Following the customary Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence at Monday morning’s Garfield Board of County Commissioners meeting, Rifle resident Rebecca Breeze Moore provided a public comment imploring the commissioners to approve a renewed temporary plan to extend the Hogback bus service. 

“I just want to request, or beg, you, please, to consider that funding proposal,” she said. “I have confidence that this funding proposal is different from the first one you all received many years ago, when it was proposed to be a temporary solution. I think this one is actually a temporary solution. It has a timeline and the cities of Rifle and Silt are at the table to find a long-term solution.” 

She added that the RFTA (Roaring Fork Transportation Authority) service in West Garfield is not only important for the people who live there who can’t afford to live up valley, but also for traffic congestion throughout the county and how that affects all of its residents. She said she had asked several people to join her at the meeting, but that “based on it being 8am on a Monday, I couldn’t get anyone else here.” 

Chairman Tom Jankovsky noted that though they’d be discussing the proposal on Tuesday during a work session, no decision would be made. “That happens during budget time,” he said. He added that they’re “leaning toward just telling the municipalities we’ll match their funding. However, that does leave about a $75,000 shortfall.” He noted that it could take a passionate group of people to work toward getting a tax question on the ballot.  

Diane Williams Perry, a Rifle resident of 26 years who has worked in Glenwood all that time, spoke to the affordability of the bus system and how it’s enabled her to get to work without breaking the bank. 

Both of the women spoke to new friendships that have blossomed after meeting people on the bus. Perry said she even went on vacation with two of her “bus buddies.” 

Commissioner Mike Samson asked what time Perry usually gets on the bus and how many others are generally waiting at the City Market bus stop in Rifle, where she typically boards, to which she answered 7:45am and about 10, respectively. 

Peach Valley residents spoke during the public comment period regarding the recent flash flood and mudslides on I-70. Resident Luise del Rio claimed that the episode that closed the interstate had significant economic impacts. He also noted that homes there are in a floodplain and that floods have occurred there historically. “It won’t be the last,” del Rio said, adding that residents there don’t have flood insurance. 

Del Rio said that the residents there are also incurring the costs of the continual cleanup on their properties, and requested that the commissioners not only consider funding and engineering strategies to alleviate future disasters, but also for more immediate costs, including waiving landfill fees. The commissioners and staff recommended that the residents work with staff to get an action item, outlining immediate funding and reimbursement requests, on an upcoming BOCC agenda so the commissioners can make a decision.

Wrapping up public comment, Jeanne Golay, director of the Lower Valley (LoVa) Trail Association, asked that the commissioners reconsider, including an agenda item to sign a letter of support for a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant request she is working on with the City of Glenwood Springs. She noted that the county has supported the LoVa trail for more than 20 years, and that the application is based on plans created by the county in 2008. 

“It was Garfield County that got the first grants to build the trail,” she said. “Over time, the county has invested probably about $3 million of taxpayer funds and staff time, put up as local matche[s] to leverage these large outside grants.” 

The FLAP grants only come around every three years, Golay said, and there is $64 million to award within Colorado this cycle. “If awarded, it could possibly bring in $15 million of federal funds into our community,” she said.  

Jankovsky acknowledged that he denied the request for an action item due to the county also applying for funding through the same program for two Road and Bridge projects, deeming it a conflict of interest. Golay read a letter from FLAP Manager Julia Dietsch, stating that including a letter of support for another project is not considered a conflict of interest.

“It might hurt us not to have a letter of support after this came from Julia,” Jankovsky said. “We’ll talk about it some more and see if we can’t get it on the agenda.” 

In other news … 

Scott Marsh, director of Road and Bridge, submitted a $110,000 supplemental request for the county’s Motor Pool due to increased gasoline prices, which was unanimously approved by the BOCC. The Garfield County Fairgrounds received $13,000 in supplemental funding for unplanned parking lot repairs caused by repeated bus traffic during the Bus Rodeo, as well as an $11,000 supplemental for its electricity expense account due to spikes caused by a “high-demand vendor,” the nonprofit Colorado Extreme youth hockey program, since 2024. 

Presentations included McMahan and Associates LLC’s, the county’s independent auditor, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and a semi-annual update for the Garfield County Landfill. 

The entirety of the BOCC meetings can be viewed at the county’s website: garfieldcountyco.gov/board-commissioners