“Your non-sanctuary county resolution does not align with the values of our communities,” declared Alan Muñoz Valenciano, regional organizing manager for Voces Unidas de las Montañas, during the open public comment portion of Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting. “Referring, in that resolution, to immigrants arriving in Garfield County as a significant public health risk and responsible for committing crimes perpetuates racial stereotypes,” he said.
The BOCC unanimously passed a non-sanctuary county resolution on March 4 in response to an influx of immigrants last winter. “You’re trying to deport our family members and trying to tear families apart,” Muñoz continued. “But my question is, how is it making Garfield County a better place? We must recognize that diversity is a pillar of strength for our community yet your resolution undermines these values.”
He said that members of the Latino community are part of current county residents that the BOCC said it would prefer to support. “Our data suggest that Garfield County continues to fail to meet this duty, especially supporting Latinos, Latinas and immigrants who have been here for 10, 15, 20 years,” he said. On behalf of Voces, Muñoz asked the BOCC to rescind the resolution.
In other news, the BOCC, minus Commissioner Tom Jankovsky, approved a $120,701.92 abatement for Glenwood Caverns LLC due to an overpayment, two event liquor licenses and most of the consent agenda. Commissioners discussed a contract snag for musical artists due to perform at this year’s county fair. At issue is how the county must pay the artists’ out-of-pocket costs if the show is canceled due to illness. The BOCC approved continuing contract negotiations.
YouthZone, the county air quality team, the Yampah Mountain High School Teen Parent Program and River Bridge Regional Center made their monthly presentations. Sharon Longhurst-Pritt, director of the county Department of Human Services (DHS), stated that the total EBT/EFT disbursements for March came to $1,009,346.29. Upon a request from West Mountain Regional Health Alliance for $35,000 to plug a funding gap to help with food insecurity and housing challenges, Longhurst-Pritt said that DHS has the ability to absorb the request into its budget.
Commissioners had previously stated that the county needs to tighten things up financially, which prompted Longhurst-Pritt to make the offer. The BOCC accepted her offer. “I couldn’t support [the $35,000 request] if it came from general fund dollars because we don’t have any,” said Commission Chair John Martin. “But if it is an item that can be absorbed by [DHS], I would not have any objections to that without a supplement on her budget. It’s using funds that we have already.”
The BOCC heard updates from NEO Connect’s Diane Kruse about Garfield County broadband, the Colorado Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting and the county air quality team. On a scale from hazardous to good, county air quality data for ozone in Garfield County show a decrease in good days from 309 in 2019 to 266 in 2023. The number of good days for particulate matter for the same time period decreased from 365 in 2019 to 364 in 2023. Five unhealthy days of ozone levels for sensitive groups were reported in 2020, four in 2021 and one in 2023. Particulate matter levels increased to unhealthy levels for four days in 2020 and two days in 2021. Battlement Mesa was the site of a mobile air monitoring station from 2012 to 2015 and again since 2016. A mobile site is also in Parachute. Carbondale and Rifle have permanent sites.
At the end of the meeting, commissioners discussed logistics for the upcoming April 30 meeting to appoint the new Garfield County library trustee. As of Monday, there was still some confusion about who would ask questions of the candidates. Library board of trustees president Adrian Rippy-Sheehy has been invited to sit on the panel with the BOCC but Commissioner Mike Samson cautioned that this would set a precedent.
“Always before, we have asked the questions. Nobody else has asked the questions,” he said. “And it is the three of us that will make the decision as to who will be the board member. She will not have input into that or part of the decision-making as to who will be the next board member.”
Reducing the amount of questions to be posed to the 12 applicants from four per panel member to one was also discussed with no decisions made about how to do that. Commissioners would need to hold a special meeting to resolve this prior to April 30 since they will not be meeting again as a board until early May. The county attorney was instructed to contact the library for more information. A special meeting has not yet been scheduled.