It was a short Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting Monday, all done before lunch, including a county tax abatement for $19,081 for a lot in Aspen Glen. Two special event liquor licenses were approved as was the consent agenda, which included a letter against the proposed ballot initiative that would repeal grey wolf reintroduction. Commissioners did not mention the letter until the end of the meeting, after they approved it, so we’ll get to that later.
The BOCC also gave a thumbs up to an amended service plan for the Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District (CECD-SD), a special tax district to help fund early childcare development services. According to a summary by county attorney Heather Beattie, early childhood development service districts were authorized in 2019 under HB19-1052.
If the service plan, which includes a 0.25% sales tax, is approved by voters of Garfield, Pitkin and the Roaring Fork portion of Eagle County, the CECD-SD would be the first such special tax district in Colorado. It would also mean that residents within the district would be eligible for financial assistance for childcare.
The Confluence Early Childhood Coalition, which is spearheading the district, talked about how childcare costs in the area can be equal to or more than a mortgage and kids are sometimes at risk for abuse. Struggling parents are also at risk. ”Low income families need systemic relief,” said Dana Peterson, workforce and development officer for Mountain Family Health. “One day off to take care of a child could cost them a job.” The BOCC unanimously approved the district. The coalition now takes the proposal to Eagle and Pitkin County commissioners.
The BOCC proclaimed March as American Red Cross Month, approved $277,700 in discretionary funding for Colorado Animal Rescue and committed to providing close to $25,000 in monetary and in-kind support to the Garfield County Hazard Mitigation Plan. They also approved Bureau of Land Management access through the county landfill with the caveat that the access does not include the public. The county Department of Human Services requested and received approval to promote a candidate from within the agency to fill the position of fraud investigator.
Back to the letter about the proposed ballot issue to repeal grey wolf reintroduction, John Swartout, political consultant and former director of Colorado Counties, Inc, crafted the letter, which is signed by commissioners from five Western Slope counties — six including Garfield — and several livestock groups. He sent it to Patrick Davis, another political consultant and founder of Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy, who is writing up the measure.
The letter urges Davis to suspend his efforts to repeal wolf reintroduction in 2026 for various reasons, including lack of consultation with primary stakeholder groups and concerns that Davis will not be able to secure enough resources to succeed. “Any failed effort could potentially impact subsequent policy efforts currently underway, both administratively and legislatively,” the letter reads, “as well as undermine recent public opinion support that the landowner community has received.”
Davis told The Sopris Sun that he received the letter on Monday but that the text of the ballot initiative has changed. It is no longer asking for what he calls a “blanket repeal” of grey wolf reintroduction. “My guess is that these commissioners are working off of old information,” said Davis. “[The new language] puts an end date on grey wolf reintroduction into December 2026 and [includes] the prohibition of anybody importing grey wolves from outside Colorado.”
Davis did not say if he is willing to suspend the ballot initiative. He said the new language goes in front of the Colorado Title Board on March 19. If it is approved, he and his campaign staff will begin collecting signatures.