Two Garfield County Board of Commissioner (BOCC) hopefuls for District 2, which is incumbent John Martin’s seat, began this week’s meeting during the open public comment period. Democrat Douglas Salg (Glenwood Springs) invited his Republican opponent Caleb Waller (Silt) and the commissioners to a Garfield County Dems meet-and-greet in Glenwood Springs on Friday, Jan. 15.
“It’s important that we show our constituents that our concerns are rooted in the shared values of our community that unite us and not the partisan political issues that sometimes seem to divide us,” Salg said.
Waller was up next, inviting commissioners to start a fund for start-ups to inspire the younger generation of Garfield County citizens and to offset the decrease in oil and gas money flowing into county coffers.
Library malcontent John Lepkowsky was the third person to speak during the open public comment period. This portion of the meeting is specifically for “citizens not on the agenda;” however, the BOCC usually stops someone from commenting during this time if their topic is on the agenda. The library and its budget approval was the last item on the agenda, but Lepkowsky was allowed to speak with no question.
His complaints included the manga books, which he claims are “pornography.” This week, he told the BOCC that he spoke with an (unidentified) Protestant minister, whom Lepkowsky said “feels that the Silt Library is grooming children.” He handed the BOCC and county clerk more information and was told that it would be put in the public record. The Sopris Sun requested a copy of that information through the county record request process immediately after the Jan. 15 meeting but, as of press time, had not received a response.
Lepkowsky complained about the library district budget during the open public comment period but later in the meeting, after the BOCC accepted the 2024 budget, Lepkowsky merely belabored his manga complaints, suggested that the library change the time of its board meetings, and talked about the evils of pornography. He mentioned piloting in the past for a man who was involved in the pornography publishing world. But, despite having the opportunity, he said nothing more about the district’s budget.
During the library presentation, Jamie LaRue, library district executive director, told the BOCC that no public comments were submitted during the 30-day comment period about the proposed budget, which the library adopted in December 2023. He added that the district is hiring an archivist who will work with the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, as well as providing short-term internships for children’s librarians.
LaRue told the BOCC that the district will not reduce its mill levy this year. He said in an email to The Sopris Sun, “Our analysis showed that reducing our mill levy by 20% would save residential taxpayers about $14 a year — but save the 33 oil and gas companies $35,000 each.” He added that, next year, oil and gas tax revenues are anticipated to drop by some $3 million a year and that the library board preferred to use the $14 per taxpayer to provide services now.
“I’ve never had to deal with oil and gas as a driver for the income,” he explained to the BOCC. “So, we’re trying to look at ways to take advantage of some of the money that’s coming in this year.”
Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said he received an email from someone who was concerned about the library district’s participation in the American Library Association (ALA). “They thought that was a Marxist organization,” he said. “Or at least the leader was a Marxist.”
LaRue responded by saying that [Rifle resident] Trish O’Grady filed a Colorado Open Records Act request for a list of salaries and money that the library district spent on the ALA. “I think our total expenditures for the [ALA] are things like conferences and memberships,” said LaRue. “A total of about $2,900.”
LaRue also talked about interviews with community leaders conducted by staff in December 2023. The main concerns are housing, mental health, building community, the economy and quality of life, which will drive the library’s long-term planning. The BOCC accepts the district budget annually but does not have to approve it.
Other items on the agenda included approval of $20,000 for Coventure, a supplemental budget request for $164,250 for county insurance and $814,206 for the Colorado Counties Casualty and Property Pool. The BOCC also signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service for improvements to County Road 245 aka the Buford-New Castle Road.
The final BOCC meeting of the month is Jan. 22. All meeting minutes and archived video is at www.garfield-county.com/board-commissioners/meetings