The Garfield County Public Library District board of trustees has really gotten stuck in the craw of Trish O’Grady, Rifle resident and vocal library critic. She opened this week’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting Tuesday with complaints about how the library board reappointed two incumbent trustees without BOCC approval at the regular monthly meeting on […]
GarCo report
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Axtell Park kerfuffle resolved, ambulance licensing, 2023 air quality update
The Garfield County commissioners (BOCC) jumped right into the final regular meeting of the month on Monday. The BOCC approved the county’s Board of Equalization adjustments for tax year 2024 and the consent agenda. They also heard updates from nonprofits Literacy Outreach and Valley Settlement. Lori Goodwin, deputy director of Human Services, presented the monthly […]
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Discretionary grants awarded, clean audit for 2023 financials
Monday’s meeting was short and to the point. All discretionary grant requests presented last week were awarded, including $5,000 for the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, $1,000 for the Roaring Fork Conservancy, $1,450 to Valley Senior Center for a new hot water heater, $5,000 to Garfield County Search and Rescue, $5,000 to YouthEntity and $5,000 […]
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GarCo Report: $10,000 flagpole, HB24-1413 lawsuit, Sweetwater Lake concerns
First on the agenda at Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting was approval of a comment letter on the Sweetwater Lake Recreation and Development Management Project’s Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). In it, the BOCC questions, among other things, how the Sweetwater Lake Area was purchased by the White River […]
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GarCo Report: Gloomy budget forecast, elevator woes, new natural gas wells
The Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday approved the county’s first Chevron natural gas well permit request to drill two wells from an existing pad northwest of De Beque. The pad is remote. No human-inhabited structures are within a mile of it, although it is in the middle of high priority habitat (HPH) for elk winter […]
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BOT and BOCC talk rodeo, housing, energy and more
Carbondale’s Board of Trustees (BOT) met with the three Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on June 18 for their annual check-in. All Carbondale trustees were present with the exception of Erica Sparhawk.The meeting began with a review of the first two rodeos at the Carbondale-owned Gus Darien Arena. Carbondale Parks and Rec director Eric […]
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GarCo Report: Eagles are fine, ballots in the mail, Holy Cross Energy gains on goals
The morning session kept the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) very busy. “The June 25 primary election is here,” announced Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jackie Harmon. She said 36,000 ballots will be in the mail Tuesday, June 4. On Wednesday, June 5, ballot drop-off locations will open at town halls in Carbondale, New Castle, Silt, […]
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GarCo Report: County human service needs on the rise
Steven Kuschner, member of the Elk Springs Home Owners Association, expressed his disapproval during the open public comment period for the proposed Spring Valley Ranch Planned Unit Development (PUD) amendment. He cited roads, the projected 5,703 vehicle trips per day at full build-out and stress on the land, wildlife corridors and aquifer as reasons for […]
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New library trustee announcement prompts backlash against the process
It wasn’t the “who” of the Garfield County library board appointment, it was the “how” that prompted several people to air their grievances against the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) on Monday, May 6. Library board president Adrian Rippy-Sheehy spoke up after the BOCC announced Myrna Fletchall as the new library trustee. Rippy-Sheehy said her remarks […]
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GarCo Report: Voces Unidas, county updates and questions about the library trustee meeting
“Your non-sanctuary county resolution does not align with the values of our communities,” declared Alan Muñoz Valenciano, regional organizing manager for Voces Unidas de las Montañas, during the open public comment portion of Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting. “Referring, in that resolution, to immigrants arriving in Garfield County as a significant public health risk […]