At the final regular Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting for October, commissioners heard $67,500-worth of third- and fourth-quarter discretionary grant requests from 15 local nonprofits. But, there is a problem.
The county discretionary budget started off 2026 at $120,000, which is supposed to last all year at about $30,000 per quarter. County Manager Fred Jarman reminded the BOCC Monday that, after the first two quarters, they diverted $25,000 from the discretionary fund to Valley Meals and More, effectively eliminating third quarter funds.
“So here you are in the fourth quarter,” Jarman said. “You’ve got 15 requests at a total of $67,500 and the dollars left in the balance of the fourth quarter discretionary grants is $29,000.”
For nonprofits including KDNK, the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, YouthEntity and a dozen others, this is their annual ask for county support. Twelve groups requested $5,000 with the remaining three coming in at $4,000, $2,500 and $1,000. All commissioners voiced frustration about not being able to give the organizations the amounts they wanted, although decisions will not be made until November.
Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky also announced that this request cycle is the last for the discretionary grant fund. Period.
“This is the last year for discretionary grants from Garfield County,” he said, adding that this was discussed at a recent county budget work session. “We’re trying to tighten our budget, so these will not be available next year from this board.” The BOCC decided to keep $50,000 in the fund for youth organizations and activities. The budget has not yet been approved but once it is, the discretionary fund will no longer be available, Jankovsky reiterated.
In other news…
The BOCC approved various human services items, including the 2027 Human Resources grant recommendations and the county food assistance and benefits reimbursements for the month of September, which totaled close to $1.13 million.
Commissioners reviewed the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority for the Traveler service, which provides free rides for Garfield County residents 70 years and older who don’t drive or can’t use public transportation. The Traveler also serves disabled citizens under 65.
Dean Perkins was reappointed to the Garfield County Fair Board. Kevin Constanzo, Luke Goolsby and rodeo athlete Tianna Davis were appointed as new board members.
In the afternoon, the BOCC approved a major development sketch plan and rezoning request for the Mitchell Creek Community PUD. The plan is to redevelop the existing Ami’s Acres Campground into 95 to 100 residential units ranging from 1,000 to 2,600 square feet in size with an average size of approximately 1,500 square feet. The land was rezoned from rural to planned unit development.
Jarman reminded the BOCC that the library board of trustees interviews are scheduled for Nov. 4. The application window closed Monday at 5pm, but as of press time, the county had not yet released the names of the applicants. Two seats are open, including the at-large position and one representing Silt.
You can find all archived BOCC meetings dating back to 1996 at the Garfield County website.