The best recipe for a short meeting is a short agenda, and that’s just what the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) served up on Monday. But, first the public comments. John Mallonee of the Garfield County Library District Board of Trustees offered an update on general library news, making it clear that he was not representing the board.
He pointed to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent Locals’ Choice award of top librarian that went to library director Jamie LaRue with New Castle branch librarian Ana Gaytan as a finalist. “These Locals’ Choice awards matter,” he said. The district was also a finalist for Best Customer Service (non-restaurant) and for the summer reading program.
Mallonee continued with an update about library trustees. “We have four new trustees,” he explained. “We’re working to gel. We’re learning about each other and trying to enable the communication that is required to have debate.”
Mallonee said that library finances are in good shape. He added that the Parachute and New Castle branches are undergoing construction but remain open for patrons. He said refurbishing projects are set for all six branches.
The BOCC approved the consent agenda and awarded grant requests for the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra, Bookcliffs Council on the Arts and Humanities and the Glenwood Springs Chamber Foundation at $5,000 each. The CMC Foundation received $2,500.
Karla Distel, executive director of Community Counts (CC), a nonprofit that has been connecting residents with the oil and gas industry for two decades, requested $3,000 for annual support. “Our main function is we coordinate a hotline that any individual can call and reach one of our operators immediately for concern or a question,” she explained. The hotline number is 866-442-9034.
Hotline activity has dropped in recent years, reflecting the decrease in natural gas production. “Previously we had been asking for $10,000 a year in funding,“ she said. But for the past two years and again this year, the ask is $3,000. Commissioners approved her request.
Next up, commissioners approved Danell Kelly as a new Garfield County Housing Authority board member. She will complete two years of a previous board member’s term. Dave Roberts was approved for another five-year term.
The BOCC also approved $428,826 for the annual operational supplement funding agreement between Garfield County and the Colorado State University Extension Office for staffing and operations. They took a first look at the county budget calendar with all kinds of deadlines until the final budget presentation in October.
County landfill methane capture
The state Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) is scheduled for a rulemaking in August about reducing methane pollution from municipal solid waste landfills. This comes from the state health department’s April proposal. It’s all a part of the state’s efforts to reduce methane gas releases.
Deputy county manager Bentley Henderson and county landfill manager Deb Fiscus want to have what’s called “party status” with the state to participate in the rulemaking. On Monday, they asked the BOCC to authorize that request, which was granted.
Henderson said that landfills contribute about 1.2% of all methane released in the state. “[The AQCC is] creating rules around how that can be managed at the individual landfill level,” he explained, adding that methane monitoring and capture infrastructure could be a big financial lift for local governments — up to an estimated $3 million at the county landfill, according to Henderson.
$60,000 for a grey wolf study?
Commissioners were unsure about spending $60,000 for a wolf study that County Manager Fred Jarman said they had already instructed staff to pursue. It is unclear when the BOCC directed the staff to do so; although it may have come out of an executive session.
“You were interested in obtaining some professional expertise both on the biology of the reintroduction as well as the socio-economic impacts to the county,” Jarman explained. “The point of this is to capture your intent on what you had asked us to provide for you so we can kick this project off.”
He added that he and county attorney Heather Beattie have begun work on it and presented what he called Part One — two scoping documents for a biologist and economist, outlining the needs and purpose of their services. He explained that the study would give the BOCC hard facts to back up their concerns. Information on impacts from wolf reintroduction would come from other places in the West that are similar to Garfield County to see if those impacts could happen here.
The BOCC seemed unprepared to move forward with the study. Commissioner Mike Samson questioned what the second step would be. Beattie said, “I think we’ve discussed a second step in an executive session, right?” No word about what that second step might be. The discussion was tabled without a vote.