BOCC:  Unfunded Mandates, Courthouse,  Kid Stats

September 10, 2025

by Sentinel Staff

This paragraph is for those who remember and prefer the Reader’s Digest version of the story.  Data was presented to substantiate that the county needs cheaper housing, more childcare, and a new court building. The committees attached to these efforts asked for permission to apply for grants to help pay for it.  Our school test scores are not good, however, we have the highest graduation rate in the state. SAR is getting training money and we have a landfill compactor for sale. The Commissioners voted to join other counties in standing their ground behind Colorado statute on unfunded state mandates. The End.

For those who prefer Long-Form, please keep reading. In their opening statements, Commissioners Vogelsong and Epp mentioned attending the Work Force Housing committee meeting. The group is getting closer and closer to solutions and options, and things are going very well. No specifics were given.

Vogelsong mentioned attending the second public meeting of the Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors. He described it as a large gathering with good information about what the county is looking into to expand, and he encouraged others to attend the next meeting in October.

Commissioner Canda mentioned the kickoff of the underfunded courts requirements and  presenting the new court building to voters next year. The committee met last week and is working on a grant which is due on 30th of September to help fund the project. According to Canda, the Custer County court room is the biggest in the district and also the least safe.

A representative from Kids Count Colorado presented data from 2023 for Custer County.  As of 2023, 815 individuals (approximately 15% of our county population) are children, which is lower than the state average of 21 percent. Custer County is one of only 15 counties in the state that had an increase in the child population.

One in nine children in 2023 lived in poverty in Colorado making the state average 11 percent. Custer County far exceeds the state average, in not a good way,  with 22 percent of our children living in poverty. According to a new data tool the average annual household survival budget, (the amount a family of four needs to live comfortably) for families in Colorado is $93k.  At $81k a family of four needs slightly less than the state average to live in Custer County.  Rent or mortgage payment,  utilities, and childcare are the biggest costs families face. Twenty-eight percent of families across Colorado experience financial hardship each month.

Colorado ranked in the bottom half of states for healthcare for kids. 40% of babies in Custer County were born to mothers who did not receive prenatal care.
This lack of early medical care is one of the reasons that Colorado ranks low for healthcare for kids.

Custer County is known as a childcare desert. There is no licensed childcare available on Fridays or when school is closed.  There are only nine full time day slots available, five slots for infants, five for toddlers and eight full day preschool slots.  There are an additional 16 half-day slots available.

Custer County Students are struggling in CMAS testing math and language scores. However, the Custer County School District has a much higher graduation rate than other counties in the state, according to Kids Count.

CCSO will be posting deputies at Road and Bridge active work zones.  The speeding has gotten out of control and is posing danger to road and bridge employees while also tearing up the road work they are trying to accomplish.  Deputies will not be giving warnings, according to Canda, they will be issuing tickets for violations in the work zones.

Epp made a motion to sell the old landfill compactor because the cost of maintenance is higher than it would be to rent or lease one if a backup is needed. They also discussed adding the old garbage truck to the list of equipment to sell.

Barry Keene, representing the work force housing committee, asked the commissioners to sign a  predevelopment letter of intent for “The Village at Silver Cliff”, This is a project proposal for a total of “18 doors” on 12 lots. Most will be duplexes, modular or metal buildings with the goal of housing 45 people. A grant is available for predevelopment costs, however they are required to send a letter of intent before they can apply. This is necessary to move things forward to a “shovel ready” project. Keene said the application is due October 1st and BOCC admin Katlyn Wommack will have access to the grant portal. Keene as a rep for the committee, says they are asking for the $54,000.00 maximum. Our DOLA housing rep says our application looks good  (if only he was the decider of funds granter). One of these homes will be specifically for in-home childcare. According to Epp, “We have to get this done no matter which route we choose….  This part of the project has to be done to make it shovel ready.”

Stacy Terrill says there is a local childcare planning grant available through DOLA.  Grant money would be used to hire a third-party contractor to do a countywide childcare needs assessment to help make informed decisions. A true childcare needs assessment has not been done since no one can remember when.  Terrill is submitting the grant request for $20,000.00. The WMVCF CCKC funds and local donations will cover the $5k match if needed. Commissioners gave approval for a letter from the county to give her permission to apply for the DOLA grant.

Airport liability insurance renewal provides coverage for the operations of the airport. Set to expire September 1st. This short-term policy gets us to December and then the policy will be rewritten  to get all policies on the same cycle.

Epp made a motion to give PILT Title III to Search and Rescue in the amount of $12,000.00. As there had been no public comment for 45 days opposing such a move.  The money will be used for training for core rescue team members.

Commissioners voted to send a county unfunded mandate letter to the Governor and legislative leaders stating that Custer County will join other counties in upholding CRS 29-1-304.5(1).  Which indicates that when the state increases mandates required by law without funding then they become optional.  Commissioner Canda said, “We are united in our commitment to uphold our statutory rights.  This is a deliberate and lawful step allowed in the statute.  Bobby Daniels, commissioner from Mesa, started the effort with the goal of getting all the counties to sign the letter and present it to the governor.”  An audience member added, “Hopefully this letter lands with the finance committee.”