County invests in forest management

by Michelle Saeger
April 29, 2008 - County Commissioners Forrest Whitman, Ron Slinger and Chair Jeanne Nicholson attended the regular weekly Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners' (BOCC) meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting began with a funding request from the Sesquicentennial Committee. The group is planning a celebration next summer to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold in Gilpin County.
Their $24,500 budget to complete the planning phase of the celebration will be partially funded by a $15,000 grant from the Colorado Tourism Office. This grant requires $7,500 of matching funds to fulfill. The County has already pledged $2,000 to the project and Clair Miller of Grasshopper Communications asked the County to fund the remaining $5,500 needed.
Commissioner Nicholson asked if the Committee had approached Black Hawk or Central City for funding. Committee member Linda Jones explained the cities had not budgeted the funding and she did not think they would be willing to contribute.
The County agreed to fund another $3,500 and suggested the Committee request additional funds from the local municipalities to round out their needs.
During the public comment period, local resident and Brandon Sand and Gravel lobbyist Gail Maxwell questioned the funding to the group planning the Sesquicentennial celebration next summer. Maxwell suggested the group was not using budgetary controls or sound planning. Maxwell went on to say the "funds [requested] from the County were being misappropriated" by the group. She pointed out that they were doing fund raisers and questioned why they would need additional funds from the County. Maxwell stated that she had attended recent meetings by this group and said their members had said, "Why use our money when we can get it from the County?"
Next, County Treasurer Alynn Huffman presented the Treasurer's Report for the month of March to the public. By the end of the first quarter, her office had collected over 29.5% of local property taxes.
As you may be aware, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Colorado Department of Public Health are working on a joint project to clean up mine waste in Russell Gulch in an effort to improve water quality in North Clear Creek. As part of these efforts, the County has cooperated by allowing the construction of sediment basins in Nevadaville and on land over which the County holds a conservation easement on the Young Ranch.
The EPA asked for the County's further cooperation in the form of a Consent for Access Agreement. The County will allow access to the remediation areas over County owned lands in the area.
Our Colorado State University Extension Office representative Irene Shonle brought forward three requests associated with forest management activities. Shonle noted that Gilpin County currently has about 17,000 acres infested with the mountain pine beetle compared to just 1,900 acres last year. The county has approximately 26,360 acres of privately owned lodge pole pine forest. As of last fall, 18% of that forest had been killed by the tiny mountain pest.
Shonle, Commissioner Whitman's step daughter, predicted the pine beetle epidemic would have a "greater impact [on our community] than gaming."
Shonle's first request was $20,000 to fund a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the County. The increasing quantity of standing dead pine trees greatly increases our risk for wildfire in the area. Additionally, many grant and other opportunities require the community have a CWPP in place.
Although the County's budget is extremely tight this year, Commissioners Nicholson and Whitman both worried that delaying the mapping and planning study could have catastrophic results. County Manager Roger Baker cautioned that such a study could cost up to $40,000 to complete, even with much of the mapping work done in-house. The Commissioners directed Shonle to work with Baker to obtain additional information and bring back a proposal to the next meeting.
Shonle's next request was to apply for Gilpin County to become a "Community Demonstration Project" through the Front Range Fuels Treatment Roundtable. The group will select one community as a model to "invest time and resources into its specific forest health priorities with a focus on building local capacity and fostering active participation by local residents." The selected community will receive more than $50,000 in funding and technical support. The Commissioners reached a consensus to pursue the application.
Shonle's third request was for the County to purchase a wood chipper for the biomass burner at the Road & Bridge facility. The facility is currently using a rented piece of equipment that requires logs be at least twelve foot in length. A chipper that could handle trees from local residents as well as some of the debris left at the County's slash pile would save the County money and provide an incentive for more local landowners to clear their property of standing dead trees.
Shonle proposed the purchase of a used chipper to handle the County's needs at an approximate cost of $85,000. Previous attempts to obtain funds for a chipper through grants have failed.
County Manager Baker shared a comparison that the County spent $34,773 in 2006 for rental equipment for chipping and slashing. The Commissioners requested staff continue to research a chipper purchase and calculate to payback cycle for the equipment.
During public comment Maxwell also complained about the forest management activities suggested by Irene Shonle. Maxwell opined that the there should be more coordination and cooperation by other organizations in the County before proceeding.
County Facilities Manager Bill Paulman returned this week to ask the BOCC to make a decision on the selection of an architectural design firm for the parking garage addition and evidence room at the Justice Center. Last week, Paulman explained that only one firm had bid the design work that will be partially funded through a $200,000 DOLA (Department of Local Affairs) Gaming Impact Grant.
The Neenan Company, LLP designed and built the Road & Bridge Facility mid-County last year. This firm specializes in design build work and their proposal includes the eventual construction contract as well as the design work. The BOCC selected Neenan to design the parking structure and other elements and provide construction cost estimates.
The Sheriff's Office will apply for additional DOLA funding in the future for the construction phase of the project.
The meeting continued with a presentation by Mike Felschow of LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. The company was hired to provide a feasibility study on the Gilpin County Connector bus service for a cost of $33,000 with a CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) grant picking up two thirds of the cost of the study.
The free local busses have been running from Central City through Black Hawk and out to the Community Center and Justice Center mid-County with an additional stop at the school for the past couple of years.
According to figures provided by LSC, the service averages 5.65 riders per hour with an average cost to the County of $9.85 per passenger. The 2008 budget includes $172,100 to fund the existing Gilpin County Connector Service.
The consulting group proposed phasing in an expansion of the bus service north on Highway 119 to Nederland. The County could gradually add busses and expand routes through 2014 with an eventual annual operating cost of $545,300 and four vehicles to service 5.3 passengers per hour at a cost of $10.11 per rider. The cost figures more than triple the County's current investment but do not include the cost of purchasing or leasing the necessary vehicles or the impact of any cost sharing by CDOT in the form of public transportation grants. The proposed final route would include commuter service during peak hours, on-demand service in the northern end of the County, and three trips per week to Idaho Springs.
After the presentation, the Commissioners had an opportunity to ask additional questions. Commissioner Nicholson stated she was not prepared to move on to the implementation phase of the project yet. She expressed concern over the plan being inequitable to residents in the north end of the County and whether the community could afford the expanded bus service. The Commissioners requested the consultants revise their proposal to include options that would better serve the north end of the County by linking to the existing service rather than expanding it.
Then, Vicki Nemec returned to the BOCC with additional information on the cost of improving the sound system in the meeting room at the Courthouse and purchasing a portable sound system. The cost estimate for an improved system in the Courthouse is between $1,500 and $2,000. A portable system for use at other events will cost about $1,200, but only $400 is budgeted. Commissioner Slinger asked whether the portable system could be used temporarily in the Courthouse with a permanent system to be considered for next year's budget. The Commissioners approved a purchase of a portable sound system for up to $1,500.
County Manager Roger Baker presented a status report to the BOCC.
He included a letter he drafted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. The letter from Chair Nicholson to Gaming Control states "we are not inclined to support any reduction in gaming tax rates on the Tier VI casinos". This is in direct opposition to Central City's stated plan to request a reduction. Central's City Manager Lynnette Hailey stated at a recent meeting that Cripple Creek and Black Hawk planned to join in their support for a reduction in gaming taxes.
The next meeting of the BOCC is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 9 a.m.