon Road). It’s not yet known how many truck trips per day the project will require. The Virginia Canyon area will be dealt with this summer, followed by the North Clear Creek project in Summer 2011. The Chase Gulch project, if done, would likely occur in Fall 2010.

Highway 119 Project

Russell Cox and Kevin Brown updated Commissioners on their CDOT project, the widening of Highway 119 below Black Hawk. Blasting should start this fall, said Cox, with the main construction starting next spring. This project includes widening the highway to four lanes, curve straightening, creating a multi-use creekside trail, stabilizing and restoring the creek (with fish habitat) and addressing flood risks in the box canyon behind the sanitation facility. The project is being done in phases from the Forks of Creek area up to Black Hawk. The turn lane at Douglas Mountain will be addressed in this phase. A future phase includes, when funding is available, a wildlife bridge at the southern end. The entire project budget is estimated at $45 million. Eventually, the trail will also run the length of this stretch of 119 and will include historical markers with informational input from County Manager Baker.

Gasification Project

A proposed bio mass system at the Community Center, which would not only heat County facilities but provide electricity through a gasification process, has been put on the back burner by Commissioners, as “premature.” More information should be gathered, they said, before they consider the next step – a feasibility study for Gilpin’s location. The County is currently working on a performance contract study to determine a procedure that requires contractors to guarantee their end result will work in Gilpin. If it doesn’t they forfeit their pay. The gasification project is to be evaluated for that process as well.

DOLA Grant Applications

With the July 1 deadline looming for the 2010-2011 Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Gaming Impact Fund grant applications, Commissioners authorized Eagles Nest Child Care Center, Mountain Family Health Center and Jefferson Center for Mental Health as approved applicants, although they hadn’t yet seen the actual applications. They review and prioritize those at a later date but gave their authorization to enable the applicants to meet the deadline.

Connector Stop at Roy’s

At the request of County residents, Commissioner Whitman asked that a bus stop be considered at Roy’s Last Stop. Commissioners directed Baker to contact SRS, the contractor providing the bus service and see what they can do.

Budget Concerns

Commissioners, wanting to see just how Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61 would impact the County, decided to review the budget with those revenue cuts in mind. If those measures pass, Commissioners will need to make enough cuts to get all the way through the year without using the Tax Anticipation Loan they have relied on in past years. Lobbyists, Colorado Counties, Incorporated (CCI), has requested Gilpin share the results with other counties.

Attorney’s Update

County Attorney Jim Petrock told Commissioners Sheriff Bruce Hartman’s challenge of sheriff candidate Jerry Yocom’s ballot certification had been denied by Judge Fred Rodgers last week.

A new complaint from Philip Wolf has been entered against the County and Petrock, personally, in United States District Court stemming from Commissioners 2008 denial of use of his land as a rock quarry. Petrock said he would be getting input from County Technical Services, Incorporated and that a request order would be filed with the court asking that Wolf be restricted from filing more such cases. Petrock said the number of times Wolf has sent paperwork for such cases to the County has numbered “well into the double digits,” although Wolf hasn’t followed through on all of them. Commissioner Schmalz said the cases had become a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Public Comment

A Central City resident volunteered her help in researching a legal or legislative solution regarding the ATV and dirt bike riders who fill the areas around Central City cemeteries with their parked trucks and trailers every weekend. She had pictures to show people camping there, too. She told Commissioners the matter couldn’t be ignored and if the laws are unclear about that area, it needs to be straightened out.

A mid-County resident told Commissioners there needs to be a cost efficiency study for all of the County’s departments as some departments are overstaffed and some are understaffed. She advised Commissioners that department managers are very subjective in reporting and the study should be done by an objective party. Make it a priority, she urged. She also recommended the County not fill vacated employee positions unless absolutely necessary.

Heads Up

There is no Gilpin County Commissioner meeting next week. Commissioners meet next on July 13, 2010.