Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting was the last one of 2025.
First up was an anti-climactic presentation on mill levies for the 2026 budget year. Juby Cummings of the county assessor’s office requested certification of mill levies, but did not have the exact numbers. “We are waiting on five certifications of mill levies from various taxing entities,” she explained. She said that the numbers should be on Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky’s desk by Thursday, Dec. 18.
The BOCC approved certification of the mill levies, sight unseen, asking Cummings if there would be any surprises. “No surprises,” she replied. She said that it’s a matter of timing. The State of Colorado deadline for county certifications is Dec. 22. The deadline for local tax entity certification is Dec 18. The BOCC will not meet again until early January, so it’s sign now or miss the state deadline.
Next up was a request for a drone for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) for search and rescue operations. Cathy Dalla, Chris Bornholdt and Sheriff Lou Vallario were on hand to discuss the request.
Bornholdt said the department has five drones. “We got one from the DA’s office a few years ago,” he explained. “That one’s service life is over in January, and that’s the one we’re trying to replace.” He added that drones are used for search and rescue, overwatch for big incidents, wildfires and more. “Last year, we probably used them maybe 30 times,” he said.
The GCSO was awarded a $30,000 backcountry search and rescue, pass-through grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which will pay for the drone. The GCSO wanted the BOCC to approve an expedited “three-quote” process that will allow them to buy the drone before Dec. 23.
Why the deadline? “There have been some hiccups with regards to purchasing these DJI drones and the federal government,” explained Dalla. “So [the feds] are wanting to, after Dec. 23, not allow for a purchase of them until some other things get worked out on a higher level.”
Actually, DJI drones could be banned in the U.S. on Dec. 23. Under Section 1709 of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a national security agency must audit manufacturers, including DJI, a Chinese technology company, to determine if certain types of communications or video surveillance equipment are threats to U.S. national security. The NDAA also says that if the DJI audit does not happen by Dec. 23, the Federal Communications Commission is required to blacklist the company, which could mean no new model approvals, firmware authorizations or imports.
Any federal security agency can audit DJI, but as of Wednesday Dec. 17, none have stepped up. This may change in the next week. But, if DJI products are banned, what does that mean for people who already own one?
According to DroneDJ.com, current DJI gear would keep working. But future access across all product lines, due to a lack of next-gen upgrades and new product sales, could vanish.
GCSO did not cover these specifics on the record or during the BOCC meeting. Commissioners approved the request. “Merry Christmas to the Sheriff’s office,” said Jankovsky.
SANE Program
Among other things, the BOCC listened to updates from local nonprofits, including River Bridge Regional Center. Director Blythe Chapman talked about how the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program is changing.
The local SANE program was resurrected in 2016 by Sherry Caloia, then-district attorney for the 9th Judicial District. River Bridge took it on in 2018.
“It was the right thing to do at the time,” Chapman told the BOCC. But, she added, “After a number of years running the program, we have come to the conclusion that [it] does not fit our mission the way we initially thought it might.”
In an interview with The Sopris Sun, Chapman said the child-advocacy center has always had a standard to meet when it comes to child sex assault and medical exams. “And we have attempted to provide medical exams for children and adolescents onsite at River Bridge since our inception in 2007.”
The program no longer receives as many calls for children and adolescent exams, which is great, but SANE nurses aren’t getting the experience they need with children.
Chapman wants to tackle the mission mismatch before it becomes mission creep. “We were spending more time on the adults, and those are not our patients,” she said. “These are adult patients who are clients of other organizations in our community that are better equipped to serve them.” She has spoken with the directors of Response and Advocate Safehouse to see if they will help.
The other issue is lack of day-to-day, dedicated medical oversight of the SANE nurses. “Dr. [James] O’Donnell is available but it’s not on a supervisory level,” she said. “So our nurses are looking to me for guidance.” UC Health is on contract with River Bridge to provide telehealth support for exams.
Chapman doesn’t want to see SANE disappear, but she has decided to close the adult SANE program at the end of the year. It’s non-negotiable. “I’m happy to provide whatever support I can,” she explained. “But it’s not going to be my program.” SANE exams are still offered in Frisco and Grand Junction.
BOCC meetings for the entire year are available at the county website.