High fire danger is behind the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) decision Monday to prohibit the use, sale and possession of fireworks in unincorporated Garfield County. Emergency Manager Chris Bornholdt told the BOCC that sagebrush fuel moisture “is at or below 100%.” Piñon pine and juniper fuel moisture is at 72% and is expected to dry […]
Tom Jankovsky
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Praise for the libraries, Pie Day and summer fun
Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting was short and polite. Garfield County resident Debbie Wilde opened the meeting during the public comment period, describing her love of and gratitude for the library system. She said she has been trying to set up a learning center in the Navajo Nation for the past four years, which […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Commissioner catch-up from April 21
Glenwood Springs resident Craig Amichaux started off the meeting with complaints about traffic and trash on the lower part of County Road 132 (Mitchell Creek) in West Glenwood. He asked commissioners (BOCC) to put flashing signs or speed bumps on the road and to help clean up construction trash near Storm King Trailer Park. Morning […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: BOCC signs resolution opposing Senate Bill 25-003
Right off the bat at Monday’s regular meeting, Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) discussed and approved a resolution “strongly opposing” Senate Bill 25-003, which Governor Jared Polis signed into law on April 10. Gun enthusiasts and sheriffs of at least 13 Colorado counties are up in arms, so to speak, about the new law, which aims […]
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GarCo Report: Human services updates, Perry Will takes a guilt trip
Most of Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting went to updates from Human Services and the Public Health Department. Marion McDonough, regional director of Catholic Charities, reported that more than 872 individuals received emergency assistance last year of which 490 were from Garfield County. More than 200 individuals and families remained in, or obtained, housing. […]
Posted inLocal Government
Mind Springs cites funding shortfall and surprise federal regulations leading to detox closure
The recent news that Mind Springs Health will be closing its Withdrawal Management Facility (detox center) in Glenwood Springs on March 10 came as a surprise to the nine entities that contributed funding toward the project. The detox center had just opened its doors in June of last year. The recent news coincided with the […]
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GarCo Report: No nuke waste, $163,000 for new vehicles, new lobbyist hired
Carbondale resident George Wear provided a change of pace to the public comment period ahead of the regular agenda items at the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Monday, Feb. 3. “I came here today to talk to you about your support for locating a nuclear waste depository in northwest Colorado,” he said. “I assume […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo commissioners opt in on Prop 123
Garfield County Assessor Jim Yellico introduced the first topic of note at Monday’s board meeting. In May, oil and gas operator Caerus Piceance, LLC filed a “Petition for Refund of Omitted Taxes Assessed for Tax Year 2018 (Production Year 2017).” This followed a 2023 county audit that identified an omitted production value, on which Caerus […]
Posted inLocal Government
MLK Day, lower county assessed values, land use code changes for natural gas operations
The history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Colorado dates back to 1975 when State Representative Wellington Webb introduced the first of three bills to establish the holiday. For three years, those bills were defeated. In 1979, Representative King Trimble introduced a bill that died in committee. In 1981, Representative Wilma J. Webb […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Condos? In an airplane hangar?
Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday spent a little over an hour in the morning and maybe a half-hour in the afternoon approving, denying and continuing various items. No one from the public had anything to say about issues not on the agenda. An update from Rural Public Lands County Council lobbyist Robert Weidner from Washington, […]