The Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) were urged to sign a pledge to protect elections on Monday. Heather Exby, former dean and vice-president of Colorado Mountain College’s Spring Valley campus, explained that “pro-democracy groups” have said that Garfield County is an area of concern for the midterms, stating that a small group of Garfield County residents came together to offer the pledge throughout the county.

“I never thought I’d be here talking about election integrity, but it is an issue that we see weekly, daily out there,” said former state Rep. Gregg Rippy, who is also a member of the group. “The freedom to vote and have our votes counted is the foundation of our democracy.” 

Before he read the short pledge, he pointed out that there is no problem with election integrity in Garfield County. “But if we have people watching this and thinking, ‘My vote doesn’t count’ and they don’t show up because they believe that their vote is not going to be counted, there’s [a problem],” he said. “So that’s why I’m on board with this election pledge.” 

Commissioner Perry Will said that the Garfield County Clerk’s office just went through an audit without issue. “This is just our attempt to recognize that,” Rippy responded. “We really want people to feel comfortable that their vote is counted and important.” 

The GarCo citizens group pledge encourages people to register to vote and go to the polls in November.

Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky gave a shout out to past county clerks Mildred Alsdorf and Jean Alberico, thanking Alberico for choosing Clear Ballot voting machines in 2018 instead of Dominion, which was at the heart of false election fraud allegations in 2020.

County Clerk and Recorder Jackie Harmon told the BOCC that ballots go in the mail Oct. 6; early voting centers open Oct. 19. “The ballot is two pages and four sides so we highly encourage people to return them to the ballot drop boxes,” Harmon explained, adding that it will cost two stamps to return by mail. All election information is available at the Garfield County website.

The BOCC then approved the consent agenda and heard from local nonprofits High Country Volunteers and Literacy Outreach, which has been in operation for 40 years. The Glenwood Springs Salvation Army has started a winter coat drive and is getting ready for the annual Red Kettle fundraising campaign. Kings and Priests Ministry, home of Jesus Saves homeless day shelter, Discovery Cafe and sober living houses in Rifle for men also provided an update. Becca Schild of Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers was given a letter of support for a $43,000 Colorado Parks and Wildlife grant. 

County public assistance benefits for August totaled  over $1.088 million.

The BOCC approved a letter of support for a request from the Sopris Mountain Collective, a resident-owned cooperative at Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park, to enter into a special limited partnership (SLP) with the county housing authority. The SLP would qualify the mobile home park for a property tax exemption. The letter also requests that the resulting savings be passed to residents.

The BOCC chose not to contribute financially to the residents’ efforts to purchase the mobile home park. Commissioner Mike Samson said this would be a way to help.

The BOCC renewed a five-year lease for communication towers at Anvil Points and Harvey Gap, approved fee waivers for upcoming events at the county fairgrounds and gave the nod to a major impact review for a solar farm near Parachute.

Commissioners discussed comments on the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed Sweetwater Lake Recreation Management and Development Project. The DEIS is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and proposes three action alternatives or management options, and one no-action option.

“The three action alternatives vary in their scope and their intensity,” said County Manager Fred Jarman, who helped prepare the comment packet. 

The BOCC has been involved in the project as a cooperating agency for seven years. Jarman presented the 146-page comment packet, including county involvement history and concerns plus letters from locals and media coverage. Major concerns include how the land was purchased, state and federal government involvement and development impacts on the land, wildlife and rural lifestyle.   

The county is against the creation of a state park at Sweetwater Lake but urged the USFS to choose Alternative 3 — the least invasive and impactful action option. 

The entire comment packet is available at tinyurl.com/commentpacket2026