Commissioner Mike Samson was still absent during this week’s Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Monday, Aug. 17.
Peach Valley resident Fred Kuersten was back in front of the commissioners during public comment to encourage addressing drainages to reduce flood risk in the area. Several property owners were significantly impacted by the Slaughterhouse Gulch Mudslide that closed Interstate 70 in July. He also suggested that the neighboring landowners keep their drainages open.
“Natural drainages should have a precedence over them making the yards look nice,” he said.
Kate Collins, executive director of the Middle Colorado Watershed Council (MCWC), also appeared during public comment regarding the same matter. Commissioner Perry Will had approached MCWC “to explore opportunities to reduce future flood risk through upstream watershed restoration,” she explained.
Chairman Tom Jankovsky brought up that besides the county and property owners, the Bureau of Land Management is also a stakeholder in this case. Due to the impacts to I-70, Collins and the commissioners agreed that the Colorado Department of Transportation could be interested in partnering on solutions.
Will and Collins recently met with residents, county Road and Bridge staff and a hydrologist and an engineer from SGM Engineering. She relayed that SGM staff suggested starting with an assessment to define the problem. The estimated cost for an assessment through SGM was $5,000 to $8,000, she relayed.
“[The] Middle Colorado Watershed Council is here to help as a convening organization,” Collins said. “I think the homeowners are not pointing fingers. What I heard was a real willingness to try to work together for a solution. They feel vulnerable and they feel positive about doing something.”
Historic flooding occurred in the area in 1957, 1983 and 2006.
Later on, resident Del Whittington was on the agenda, though not physically or virtually present, to officially request waiving dump fees for residents impacted by the mudslide.
“Several of the landowners … up there have asked me about this,” said Commissioner Will, whose district includes Peach Valley. He added that he’s having a list put together of property owners seeking waivers.
Landfill Manager Deb Fiscus said that she needed to follow up with the state to find out if any of the debris needs to be tested, noting that there’s a good chance it won’t as it’s mostly natural material. “However, if we get that particular item wrong, it puts the landfill in a position of violating our permit,” she explained. She said she should have an answer from the state later in the week.
From there, Fiscus said that she’d need the list of the property owners and haulers, and direction from the BOCC as far as any monetary caps and a timeline.
“Other than that, we’ll just find a place to put it and that’s where they’ll unload it, and we’ll be good to go,” she said.
Staff suggested sending a letter to the property owners outlining standards for disposing the debris at the dump. The BOCC decided on a 60-day timeline and no caps on fee waivers.
LoVa Trail
Jeanne Golay, executive director of the Lower Valley (LoVa) Trail Association, was back, this time on the agenda, to request a letter of support for the City of Glenwood Springs’ Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant application to support the LoVa Trail project.
Golay relayed that the city is asking for $19.5 million, noting that there is currently $64 million available to entities within Colorado. The county submitted two applications for the same grant for road improvements.
Commissioner Will stated that if the county is successful in its bids, it stands to save tax payers $2 million. “I think I have the responsibility to put the county’s fiscal interest first,” he said. “It’s not about choosing the county over LoVa, it’s about being good stewards of our tax payers.”
Chairman Tom Jankovsky said that he appreciated the caveat included in the proposed letter, previously discussed at the last two meetings, that the county does “not express here a preference for the LoVa Trail over our own applications.”
Golay again brought up that FLAP Manager Julia Dietsch assured that the letter of support would not be considered a conflict of interest, and that not having a letter from the county could hamper its success.
The two commissioners were split on the motion, effectively leaving the proposal for a letter of support dead in the water.
Library mill levy
The new executive director of the Garfield County Public Library District (GCLPD), Abraham Korah, appeared in front of the BOCC for the first time in the role, along with GCPLD Board President Adrian Rippy-Sheehy, regarding the district’s proposed ballot measure to extend its 1.00 mill levy, due to expire in 2027.
If passed, Rippy-Sheehy said that property owners would continue to pay approximately $38 each year, based on the median assessed value. She also noted that the libraries received an 80% approval rating among county voters through a third-party survey earlier this year, “which was unheard of.”
“They call it fire-house level approval ratings,” Korah added. “Typically, libraries are tier two as a public service and we were considered a tier one for rural communities.”
The commissioners agreed that the decision was best left up to the voters, which Rippy-Sheehy echoed was the library board’s thinking as well.
Though the commissioners were in agreement, County Attorney Heather Beattie noted that according to the law, the BOCC “shall’ put the proposal on the ballot at the library district’s request, leaving them without much choice anyhow.
The commissioners unanimously approved placing the question on the ballot.
To view the entire BOCC meeting, visit garfieldcountyco.gov/board-commissioners