A full agenda greeted the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday for the final meeting of the month.
The Board heard from citizens in the morning and the afternoon about issues not on the agenda. Richard Bach took time out from work to ask the BOCC to do something about increased taxes that are vexing property owners throughout the county. Commission Chair John Martin said they will consider reducing the mill levies which drive the tax base. He also said later in the meeting that more than 2,000 property tax appeals have been filed. Another citizen wants the county to change the floodplain review process.
American Stewards of Liberty
The consent agenda was approved, including a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning, requesting that the agency work with the Coordinating Local Governments (CLG) on BLM’’s proposed conservation and land health rule. The letter also assigns Margaret Byfield, executive director of the American Stewards of Liberty (ASL), a conservative lobbying group, as liaison for the CLG, which includes Garfield County.
ASL, based in Texas, advocates for property rights and organizes local leaders to fight federal conservation efforts, including a “Join the Delisting Movement” campaign against certain Endangered Species Act protections. ASL also provides training on how to coordinate with federal agencies, based on a cultivated definition and use of the term “coordinate.”
ASL provides templates for county resolutions and letters. In fact, the BOCC’s 2021 resolution against President Joe Biden’s 30 X 30 proposal filled in the blanks of an ASL template that was available on its website. ASL has also organized the Multiple Use Alliance against the 30 X 30 proposal, calling it a “land grab.” The BOCC did not discuss the BLM letter on Monday prior to approval.
Mountain Valley Developmental Services
The County Department of Human Services presented an update, including major changes in the case management system. It was a complicated discussion full of acronyms.
“The state Health Care Policy and Financial Department is redefining how case management is provided to those with Medicaid waivers,” explained Sara Simms, executive director of Mountain Valley Developmental Services (MVDS) in Glenwood Springs, in an interview.
Basically, the “re-design” directive comes from a Federal law passed in 2014 for conflict-free case management. Two state bills from 2017 and 2021 mandate implementation guidelines for specific populations.
MVDS has been handling its own case management since the early 1980s. But, Northwest Colorado Options, within the Garfield County Department of Human Services, will become the single entry point and case management provider for MVDS clients. Simms told The Sopris Sun that the redesign will change how MVDS operates.
“Mountain Valley has been known to people, especially those who use our services, as a one-stop shop,” she explained. “You come in, you have your case management, you have your services; we’ve developed a robust menu of services for people.” MVDS will lose five case managers, which Simms said could make things difficult for current clients. “Case management is all about [our clients] being able to trust people,” she said. Re-design plans must be in place by July 1, 2024.
Other business
The BOCC moved on to an update from the county public health department, including air quality at the Sievers Gravel Pit between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, and proposed changes to tracking and monitoring citizens’ air quality complaints.
Ted White, county environmental health specialist, presented a report from data collected in 2022, citing increased ozone and particulate pollution in 2020/2021 from wildfires close by and far away. In short, smoke from distant wildfires creates ozone. Local smoke creates an increase in particulates. Air quality monitoring stations have returned to Carbondale and Battlement Mesa.
The BOCC granted $10,000 from the discretionary fund to the Roaring Fork Wildfire Collaboration and agreed to be the fiscal agent for a $500,000 grant for construction of the new withdrawal management (detox) facility in Glenwood Springs.
The Board also approved the first reading of a countywide weed ordinance, which could mean fines for not mitigating weeds in unincorporated parts of the county. Jamaica Watts, county finance director, and county manager Fred Jarman provided 2024 county budget projections in an “unofficial kick-off” to the budget process.
Two land use code changes were approved, one of which requires wholesale greenhouses to black out 95% of indoor growing lights at night. BOCC approved liquor licenses for the Mexican rodeos in Carbondale and Rifle. An update from Mountain Family Health included good news about school-based and community health centers, and the in-house pharmacy for uninsured patients.
Detailed handouts for Monday’s reports and updates are available at www.bit.ly/BOCC6-19-2023