Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—March 7, 2018
Westcliffe, CO
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.
Minutes from February 23rd and 28th were approved.
Commissioner Items:
Commissioner Canda reported a conversation with County Surveyor, Kit Shy and the Reis family about a possible right-of-way through the landfill for their property.
Commissioner Printz reported that he is satisfied with the response from the Tourism Board regarding the question Mr. Canda asked about the makeup of the Board. “They are an excellent board and they’re doing well.”
Chairman Flower reported on the Republican caucus.
Attorney Items:
Mr. Smith followed up and found the lease for the Hibbs tower. He also found a 2015 resolution for the Weed Advisory Board that states that the resolution must be reviewed every three years.
Mr. Printz asked Mr. Smith (which he has done on multiple occasions and seems to be simply trying to make a point perhaps to this reporter) whether the three commissioners were allowed to ride together to Golden for the DOLA grant hearing. Mr. Smith again stated that other county commissioners do it and that they can ride together. He further stated that they could even talk county business but could not make any decisions. He advised against discussing county business. Mr. Canda asked former commissioner Alan Butler (in the audience) what they did. Mr. Butler stated that most of the time they all took their own cars and paid their own gas. Mr. Canda mentioned that the perception of impropriety was one of the reasons for the recall and that he would avoid even this perception by taking his own vehicle.
There were no Administrative Assistant Items.
Cathy Garcia, from Senator Cory Gardner’s Office in Pueblo, met with the Board for an update. She stated that there is grant money for rural broadband and said, “it is sad when we don’t have tech in all areas.” Mr. Printz applauded Gardner’s efforts for rural Colorado. The Board mentioned to her ongoing court and jail facilities needs which she made note of.
Staff Reports
Airport Advisory Board report was given by Alan Butler and Bob Jolly. A topic that should be discussed in the near future is a courtesy car for people who fly in and want to come to town. The new owners at Wolf Springs Ranch have asked about the possibility of having jet fuel and inquiring about the max size plane that can land at our airport. Mr. Canda expressed that he’d like to see the Board seriously consider getting jet fuel but that there’s more to it than just having another fuel dispenser. After discussion, the name of this board will be changed to Airport Board.
Elisa Magnuson, the County Health Nurse, reported for her office. Planning is on target for the 5Health Fair for April 7th. The Custer County Kids Council Survey is almost done and she looks forward to reading their results. She’s been busy with CPR classes, site visits and flu shots are still available.
Virginia Trujillo gave the Treasurer’s Report that was accepted by the Board unanimously.
Tim Swartz, the Veteran’s Service Officer, reported that he is working on getting the counselling van reinstated. It will be at the 5Health Fair. It was discontinued for low usage, but Swartz feels that it is still too valuable a service to let fall through the cracks. Also the home-based primary care program representative will be at the 5Health Fair. Swartz will attend a training conference in April. There are now 450 veterans in his database.
The OEM Report was given by Cindy Howard. She continues working toward preparedness and stated that, at a recent fire prevention meeting, she heard the obvious statement that “we have a fuels problem.” The cost of the Junkins fire went from $11M to $13.5M.  Sangre de Cristo Electric has started sending electric bills for $180/month for the OEM/SAR tower.
New Business
Beth Lenz, Recycling Director, UAACOG-Upper Arkansas Recycling met with the board regarding planning for a new landfill. The current landfill only has six years left and Ms. Lenz reported that planning should have begun almost ten years ago. There have been no reserves set aside for this process. She discussed the much higher costs if the County closed the landfill and went with a transfer station. She brought information to the Board on pricing at surrounding landfills. They discussed the possibility of raising landfill feels to be set aside for the work that will need to be done to open a new landfill. Mr. Printz once again stated his new mantra that “the county is a service provider, not a business and doesn’t have to pay for itself.”
Charles Bogle, from the CCEDC, brought information to the Board. He reported that there is ongoing confusion regarding broadband issues and sees the need for a community meeting sponsored by the BOCC and the CCEDC. He will bring a letter of support for the Certified Small Business Community program for the BOCC to consider signing. Mr. Bogle stated that one of the problems is that the local businesses don’t realize that they need help. Bogle will also bring to the mid-month meeting a DOLA REDI (Rural Economic Development Initiative) grant application to fund a study for an Economic Development Master Plan. It will be in the range of $40K and may involve matching funds from the County.
Mr. Bogle reminded the Board of an Action 22 meeting about broadband on March 23rd and a kickoff meeting for the Tourism and Outdoor Recreation sector on the 15th.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:04 p.m.