Category Archives: 2020

2020, BOCC

Oct 21 BOCC: Covid $$, DHS playground? Thermometers at the Courthouse

by Laura Vass
—October 21, 2020
The meeting came to order followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call.
Amend Agenda Items: First Net Tower discussion was moved to October 30th and the Executive Session was removed from the agenda, both due to the unanticipated absence of the county attorney.
The August 12th BOCC minutes were approved. Continue reading Oct 21 BOCC: Covid $$, DHS playground? Thermometers at the Courthouse →

2020

It’s a Small World: Grannies for Trump

Grannies for Trump – Center is Westcliffian, Wade Pettis

Editor;
On Saturday, my husband [Wade Pettis] and I were traveling back to Colorado from a week of training in Kansas City. Somewhere near Ellsworth, KS, we noticed a bunch of Trump supporters every couple of miles on the overpasses. Since we were getting tired, we decided to stop to show our support of the folks standing out in the cold.
We high fived several folks and one person mentioned that a lady [in the group] used to work for the Sentinel. I said “The Sentinel?” as in Westcliffe? Continue reading It’s a Small World: Grannies for Trump →

2020

Oct 5 Silver Cliff Town Meeting

October 5, 2020
by Lisa Frank
The Meeting was called to order at 5 p.m. with a request that all cell phones be silenced or turned off. All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation, after which roll call was taken (with all Trustees, Mayor, staff and legal counsel present. Attendees were introduced and the meeting began.
Consent Agenda: Motion made, seconded and passed unanimously.
New Business
Sheriff’s 3rd Quarter Report – Mayor Wenzel stated this item moved to November’s meeting without explanation.
Consideration of approval of Ordinance 05-2020 amending vehicular limits and placing other restrictions Title 8 Chapter 3 – See The Sentinel’s report on September’s Silver Cliff Town Board Meeting for details. Motion made, seconded and passed unanimously. Continue reading Oct 5 Silver Cliff Town Meeting →

2020, BOCC 2020

Oct 7 BOCC Meeting Report

BOCC Oct. 7th: Budget Hearings Scheduled,
Airport, OEM & HR/Finance, More on Recycling Loss

Custer County Board
of Commissioners (BOCC) Meeting
October 7, 2020
by Laura Vass
The meeting started with the Pledge of
Allegiance and roll call. All Commissioner were present.
Attorney Items: Mr. Smith said he wrote letters for Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and is beginning a lawsuit for the county on a no-septic case of non-compliant landowner.
Mr. Flower asked if he was able to speak on the ongoing improper disposal case and Attorney Smith said that Jackie Hobby had planned on reporting on the that next Wednesday but there are also some other agencies which are still investigating. She may not be in a position to do that and the BOCC may have to go into executive session to cover that. Chair Tom Flower suggested they add an executive session at the end of the meeting.
Public Comment: Joanie Liebman asked if recycling was scheduled for today. At this point, the buzzing sound heard by listeners was noted.
Staff Reports
Airport Report: Mr. Canda said Sangre de Cristo Electric started digging the ditch for power at the airport and there was a septic field (infiltrator) in the way so they’ve stopped and are consulting Jackie Hobby/P&Z. Bob Jolley gave the report with the new Airport Manager, Bob
McDonald, attending. Fuel sales were 700 gallons in September and 100 gallons so far in October. A fuel delivery is scheduled for today, 2,000 gallons.
The county is working on taxi lanes and will finish today. Bob commended Road and Bridge. There are two private hangers going in currently. There are five more in planning stages. AWAS civil cite work is planned for the end of the month. There was a short discussion on the apparent two leach fields at the airport. The airport sign is getting repaired and there are plans to polish the plane up. Bob joked about needing a 3000-foot extension cord. It was noted that Bob Jolley gave the report as a guest of the airport. He has served as airport manager for nine years and was thanked for his service.
HR/Finance: Donna Hobby presented handwritten checks for September which included the $57,942 down payment for the new
program which will be used by the accounting offices of the County; HR/Finance, Treasurer and Assessor
offices. The Board approved handwritten checks.
There was a long discussion was about the proposed county employee credit cards and how those charges will be submitted, documented and paid. It was suggested by Mr. Printz that Dawna Hobby work on procedure and policy research and present at the end of the month meeting.
The preliminary budget for 2021 was given in hard copy to the Board. The budget hearings will be held as workshops and will be live-streamed for the public since there is still no public attendance allowed. There will be no public comment, however. These were scheduled for October 13-16.
Treasurer Report: a written report was submitted and approved.
IT Report: Vernon Roth reported that the county offices are actually turning a profit by using fiber for the phone systems. The voting ballot box in Wetmore has to be under 24-hour surveillance which he is taking care of with an electrician.
Transferring MSAG responsibilities: The Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) is a component of the 911 database.
Vernon reported talking to the Sheriff about a move of that data to FRECOM since all the dispatch is there. He said it is a process and he will report back next month if that transfer goes through. MSAG information requires security clearance (which Vernon has.) He said the transfer includes security precautions.
The county website security: Vernon is working with a worldwide training program with other attendees who manage big cities and large corporations. He said that it is interesting that other cohorts in the group face the exact same security issues.
He installed new cameras at the Sheriff’s Office. He discussed hiring an intern who  currently works for the county and has some training and has gone through all the security required. He would be paid as contract labor for 8-12 hours a week. The Commissioners moved to authorize the IT Director to hire an intern at $12 for 12 hours a week.
OEM Report: Director Adrian Washington reported his office currently has five volunteers and will have two more in October.
He talked about air quality in the county which has not been good due to smoke from the fires. On the day that air quality was at 61, OEM put out an alert, noting that an air quality range of 61-110 is of concern to the health of our elderly population in the county. The air, due to the fires, contained particulates (ashes) that were visible. Bridge alerts will be limited because people become desensitized to the importance of the information. The air quality reports have been posted on the OEM/Public Health Facebook pages.
Mr. Printz asked where the information about air quality comes from. (This was also a question last month.) Mr. Washington repeated details on tower locations and said the county has some equipment donated to them but not in use as it needs to be set up in standard with the EPA. He and the Health Director are looking into possible grant monies to get a station installed here which would be helpful to other entities as well.
In response to a question from Flower, Washington explained the job title Plans Section Chief (Plans Meetings, Operational meetings and response to emergency) and that those titles come from both Incident Command System (ICS) and FEMA and are used interchangeably. The volunteer for the title in question, is Glen McNitt who has experience as a forest ranger.
Mr. Flower then asked if any of these individuals have had background checks (also a repeated question which was asked last month.) HR completes background checks necessary for insurance (Workman’s Comp) purposes. Mr. Flower asked if these volunteers were temporary. Mr. Washington said at this point, only two work regularly. After the next two volunteers are trained, he is going to take a pause and then get any other volunteers through MS training and NCS training so that they are familiar with OEM terminology.
The emergency signage locks have been addresses as well as right of way permissions. Adrian thanked Tom Flower for getting the signs moved over to Road & Bridge.
Mr. Washington asked about county staff meetings and county safety committee meetings, (the first is quarterly, the second hasn’t been active for some time,) noting that many of the responders come from other county positions and he would like to see them all have at minimum – a first aid card. Also, the CARD system needs an update with county employee qualifications. Some information in the Salamander database isn’t current.
Another concern is lack of storage for OEM, Public Health, and IT to both protect equipment and have easy access to it.
Adrian mentioned an article that was in the Sentinel on fire mitigation for homes. (Protecting Your Home from a Wildfire: The Home Is the Ignition Problem.) He said educating homeowners/builders about things that reduce fire danger for structures, such as metal roofs, is important.
Jay asked if he was talking about building codes. Adrian said he was not, but, there will come a time when, (for mitigation grants and insurance) a change to building code/regulation will be necessary.
Emergency signage: Printz asked who would be writing the messages for the signs. After discussion, the OEM director will write a policy and bring it to the Board and will be responsible for having the messages placed on the signs. The Board passed a motion to make the messages signs the responsibility of OEM.
New Business
Discussion regarding the loss of recycling: Joanie Liebmanm, coordinator for High Country Recycling (HCR) was present via phone. She sent a letter to the Commissioners about possible ways to keep some recycling going. Upper Arkansas Area Council of Government (COG) terminated their recycling program effective October 6th. The program received $.79 per capita from the county for rural county residents. The dumpsters were purchased by the county (at the county dump,) Silver Cliff town (The Dome,) and Westcliffe town (by the Fire Station.)
Joanie said that HCR is offering its service to find a way to renew/continue with a recycling for the county. The council of governments (COG) is willing to relocate the bins upon request.
High Country Recycling got the grant for the bailer, solar power and building for recycling and a salary for Dennis Sprecher, who has indicated that he is willing to transport recyclables but he has no bins for drop-off or a truck or trailer for hauling them.
The Board, after listening to her information, suggested that HCR continue to work on a viable and sustainable plan, including the cost for recycling and then present it to the county and the towns. The BOCC is willing to revisit the issue and attempt to support the program.
The meeting adjourned after nearly three hours.

2020, BOCC 2020

Oct 6 BOCC Meeting Report

BOCC: Recycling Woes, Rosita Property
Sale Bungled, LEAP Starting up, and Yes,
Virtue Signaling

Custer County Board of Commisioners (BOCC)
—October 6, 2020
by George Gramlich
The laborious three hour Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting started with Commissioner Printz reporting that the Upper Arkansas Council of Governments has canceled its very effective recycling program in Custer County. The primary reason being the contractor who picked up the materials canceled on Upper Ark as their buyer quit buying recyclables. The major factor being China has stopped taking recycled plastics. Cardboard can still be recycled at the landfill. This will be discussed again in a following BOCC meeting. Continue reading Oct 6 BOCC Meeting Report →

2020, Uncategorized

Willis Day Service Oct 15

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Willis Day went to be with his Lord and Savior on October 11, 2020, at the age of 94.
Willis was born on September 28th, 1926, in Enid, OK. He was the first-born son of William and Flora Day.
Willis married Cleo (McColm) Day on October 11, 1947. Together they raised their seven children; Cathleen (George) Goodwin, Mitchell Day, Diane (John) Mahlberg, Jennifer (Jerry) Burtard, Colleen (Gary) Carroll, Kevin (Gayla) Day, and Judy Sawyer. Continue reading Willis Day Service Oct 15 →

2020

Services Friday for Rosalie LaGree

Rosalie LaGree, age 88, passed away peacefully in Cañon City where she raised four boys. She was born June 5, 1932, to Ervin and Nora (Webb) Nielsen in Creighton, Nebraska. She met Douglas LaGree and they were married August 14, 1950. Together they owned and operated Cañon Market in Cañon City, Colorado. She would often say “This too shall pass”, she will be greatly missed by her sons, family and friends.
She volunteered with the Pink Ladies at St. Thomas More Hospital, giving comfort where needed. Rosalie also sang in her church’s choir; her love of music extended to her piano playing. She brought beauty with not only her music but with her award-winning paintings. Rosalie was also fond of traveling often with close friends.
Rosalie is survived by her sons, Lynn (Jeanne) LaGree of Westcliffe, CO, Mark (Sandy) of Tucson, AZ, Nathan (Brenda) LaGree of Cañon City, CO, Orin (Megan) LaGree of Rye, CO; nine grandchildren; four great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Douglas LaGree; infant son, Jared LaGree and brother, Donald Nielsen.
Visitation, 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, October 9, 2020, Wilson Funeral Home. Funeral Service, 11 a.m. Friday October 9, 2020, Wilson Funeral Home with burial to follow at Lakeside Cemetery in Cañon City, Colorado.
Services have been entrusted to Holt Family Funeral Home. Online condolences, www.holtfamilyfuneralhomes.com.