Category Archives: BOCC

2018, BOCC

BOCC: Tourism Board Issues, Airport Improvements Continue

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—August 15, 2018
SAN ISABEL, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis

The meeting started at noon with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed.
Minutes of July 31st, August 7th and 8th meetings were approved.
Commissioner Items
Commissioner Printz reported attending two Tourism Board meetings. He helped finalize agreement between the Wetmore Community Center and the Historical Society. He also has received calls about CR 260 needing grading. Continue reading BOCC: Tourism Board Issues, Airport Improvements Continue →

2018, BOCC

BOCC August 8th: Printz on Violating State Law! Possible Raise for the County Employees, Haga Land Deal Approved

August 8th BOCC; Printz on Violating State Law! Possible Raise for the County
Employees, Haga Land Deal Approved

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—August 8, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis

The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed.
There were no new commissioner items or attorney items.
Administrative Assistant to the BOCC Brenda Gaide, reported that the DA’s budget meeting is August 29th.
Public Comment
State Senator Larry Crowder was present and spoke with the Board and audience. He reported that the legislature is working on getting more funding for the DA’s offices in the rural counties to alleviate the imbalance in funding between the public defenders and the district attorneys. He also said they are working on reforms for rural Colorado on septic system administration and that there is a real need for reform of the septic regulations. Of the sixteen counties he represents, fifteen are below the federal poverty level; Custer County is the only one that is not.
Angie Arterburn, from the Tourism Board asked the board some questions about getting more Board members. She was deferred to the next Tourism Board meeting. Continue reading BOCC August 8th: Printz on Violating State Law! Possible Raise for the County Employees, Haga Land Deal Approved →

2018, BOCC, BOCC Meetings

BOCC: July 31: Printz Meltdown, Airport Improvements, Fire Ban Now Stage 1, New CC Proposed Logo Panned

July 31 BOCC: Printz Meltdown,
Airport Improvements, Fire Ban Now Stage 1,
New CC Proposed Logo Panned

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

—July 31, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed. Before the meeting began, three items were taken off the agenda including the proposal for establishment of a county housing authority and advisory board – which was moved to the August 7th agenda.
Commissioner Items:
Commissioner Canda updated the Board on improvements at the airport – funded by the Watts family of Aught Six Ranch. They expect all the work to be done by the end of September.
Chairman Flower reported on the meetings he attended and mentioned that the A/C will be serviced in the Wetmore Community Center. Continue reading BOCC: July 31: Printz Meltdown, Airport Improvements, Fire Ban Now Stage 1, New CC Proposed Logo Panned →

2018, BOCC

July 18th BOCC: Meetings Are Much “Nicer”

BOCC: Meetings Are Much “Nicer”
Land Swap, New AT&T Tower,
Stage II Fire Ban Continues

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

—July 18, 2018
WETMORE, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Commissioner Canda joined the meeting by phone. Introductions of the public followed.
Commissioner Items:
All Commissioners reported on meetings they attended.
Commissioner Canda continues to speak with Veronica Logan of the BLM regarding a land swap for the five acre tower property on Lookout Mountain. Continue reading July 18th BOCC: Meetings Are Much “Nicer” →

2018, BOCC

BOCC: Printz Has Epic Temper Tantrum Over His Texas Registered Subaru

It was another very interesting Custer Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, July 31st. It seems that the Sentinel’s picture of a certain BOCC Commissioner’s car, a Subaru with Texas plates/registration, that we ran a few weeks ago caused one Commissioner to have another meltdown in public. Under that picture, we had asked a rhetorical question along the lines of ‘Guess which Commissioner is driving this car to work?’. This has been going on for a long time. (Note: The transcript of the temper tantrum )

Well, we found out who owns the Texas Suby on Tuesday when Commissioner Jay “Lone Star” Printz asked for some time at the beginning of the meeting to discuss an “important” matter. Continue reading BOCC: Printz Has Epic Temper Tantrum Over His Texas Registered Subaru →

2018, BOCC

June 29th BOCC: Tourist Board Members Feud

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

—June 29, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed.
The minutes from June 20th and 25th were approved.
Commissioner Items:
All Commissioners reported on meetings they attended.
Commissioner Canda urged the citizens to be patient with the roads. Because of the drought conditions, the washboard conditions are exacerbated. The Road & Bridge Department is working on the roads on a priority basis. He also reported that load testing is complete on the runway at the airport but results are not back yet.
Commissioner Flower reported: CDOT has put up lit signs for us at Wetmore and Hillside reminding our visitors of the No Open Burning in effect, CSU Extension will have an interim agent here the week of the second and will be paying the full salary and they expect to have a new hire by sometime in September.
Attorney Items
Attorney Clint Smith worked on several legal documents for various offices and did the annual ethics review with the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment.
The Board reviewed vouchers and signed checks.
Next on the agenda was a discussion about a possible workshop with the Tourism Board. Greg Smith and Angie Arturburn were in attendance. After discussion, it was decided that the presentation of the new branding materials that resulted from the branding grant would happen during the BOCC meeting on July 31st.
Another Tourism Board item was next: appointment of a member to replace Robert Weisenbach who resigned recently after the combative meeting regarding who must be on that board. Mr. Printz began a discussion by saying that the Tourism Board had become very difficult and contentious. Changes were suggested and approved.
First, the Board approved removing Brent Bruser (at his own request) from the tourism board. Greg Smith objected and stated that if this was done, he would resign as well (effective July 31.)
Next, the Board approved that no member of county boards were to be paid in any way for their services. This referred back to a possible conflict of interest from board member Greg Smith getting paid for services he provided to the Tourism Board. It was noted that Smith did recuse himself when those items were approved.
Last, the Board approved that no commissioner should be a member of any of the boards overseen by the BOCC. Mr. Printz has been a voting member of the Tourism Board and when this motion passed, he resigned his position on both the Tourism Board and the Attainable Housing Board.
Christopher (Kit) Tyler, owner of the Westcliffe Inn was appointed to the Tourism Board. Letters of interest for becoming a member of the Tourism Board are being taken at this time. No further appointment will be made until after more letters of interest are received and the Tourism Board makes recommendations.
Evan Brooks with SSC, Inc. representing AT&T FirstNet Cell Site appeared before the Board to discuss the lease of land to AT&T for a tower on county land near the Sheriff’s Office. After discussion, the Board voted to move ahead with the negotiations for this lease. This tower will provide AT&T FirstNet service and also better service to the AT&T customers in the area.
The Board approved an updated IGA for shared responsibility of radio tower maintenance between the County, the Sheriff, the Fire Department and the Clinic.
The Board approved the Auditor’s Report.
Dave McCain requested action to free up a small triangle of land (.6 acres) that was dedicated to the County for the Blumenau Fire Well. After discussion with the County Attorney, who stated that the county did not own that land or have any interest in it, the Board voted 2-1to sign a quit claim deed on that property. The reason Mr. Flower voted no was because the County had no ownership or interest in the property.
Sheriff Byerly discussed a contract with the school for a School Resource Officer. The school has set aside $25K for the 2018-2019 school year for this purpose. The Sheriff’s Department will provide an off-duty deputy during school hours who will be paid by the school. The Board authorized the Sheriff to sign the contract.

2018, BOCC

Planning Commission Puts the Dimmer Switch On Printz’s Dark Obsession

Lights Out for the “Printz of Darkness”
Planning Commission Puts the Dimmer Switch On Printz’s Dark Obsession

Planning Commission Workshop
by Jackie Bubis
On June 13th, the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (Mr. Canda was not present) and the Planning Commission met in a workshop to review changes in the Zoning Resolution. The Planning Commission began working on revising this document late in 2016. In January 2017, when there was confusion with the then BOCC (Kattnig, Hood, and Printz) about appointments to the Planning Commission and then in July when the same board referred issues of Dark Skies and shipping containers to them, the work began in earnest.
The workshop began with Commissioner Printz stating that he thought the removal of a definition of “light pollution” was a “self-serving” effort by the Planning Commission to kill Dark Skies. He went on to spend the next nearly forty-five minutes proselytizing for Dark Skies. He believes that the public meetings held by the Planning Commission on the subject were “staged” and “biased,” and was not representative of the opinions of the community. (Editor/llv: Perhaps, as there were many Dark Skies Advocates from out of county.)

Continue reading Planning Commission Puts the Dimmer Switch On Printz’s Dark Obsession →

2018, BOCC

BOCC: County Spending on Target…

County Spending on Target,
Airport Runway Weight
Capacity Study, Bennet to Set up
Office Hours in Custer County?

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—June 8, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
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.
Chairman Flower remarked on the passing of Allen Butler, saying that there were a lot of heavy hearts today. “May he rest in peace.”
The agenda was changed to remove Hank Miller of Westcliffe Meats and to move the discussion of the runway testing up on the agenda. Continue reading BOCC: County Spending on Target… →

2018, BOCC, BOCC Meetings

BOCC: Printz Demands Another Public Hearing

BOCC: Printz Demands Another Public Hearing on Planning Commission’s New Zoning Resolution

Will “Dark Skies” Rear Its Ugly Head Again?

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—May 31, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9:00 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.
Chairman Flower reported that, after studying Robert’s Rules of Order on the subject, items cannot be added to the agenda during the meeting; they can only be moved or deleted. He then introduced Lisa Drew, the new administrator at the Custer County Clinic. She gave a bit of her background.
The Board approved the minutes of May 16th.
Commissioner Items
Commissioner Printz reported a number of meetings he attended: Upper Arkansas Council of Governments meeting, a thank you party for Bob Weisenbach after his resignation from the Tourism Board, Affordable Housing, the Memorial Day Celebration in Silver Cliff, the UACOG housing study meeting and the Justice Center meeting. He also mentioned an ongoing issue with an at-risk adult in our community that he’s been addressing. Continue reading BOCC: Printz Demands Another Public Hearing →

2018, BOCC

BOCC April 30: Clinic Board Chair Defends Clinic Performance

BOCC: Clinic Board Chair
Defends Clinic Performance
Update: Accused of Illegal Electioneering
Tourism Board Members Issue?
Kerfuffle Ensues

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

—April 30, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.

by Jackie Bubis
The Board agreed to cancel the Executive session scheduled for 2 p.m. They approved the minutes of the April 18th meeting.
Commissioner Items
Commissioner Canda reported on attending the Justice Center committee meeting. At the E-911 meeting there was a discussion on the IGA for sharing costs on the towers used by emergency services. He stated that the Road & Bridge department may be able to do more than anticipated this year because of lack of snow plowing. Mr. Canda had a conversation with Armstrong Engineering regarding some of the upgrades at the airport that the new owners of the south part of Wolf Springs Ranch are wanting – and are willing to pay for. There will need to be a study – funded by these new owners – of the load capacity of the existing runway. He also confirmed that he is registered for the Mountain Connect conference in Vail later this year. Continue reading BOCC April 30: Clinic Board Chair Defends Clinic Performance →