Board of County Commissioner's meetings and we'll start off with a roll call.
We're just saying, one nation, and we're proud, the Internet is available, we're
going to be in the United States.
If you can stand in place and join me in a moment of silence in your own way.
Okay, thank you.
With that, we are at public comments from Citizens, not on the agenda.
So everybody in the audience has an item that's not on the agenda.
Okay, and not seeing any hands raised, Roy, how are we?
We have a hands-up on Zoom.
No hands-on Zoom.
Okay, with that, we can move forward, and we go right to Commissioner Will, the
question letter support for the 2020 Community Project Funding request for the Western
Sope Veterans Coalition.
And this item will turn over to you, Mr. Will.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And, yeah, this is just a letter.
You've taken that we support this and this two congressmen heard for the funding.
On behalf of the Garble County Commission, we're pleased to offer the strong support
for the Western Sope Veterans Coalition.
And the Community Project Funding request for the Veterans Community Colleges,
Tiny Home Project, they're in the Sope.
And Garble County, we've always supported the West Sope veterans and the remix isn't that
beyond advocacy, but we provide rent-free office space next door here for the
Mercary Outland Mission.
And it's a stain investment for local veterans, but I dedicated VSOs and Veterans Service
Officer.
So the broad commitment from Garble County and I bet that's really the resources.
Support they need.
And so that'd be about 22 tiny homes there.
And a couple of like 1500 square foot homes.
It's on a two acre parcel there and so.
But the question is for funding for.
Congressman Herzoff.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Excellent letter.
So thank you.
Mr. Samson.
I'll work.
Yeah, me too.
And this is.
I believe the location is just north of the Cowboys Church.
Yeah.
Okay.
Actually, just the South.
Yeah.
Southam County, Dr. Tallinn, that open field there.
Okay.
And this is, you know, they're requesting a total of five point three million dollars.
So let's hope that they have some luck on this.
Okay.
With that, I'll ask for any other.
From citizens.
Very none.
I will.
We'll ask for vote on this.
There.
Motion.
Yeah.
We just can't move that.
We.
Community project funding approved.
The request for the question for veterans coalition.
And veterans colleges and.
For the support of the letter to Congressman heard.
And allow all three to sign.
Second.
Hey, call a motion on favor.
Hi.
I'm going to go out of out of order now on the.
On the agenda, we're going to go to.
And this is on a special events.
Of a carrying.
For the carbon tell Wild West rodeo series.
Please come up.
And with this, this is the public hearing.
Yes.
I would.
I guess we'll swear you in that then do notification.
Okay.
Everybody wants to testify in this raise your right.
That's not a lie.
A raise your right hand.
Promise to tell truth.
The whole truth.
And nothing but the truth.
Thank you.
So I always say now we need to just check with Graham on notification.
Are we good on notification?
I believe we are.
Okay.
All right. Okay.
Okay.
So in front of you is a application for the carbonyl.
Well West.
It's the 12 events through summer.
Every Thursday night of starting doing fourth through August.
20th.
We present all 12 at the the one hearing.
So that we don't have to come back every single week and do it.
By statutes.
They are allowed up to 15 days or 15 events in one calendar year.
So they're meeting or with they're within that guideline.
And they have included their alcohol control plan.
I need checks at bar.
Response and security.
But other than that, we are just happy to have them back again this year.
We hope that that keeps going every year.
Okay.
Who's going to speak?
Who's going to speak for me?
She hasn't.
And my clue is going to speak for that.
But just she and she.
Yeah.
Well, we're happy to be back.
Happy to have you back.
Thank you.
It is a great event.
Yeah.
So we.
You know, we're asking that you approve our alcohol plan for our special events permit.
We run 12 weeks through.
Through the summer June 4th to August 20th.
Every Thursday night.
From 7 to 930 730 to 930 roughly.
But we're we're looking forward to another great year this year.
So.
Jam pass.
Yeah.
It seemed to be growing every year.
It felt like so.
Good night.
Yeah.
You've been there a few times right.
And then you question some commissioners.
Well, yeah.
I have a concern.
You know, wild west.
How wild.
We can.
Yeah.
Not to.
Yeah.
We can't keep it till now.
We'll have to say that.
I'm just.
Just.
Just say that.
That's a.
That's a well run.
Rolio and Mike and.
And everyone.
Doesn't want to fall down.
They're home committee.
And.
I'm not satisfied there.
They're every 30 nights.
So it's a.
It's a well run show.
Do a good job.
Good.
I'm.
I only question is on the on the map.
What are your boundaries for.
Alcohol.
You know,
Aiquette is this whole red.
Yes, so it's it's the property perimeter.
Okay.
Which we've.
We've done in the past.
That's been our boundary.
fence and we have entry points where security is at the checkpoints and so there's nothing
allowed in or out and they so they check the perimeter we have a back gate and a front gate
and so that's the perimeter fully fenced. All right. Well, can't a contestant then take
there. They're out the hall back behind the back into the, I guess, the rodeo area. Yeah. I mean,
they can technically, yeah, they can buy their beer at the bar and then they can take it back
to their trailer, you know, with, with their horses and stuff. But we don't allow anything in the, in
the grounds from outside. I understand that. Yeah. There are a bunch of people go that necessarily
understand that. Yeah. They need to be able to bring in their six pack or something. Yeah. I think
they've really started to the last because we've implemented this now for the last few years.
We're not having near the trouble that we'd had in the beginning. We said it was probably a three-year process
of getting people trained just to be able to, you know, understand because for years you were allowed
to bring in your own and so we had to, we had to kind of swap that. But now we really haven't had an issue with
it. People are starting to figure it out and they're actually grateful that we have it available on the premises
now so they don't have to carry in all their stuff. They can just go purchase it. So we hear a lot of great
feedback about that. Thank you. Any other questions? I'd like to read Great Hill.
Okay. I'm going to ask for a motion to close the public hearing. Okay.
Okay. It was that we'll need a motion. This is a need to vote. We need to vote on that. Oh, yeah. All in favor.
All right. Okay. Now it's an action item. Yeah. I believe that we approved applications for the
special events for men for a carbon-dill wild west radio series. Oh, the carbon-dale.
Beginning every Thursday we're getting June 4th and ending August 20th.
That was your second motion. Okay. I'll call the question on favor. All right. All right. You got it.
Thank you, Jay. Thank you, Jay. Thank you. You're your rodeos there. Soon. Appreciate it.
I hope to see you guys up there. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay. With that, we are back to our elected official Garfield County chef. And this is a request for a boarder.
This is a request to approve to fund an entries one FTE, be sure to FTE number two,
the remainder of 2012 and six, and down of $76,000, $15 in blue and Kathy, you have the fuller. Thank you.
Just real quick to kind of go back to the whole rodeo thing. I just wanted to say that
although we've had some struggles in the past last year was seamless and I'm looking forward to doing it again
and with our new mounted patrol. We're going to try to make sure we have at least two of our
deputies mounted patrol. They're every event to help with enforcement and crop control and that kind of things.
So I think we hopefully got asked the bumps we've had in the past and I think it's going to be a good event this year.
Yeah, I just say I didn't get a single phone call on parking these years. You know?
Really nice. Yeah, I don't know what all happened, but it was a problem solved. So we're looking forward
to it, we're looking to have our mounted patrol there and help. Okay. So what we want to do is we have one left,
one position left in the patrol side of our house that is still frozen from the budget
agreements that we did for this year and we're at the point now where that's the only opening left
in our patrol division. So we would like to unfreeze that so we can fill that.
The obvious question I know you're going to ask is, but you still have vacancies showing on the chart
if you will and those are in other areas of the sheriff's office mostly in the jail and we try to kind of
departmentalize so that we don't start moving this one over there and that went over there and and fudging around
or like to kind of keep those straight. No different than you certainly wouldn't take somebody from
road and bridge and put them in finance if they were short handed or I would try to keep them
kind of in the in the same thing. So the other issue is to look at it in a snapshot in time and see
how many openings we have. We have a continuous process of recruiting testing, hiring and that's ongoing.
We've got people in the hopper right now that it normally takes about 60 days from the time.
These submit the application and the go through all the processes we have to go through
or aboard's background checks etc. So we don't want to wait till the last minute and say you know oh
we'd like to fill that now since there are people kind of in that process somewhere of being able to
fill those positions. Not guaranteeing all those positions will be filled in this one's testing but that's
why we also test next month and the following month to try to keep those positions as filled as possible.
So essentially we're just asking the unfreeze the one that's still in patrol not the ones in the jail
that we made an agreement to to build a wall. I don't mind keeping some of those positions frozen so
I'm sorry. I said I don't mind keeping some of those positions frozen for the year but that's
I'm one commissioner so Jamaica we share if it's under budget this year on vacancies about 400
thousand dollars is that correct. Yeah I think an average of these vacancies thus are this year
So the money's there within the budget would not take would it take a budget? Does it take a budget supplement on this?
Should I imagine it? It's not budget is frozen but we have savings
other vacancies. Thank you for mentioning that because I forgot to
that. Okay gentlemen. You need to get discussion. Any questions?
Okay. I'm going to say this is emotional. Public anybody from the public want to test it by
very known. This is an action item. It's a remember that we would approve the request from the
sheriff's department to unfreeze for one full-time deputy patrol
patrol deputy I guess to position for the remainder of 2026 for the amount not to exceed 76,000,
15 dollars, allow the chair to sign. Right. All the motion on favor. All right. Okay got that one. Let's move to
the next. Thank you. Yeah I think it's important to realize not asking to increase the budget. We
got the money and vacancy savings to fill it for the remainder of the year. All in order to do this
when authorize the chair to sign the state of Colorado jail behavior based services grant for July 1st,
2026 through June 30th, 2027, which is state's fiscal year and in the ward and the amount of
309,500 dollars for inmate programs and medical assistance treatment.
Yeah. I'm going to hand the floor to the as far as how the JBBS works. The fact that this is a past
through grant and the programs that are required. Yep. Our current grant which ends this June 30th
was awarded to us for 391,000 in change. So our new award for the next state fiscal year is about $2,000
less, which is great. It's mostly because of our hard work and dedication towards the program
or our consistent reporting and just our aggressiveness with moving the program forward internally as a
team. So this grant will cover the full coordinator position. So her pain, her benefits. It'll also
cover our contract with our counselor to do the required assessments, which is medicated
Treatment assessments that are required by the state, as well as therapy that's required.
And then some other of our mental health expansion programs, so as they're leaving, how we assist them in kind of handholding and handing off to the services in the community.
It helps with those expenses. And finally, the cost of the medication itself of about $165,000 annually.
So that's all covered.
Just doesn't cover our health program, which is, doesn't cover any of our health programs.
No, unfortunately not.
This is a big chunk of change.
Yes.
Good news is all these required programs. It's not an unfunded mandate yet.
It's not a good mandate.
We're pretty good.
Yeah.
So many years have we received this grant.
Well, it was, it was, it's changed over time.
It's been called some other things than that.
So I would say this particular grant since it started maybe six, seven years.
And prior to that, we did receive some funding in relation to this kind of program as well.
So we have a good relationship with the state.
I can't say that about all the other county jails, but we definitely were very hard on this program.
And they're getting ready to.
With this next grant, also add additional reporting requirements.
So they're, it's starting to more of as they typically do with grants to where we, you know,
the requirements at least on the administrative side are becoming a lot more extensive.
So.
But we do it.
We can.
These, all these programs and all this focus on, um, it may clear medical mental health, um,
treatment, uh, handoffs, all that really kind of is, um, grown significantly in that several years.
I mean, there was a time where we opened the door, throw them out the back door and say,
Good luck, right?
And then, of course, they're back in within a week.
So a lot of these programs, and not just to call out over across the country,
clearly seeing that, um, by providing these programs,
giving treatment, doing these things that it does reduce recidivism.
I can't tell you our numbers specifically, but across the board study,
say that if we can provide these services while they're in jail,
or even once they leave jail and hand them off to somebody to community to do something,
that the recidivism rate will reduce.
So, um, but a lot of new programs over the last several years that we weren't dealing with, in the old days.
Okay.
Any other questions?
Any questions from the audience?
What's anything on online?
That this is an action item.
There's the chairman.
I would move that with you.
I'll provide you as a chair to sign the state of Colorado jail.
Behavior based services, j-b-b-s grant.
Or July 1st of,
2006 through June 30th of 2007,
in the amount of $380 and $89,500 for in-make programs
and medicated assistant treatment.
Second.
Any questions on favor?
Aye.
Yeah, you guys got it good to see you.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Appreciate your time.
Thank you.
Okay. Next on our agenda is consent agenda.
Any items that anybody would like to have followed?
I would like to pull them to nine,
just because I want to have Fred talk about that a little bit for broadband.
Get that, get that, get that, just highlight it a little bit.
But we still need a motion on the other eight items.
Let's get that.
We approve the consent agenda of items 1-2-8.
Second.
Okay.
I'm going to call the motion on favor.
Aye.
Item number nine.
That's the letter letters to the NTIA administrator.
Both our senators requesting that the director release of $46 million.
Be non-development funding allocated to say to Colorado,
which is broadband.
It does affect us.
Obviously, that's why I would ask for the letter.
And Fred, can you just discuss this where we are with broadband?
You know, it's been a year since we actually had,
we had companies in front of us that were ready to go,
I guess, take our broadband to individual homes.
And that hasn't happened.
So if you would just give us an update.
Yeah, absolutely.
And thank you.
The very high level view of this is the county was very active as you know,
in building out the first, first mile and then middle mile network,
predominantly the middle mile, which is all the infrastructure,
essentially, that brings broadband to all of our towns.
Right now, that's about a almost a $6 million investment split
between Garfield County and Dola.
That infrastructure is now physically in place.
So we have reached out with these tentacles from the I-70 corridor that come
into a, what's called a central location.
Right?
And that's used to be called a meet me center.
A neutral career location.
And that is all of those spots are hot now.
So in doing that, the same time the county was entertaining
offers from different ISPs to come, for of which you saw before you
asking for letters of support to apply for the first round of
bead funding and beads.
Broadband equity and access program.
These were dollars that were released from the federal government down to the
states.
And that was through the Asia legislation.
And that originally was about 42 billion spread across the United
States, Colorado received about 825 million.
And some of those dollars were awarded to companies in the first round.
Problem was the challenge was with a new administration,
the rules and criteria around which an ISP was able to compete in an
application process changed dramatically.
So those four companies that were in front of you before basically had a large
reset on how they could apply for those dollars.
And all of those ISPs are engaged in providing what's called the last
mile.
So that is fiber to the home fiber to the business.
And that is where we have constantly been since you've actually
physically built out the middle mile.
So we're still working with whoever we can,
frankly, from the NTIA in the state broadband office to free up
this non-deployment funds.
It would both of these letters talk about.
That's about, I think you mentioned it commissioners about $406 million
that has not been awarded out.
We know that there are companies that are still very interested in doing this.
In the last round to go back, one of the companies that was successful in the
first round of beat funding that did affect parts of Garfield County,
mostly the eastern side was Amazon.
And that was for a low or a bit system, the challenge with that.
None of those satellites are in the sky right now.
So while the award was made, that's a long way off from coming to
realization.
And so both of these letters are meant to request that those remaining
dollars for phase two, the second round are redeployed so that we can make
movements on this last mile and see whether the company is still interested.
We do know of one or two that are.
And so this is, both of these letters one is course to your federal,
yeah, your federal delegation and then of course director,
aerial wrath of the NTIA to say please release those non-deployment funds.
And so that's really what this is about so that we can continue to capitalize on
the system that you physically build.
That's where we are.
Yeah, I have a question commission.
Well, I just.
And I don't want to be to dead horse here, but why did they change the rules was,
was there's some big investigation that they said, this isn't going to do the job,
and we've got to make sure it's done right.
And do you or do you know the answer to that?
I mean, I guess my point is we were going so far.
We were going so well every thing.
It was just how many long and all of a sudden we get two thirds through the street,
then we go, oh, we got to change horses there.
You know why?
Well, they went there and could share as we do know that the last mile
brought in as very, very expensive.
And however, the bead funding was.
To agree that these companies were willing to do significant capital impact or
development with the backing that they had.
The federal government, when the change of the administration is lowered the bar,
that allowed other technologies to come in, essentially, in which is satellite service.
And so that is a lot of folks will tell you not quite as robust as a service with the
problems the satellite service has compared certainly to broadband, hard-line broadband
end.
And so I think in the federal government's eyes, they believe that this was sort of
allowing a lot more people in the order to compete.
And that's all I can share with you as far as I know.
And it was a major reset.
So it was the unfortunate part you had companies who were really ready to go, literally
ready to go with builds, and this changed the playing field dramatically.
So I do know that there's still interest in it, but we'll have to, we'll have to see.
So this idea here, Commissioner, to try to move that ball at the federal level to keep this moving.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yes, I would.
And we are, you know, we are in each community in the Colorado River basin.
We have, we're middle miles there.
As you said, neutral carrier locations are all in those communities.
That's right.
And we just can't, we need some help from the private sector to get that out to the
individuals or individual businesses or even institutional, institutional
businesses, I guess.
Absolutely.
The only thing I'm failed to mention, that's really, really important.
When the board set out on this journey with broadband, the whole idea was to provide service
to around 4,000 that were non-served or underserved, and you've heard us talk about that forever.
But that's really important, right?
There's a lot of folks in municipalities that do have service, however, that's a fairly finite service.
And this would add not only service to this underserved, but also add a competitive edge.
That we believe is quite important.
So you're right, Commissioner.
We have those carry neutral locations that are hot that are blind up ready to go.
I guess my concern is that the funds that were made available by the federal government were in
inflation reduction act funds.
And a lot of those funds have been clawed back.
And let's just hope that this is so important to every rural county in the United States.
That's hope that that doesn't happen and they move forward.
Okay.
No.
All right.
Any other comments?
There's no action.
Well, yeah, we do need action on this.
We need to approve the ratified letters that if I actually already been signed.
So we need to ratify those two letters.
Chairman, I moved that we ratify the two letters sent to NITA,
Minister of Roth and Senators Bennett and Hick and Lupa and Congressman heard requesting they direct the release of.
Four hundred and six million dollars in fees.
Non deployment funding allocated in the state of Colorado would be released by the state without delay.
And make sure that ratification signed by you, which is.
But.
I call emotional and favor.
I hear that we are going to go to our county manager, Mr. Jarman public meetings.
The first thing is action item.
There's a 26 second quarter request for discretionary grant funding, which I think a lot of you in the audience are here for.
I'll just make a couple of comments and one is that we have there are 10 different nonprofits of applying for this.
And there's 30,000 dollars available. So if we divide that divide that by 10 that'd be $3,000 each and that doesn't necessarily happen that way, but just to let you know.
Also when you're presenting we do not we're not going to allow any.
I guess slide decks.
We just find verbal presentation.
So we can move this forward because there'll be there's 10 of you and it'll take this probably an hour to get through all of this so.
With that Mr. Jarman you you have you had the floor and.
With this meeting forward.
Sure you bet thank you.
So as commissioner said we've got 10 requests totaling 48,000 right now the balance in your discretionary grant.
Budget is 91,500 for the benefit of everyone listening.
We built the board of kind of commission dollars a sell on a quarterly basis today is a listening session to hear the requests.
And then the following week is typically when the commissioner will make those decisions so just letting everybody know they don't make them today.
But they'll certainly are eager to hear from from the folks requesting.
The max that anyone can request is 5,000 and kind of you heard.
Mr. Dan Kovsky in terms of what we have to do.
So with that as background.
The first let me just introduce them one by one first one is there's a request for discretionary grant funding a 5,000.
And dollars for Colorado Mountain College Foundation.
This is in support of Garfield County scholarships for non traditional students.
The students funding and Lisa as you're a do the development officer is listed.
She online.
Oh, you hear.
Oh, come on you're so quiet.
You bet welcome.
Yes.
You have the floor.
And hopefully I got your name.
This is going with.
You're right.
Okay.
Thank you for hearing me.
The Garfield County non traditional student scholarship was established in 2012 to support non traditional students.
At Colorado Mountain College is growing fork and rifle campuses.
Eligible students must enroll in at least six credit hours in courses that build skills for current or future employment.
The scholarship reflects Garfield County's commitment to education and to a strong local workforce.
Since the scholarship began, 20 students have received support and have gone on to earn three certificates, 12 associates degrees and four bachelor's degrees.
These outcomes show that scholarships have helped local students continue their education and complete meaningful credentials.
Colorado Mountain College respectfully requests renewal of the scholarship with an increase in annual support from $2,500 to $5,000.
The original amount has remained unchanged since 2012, while CMC's indistrict tuition has increased from $66 per credit hour in 2012 to 110 per credit hour in 2026.
For a student taking the minimum six credit hours required to qualify, tuition alone has risen from about $336 to $660 before books, fees, transportation, childcare and other daily expenses.
Renewing the scholarship at $5,000 would help keep this long-standing county investment meaningful for today's adult learners and support their progress toward better employment opportunities in Garfield County.
You have a pretty good batting record in the 1719 out of 20 and about at some sort of certificate.
Yes, yeah.
And that's great and that these are committed.
Any questions or comments?
It's been a very, I remember when CMC approached me about that 2012 when I said, this is where the endeavor and it's tough because since then we just, so many people with so many needs.
So I think it's worthwhile and very productive.
Program that has produced some great results in the lives of young people.
And I'm a little bit biased towards education.
Yeah, that's where I'm coming from, yes.
Well, it didn't work, but I understand this.
It's a good program.
This include a student that may be in a nursing program as well.
Absolutely.
Yeah, not traditional students is usually their adult.
They're adults coming back to the education system to, yeah, yeah.
Great.
All right, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Appreciate the update.
And we did see the letters from some of your non-traditional students in the back of the subject.
Great.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Next up.
This is a request for grant funding in the amount of $5,000 for the Rhoink for outdoor volunteers.
And it's listed as Rebecca Child Executive Director is here.
And you are here.
Good morning.
Hi, everyone.
Thank you so much for having us.
Um, or me.
I'm Rebecca Sheldon, the Executive Director of Rhoink Work Outdoor volunteers.
And we are an organization that has strong roots in this area.
We've been here offering volunteer and youth programming,
stewarding our outdoor resources for 31 years.
We're grateful to Fed Garfield County has been a consistent supporter of our work.
And in this last budget cycle, our funding was cut just due to budget concerns.
So I'm here to ask for discretionary funding to support our community projects.
So in 2025, we mobilized over 2,000 unique volunteers who contributed over 8,400 volunteer hours.
And in addition, we have a professional trail crew and professional staff that also offered over 5,000 hours to the stewardship of our public lands.
So in Garfield County, that's equivalent to $230,000 of direct on the ground impact, creating healthy and resilient landscapes,
as well as stewarding and managing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities.
We have a thriving youth program where we're in the schools.
We're educating 1,400 students and teaching them about connecting to the land and hands-on service learning and volunteer ethics.
In Garfield County this year, we started off with fire mitigation project in South Canyon.
Some other highlights include fire mitigation on CMC's campus.
This coming weekend, we'll be doing an invasive species management project at Talbot's Mountain, Burning Mountain and Newcastle.
We'll be doing some trail projects at Babish, Gulchup near Sunlight, working in Rifle Mountain Park.
So our work kind of extends across the county and touches a lot of different types of people who are interested in restoring the land.
But also working on outdoor recreation opportunities.
So I'm grateful for your support and hoping that you can continue to support us this year.
Thanks.
Questions from the back of our experience about the invasive species in Newcastle.
Yes, so a lot of people don't know is when you disturb the natural environment that creates an opportunity for invasive species and leads to move in.
In particular, Kosha is a big problem.
And so what our volunteers will be doing is weeding.
And they're looking at targeted populations so that they can really help control this spread of those noxious weeds.
And then a particularly dry year invasive species is a really critical concern to land managers.
So I'm curious about your fire mitigation.
What kind of work are you doing?
We're cutting.
What is the work you're doing?
Well, we give chainsides to volunteers.
We have a volunteer chain side crew where we've taken them through an S212 chain side program.
And then we have a fleet of tools.
And they go in and do targeted fuels mitigation.
So primarily thinning but also clearing what you debris that's already on the landscape.
And what that allows is there are some places where machine tools for fire mitigation just aren't effective or it's not cost effective.
And so our volunteers are able to go in and kind of do more nimble fuels mitigation.
And so last year we mitigated seven acres of property across our region for fire mitigation.
And so it's small that I think it also demonstrates to our community that they can participate.
And the fighting in reducing the risk of wildfire.
And we're exploring working on private lands so that we can actually help with fuels mitigation projects that would benefit the landscape and working on private land to do that.
Thanks.
Let me ask any of those city property.
Yeah, so that with South Canyon we work with the city of Glenwood and at CMC's campus we're working with them.
And we've been doing fire mitigation in both of those areas for the past three years.
Yeah, any other questions.
Back up, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
And.
It's a journey.
Right.
Thank you.
Next is a grant request of $8,000 for the rightful rendezvous.
Any McGregor is here.
Good morning.
Good timing.
Okay.
Here week before the rendezvous.
I know.
I thought maybe we would do it last quarter, but I just couldn't give myself together.
All right.
Thank you.
So yeah, it's our 30th year of rendezvous.
I know that as commissioners, you guys have kind of been there since the beginning.
And it's just grown and grown.
This year we unfortunately had to make the decision to kind of pair down our events due to costs.
So we're not going to have any rodeo events this year, which is a big bummer for us.
Probably my favorite part.
Car whole will be there and we'll have lots of vendors and lots of.
Stage shows so like all of our.
Some of the nonprofits that we help.
They'll be a bathtub race.
Should be interesting.
We'll have the 3D archery shoot.
Car show will be there.
On Saturday Saturday will be, you know, seven to midnight.
So it'd be a big night.
I'll have dance out with.
Brandy Donaldson's group full throttle.
We'll have a cutest cowboy contest.
Shindig will be there with 4-H.
So they'll do their option.
And then we'll also on Friday night.
Working with the rodeo club to do a concert.
So Sean Moon will be coming out from Grand Junction.
We'll do kind of a concert.
Dance for them as a benefit.
So it'll still be great.
And the community will come out and enjoy summer kick it off.
And you have your, you have the on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning.
Yep.
We'll do our church service.
We'll have, I don't know.
I think there's five churches now that will come together and do.
Community service.
So that'd be great time.
And big pot.
Yep.
Yeah.
Mike.
She drew your district.
Yeah.
Any thanks for coming.
Yeah.
And so on and so forth.
I just wanted to see if maybe you're, you have a board of directors or what do you have a car.
You call it the board.
There are five of us.
And, you know, I've watched the run to move, growing, growing, growing.
I mean, it was just a little kind of gathering.
And it's just, well, which is great and so on.
But it costs money and it costs money.
Yeah.
Just wondering, what do you have any plans for the future?
And can you maybe expand on that?
Yeah.
Because we look at, it seems to me, you're going to have to make a decision.
Are we going to try and keep this a little bit smaller and not have to.
Who after big bucks from a lot of different sponsors.
It's such a, you know, I'm talking about.
Yeah.
Or are we going to, what's kind of the future, as you see it?
So the board is, and we've been struggling with this for a couple of years.
I mean, we're all volunteers, right?
So it's just a volunteer board.
And it's a huge undertaking.
It probably causes way more gray hairs than I need.
But it's to a point now where the structure of a volunteer board doesn't necessarily fit the event anymore.
And so we've approached a couple of other nonprofits to maybe see if we can combine forces.
As we're putting this together, we've also reached out to a professional event coordinator.
That could come alongside and give us some consultation just as this event is growing and where we need to.
Make some adjustments.
Because it is an event that just, I mean, has exploded probably since COVID.
And it's almost trying to keep the wheels on has been really tough.
And so that is something that we're looking at is like, how do we restructure so that we can support an event of this size.
And, and make it so that it is.
Sustainable is growing.
So that is your wish you would like it to continue to be a big event in the end zone.
It's biggest is the fairgrounds can, right? Like obviously that footprint.
But I think having, you know, having the Mexican rodeo.
You know, we got them to come back this year on Sunday night.
And that's just such a huge event for our valley.
And then having, you know, symbol writing or rodeo event.
Just having something for the community on each of those nights.
I think it's really important.
I don't know that we want to necessarily make it any bigger.
I don't, I don't think it can get any bigger.
Based on this size of the fairgrounds.
So it's just something.
How do we maintain its, its growth that it is.
So that it's sustainable for years to come.
Definitely encourage you to do that.
Thank you.
Yes.
You are usually the first event of the summer.
Yes.
We have the start of the county.
So thank you for that.
Yeah.
We love it.
And we, we understand just from our fair and rodeo.
You know, it takes a year to mix a year of planning.
Yeah.
We're working on this to, to get an event this, this large too.
Yeah.
You know, in March, we had some, some costs that we weren't expecting.
And so with security and, and the cost of that.
And then, you know, everything goes up, right?
Insurance went up.
All the things go up.
And so it just, truly, when we look back at things.
And when I came to you guys, I think last month.
I mean, 60% is kind of where our expenses went, you know, almost immediately.
And so it was just kind of one of those things that we didn't necessarily have a ton of time to prepare for.
Even though we knew costs were going up, we just didn't expect them to jump 60% so.
Yeah.
But now we know right now we can prepare.
Okay.
And the carnival will set up on Thursday.
Next Thursday.
So they'll be here.
And you're doing this event with $46,000.
Yep.
Great.
Yep.
That's off to you.
The carnival is, is our savior, right?
Yeah.
They, they, they bring the people in and, and they don't post us anything.
Yeah.
The general bit of money.
Correct.
Yep.
Yeah.
Appreciate you guys.
Thank you.
All right. Thank you.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you.
Fourth up next is this is a request for $5,000.
And grant funding for the Roy Ford Public Radio Incorporated Doing Business as Aspen Public Radio and Greg.
All right.
Community Relations is here.
Good morning.
Great.
Welcome.
Good to see you.
All right.
You're in Renoonda.
I don't know.
What's going on?
Congratulations.
Come up here.
Good to see you.
Congratulations.
How time consuming it is to review 10 grants. So thank you very much for your consideration. I think it's worth it. I think the return on investment of your granting to all of these nonprofits, including us is large and it is community serving.
Aspen Public Radio's mission is to support nurse and enrich our community by providing information informative, entertaining and educational radio and digital programming in a reliable and professional manner.
I wanted to give you something real quick. I know what to do.
Yeah.
Roach.
Well, this is project based for our nonprofit community fair. I did want to cover our operations in general.
That is the one to our to the clerk as well.
She needs the animals and to our county attorney.
This is, I was going to pass it back.
That's okay.
The theme of our spring membership drive was preparedness and pretty much the theme of our year is preparedness.
That card is for concise informative tips on being prepared, especially in the case of wildfire and flood.
At the very basic public media and radio for that matter, especially in a rural area and the coincidence of talking about broadband divide and the socioeconomic broadband divide.
Radio and public radio is critical for informing people in emergency situations, especially in that broadband divide.
We are main transmitters are from smuggler mountain and sunlight mountain.
We and then we have translator at the top of Iron Mountain that has a specific signal for Glenwood till the radio blockage in South Canyon.
And I hit South Glenwood as well, but our 88.9 signal hits the bulk of the Roach and Fort Valley in the Colorado River corridor really well.
But we do have a dedicated 89.3 signal from Iron Mountain that can give things even clearer in the immediate area because of sunlight mountain.
We have a certain rightful pick up our signal really well.
But radio is impervious to power outages and internet outages.
If you have a no a weather radio, if you have a transistor radio with a battery, you can get emergency information.
And our journalists, above and beyond, and that strikes at the professional word in our mission statement are trained annually in resilience.
And in emergency preparedness.
By law, we must maintain generator backup.
So if there's a power outage, we're still on the air.
Enable to serve in a liable manner.
I'll give you an example real quick.
I was coming back.
I don't go to the station at office often.
A lot of my work is remote and in the field with our nonprofit partnerships.
But I was coming back from aspirin coincidentally when that sustainable settings grass fires started.
And I was meeting my girlfriend partner to go back home to marble.
But I immediately knew that I was not going to be able to get down Highway 133 because of that fire.
We planned to meet in Carbondale Library and waste some time before the road opened up before traveling on.
But within a half hour, I stayed tuned to the radio and knew that we didn't have to meet at Carbondale Library.
And we could proceed tomorrow because I learned that the fire was under control and the road was back open.
But that's just to give you an idea of the critical essential nature of public radio and radio in serving the community just for emergency critical emergency purposes.
What we're requesting this grant for is the same as last year our nonprofit volunteer fair.
One of my other hats with Aspen Public Radio is maintaining effective nonprofit relationships of which we have many.
And one of the concrete examples of that is media sponsorships.
Rowing for outdoor volunteer volunteers we provide a media sponsorship to annually now in terms of and that value to roaring for outdoor volunteers in terms of radio promotion.
Digital promotion is about $5,000 in and of itself.
And I orchestrate about 30 of these nonprofit media sponsorships per year on average.
There were about $2,500 of peace and it's money that these nonprofits don't have to expand out of their budgets on promotion and get people aware of projects of roaring for outdoor volunteers for instance.
CMC and their civics department is another beneficiary of that media sponsorship.
We're in close communications with crystal and that department at CMC the year before we participated in a year-long collaboration with CMC on Richard Hauss's book.
The book of obligations and common dialogue.
Mostly on the premise of being civically involved and volunteering is the best way to be in a community and the leverage that it provides.
So full circle that's nonprofit volunteer fair.
Same as last year we host 30 volunteers in an expo type setting it will once again be in the common outdoor common of.
Glenwood branch library and then the boost will be on Cooper Street within that block.
The thrust of that is to help these mostly very volunteer driven nonprofits to recruit volunteers but also create awareness of their missions.
Last year we facilitated 100 new volunteers comprehensively over these couple dozen nonprofit agencies.
Michelle Marlow is the event planner of it which is again a very professional.
Both in terms of logistics of Glenwood Springs ordinances Garfield County ordinances to make sure this is done right and in compliance.
But also I loved Michelle's idea there's free food at this event via food trucks, but the mechanism to get that free food is that each of the volunteer booths have tickets.
And when somebody engages with one of the volunteer booths they then get a ticket to be able to cash in for food at the food truck.
So there's a carrot there in terms of and also key to this event it's being held once again on the last Wednesday of August.
Last year was from 2 to 5 PM and again that's to take advantage of earlier release Wednesday and student participation and we had a lot of students.
This year it's going to be from 3 to 6 to make sure we also engage with Garfield RE2 as much as possible to make sure 2 to 5 is a little prohibitive for students that aren't being released early on Wednesday but 3 to 6, especially in contact with Garfield RE2 social sciences and administrators.
We can make sure that those kids and their families can get there at least by 4 o'clock.
And the live broadcast won't take place until 4 to 30 so people will be able to take place in the drawn delight of witnessing a live broadcast from the event.
Again all of these nonprofits I would say without exception are probably recipients of a Garfield County discretionary grant.
So again the return on investment for this and us helping the same entities that you're helping I think is huge.
Lastly this is a grant but we're affording all the funders and granders the same sponsorship benefits that a private funder would afford and that includes mention of Garfield County support when we promote this event over our airwaves.
As well as in our physical and digital materials and promoting the event I provided in there an example of some of the exposure that you got last year from that.
And Fred and Renel will attest last year I was tenacious about wanting to make sure that Garfield County had a tent there as a sponsor.
Unfortunately the leaf fire sparks up and Renel was incredibly busy none the last I offer the same as I did last year that I will I'll be your grant if you want me to in terms of getting a tent there in a table there just need to have you guys get a person there.
But I think it's invaluable outreach to be able to be there.
Yeah we might want to talk to Lou as well.
Okay.
Yes because it is you're talking about preparedness for emergency.
Yes.
And that all goes through our to the sheriff's office through Chris board hold.
Yeah.
Yeah I wanted to point out on these as well and in terms of hundreds of nonprofit leveraging and collaboration we're providing like one to two thousands of these at the request of food bank for the Rockies.
The Rockies they want to put these in in the bags where people are getting food.
And I would like to ask that you be in touch with Chris board hold as well just so you're journalists.
So so that's seamless if we do have a wildfire.
Yeah or an emergency of some sort.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yeah I'll take that.
I'll take that matter.
If you manage your in the sheriff's office you got to come.
Okay.
Yeah.
Any questions?
Mike Perry.
I think it's great that you have something like this, especially this year.
Right.
Especially this year.
Yeah.
I want to touch on that real quick in terms of.
I know it didn't happen last year, but I did note in the.
First application to get on the agenda that matching may be required.
Your support is already matched by a very reputable private.
Alpine bank is sponsoring this to $5,000.
But what spurred my memory on this as well as we do have commitment.
So far 1,000 I'm on their grant.
You've been parliament grant post.
As a community foundation is committed to a thousand so far.
But as you know, aspirin communities foundation has a mission to serve all the way to parachute and especially youth.
Especially through their first community foundation.
But aspirin community foundation is in as well.
So you're not solo on the support by any means and we're really going to be doing the thrust of our.
Push on sponsorship in June.
But we already have decent support.
I guess I would like to wrap.
I don't want to be presumptuous, but I guess the development person in me is.
I wanted to get in on this early because last year it was August for your preparation purposes and ours.
And now I'm kicking myself a little bit in terms of last year there were five or six August participants and.
And here we are in May with 10 and if there's room for extrapolating into the next two quarters.
We'd greatly appreciate it.
Yeah, and I just state that I put this in the second quarter.
First quarter we all had four I think four requests so.
And now second quarter we have 10 so this for everybody out there to you.
And again, I'll mostly just appreciation for the time you take in reading these over and listening to us.
Thanks.
Yeah.
Good.
Thank you.
Good.
Thanks.
I do like you.
Wouldn't doubt hit out.
But yeah.
It's ready to say.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Sorry.
Okay.
It's adjourned.
Okay.
Thank you.
Next this morning.
This is a grant funding request of five thousand dollars for the growing for your orchestra program.
And Sarah.
Grant.
Here's your morning.
Hi.
See you again.
Once a year.
Yes.
Yeah.
So thank you so much for having us all here.
I'm Sarah Graff.
Executive Director also one of the.
Co-music directors and tell a teacher.
We all wear a lot of hats at the at the organization.
And I think that's one of the things that makes us special is that we're all sort of involved with the students all the time and also running the organization and so very very involved in everything.
We're very grateful for the past support.
It's been very important to us in our growing Garfield County, especially in Newcastle in silt.
So this year's request is.
Similar to all the past years that we want to keep growing and keep sustaining what we're doing in.
Cactus Valley Elementary School and Riverside in Newcastle.
We keep starting new groups of kids each year at fourth grade in Cactus Valley and then they continue on.
So that all together in all.
All of our locations right now, we have 100 students. It's our first year with 100 students. It's our 15th year of the program. When we first started, we had eight up Valley and we've gradually moved our way down Valley and spread out and are really proud to have that many kids involved.
They're all the way from kindergarten through high schoolers with sort of the middle school HB in the core group.
We have two main benefits of what we do are for the students, of course, but also the community, all of our concerts are free, always, and we do community sing along, that Christmas time and then concerts throughout the year.
And we have a group called sidewalk strings that goes out and plays in the summer like at farmer's markets or kind of on the corner here and there and does a lot of fiddle tunes in that style of music.
So we do a lot more than sort of a traditional youth orchestra of what you might think of or what I think of from when I was a kid, but we do a lot more than that now.
And then we estimate around 2000 audience members come out each year and if you add up all of the different concerts.
And then scholarships are a big part of what we do and a lot of what grant funding helps to make possible.
They're need-based basically it equals like reduced tuition or reduced costs for less so no money goes out to the students specifically, but it makes it possible for them to do the program either for free or for a very low cost based on need.
So that we don't turn anyone away and right now about 65% of our students are receiving some level of scholarship.
So there's there's great need for that in the area and not a lot of other musical education for youth opportunities is especially in the Newcastle to rifle part of our area.
There are more as you get towards Glenwood and Carbendale and we do have some programming there, but we really especially are thinking of this this request for our western Garfield County part of the region.
Okay, thank you Mike.
Questions.
Very in questions.
I'm glad you do some of the outreach of those concerts like the veterans nursing home.
Yeah.
You would expand that more and more of the senior housing living place would be great.
Mm-hmm.
So that we do that.
Yeah.
We love playing in different venues for different places.
Schools don't have music or where the playing instruments do they or like a band do they have a band.
Yes.
They're definitely band classes in all of the middle schools and high schools.
The elementary schools don't have instrumental music in or at least in silk where we have our program.
They have a general music class, but there's no instrumental music there.
A lot of other places a band or or string orchestra would start in fourth or fifth grade, but that's not the case in cactus valley.
They do have general music class, but not until middle school would they be able to start an instrument.
So we start just string players in the younger ages, but our advanced group also has wins in brass and percussion.
So a lot of students from Glenwood High School band play on our in our top orchestra.
Yeah.
Okay. Thank you.
Sorry. Yeah. Thanks so much.
Yeah.
We're familiar with the program seeing you many years.
So thank you.
Thank you sir.
Are you guys good?
And you want to take a break at this nine o'clock.
Good.
Let's take a halfway through the going to that.
So let's take a let's make it a chin at a break.
And be back here at nine 15.
Okay.
Hey, we are back. We're back from.
We're back on the air.
That vacuum is adjourned.
Okay. Thank you.
Next this morning up on the discretionary grants is a funding request for $5,000 for three rivers.
A little league and bread plants and Craig Womers are here to make that presentation.
And there's a lot of things we've done.
And we're going to make it a little bit more gentlemen.
Welcome.
Good morning.
Morning.
Four pressure of probably in the middle of that right.
That said.
As I said it that summer event.
It's free event.
Are you that.
Yeah.
Kids playing baseball.
So my name is Brad Plans.
I'm not on the board of directors.
I was a volunteer that just decided to help out with the grant writing.
And the biggest reason for the ask for this request is because field space continues to
cost continue to increase. So that's been a challenge for us.
Please, please, the school schools for field space.
Late, you have to pay for, we pay for, yeah, from Parks and Rack.
Parks and Rack. Yeah, okay. For both Global Springs and Carbondale Parks and Rack.
Hey, well, just give us, give us an overview. You know, who's participating.
Maintains, where they're from, all that stuff, yeah.
It's been more gentleman. That's why I come into play. A lot of good public speakers,
so bear with me there. Come more of a big small coach.
But I have been involved in literally as a player and as a coach since I was in middle school.
So three or ever started back and I believe it's in 98 or 99 and that's about when I played in it.
And then now I have kids playing baseball. And I've been coaching for about 12 years now and got
suggested to travel for the board six years ago as a coach. That sounds fun. Help grow the league.
So that's where I got on the board and then they should have all told to be the president. So that's why I'm here today.
But I'm in it because I love the sport. It's America's favorite past time.
It kids learn so much more than just how to play baseball in literally. They learn life lessons.
They learn life skills. It's something that I see kids in the store 10 years later. They say,
hey coach, and honestly I don't remember some of their names. But this is the impact that they have on it.
And literally it's such a great organization for that. And three or specifically we cover from
Vail the Glamwood and Eagle Valley. And then from Aspen or from Vail the Gifts. I'm sorry, Eagle Valley.
And then Aspen the Glamwood over here in the rowing Fort Valley. And we have, I think, 420
Some kids play in this year for about 30 teams. Then each team will get roughly 12 or 10 games in.
And it's, it's mild competitive baseball. I guess I could call it. And literally, as a whole,
it's trying to balance between Reck League and the travel baseball. It's travel baseball is growing a lot more.
So we're fighting that balance as well and trying to just keep a good competitive baseball
where the kids have a transition into more competitive baseball as well as into the high school program.
And that's our goal is just to get the kids to love the sport and get to high school and continue to grow.
And we are an affiliate of literally international. So we are part of that system. So the
literally world series and Williamsport, our teams have the potential to make it there. And it's the dream of
all little leaders and our teams of we've been growing as an organization more and more and getting to
point where kids see the competitiveness of it. And we've won numerous district championships. We've
gone to state tournaments. We've even had a few teams go to regional. We haven't been lucky enough to
go to Williamsport yet. But that's always the goal there. However, the hard part is being non-profit organization.
But keep them the costs of registration fees down for the players as hard because as Brad mentioned,
the field costs are going up. Unpires are hard and harder to come by and we've been trying to
balance that as well as get younger kids in the unpiring but making it work there while. And it's been
it's been a struggle overall for the past few years. Just trying to keep it where we don't push the kids away
because it's too expensive for them to even play in the first place. And what ages? We have ages,
the team ages are from 10 to 14, but we also have some eight and nine year olds that play on the
10 year old teams. And did you go ahead on the charge individual to participate? Is there a cost for
that? There is the registration fee and that really covers the cost of getting the jersey for them,
getting the hats and then it goes towards the entire fees, the field uses fees but it doesn't come
around that we rely on grants, it's more serious than how much would it cost if I had one of the
participants. I think it was $3.25 this year which is almost a little steep compared to what travel
will cost ours. Everything costs. Yes it does. What's the travel? Like travel baseball, there's a it's a
whole thing that's taken over the country really, where the cost is. Most of the least ones in
Edo Valley and gumwood are $400 or $500 for a player to join a travel team. We do to play interlead
play with CRB and a little bit with the ground junction teams as well. Yes, they're just their own separately,
but we do that. Yeah, you play those teams. Correct. Great. And so was it like a league? So you
got to keep track of your wins and losses and all that? Yes sir. On the question is Mike? I just I just
remember playing a little league when I was seven years old, the other way up to I'm buying and
coach and stay championship teams and baseball is a great sport and I love it, but I just
that blows I mean it just costs so much money for everything. Didn't cost at times for me to play
when I was a kid and now it's $3.25. I get it. I understand that it's just
the raising. So this money just go kind of into your general fund or will be used for scholarships
but you're what you're the use of that. Since it's a Garfield County grant fund, we use it solely for
the Garfield County field costs and umpires that unpire those games which the field costs
were just glowing in carbon mail for the season. Things about $5,000 what we're going to pay just to
rent the fields and then the unpire costs will be closer to $10,000 just to unpire the games in those two areas.
Okay, it's good information. Yeah. Any other questions? Okay thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate the time. I appreciate you being here, appreciate your work with
the youth. Thank you. Okay. Okay, thank you. You've got next up. This is a discretionary grant request funding for
$3,500 for the West Elp Trails. Todd Tibets, the board chairman and the co-crisisonson are both here
to the west of Good Morning. Morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Oh, that's good to see you. Yeah.
Here on a different roll but just as it's being front of these things for your time. Okay. Good morning update.
Good morning. I'm Todd Tibets, board chair of West Elp Trails. Thank you for the time today.
My Garfield County has supported the West Elp Trails win our grooming program for quite a number
of years back in 2009 youth supported our buying of our groomer, which we still currently use and
supported us throughout the years. Last year we because of the low snow conditions, our expenses
were reduced significantly. And so we didn't come up for you guys and asked for funding for
last year. We're anticipating that this next winter will be closer to normal. Amen. And this summer
will be wet. And so we're anticipating again the financial needs of normal season and requesting
support of 3,500 bucks. One of the other things that is happening in West Elp part of our
specific use permit with the Forest Services to do summer trail maintenance. Quite a number of years ago,
we opened up the Mansfield ditch trail had not been used for quite a while and had gotten
overgrown and West Elp Trails sponsored to three different work sessions to get volunteers out
to start clearing that. And then the Forest Service once it was cleared enough to get through the
Forest Service was able to take it over. But the Newcastle Mountain Mike group in the
rightful mountain group by group of approached West Elp Trails to open up another couple
sections of trails for hiking, mountain biking and port riding up on the flat tops that have
gotten overgrown. There's a section from the Mansfield ditch over to Main Elp and then the last
chance trail which goes from near the parking lot at the winter maintenance ends out to
quartz ridge. And so we're contemplating next season, leveraging the coordination between the
mountain Mike groups and web built trail with either lead organization and to again get citizen volunteers
to open up those trails so then the Forest Service then can in the summertime with the
youth conservation core which Garfield County supports can help keep those trails open.
As with all other nonprofit organizations our expenses have increased rather dramatically over the
years and what we've done to address that we have good continue a user support over a third of
our budget is provided by user voluntary donations but we
Humanities to increase their funding as well as we've sponsored a fundraising dinner, which has
been successful and increased our funding there. So we have had to ask the additional government
support as our expenses increased and all that Nicole talked a little bit more about the funding
and issues of that nature.
Well, how many miles of trails do you have under your purview?
Curlius 10, 10 miles of trails, seven miles of groan and then there's three miles, which is a
a snow shoe that does not get groan.
Okay, Nicole. Nicole, you got the floor.
Thank you so much. I'm newer to this board, but I'm not newer. I'm not new to the West Oaks trails.
Like 13 years ago, my first winter, my boss at the time made sure we got up there.
We snow-shoot and now I've gotten really into cross-country skiing. He brought hot chocolate and just being out
at that overlook was magical and what I love about these trails is every time I'm up there.
It's magical and those places in our valley are rare.
So I'm really glad to be a little more involved and share a bit more about the community support.
And like Todd mentioned, we're talking to more small businesses for their sponsorship as well.
It's something that businesses can kind of help support for their employees.
All of us choose to live here and it's a hard place to live.
It's a hard place to come. It's a hard place to stay and make it work.
So having these kind of amenities for all of our locals, for our employees, for our community members is really valuable.
I can't imagine living a place without something like West Oaks trails, basically in my backyard.
We now bring our dog every time we're there.
It's nice that it's free, but we always give our user donation every year and we encourage other folks that we see up there to make sure to know this doesn't happen.
For free, it's free to users, but it's not free to actually provide these great trails and amenities.
A little more about our fundraising dinner.
This is something we've added two years ago.
It was one of our board members ideas.
We've sold out 55 plus seats both years and then this year in January we added a silent option, which definitely brought in a lot more money as well.
So it's, you know, we're looking to address the cost increases, but also do fun things where we get to see everyone that we see on the trails at dinner.
And it kind of enjoyed each other's company in a different arena.
So it's been a great board to be involved in and just a great community asset that I can't imagine not having for years to come.
Thank you.
Very frugal budget.
That is true for what you do.
And so last winter what was your season January to mid March did you get that much?
Well, we, we open just before Christmas, but people have to dodge some muddy areas.
We really didn't get adequate snow until January to really start grooming.
We spent just about as much time shoveling snow on the trails to keep them open.
We, we did, we were able to stay open till the second weekend in March.
And spite of the 70 and 80 degree weather that it was, it was all better was unbelievable.
Yeah.
And it, uh, not quite the same as the like two winners to go when we had 10 feet of base up there.
It's supposed to about a what and a half to two feet of base is this last year.
I like to hike and have it hike to trails.
So I need to do that.
What's the base elevation?
Uh, it's at 90 and 9000 feet is where the parking lot is again.
It's right at the end of the winter maintenance parking lot.
We'll share that with the snow wheel.
Well, how did it snow.
These snow and build trails run parallel or how does that.
No, the snow and build trails basically go north.
Uh, on the roof of a road and, and to a forest road to 20 towards metal lake.
And, and we go east right at the start of the, um, parking lot area.
And, and so our trails are separate from the snow and build trails.
And, and as the coal mentioned, you get out in the woods and it's peaceful.
Uh, and, and then we've got a beautiful view spot where you can see all the way from the rag.
It's all the way over to the mountains over by eagle.
Uh, call that Dorothy's view for Dorothy and her husband.
Uh, ran where ranchers here and they used to go and they had to plaque up one of the old, uh,
Aspen trees that said, Dorothy's view is just carry that name forward.
Your questions.
Your help.
I know.
I know it pretty well.
It's a good deal.
Okay.
Thanks.
Your service.
And trails are really important.
I'm glad you're working with the mountain bikers as well.
Yeah.
It all that ties together.
Yeah.
I'm a little bit of your comment about that.
I'm a supportive of your winter use.
Uh, from a wildlife standpoint, we're getting to the mountain biking.
I won't be so, uh, supported.
And that's one of the reasons why we, uh, I'll be meeting with the Forest Service, uh,
The summer to talk about, uh, about that.
Uh, and what we can do to make sure that, um, we're, um, not disturbing the wildlife.
Just, we don't even open up our, one of our trails until late January just because the
Elic activity is still in there.
So we're, we're very sensitive to our stewardship of wildlife in the area.
Well, the winter, winter use is way different than the definitely.
Yeah.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Okay.
Mr. Chairman.
Okay.
Thank you.
Next.
This is a request for discretionary grant funding at $5,000 for the Grand Valley Historical Society.
And this is Judith Hayward.
He's the president for that.
Thank you.
You have the floor.
That's good.
I just go to see you.
Wow.
I am just amazed listening to all the volunteer organizations in our county.
And those of you know that my heart's been with historical society and non-profit organizations.
My name is Judith Hayward.
I am president of the Grand Valley Historical Society, which owns the historic
Vatlement Mesa Schoolhouse located at 72 35 county road 300.
I'm here requesting $5,000 from the Garfield County discretionary grant funds to help the historical societies.
Schoolhouse roof project.
Our society was formed in 2000.
So we're a fairly new organization in our community.
And we were given at that time the vacant Battlement Mesa Schoolhouse and the property.
With this grant, with the grant from the Colorado State Historical Restoration Fund,
in 2005 in the amount of $145,000 plus we had to raise 55.
We were able to restore that schoolhouse.
We also raised an additional close to $100,000 to add such things that were non-historic like a water well,
a septic system, furnace air conditioning, and a bathroom and a kitchen in the building.
I wanted to mention to you the county commissioners, Larry Velaski told me and he was a former commissioner here,
that when Battlement Mesa was being designed and developed the commissioners and the local citizens of the Battlement Mesa area,
purposely put this schoolhouse outside of the Battlement PUD.
It was saved because of that decision.
During 2005 and 2008 when we were doing restoration, we were not able to repair the roof of that building.
It had already had a roof 40 years sitting on that building.
But what we did was just repair it and stained it and limped along.
Now we have a 50 year roof on that building.
Very dry shake shingles and with the current wildfire concerns we all have.
The society made a decision to replace that roof.
The old roof being taken off and now we are installing a steel roof.
If we would have done this 25 years ago when we started the restoration,
I think would have cost us $40,000, but we didn't have the money to do it.
It is now costing us $80,000 to replace that roof.
In fact, $82,000.
During this work, we also found that the bell tower on the roof and we needed a gutter by the entrance into the building,
where we would have snow build up and ice on the cement.
So we have had some additional repairs that the contractor and the roof company have identified.
We would use this extra money of the $5,000 to help us with this additional things showing up.
We have hired a local contractor and he has been using a parachute roofing company.
All the people live in our community.
It was important that this money was going to be put in the pockets of local people.
Many of you are aware that this schoolhouse serves a real purpose and plus it has brought the community to begin to love the local history.
I hope you see the need to help our historical society and you might know that I am still here in this community working my heart out for the historical society
because of marrying a husband that loved the local history and he used to refer to this building as the queen of the Mesa.
It was that important to him.
I thank you for your consideration and I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the other nonprofits,
talking and letting you know we have got a wonderful community in the county.
Thank you.
So Judy, have a historical question for you.
Is it true that I think Mr. I don't know what Kalahans first name was but he was that he built his first chimney out of oil shell rock.
Is that a true story and then he when he found his first fire is his house burnt down.
I was just wondering if there's truth to that.
That was told repeatedly by Lee Hayward who was featured.
It didn't know Kalahans but he knew it had been passed on down to local people.
There's a number of neat stories.
One of them is Yellowstone Kelly who founded Yellowstone National Park was parachutes first justice of the piece for 10 years.
He founded Yellowstone National Park.
He came down to parachute and he lived here for 10 years in our community so we had a famous person.
So it's sort of like the oil shell plus that's the story we're working on telling at our rest stop about oil shell.
What it is and as somebody said it's not oil.
I think Lee Hayward would be more famous.
We're working that.
And we have the great train robberies well.
Yes.
Jack Roberts did those wonderful paintings that are in our town hall and I'm so proud when I walk in there.
And see those pictures. Right next to the police department.
Thank you, Judy. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you for the book, too, Judy.
Thanks.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, back to you.
Okay, thank you. Next request this is for $5,000 grant funding for the Rohingford Conservancy.
It's got a rickla ferro, the executive director listed, but also had a little one.
It's, I think, as you.
Good morning.
The science and policy directors are welcome, Heather.
I'm glad you're still with the Rohingford Conservancy.
Yes, thank you.
In a while since I've seen you, but it's good to see you.
Yes, I think it's been a few years.
Eric, apologizes. He got called out on a safe visit.
And was not able to make it this morning.
But thank you all for taking the time to hear our request here.
So we're, I believe you're all familiar with Rohingford Conservancy and the time that we spent.
But we are entering our 30th year now, which is pretty exciting and for water shed organization in Colorado,
there aren't too many that have been around for that long.
We are requesting $5,000 funding as well as a letter of support for our current drought resiliency study.
As you all are keenly aware, the prolonged and now severe drought conditions
really impact not just our rivers, but our whole community and our culture and our economy on the daily basis right now.
In the fall of 2023, we partnered with three different properties.
One in each county of the Rohingford water shed, one pick and eagle and Garfield counties,
to look at the impacts of biochar as a soil amendment and soil health.
And the impacts in both soil health and yields in the time of reduced water.
As I'm sure you all know, if you looked about 20 years back, you wouldn't see a watershed group working with an agricultural property owners on water and shared water resources.
And we really think that the world in the community right now has united in certain ways around water and divided in others.
And I think what we're working on doing in the Rohingford water shed is really bringing together.
These different groups and when win opportunities and projects and as a watershed group, we really feel that productive longstanding agriculture is significantly more beneficial.
To our communities and our watersheds than the alternatives that we see in other places, which is dried up weeded areas and hard-scaped over developed spaces.
So we really appreciate the partnership that we've been able to build amongst agricultural producers in the shared idea of how we work with less water.
So let's see, looking at this study, we are.
In 2023, fall of 2023, we worked on four properties, we're now down to three, to do erasian environment, there are not a lot of controlled studies looking at the benefits of biochar right now.
So we are now, this will be year three, we're working with groups on two more years to really understand long-term soil health impacts and to get a better understanding of how soil health can benefit producers in the time of water shortage when we're looking at whether it's.
drought conditions, other reasons that you're not able to get the water that properties need and so right now we have 70,000 dollars looking over two years of this continued study.
And that in there and it's impacts so that's weekly soil moisture monitoring it's monthly evapotranspiration drone studies those are done by picking county.
And then the analysis of grass yields once a summer and then looking at that each year and along with the collective change over time in the and hopefully four years that we'll have funded to look at this.
We currently have a grant from the CWCB that's will carry on through the next two years as well as annual funding from Eagle County in the amount of $6,500 we use that funding on the property located in Eagle County.
Pick and county provides both a property as part of their open space.
Program as well as about five thousand dollars of in kind time and so we're hoping that Garfield County would be willing to contribute as well.
We could use that we would use that money solely on the property located in Garfield County that's.
A Martino property up in Missouri heights area and so the idea is to really get a good understanding of different spaces in the watershed different impacts in different areas.
And then.
Letters support for the community funding partnership through the river districts program it's it.
As we ask for funding through them they require a letter support for each county which is slightly challenging when you're looking at three different counties for one overarching project.
So yeah, be happy to take any questions I know it's a little bit of a complicated study but appreciate your time and consideration.
Okay, so I do have some questions for you Heather.
Yeah, a little bit familiar with biochar because of the.
Program I think the for service and maybe private.
We did a call basin yes.
And but I need what is biochar where's it come from and I guess you've talked how many acres.
Is within your studies that's three questions here.
Okay, so biochar is basically a organic product it it's high.
High heat burning and it's an amendment that can be used to benefit it so I don't know.
Wood that is it can be our.
It's usually would or some product so there's a study in fritter right now that they're the biochar they're using uses pistachio shells as a by product.
The one that we're looking at did use mostly would products.
To the farms are certified organic that we're working with and so we had actually hooked a locally source the biochar from the gypsum plant here, but we weren't able to get a full list of what they're what they're.
Yes, exactly so without knowing that that wasn't that wasn't that no longer became an option and so why is bound closed.
Yeah, and so we were able to source from front range area that was able to disclose their their pieces.
So that was part one that's what what is biochar and the idea is adding that in potentially to soil.
Along with a region can benefit soil health and production.
And so it's really you know when when we look at a study like this, we want to know if it actually works because if it does work we like to promote it and find ways that we can make it useful and affordable.
If it doesn't work, we don't want somebody selling biochar to swoop in in a time of crisis and say, hey, this is going to help when it doesn't.
So it's really just gaining that objective understanding.
Yep, of how this works and how it works both on the field and and water was.
We have now three properties each one is looking at.
Three acres.
It's all divided into half acre plots.
So half of those are control plots and half of those are study plots.
So to understand right from not touching.
Right and so.
In those three we looked at no treatment.
Aeration only and biochar with aeration and then each of those are divided in half and irrigated or not irrigated.
And it was was there any was a success in coal basin when they did is there any information from that study.
I can't remember.
I just remember biochar being talked about it in coal basin.
And so generally speaking, we did see success in your regrowth of biochar in coal basin.
However, it wasn't a space that we were able to put together really controlled study to have a good understanding of what the impacts of biochar versus other environmental impacts might have been.
I think the added that in areas where it was difficult for growth to fire.
Yes, exactly.
Yeah, and hopes that you did see a little bit more.
Most of your health and nutrients here in the soil.
So your your letter support for the river district is is is not really on the agenda. So we'll get that on the consent agenda for unless we want to discuss it more, but consent agenda for next week.
Yeah, there's a draft in there that will be on the OCC letter head and that the boards.
Have you weathered them they can move more than was.
Yeah, that's great.
Okay.
I still have a question or two on biochar.
Yes, sir.
So ashes is it ashes or is it material that's been burnt and like burnt, which I don't I'm not following here.
There's plant sashes.
You couldn't just take it out of here.
You could just take it out of your, you know, fire place and spread it about and so there's a certain preparation and a high heat environment.
And contained environment.
How do you apply it as a soil?
So the soil application was a bit of an adventure.
We had a big large bins basically delivered in a big truck of biochar and it came out and we put it in a spreader.
Each each site was a little bit different.
But I think there are some photos if you look back in this slide there, but we had a basically a truck that was able to pull that spreader.
So that spreader behind it's really fine material.
So it's a pretty messy job.
But it's be read on the surface.
Yes.
And it works.
It's way down in.
Yes.
And the main reason is to retain moisture in the soil.
Yes.
It's not a fertilizer at all or there may be just not easy if that's a benefit also.
In theory some soil health benefits were looking into understanding that better.
Yes.
And so the aeration would allow it to penetrate the soil more.
Okay.
Has it been done in other places so a lot or not?
There's a gentleman in Florida who's doing a similar study in his space there.
But it's a really challenging thing to do in a controlled environment.
And so we're trying to get to work through that process.
There are not a lot of published studies.
So we're working with Colorado State University.
Colorado State University is extension as well.
I don't mind.
Right.
He's doing the house.
Is it that students?
Yes.
Seth Mason with low to casualogical is doing a lot of the analysis piece.
He's working with Perry Cabot and with CSU as well.
And Michael about it.
So the hope is to kind of get a bigger big picture collective better understanding of ways we can.
You know, share the benefits of a productive agriculture and water.
And it doesn't break down.
It stays in the soil for long, long time.
Right.
And so that's why, you know, that first couple years have been a bit inconclusive.
And so it's from what we do know.
We think that years more through through fiber when you start to see some some more distinctive impacts.
And so that's what we're looking to keep doing.
Good car.
Yes.
Yeah.
There's a carbon sequestration component as well that's loosely being explored.
And built as a clean water.
Yes.
Yeah.
Of course.
The other six out.
Me too.
There are Asian artists.
Huge.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yeah.
That was a.
We worked with Brendan Doran who used to do own turn about ranch.
His ranch was originally part of the process there.
He had some families using had to move away.
But they had a really large area area area that we drove in a big loop around the Roynford Valley
with a tractor and everything else in that fall to work through that on all their different fields.
And it could system matter.
Questions?
Thanks.
I always appreciate your knowledge.
Yeah.
Thank you all very much.
Really appreciate it.
All right.
Thank you.
Finally, this last request for $5,000 grant funding is for the middle Colorado Watershed Council
and Kate Collins, the executive director along with Chris Trees.
Is here to present.
Good morning.
You know.
Thank you.
Morning.
Yeah.
Thanks for having us.
So, I'm on the agenda twice.
I'm here on the agenda twice.
Do you want me to just run through all of it or not?
No.
That's wait.
Let's clear your $5,000 request will come back the $10,000 bill.
That sounds great.
Okay.
So you will remember that I was here in the fall talking about this discretionary grant that was a match for our firm grant the Forest Restoration.
That was to hire a coordinator.
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
So we were awarded the $350,000 grant.
Great.
Thank you.
That's great.
You did well.
So congratulations.
Yeah.
So the 87,500 dollar match had ten partners, which I think made our application really strong.
In addition to the county, we had the towns of silk, parachute, new castle and rifle.
We had holy cross energy and Chevron.
And we had the Debeck Fire District and also the Colorado River Fire Protection District.
So very strong application.
Then we just recently posted for the job of the program manager.
This grant gives us the ability to hire a program manager for three years.
And we had 16 candidates, qualified folks, interviewed five on Monday, April 20th and selected Sam Fierborn to be our program manager and he'll start May 18th.
It's going to be to the fire, so it's speaking.
Right. This year, hopefully not the fire, but there's a lot going on in the fire preparedness.
Yeah. And so, so his job in our multi-juris-dictional entity, that's the Colorado River wildfire collaborative, will be to continue to educate communities, create neighborhood shipping programs and investor programs.
And those sorts of programs he will continue to work on funding and grant management. Now that we have a person in place, we'll still need money to execute on projects.
And then the, the veg management and implementation, things like what Heather talked about with biochar, what he, what he biomass repurposing.
We have some really exciting prospects for that. And it will just be wonderful to have someone boots on the ground and someone is talented and qualified as a Sam, who is an project professor at Colorado Mountain College in the outdoor studies program.
And lives on some acreage up three mile where he mitigates it himself. So it's going to be great.
It's going to be great. It's going to be great.
It's going to be great.
Well, congratulations. I mean, this was started by Paul staff and you carried it forward and have somebody working in the Colorado River basins at big deal.
Thank you.
Yes, just just one final thing, you know, I think Paul, I thought we she would spin it off into an at its own 501c3 nonprofit.
Most of the collaborative that are neighboring with us are their own independent entities.
We have deemed that creating a new nonprofit that's underfunded is not a good idea in today's environment.
And so we'll continue to run both of the things the watershed work and the wildfire work.
It's a big mandate. It's a big region, 2200 square miles.
But we've recognized that the issues are so intertwined and they're not siloed, right? So it makes sense for that perspective.
So thank you.
Very little. But just to thank the commissioners for your past support is really as a pleasure to come to be able to come to you and say your past support has resulted in in this kind of progress.
And now moving forward, it really is about the taking the program and making it turn it into projects turning it on the ground progress.
And we've seen a little bit with the work going for a wildfire quote.
Collaboration coalition.
Seeing some of they are doing some projects.
Questions Mike.
No questions.
Keep up the good work.
Okay.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Okay.
I believe you wanted to do a gender change.
I would like to action items be.
Let's go ahead and announce that.
Yeah. Thank you.
Just to get these gentlemen back into the field on the quicker side.
I'd like to elevate items three, four and six are all road and bridge together.
And so to have if I could have them come up and then have them present to you.
So this would be director Scott Marsh.
Deputy director of Dale Stevens and form and Harry Shiles to come on up and present.
I wouldn't get this out of the way and these gentlemen can get back to the field.
Well, Scott Dale Harry.
I'll have a lot going on.
So the first one just introduced this would be a request approval for a utility permit application.
The selection just for somebody in three twenty and three twenty one.
This is with Nick appointment pocket in the public construction.
Scott go ahead and pick away.
I'm never going to phone in that basically.
About sixty three hundred.
Be a Oyberg alone 20.
320 and 321.
All the road crossings will be yours.
Everything else is pretty simple.
It's got a little around our chiptops, which in that area will probably be meant to end of July.
So it's like it gets started.
It's the sooner and the better.
And help us.
Scott, the reason you're bringing this to the board because of the first requirement.
It's anything over a thousand feet in the right way.
Has to come to work and commissioner.
And this is a century link.
Is this a contractor doing work for century link?
Not.
I think that's fair.
Doesn't say it's interesting.
Oh, yeah.
It is different.
I guess it is different.
The trick.
Question.
My question.
What kind of road closure?
You know, most of the shoulder work.
Some of the do the board really don't really close your road.
No, if anything, it would be one laying this all they're showing on their traffic control plans.
So when they're doing.
Right along the shoulder or a board, they'll have a one laying set up with flaggers.
So when we have a total clue, you're going to.
Okay.
That's right.
Thank you.
And this is for fiber.
Yes.
Mike.
You're doing.
How long do you think this is going to be?
I have no idea.
And how long it will take them to complete that.
And we don't have those guys on, right?
I don't see them on the zoom, which is our typical path forward here.
I do see that rocket.
See one of them.
Yeah.
Okay.
Pat.
Can you hear us?
Do you have any comments?
I hope.
Yeah.
Can you hear me?
Yeah.
Can you hear you now, Pat?
Okay.
Yeah.
The duration of the work.
We're probably looking about three weeks.
Okay.
That's pretty quick.
And how many how many homes are you going to.
Then give access to.
This is for the FAA.
What?
How many homes will this get fiber to?
We're not passing any homes.
This is a circuit for the FAA.
Okay.
So it's good.
Okay.
We have a question for the road and bridge gentlemen.
We do have to cross a ditch right there.
Our standard is for football.
The bottom of the ditch is that acceptable.
Are you guys to be able to get in there and clean it out if you need to.
Yes.
Okay.
As far as I know, it'd never turn down or request right away.
Use.
So that's a pretty standard request.
Yeah.
My main concern was how much time.
Great weeks and weeks.
I'm sure.
Mr Chairman, I move that we ran approval to the utility permit application.
I'm counting road 320 and 3201.
Love service sign.
Very good.
Okay.
Any other comments?
Call a question on the favor.
Bye.
Yeah.
Got that.
You said go, Pat.
Right.
Thank you.
Commission.
The next request this morning.
This is a request approval to award a contractor.
Frontier.
For procurement of the bottom.
I said drainage improvements for the road and bridge department.
This is an annual activity that you will put in the budget for years.
And so Kim Keesbury from procurement.
Also here to help.
We've got a pretty good.
Process here as far as number of applicants.
We did.
Well.
And it's broken is broken into three different three different categories.
Correct.
And these gentlemen can probably speak more to that as far as the alternates.
But we did have two different sets of alternates.
So.
So we're doing by.
By different intersections with this.
It'll be north battle with Parkway and battle with Creek trail.
The lower entrance or settlement.
Parkway and battle with Creek trail.
The upper entrance.
Rain boat trail and silver queen.
Rain boat trail and west general.
Rain boat trail and smoky hill circle.
For the five.
I'll get done.
So.
I think as long as I've been a commissioner.
We've had.
Uh, drainage improvements and battlement mesa.
So does that.
Does that ever end?
Or is that will that be just an ongoing process?
I mean, I'll be out as a commissioner soon.
But this is is just an ongoing process.
Is there.
Everything built the same times or everything's filling at same time.
And it's just a matter of.
We're trying to.
That's true.
That's where we're getting a lot of the oligating.
Elevating and.
So they're going in fixing out with.
Make the drainage pumps.
And some, in the.
water drainage, end up in the Colorado River, it does. It does.
Questions, Perry?
No.
I get a lot of calls from people about them when they said that are true.
We concerned and thankful that we spend that money to do that range.
Does they live there?
They want to do it.
And Tyler Terry has been working on this pretty art every year.
He was going to be here, but he had another meeting, so.
But he doesn't get involved on this project every year.
I don't know.
Any comments from the public?
It is fully budgeted just a year.
Yeah.
And in fact, a little bit below.
A little bit below.
Which is great.
Thank you.
That's going to be the competitive bid process.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Jim and I moved out.
We approved a water contract, a frontier of paving,
or the procurement of the belt.
I'm going to make a drainage improvements for road and bridge department in 2026,
or amount not to exceed 330,000, 748 dollars.
Love the church sign.
Second.
And most of it on favor.
All right.
Thank you.
Okay.
Got it.
Got one more.
Thank you.
Yes.
Final.
Matter for the room.
There's a moment this morning.
This is a.
They request for funds, frankly, to assist with the emergency repairs.
For.
A bridge.
Scott Marsh.
Your.
With his team to walk you through.
What is happening with that risk.
This is.
This is my district drove.
Throw through there actually on.
Saturday.
And.
Seems to be working.
Well, as far as the lights go.
Yes.
Yeah.
We did.
We did get.
Two.
Two kids.
Both.
People were great working with us because I know it was an emergency for us.
So we did get two.
So.
Winning.
One was.
Conside for 1301,650 dollars.
Um.
There's thinking that taking completed in.
Less than two weeks once they start.
All right.
We'll have to.
A lot of no.
I think it's a water group membrane.
Everything coming.
But.
Um.
Basically what we'll do is take the asphalt all the way down to the.
Brick deck.
We will.
We've had the bridge deck.
Serve bouncing.
Um.
They'll check the rest of the bridge deck.
Um.
Why they're why they have it all off.
Re-world anything that needs to be re-welded.
Has that inspected and then come back with asphalt over the top.
Yeah.
There.
I don't.
That's a relatively new bridge.
I remember when it was closed.
I, you know, because I kind of.
Live up that way.
Remember when it's closed.
We had to drive through aspirin to kind of get around.
Uh, so I mean.
Yeah, so.
Surfaces.
Me or.
Bridges.
The bridge was all 1950.
So it's a original bridge.
New service.
Thanks.
15.
And we just got for the benefit of the board.
Anybody listening to describe the problem.
Right.
Your mind.
So it.
Where's the.
Whole is.
Um.
The world has.
I've all.
Has came undone.
So every time you drive across that.
It's bouncing.
Um.
And it keeps doing that.
It keeps.
We can in the other worlds.
And we shut it down because we didn't want.
Um.
A piece of.
And it's a piece of.
And to be driven through the.
Dicking because then it will be a whole.
Another problem.
So.
Okay.
Um.
Um, and.
Ariel.
Be.
Doing the traffic control.
Um, that saved us.
Roughly 40, thousand dollars.
By.
I'm taking on traffic control so they'll be in contact with.
So you can't continue with this stuff like so we will as long as we can.
But any time.
I need traffic control or.
Eventually we will have to shut it down for the.
the paving and everything of Harry and his crew will be doing that.
You think I don't know, but they'll probably be at least a two-week full-bridge closure.
Really, you know. Okay, we need to get, need to get that for an L.
I get the information out on that because it'll affect a lot of people. There's a lot of people
that will, even on the commute will go that way to get to the formal area once we
get everything done today. We'll get contact with them and get scheduling and everything like that
so we can work on all the releases. Thanks. And do you make it? This is the supplement for emergency
out of the general fund? No. It'll be a capital.
All right, just to let you guys know to in addition, Bob's been working with Scott here and we are going to do almost $600,000 transfer from traffic improvement, mitigation, the traffic improvement.
And we're going to move that into road and bridge probably in October. So that will also help cover this.
So those are road impact.
Thank you.
Yes, road impact.
Okay.
It was on my note.
Thank you.
That's nice to make that.
Okay.
Questions?
He set the total.
But I don't see the total on this sheet from Konsai.
What was the total?
We should have about 131.
60.
Where am I missing that?
Go back to your Garfield County.
Jim and Congresshee.
Okay.
Thank you.
And it's too bad.
And Greg left for from the radio station because this is what the dam on the air.
Okay.
Other questions?
Yeah.
It's an action item.
Call the question.
Jim, we would.
Move the.
The kind of road.
Red recommendation.
It's a word to come.
Don't fact to come side for emergency repairs.
I'm counting road.
One of the weight bridge.
The radicalation of later date.
And the amount of 150,000, 650 dollars.
Second.
Got to call the question.
A little favor.
All right.
Okay, guys.
You got it.
Thank you.
Thank you, gentlemen.
And thanks for allowing us to shape, shift the agenda just a little bit.
I think this would take you back to your first item.
And let me take a minute to tee this up for the board.
I'll read it and then frame it.
This is to consider leasing water to the Colorado water conservation board, the West of
I had water conservancy district, and the so water conservancy district from the Garfield County
Sheriff in Rudeye, Reservoir.
And there's a reason I pulled all three of these groups together because there's been.
Basically the recent requests from those groups.
And initially led by the CWCB, it reached out and this for background at Garfield County owns 400 acre
feet in Rudeye Reservoir.
And you have for a very long time and over that time, you have.
Leased up to 350 acre feet of that water to CWCB.
And this is primarily for the support of endangered species in the 15 miles stretch west of.
And that's been an ongoing very positive relationship for years.
And there's a lease rate that you calculate every couple of years for that water.
And it's I don't I'm not sure.
I let this out.
But I said it would be $8.
And acre foot.
Sweat.
See.
It's up to right now.
$84.
And that's very over time.
And I invited CWCB to be on this morning.
I'm sure I see Lisa who's working with.
In any event, all three entities know about this morning.
We invited them to come in.
So it just made sense to have that one conversation with the board.
Each different entity is requesting.
Water from the Rudeye Reservoir allocations that you all have.
And I think that's that is the bulk of it.
So I think it's really up to the commissioners.
One more thing about your CWCB contract, which is important.
Yes.
It is a contract.
But the way the contract is written the board at your sole discretion every year can distribute
how you would like to.
There's no set amount that you are required to.
And so you have essentially four hundred acre feet to deal with this.
Yes.
And this is a.
Really a radical throughout year.
About the.
I don't know how many years that.
At least 50, but it could be.
100 or 500, I don't know.
Back to the end of songs.
I'm sure.
So if you wanted to invite them up.
Yeah, if we could get.
I guess all three parties to come up.
And I have to disclose that I am on the.
West of I water conservation district boards.
So I'm going to have to be accused myself.
And so.
Share.
Till then, framed.
Better know.
Okay, that's, it's a contract that doesn't.
Then we got to go.
And have a two situation.
So, to see every project.
Okay.
So.
And I don't have a factor as the.
Okay.
That's exciting.
Your boss?
Okay.
Thank you.
Great.
oh, so we're working.
We're working.
I've been working.
I'm working, don't have it in the room.
Maybe you want to third.
Well, yeah, I'll be happy too.
You have a cover letter promise.
Spelling out West provide issue.
issue. As you know, we operate several augmentation programs in our district and in neighboring
districts with some with the IGAs and then out contractes outside of out of either districts
that we have IGAs with or not in our district are required to come into the position to be in
the position of its conclusion to be in the west of I district. In any case we have around 500
I think total contractes that are covered in our odd plans and some of those represent
multiple households or users. So there's a lot of people out there that are affected
and have legal water supplies only due to the augmentation plans that we operate. Is it both
the water well on the days of it? Yes, there are other issues or occasions but those that's
primarily as I'm augmenting water wells residential and commercial. Right. So generally we have
adequate water. One of the supplies that we've counted on for a number of years we have 200 acre
feet and green mountain reservoir. And of course, green mountain reservoir doesn't have any contract
water. They don't another critical thing is they don't have the 66,000 acre feet of HP water as
far accusers pool water that was supposed to take care of Westlow diverters when there wasn't
water available normally because of trans mountain diversions primarily through CBT and Chris is more
familiar with the CBT issue than I. But it's like all water matters and colorado and colorado water
law. It's not a simple thing. But a simple thing about the about this is that I remember 77 very well
which was a benchmark here on drought in 2002. We've always heard about those years and how devastating
they were. This year may be at least as bad as those years. We have we're yet to see that. We're
this recent moisture is very promising and that's going to ease the pain a little perhaps but
God hope it continues. In any case, we are short at least the two feet of green mountain
reservoir water. We have run one water and also run two water and a few years ago
probably 10 or so years ago when they were finishing up. We ran two requests. We optioned the
thousand acre feet of water from the river district on that issue. Since then we have exercised two options
of 100 acre feet each so we now have another 200 acre feet that we're getting out of that
thousand that we originally option. That requires if we were to trigger another option on that
water that would require us to long-term contract with the river district and we're not certain
what the long-term demands will be and what the long-term impact will be of green mountain reservoir
and whether that water will ever be available again. There are a lot of people running around wondering
about that and a lot of right people. So we're here because you have this 400 acre
feet of water that's already under contract, you own it, very prudent decision on this board's
part to have exercised that option and acquired that water. We need and as mentioned our cover
sheet here, right out 100 acre feet to just cover what we have to do with the augmentation plans.
In addition to that every year we have new contractes come in and we would like to have a buffer.
So our request is asking for doing a acre feet of your 400 acre feet to cover primarily domestic
needs to your citizenry. Thank you for everything you had there.
The only thing is that we have silk that also the water conservation board requesting these water.
Obviously there's this year there's simply not enough water to go around. I can say for West
Divide we'd be happy to work with the CWCB to to the maximum extent possible make a multiple use.
This is water that we're going to be releasing to meet the downstream calls in the Grand Valley
as part of our augmentation plan to the extent that that water can also help the endangered fish
we're happy to work with them and and see a multiple benefit. Another yes and in conjunction with
the silk district we have an IGA with silk. To operate our augment program within their
district boundaries and one of the things that they have is there are 5,000 acre piece
which you're very interested in using our IGA allows us to use silk facilities
and get the water in the pump canal that we build a transfer station up on the the pump canal
up there that allows us to move water from the pump canal up to the West level and we make arrangements
each year with silk when they're operating the pump canal and they also have interest in operating this
this station that moves the water up to the West level. The reason we do that is to make an exchange
so we can store some water and RV gap reservoir for later calls on the on the system. So
to help build would also benefit West to buy and operating our plan in conjunction with the
the silk district and you I welcome you guys you yeah now we're ready if your finished we'll pick it up from
yeah yeah okay all right let's say wait Jerry see for on the board of salt water
from the fervency district Michael Earian with Colorado River Engineering I'm a user under the
in the silk water conservancy district and also water advisor to that board so
the bureau of of reclamation authorize silk project back in the 30s along with the Colorado
Big Thompson project the Westified project and Green Mountain Reservoir and when they in 1966 when the
silk project came online that the first 52,000 acre feeding in Green Mountain Reservoir was
allocated to the Colorado Big Thompson project the next 5000 acre feet was reserved and allocated
to the silk project then there's the 66,000 acre foot historic users pool and then there's another pool
above that that includes the the 20,000 acre feet of contract water which houses the 200 acre feet
that Westified water has. Green Mountain Reservoir is still slowly filling it may get some more
fill but it has it had the CBT water it had the silk project water and it had a portion of the
historic users pool water and
We just learned maybe three weeks ago that the Bureau pulled with no basis, no legal basis, the 5,000 acre feet for the self-project.
And we've had discussions with them, the district's attorneys have talked to them, and they don't give good answers, but they said, still project can have 300 acre feet of their 5,000 acre feet.
That maybe runs the pump canal one week, which maybe lets us operate this exchange and get the West Divine water up in there.
There was some discussion in the end of last week.
Everybody's asking why doesn't call out a big Thompson project have to take a haircut here, and they agreed to take all of the evaporation out of their 52,000 acre feet.
Thank you, tongue-in-cheek, but so now, silk project has been lumped in with all the other folks and silk project now gets around 900 acre feet.
So maybe three weeks of the pump canal at the most.
And trouble is the pump canal is, you know, they charge us an outrageous amount just to turn on whether it's a day or week or month or whatever.
Three weeks isn't going to, you know, you give the farmers hope, it's just not enough there.
So that's why we're just trying to find where we can, you know, we're just trying to get that going, because without it, there's going to be a lot of ranchers and silk mace, so just don't get any hate.
And of course, without any hate, the cattle's going to go and prices and, you know, we can't make water, but it's, you know, it wasn't the answer we were hoping for from green mountain, if you see pictures of it, it's a pond.
Harvey Gap is full, but it's going to be probably a one and done, we just there's not enough run up.
And if you went by rifle Gap, or just, you can walk across that.
Yeah, so I think Harvey Gap is probably going to be a one, we're starting to today.
I just don't see it, it's probably going to be a one time deal, ranchers are maybe going to get one shot and that's it.
And a lot of them, without the pumpkin L, won't get any soul.
So if I've got to write, you dropped from 5,000 to 900.
Yes, total.
Okay.
This is 300.
Yeah, 300.
300 back down.
Well, the district's attorneys are very clear and firm that the 5,000 acre fee was clearly reserved for the self-project.
We got a bureau.
Got a vehicle battle coming down the pipe.
Yeah.
That's another story.
Yeah.
But it all really depends on how much water actually ends up in.
Yeah.
They can't give it to basically a regular.
That's right.
And they're not there.
They're not going to get much of it if they get any of it.
So anyway, that's that's that's kind of the back ground on on why.
So water conservancy district is here.
So of course, so water conservancy district would ask for the balance, the other 200 acre fee.
That was my question.
Whatever you can.
But I want to go back and and back up that the county needs to reserve at least 10 acre
feet and maybe conservatively 15 acre feet for road in bridge.
The original impetus behind or part of when the county acquired the 400 acre feet in 2014.
What was also served some county uses and Lee Levinworth and I did a water court case for the county to provide multiple points of diversion for road and bridge to take water from the roaring fort from the Colorado River to do mag chloride to do desk control.
And so given that it, you know, even though the calls off right now, it's going to be on I think most of the year.
And so I think it's prudent that the county reserve 15 acre feet for road in bridge.
Let's do it.
Thank you.
Also, if I'm following this correctly, Mr. Chairman of the Model Day here.
Yes.
Okay, I'm following this correctly out of the 400 acre feet that we have.
West divide would be okay with 200 and 200 going to you minus the 15.
Right.
That's that.
And you're working together to with the whole mega work.
Right.
Yeah.
I mean, the so districts got to try and get the pump canal running.
At least a week more to be able to exchange the West divide water into RV gap.
Otherwise, I don't know the exact number, but there will be a lot of residences out on soap maces that will be violation of under strict administration.
They may be turned off.
That's probably not going to happen.
The division of water resources does not have the pallet for that kind of action.
And then one last thing is that the $85 an acre foot.
I think the derivation of that is what the river district has been charging for the fish water.
If I remember right.
The actual.
Oh and him and you'll owe an M fees for the county are going to be less than $3 an acre foot.
However, I think in the accounting you know the county made a I think it was in the ballpark of like $492,000 was the original purchase price of the 400 acre feed.
So if you know you look at some sort of cost recovery on that plus the $3 of O&M.
You know I don't know I don't know who's looking at what the cost recovery is, but it's probably in the ballpark of $30 an acre foot.
If you were to include that in in pricing.
So I know that pallet say just least water 200 acre feed for $8,000 for $40 an acre foot.
We were just asking your deliberation.
If you can.
The the silk water conservancy district ours is for the users.
So we don't have any other way to charge back contract water like West of I does.
As they'll then charge their contract ease for it.
But but anyway if you guys could.
If possible give a low break on the cost because it you know it is something that you know that the the five thousand acre feed should have been it you know I think green mountains probably a similar O&M cost of.
$3 you know this an acre foot.
So you know silk project is looking at spending money that's not in the budget.
Well I'd love to be able to buy an acre foot of water for $3.
Why I see this year.
Who we have online.
Wendy Wendy probably.
I'm just here to ask answer any technical questions for West of I that you all may have but.
Just taking in the conversation here.
Thank you.
Anyone else on there to speak.
She would be wasn't.
Are aware of the meeting today.
So in the understand that there are two other requests in addition to theirs.
So they know about that today.
Well I didn't do their request.
They I brought it back to the board twice before this meeting just verbally in my updates that talked about.
They would be happy with whatever whatever.
Thank you.
Yeah they understand that there are two other questions so you have three requests essentially.
And then I just wanted to clarify and I assume maybe it's the same with their board if.
If you all approve it the board then has to go back and approve it and let you know but.
And we're talking once we figure out what's going on there are going to have an emergency.
We actually meeting here next there too so we can kind of.
We've got to get the ball roll in here so.
Tying is the best.
I guess I have a question.
If we were to give you the 185 or whatever.
What's that going to what's that going to mean for.
Is there going to be another week or.
It would be yeah try try to get another week for some of the folks that are below the.
Pump can now I mean we yeah I mean we'd like more and.
But yeah if you all need 200.
Yeah I know I know we should reserve 15 for the counties so.
Of course you you mentioned maybe a bit of it to see diversity be to.
The fishery in a work.
To explain that again.
Simply an offer that if there's the opportunity.
Our priority is fulfilling.
The obligations the water obligations of the augmentation plan of our augmentation plans.
But it because the Fisher down stream.
The call that we're meeting is downstream if there's an opportunity to.
Time or work with the C W C B to provide for a multiple benefit for an endangered species benefit.
Of our return flows are the releases that are made.
We'd be happy to do that.
Our board did discuss this issue at our last meeting and we are aware of the.
Pricing of your product.
And are ready to act on the 200 acre feed.
Based upon that that information.
And then if we don't use the 200 the old 200.
Some way then.
We are open to.
To working with.
The C W C B or salt for that.
So.
You're going to thank you.
Yep, just real quick just for the words benefit.
Just to read the language right out of the you water used agreement.
Which is an agreement that you have a C W C B just so you understand.
It talks about it shall be within the county's sole discretion as to the determination.
The root I water will be available and in what amount.
No minimum amount of root I water is guaranteed any given year.
So this one you don't understand.
That's the table language within the agreement.
So it's just.
This one's your best prediction for.
I mean, since this is a serious question about, you know, our endangered fish down there.
Despite I mean, if it's 400 acre put or whatever, is that going to is that going to save us.
That's.
No, that's.
Simple answers no.
The more nuanced answer is there's been a theory out there for a long time that.
These fish have developed have evolved that.
In a widely varying natural cycle of hydrology and that periodic.
Drow may benefit them.
We have seen in in my time at the river district.
The the ponds the nursery ponds that were that are there beside the river that are flooded to provide a nursery habitat.
And then drained when they're drained.
It's the non native fish that remain in the pool and get caught in the drainage.
It's the native fish that seem to something triggers in them and they know they get out.
We're not finding the the endangered fish in trained in the in the ponds when they are drained.
So there may be an ecological advantage to periodic drought.
Now it's not to welcome the drought for anybody or any reason, but it's it's possible.
The answer your question no 400 acre feet is is not going to recover the fish.
It's not going to make that big a difference.
It's not the CWCB's sole source of water for for the fish and certainly not the sole source of water for the recovery program.
Thank you.
You know, we've we've been happy to do that and helped you know the endangered fish downstream.
Was there water but that's been in much better years.
And then what we're talking about here.
So.
But thank you for that because that was kind of my my impression as well.
I don't think that the.
You know, the Garfield County in our 400 acre feet at a root out is not to save you for a endangered fish downstream.
Was was it were but that's not I don't think that's probably the case.
Initially it didn't exon provide something like 19 or 20,000 acre feet.
They have yeah historically there's been a number of contractors who have essentially donated their their water to the endangered species program.
There's also been coordinated reservoir operations is an annual program that will not be happening this year simply because the priority is the historic use the the contracted use of that water the endangered.
We'd fish our acillary benefit when there's water available.
We're truly an uncharted territory, I think.
Yes, sir.
Well, so we need action today, right?
Well, I mean, I remember when we first contracted with Rudeye for the 400 acre feed,
I said, and I've always said, this is a wise decision, and we need to be prepared for days like do day, and today is here.
So, with that being said, I would move that we lease out 200 acre feed to west divide, and 185 acre feed to so conservation district.
Or a price out.
That's what we need to do.
That's what I was going to say for a price out.
I don't know, I don't know. That's a good one because what we need to decide.
Yeah.
We're going to both sit and we're going to make it doable.
It makes us do another one.
You know, that's, that's, that's what we say is price of water is going to get.
Oh, yeah, that's.
Yeah.
So, yeah, we're not so busy.
I don't know, I don't know if there an equitable thing here, is to charge you 80, 40,
85 and use 30 or 40, right.
I agree.
I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, if I could, I don't mean that.
I don't know, I'm an, another alternative is to not make the pricing decision right here at the
You've got the allocations for the amounts, but then take a week so that we can evaluate with you and with what the requests are to come up with a fair price, so that you don't have to do this sort of haggling.
Let's you want to hear at the top.
I don't know, I don't want to, but it would be interesting to see whether your board is going to meet the emergency meeting.
I think tomorrow, it would be interesting to see what the outcome that is.
You know, we kind of need some idea of the price so we can even, I mean, I, you know, have some kind of an ideal where what we're looking at.
It's going to be the full 85 or some reduction.
I would put you to that.
Yeah, I was just going to help for the board's benefit for you all too.
So that number wasn't, wasn't arbitrary.
That was a number that the county commissioners did obtain water legal counsel a couple of years ago.
So it's now two years old, just FYI, and I don't think that number probably went down.
No, I suspect with probably number one.
Like Perry.
It's just as a baseline that maybe so.
Yeah.
We don't want to gouging anybody, but by the same.
Then you there.
Price water is this it's it's it's it's a tough deal.
It was by of adjusted our rates periodically and have the last couple of years simply from an inflation or a standpoint, not from a drought situation.
And what we did this year was done back in October.
All our clients or our.
Clients have been billed.
And most of paid and that price is locked in for this year.
We will not go back and revisit.
Should we bill anybody.
You know, the deal's done done deal for us for this year.
It's the same as our bills are out in project end, like a water.
It's out the most of them.
They had to be paid before today for what what on so.
So let's just leave that.
Yeah.
And for now.
Yeah.
But Michael.
Explain.
I guess the ability to pay it that price.
Whether or not the district can or.
Yeah.
I just.
I don't know what to say.
Yeah.
I mean, I.
So what is something you're going to have to decide.
Yeah.
The board will have to decide.
Yeah.
So what.
What ballpark we think.
I'm just a rough idea.
I think.
80.
30.
85.
And I think that's where we need to.
Okay.
Is there going to get it for 85.
I'm not going to charge you more than 85.
Okay.
And that's.
You know, we'll have our meeting tomorrow night.
You know, I guess we'll know.
Yeah.
We can say.
Yeah.
And it's.
It's tough times.
And I hope and pray that we get a lot of rain this.
Spring summer and fall.
It's possible.
But who knows.
Yeah.
But if it doesn't.
And.
That's a very likely.
Possibility that price of water is going to go up even.
Or.
So yeah.
So that's my motion.
Yes.
Chairman.
I get a little bit of the side of the price.
And later.
So we need to put it on the agenda for next week.
Yeah.
Just so we're all right.
Clear.
Yeah.
We'll do that.
We'll meeting them.
We'll come back next week with.
What.
It's all like this.
I don't know.
I got eight other board members.
I can't.
You know.
We understand.
So we'll need to.
It's tough here.
Tough.
Yeah.
Yes.
Obviously.
I want to help.
I'm pretty sure.
Whatever the count.
I can do that.
He's the pain.
So.
When you go.
Call the question.
Call those in favor.
I.
Thank you.
Okay, we're back, we're back from our break, and back to you, Mr. Charming.
Action items.
You bet, thank you, Commissioners.
Next item this morning, this is to consider, excuse me.
This is the request for a nonprofit, this is how to get it right.
The nonprofit discretionary grant funding of $10,000 for the middle Colorado Watershed Council
and Kate Cohen's executive director is here to make that request.
Yes, it's a question.
So Kate and Chris right from the slide, let's talk about the difference between this request
and your request for discretionary grants because there is a difference.
You talk about that in one's for fire and the other's for water conservation.
First one is for a match grant to that for warm grant for specifically for the Colorado River,
Wild Fire Collaborative, which is our major project of the middle Colorado Watershed Council.
Okay, yeah.
So thank you.
As you know, we've been in touch a lot this year and I think that's been great to work so closely with the Board of County Commissioners.
First of all, I'd just like to thank you for being a category a partner on the
room creek fish barrier that project is a wrap except for the continued weed monitoring and
bedge management, which we'll do through 2028 spring and fall.
Thanks to Sarah LaRose being so good at her job and that's something that we feel really strongly about
stewarding as well.
But a million dollar project with Bureau of Reclamation as the main funder.
We couldn't have done that without Garfield County being a category a partner.
You've also been supporters of our rifle creek restoration, which a year ago Commissioner Will joined us at the.
Colorado growing water smart workshop in Montrose three days of doing a deep dive in really brainstorming on.
Which areas of rifle creek to restore first, how to do it and I'm just so excited that we have a half million dollars in play on engineering modeling and
design excuse me a quarter million dollars to 150,000 on engineering modeling and design for projects in rifle creek.
So government creek is funded to do some low-tech process base restoration to try to prevent that sediment from pouring in to rifle creek.
It's a wonderful thing that we got an invitation from Colorado River collaborative flex funding to apply for their money.
You have to do it by invitation only.
And government creek isn't exactly like a sexy project where we're going to be able to put our feet in the water.
So that's a big deal for deer field park.
We have a pending grant through Colorado climate smart communities initiative and you've also given us support letters and things for those things.
And the city of rifle together with a private rifle funder is doing engineering modeling inside for Centennial Park right now.
We'll have a really comprehensive plan that'll be ready for shovel ready implementation funding.
And that should be by the summer, you know, in a couple of months.
Part in this must be ready, then a dedicated at the end of June.
Well, what it will be is it'll be a plan.
So we'll have a shovel ready plan ready to go.
And then we can go for implementation funding to get the work done.
I think the city has some work they're doing that maybe the subject of the dedication.
And this is the creek, the border creek rifle creek bordering the park that we're talking about.
There's an apple's a little bit there.
Same they're both through same land different project.
So we also delivered a fluvial hazard mapping.
And that exists now with Garfield County planning and they're excited to have that as a resource.
No, it's on the Colorado River Mainstown.
Yep.
Just a couple more things.
I told you about Sam Fierborn being our program manager for the Colorado River wildfire collaborative.
And it just excited to see where the program goes because he's really going to get to author how he gets this job done, which is exciting with a brand new position.
That and brings our staffing from two to three people.
At River stop our interpretive center in rifle on lions pond.
I'm really excited to report that we had a private full anthropist step up to fund.
Keeping that open from May 20th to September 29th five days a week.
We'll have a river stop mentor there all of those days.
And then a river stop intern who's actually through growing fork out door volunteers youth in nature program.
She's graduating.
Glenwood Springs senior who's going to be studying engineering at CU Boulder environmental engineering.
And she is the first in her family to go to college.
So it's just like a really feel good projects in addition to that we have a senior in rifle.
That's in the visitor center.
That's right.
I invite you for a visit there because we have interpretive displays on 15 mile reach and many, many other.
River ecology in the watershed ecology displays there.
Are there any displays around the pod?
We have just completed some beautiful murals that will be dedicating it a business after hours and extra on May 14th.
I invite you to that as well.
Or around the building then that around the pod there is an opportunity.
You can hike around I mean people fish right now there's an opportunity for interpretive signs around the pod for education.
In the ones there probably need to be replaced because the sun just breaks in right there.
So we have a senior in rifle as well who's volunteering with us to staff river stop.
She's a lifelong rifle resident who has a lot of deep knowledge in both the natural history and history history.
The intern will spend part of her time at powers ranch that's a ranch right on rifle creek 120 acres.
And that landowner has express that they'd like for that to become a learning lab and really a demonstration of restoration projects for middle Colorado watershed council since we've got things happening north and south of that.
Along the right for you.
Is that a different powers than the powers in car and car we don't.
It's the same power.
Good.
Yeah, it's a good French and middle Colorado.
Right.
We also will be following up this afternoon with a very large private foundation.
National foundation.
We've given them a concept paper for watershed education.
And our issue no longer has a science curriculum for grads k through five so the timing of that is really important.
And we what they've indicated to us is that they'd like to provide funding for one year as kind of a pilot program to see if we can use river stop in the environment their lines pond Colorado river to do.
What are said education for youth really K through 12 is what they're looking at will probably narrow that down to K through five or year.
Thank you.
Sir.
You said that Garfield Larry two and a longer has a sense curriculum from grades one through five.
K through five.
They're not going to teach any science.
This is what I understand from whatever heard that.
Yeah, one of the teachers and also one of the parents. And so they've just had to really streamline curriculum.
Okay, thank you.
You're welcome.
And then on the education front as well, we just concluded our fire and water speaker series where we
we welcome 300 community members to three different events in February, March and April.
So much of the work that we do with our grants and things is really under the radar.
And so the fire and water speaker series in our wild and scenic health test are important for visibility for our organization
and just outreach to the community.
How that girl do you do that?
Uh, there are about 45 folks, uh, less fewer people than what I'd hope would show up, however,
the ones who showed up were very, very engaged and stayed all the way through the film and the expert panel.
Okay, yeah.
I think we gave you a buy for that.
I think we gave you a buy for that commissioner.
So the the funds that I'm asking for with this part of the agenda are the funds that were budgeted less fall in for 2026.
It's important operating money for our organization.
When we get grants these big grants, it sounds so good.
And then we're able to use just usually 10% of each of those grants for indirect costs to cover
overhead staffing administration.
And so the fundraising that we do and the community contributions to our operations are really essential and we're very, very, very grateful.
Thank you.
So I'm the 500,000 dollar grant you have for the rifle Creek.
That is primarily engineering.
And then you're going to have to come back to say if you get those done, you're going to have to come back with additional grants.
So let me just clarify and I'm sorry that I said half a million when I should have said a quarter million quarter.
And so what we have are several grants.
So for for Centennial Park is the city rifle and a private funder investing 47,000 in that plan for.
We have the Colorado River collaborative flex funding and also a Centennial Grant growing water smart grant and we're waiting to hear from.
Water education Colorado.
Healthy rivers fund is the other pending one that would be we would apply that to permitting.
So that's about 110,000.
You know, it's a Colorado space.
It's part of the Department of Natural Resources administered by the CNVCB.
It's great you have to cross on your board.
You know, it's where the money is.
I'm starting to find out.
Wish I knew more.
Even though there's some of the scale.
Yeah.
And then that's your field park.
That's the climate smart communities initiative.
And we apply for that.
In partnership with city rifle.
And with American rivers and you have to have a climate practitioner which American rivers is that so.
So so how about that section of rifle creek from rifle gap to municipality.
All right, we'll there be projects in that in that section as well.
Do your field park.
As it's in rifle, isn't it?
Yeah.
And the government creeks that I'm uploading will be right there by like.
City market.
It's an important.
It's important.
There's a significant project.
Work going on not through middle Colorado, but on the power's range.
Brett Thompson manages that ranch and has done wonderful work and has.
It's definitely using that and part of the interest in the owner and having that.
As a living lab is is the work that he's done.
The progress he's made.
On on rifle creek through the property.
And now the city will own the does on golf course.
Yeah.
That's a nice idea.
It's a lot of rights.
Right move.
We just concluded that construction of the grant tunnel ditch.
We're going to increase that from a 24 inch film to a 36 inch film.
That's all finished.
Grant funded with $21,000.
And thank you.
Questions.
Additional questions.
Like.
First is the comment I made.
I don't think you were here last time when I was a kid.
I used to have the job of cleaning that ditch.
And I'd crawl through that.
Don't try that.
No.
I was much smaller than.
Before ocean.
Hey, gentlemen.
This is an action item.
Yeah.
Go through.
Through the.
First of.
First their grant money is $10,000.
A little calmer water should cancel.
Okay.
There you go.
Further comment.
I'll call the question on favor.
Hi.
Thank you.
That's right.
Two most important action items in the room is empty.
Almost.
Back to you.
You're welcome.
The last.
Last.
item this morning is this is your work comp audit results for twenty twenty six quarter one
the executive summary and Brian Lee your safety loss prevention specialist has been waiting
and thanks for your patience, Brian's here to present. Good stuff. Thank you for having me. This is
more of an update than an action item that there are action items for me, but not necessarily for
the board this morning. So I wanted to provide an update on some thanks from Q1 at twenty twenty six,
starting with our pinnacle workers' compensation audit so they review the information that we give them
to receive coverage when we apply for coverage and then they compare those those projected
values with the actual for for twenty twenty five and there can be an adjustment of the premium
based on that. So essentially we went through a couple of iterations of the audit for twenty twenty five
we had about an eight percent increase in salaries and payroll from our projected to our actual
so initially we we were presented with an increase of about about a thirty eight thousand dollar
increase to our annual premium. Working with Glenwood Insurance they've that there are broker on the
work comp site they've been excellent to work with. They were able to to help me work to to reclassify
about 70 different, different payroll positions to lower risk work compluscitation. So that was
key to that on that that actually resulted in it and it's hard to get done actually. It's a little bit
of persuading. Yeah, but yeah so we were able to reclassify those positions. That information is now
with payroll that's been updated and so we'll have those lower risk classification because going forward.
So that resulted in a credit of about two thousand eight hundred and ninety five dollars. So we say
a little bit on on our previous great. So that was that was the first thing I wanted to touch on
for Q1 and then as far as our work comp metrics the total claims we've had so far for for
2026 in Q1 are eight claims that's that's down a little bit from Q1 of 2025 we have 13 claims we
averaged about 10 or so claims per quarter in in 2025 so the total claims are down.
The injuries we are having though have been fairly severe resulting in in someone significant costs.
One was required surgery and and lost work so so that's the indemnity claim.
That needs surgery. Yes, yes West. So that's that's that's the primary focus for for 2026 for
for safety and loss prevention is is to try to address these some of these more severe injuries that
are occurring. We've had a we've had a good improvement in our in our claim reporting. So we've
we've reported a hundred percent of the claims within two days that's up from 76 percent reported
within two days in in 2025 so you know training on the the reporting process and how that works
was has been effective and we've seen some improvements there and really that's that's pretty key for
ensuring that employees get the benefits right you know an experiment that's exactly yeah so when
when something does happen it's reported promptly and that's to our employees better.
So those are those are some of the some of the key metrics for Q1.
I think one of the key takeaways is we're incorporating the wellness program into safety and
loss prevention and I I really think wellness is is a factor in a lot of injuries can be a factor in a lot
of strains that's that's maybe not studied as as well but I think is is an area that we can focus on and
move the needle to to improve some of these so you're including HR's wellness program
that's correct with with the safety yep safety wellness and loss prevention really there's there's kind of a
track back to there and so is that then that one group that is meeting or there's still a two two groups
we we do have separate groups I met with the safety committee last week and we we discuss the idea
combining that as as one committee and the safety committee voted to focus on safety specialise
in that and we also have an additional wellness committee that will will focus on some of those wellness
initiatives to to really focus on on total worker health yeah I think there's a there's a loss prevention
component there too you know and but if people are more focused you know doing better on the mental
health side you know we'll see less auto accidents things like that I really think these these three
these three programs working together can you talk about wellness and this is not with this cop well
do you who monitors our gym in the rifle admin filming facilities facilities does that type back to
wellness it's it is in the sense that employees can get a wellness reimbursement credit
through exercise and so by Garfield County providing that opportunity to exercise that facility to exercise then
our employees can can apply for that wellness reimbursement credit and then we then can show to CBT
the amount of employees we have participating in that program and if we if we hit 75% of employees participating in
that wellness reimbursement credit we get that's a big number we get a credit back from our health insurance company
yes 75% it's a big number exactly so similar to the cost containment certification that we can achieve
through work confidence insurance if we demonstrate you know we're doing all these things to have a
robust work cop program it's similar to to our employees health insurance if we demonstrate we're doing
all these things for wellness essentially is going to save them money they give us a credit
and so do we have our workers comp plan done that before we get our 5% reduction is that
absolutely yeah that went through as of February 21st we received a $25,000 in change credit from
from February for having a workers comp plan exactly what's that plan called though
some of those comp plan is something else yeah it's you know that there's a whole host of
a different different things kind of combined into that cost container certification but it's
it's having you know the the written workers compensation handbook say handbook and having
having all those having all those different things in place
and thanks good job thanks sir that was it that was a goal so good job on that music goal
yeah but I worked really hard and a lot of people part of that team yeah it's a success for the
county with your your all's directing commissioner yeah and we'll reapply for that that certification
again at the end of 2026 you know kind of January 2027 I'll submit that re-application
um you have to do it annually at first and then it's and then you automatically receive that
that credit every three years didn't then you would figure it back so
Part of the partnership is with Coleman and Sharon. It's just to restate that one more time. They're a great partner. It was a great decision by the board to bring them on. And it's proved really beneficial not only from the work outside, but also all the attack. Keep some dollars local, actually.
That's right.
Yeah, they've been a great broker.
That's worked.
Okay, and we had, I see a volunteer rescue on here. Have we had some work comp claims from Search and Rescue?
We, we have not in in 2025 or or 2026.
Okay, great. Yeah.
As there is risk in risk in that. Absolutely.
We, we didn't crease our searching rescue force or the amount of people we have in that, in that department.
And so that can lead to, to an increase in the annual premium because there is some risk there.
But yeah, we cover volunteers.
We exactly.
statutory volunteers.
That's right.
We have separate insurance for.
Or folks who who work at the county bear and right and things like that.
Okay, that was about your strategic focus.
So.
You know, continuing to to focus on on the six metrics of the off containment program.
You know, if you're running a robust work comp program.
Ideally, you're going to have reductions in injuries.
So that's that's my primary focus.
It both qualifies for that reduction in the annual premium credit.
But it also bolsters the safety culture in the county and it has.
It has meaningful.
So that's that's primary cost containment certification criteria.
And then secondarily, I think by adding that well and wellness program and focusing on the total work or health.
That'll that'll get us even a step further and keeping people say that work.
So are you integrating.
I guess what I would call the admin staff with the share of staff are you integrating.
Some of the sheriffs with the sheriff safety program.
Absolutely. Yeah, I think and I think reaching out to.
You know, focusing on on the safety program with the sheriff is is key.
I do they have a safety group as you have a safety group on the admin side.
They safety is a is a top priority for them.
They don't have a safety committee per se like like we do as the county wide.
But each each commander, you know, the patrol commanders, you know, they're they're they're they're they're safety.
Safety books that I think, you know, we don't I used to kind of prove safety until I.
Sort of look at it workers comp more and if you have you you're talking about safety and you're out there.
We've become more safe. It's just it's a fact.
Keep that sort of mind.
Yeah, it's is key.
It's not as much younger than what I would say.
Much younger.
Yeah, I think.
Yeah.
You're out loud.
I'm like,
Not so much.
Yeah, I think.
I think just about any accident was preventable.
You know, I think by taking certain measures we can.
And looking at the causes and looking at and going through reports isn't absolutely.
Yeah.
But like this over in the.
They're.
Depends of fact, it's a bar arm.
They're all.
Really keen.
Yeah.
They have a great.
A great team over there.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I don't want to.
I don't want to change their program.
You know, I know they need to.
I know they need to.
Practice defensive tactics and.
And apprehension tactics.
I don't know.
At live speed, you know, and.
I think I think similar to.
You know, and NFL team might have problems with hamstring injuries.
They don't they don't tell them to run slower or.
Or, or ease up, you know,
But they, but they implement other things to just make them a little bit healthier a little bit.
A little bit safer.
And that's.
Yeah.
That's.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
They have questions.
I can.
You got it.
That's.
That's all.
I want to thank you for the work.
Thank you.
Questions.
Mike.
There.
Anyone up?
Good.
Yeah.
And hopefully.
Two, two, three coming.
Just.
Absolutely.
Yes.
We want that up.
We'll keep keep on.
Thank you.
We have one more item on your published agenda this morning, and that is your periodic oil and gas in the A's on update.
I'm going to put the energy symposium and recent rule making summary and oil and gas liaison curvy win.
Good morning, curvy. Still morning is here.
Good morning.
You want to tell me morning when I'm finished.
Yeah.
You have a big morning when you're finished.
We'll have to come back to us on our questions.
All right, curvy.
And just thank you for the energy symposium.
Wonderful.
It's well received. Great networking.
Good educational programs.
Just thank you for all of that.
Good.
Everybody loves it and they want to come back.
They do indeed and drones, which is good.
So I'll hit on just sort of a few topics, just sort of general oil gas activity.
So it's a thing.
The energy symposium and then also state federal rule making that have been working on last few months.
So as as at least to the state and federal things, especially the statements.
As you have designed and not be carrying on for you is a you prioritize.
This painting and development of regulations by the.
Energy and part of the management commission and also the federal air.
Well, it's all commission on your behalf.
I've been working to advocate for rules.
That's the fact characteristics of Western rural areas.
A lot of certainly including the beyond space and geology.
And we continue to participate in most of these rule making.
As a coalition called that Western rural local government coalition.
15 counties seven in Western Colorado and eight in the far eastern corner of the state plus eight municipalities in our general area.
Including city of Craig and Colbert and of course, and city maker and all of our towns here other than.
Limit strings within the county.
So as ongoing activity there's I don't know there's just been five or six rule making as a year.
It seems like they continue to ever regular pace.
You would think that they would have not more.
They think they need to be, but.
I don't know, maybe it'll slow down a year to another still still working at it.
And with the last year, I think this this data administration polls administration.
I know they're trying to kick out just a few more things.
I think before he's at offices.
I don't know if they're going to be a problem in the new news.
Keep on pulling into those.
Commissioners would imagine.
I think so I don't know if they's governor's.
Rob did.
I would think so.
So we could folks see some folks that might see that we have enough regulatory burden or any, but anyway, we keep working at it.
We're talking about those a little bit more, but just our local well, gas activity.
We do have two active drilling rigs that are over in Brue Blanco County.
One's operated by Tara.
You know, it's like you be and they're just right over the.
Is Tara now fly will.
Yes, so it's it's.
Tara, it's.
It's not.
It's not Tara energy partners anymore.
It's it's a it's a Tara Rocky Mountain.
I don't see.
So it is.
But it, but it's fly will is the.
But it was it.
Erica.
Yes.
So we had someone was fly will folks come over from Oklahoma.
They came there.
We're doing this.
And actually one was.
Our industry leaders found this year.
Okay.
So Laramy have been drilling.
They let that rig down in February.
They hope to bring that back and bring back the Garfield County for extended period.
Beginning this fall.
If they stay on the plan that they currently have.
I mean, you never really know until it happens.
But then also good news is Chevron has been talking about this for quite a while.
Been planning, but then mobilizing rig.
I mean right now today this week, they're standing up a rig on their property in Western
Garfield County over in the road, Creek drainage on the property.
They're going to drill.
They will drill two horizontal wells.
So that's the significant change for us.
Because you know, that's was that make a shell that see you natural gas and make a
shells like 10,000 feet down.
So there's no horizontal.
They much more expensive operation.
But we're going to test a couple of wells.
And they'll be drilling those and they'll be completing them.
Is this the first horizontal wells in the fields?
No.
There's probably 10 or 12 total.
Okay.
And years ago when I was early in my tenure here 14 years.
I'll probably start testing a little bit.
But then the gas prices really went down.
And I, I don't really know.
I just seemed like that was sort of the deciding factor that they sort of laid off.
But Terry energy is also going to drill a couple.
At least one.
I think more than one right there just outside of parachute later this year.
So is there going to be tests also?
Indeed.
To see what's down there.
Now much gas that you can get out.
Yep.
So that's.
You know, it works out.
Maybe that would change the prognosis for our area.
So we have operators looking at a more significant resource that they could tie it.
Well.
Maybe 10,000 feet.
10 to 12.
It's going to depend on where you are as my understanding.
That's not.
That's not a rare.
Yes, not a rare, which is an area we call to make a shadow.
It is part of the mouth.
Yeah.
It is not a break.
I'm saying.
Ever on there was going to be done.
You get in.
Finish that question.
They're.
They're going to drill those two horizontal wells in the May to July period.
So they're going to start drilling now.
They won't be done drilling until July.
I guess.
Oh, the two wells.
And then they'll work on completing.
Good.
That's right,
if it had been done in the first half of a state C for the first time 10,000 feet and do a geothermal.
Energy Resource test.
And then it was going to be the same well at the end of the horizontal building so all that went so close
So that's the chance of the industry
we see what they would find,
because the state does right our area
as high potential for geothermal.
Well, that's just how you get it to the market,
because everything's so remote.
Yes.
So county permitting activity,
varsity,
it contains the some permitting activity by Tara.
And also, carous, well, gas, and laryme, and Chevron.
There's a couple of permits right now
that are working through the county permitting.
Carous is now QB, right?
What was it, Carous?
Oh, yes.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, QB energy.
Okay.
That's what happens when you recycle an old.
That's what I call it.
That's what you all have to be in the name, right?
My policy.
Well, it's been about since I've been here
about six different.
That was in Canada when I started.
Yeah, yeah, when I started it was in Canada as well.
In Canada, in the end.
Well, that's the whole thing.
Yeah, Bill Barrett.
Bill Barrett, yeah.
And that's all that Bill Barrett's stuff is now
part of the Tara Flywell.
They own the leases up on the ground.
You know, I think all the same after all that was said,
down, there was like two leases kind of right out.
Right.
Two passes.
Yeah, I still don't know if Bill had two on down the slope.
But that that's Barrett or is that that's now Tara.
Good.
Then we're going to go through a little under this.
Or else it's that part of Tara too.
Let's see, so citizen research in place,
happy to report, haven't really had much activity
less few months.
It's generally been pretty anomalous sort of thing,
like traffic or private road maintenance issues.
That sort of thing.
I get the occasional call and I'll give the operators
and they fix the situation if that big trucks on what
are not, but you've deemed your preferred hall routes.
And the operators do a pretty good job of enforcing that.
I don't think there's actual regulation board,
but they do code the line in terms of your preferred hall routes
by large.
And then we had better payment on those roads.
So then also the energy advisory board, as you know,
while we continue, I do continue on your behalf to plan
and run those quarterly energy advisory board meetings
on a schedule of March, May, August and December,
we actually have a meeting this later this week.
We won't be too much for our all in that one.
The educational presentations have really been focused
on a lot of these well-gast, well-making
and regular 40 things.
As you may or may not recall, the John Messer
with the ECMC does a pretty good job of attending most of those meetings
as a non-boding member.
So the ECMC is almost always at those meetings.
And then we also have been getting a good participation
from the BLM and the Forest Service.
They're pretty regularly since someone,
at least one person that might give either a Forest Service
or both BLM and Forest Service update to let our citizens know
what's going on in the federal domain as well.
Is there pretty much a full board?
No, there's some gaps in it right now.
So we'll have anywhere from 12 to 18 members
In terms of tennis, but there are some bacon seats that I haven't really, it's tough because with the activity level, not being in the area, there's a lot of folks expressing, not interested, not people who has didn't coming other than our long-term members, so like, there's defied, we had to have defied, we don't have anyone in the wrong creek, which is where the Chevron area is right now.
We don't have like the rifle north, which is like the municipality.
I mean, city rifle sits on it, but as far as the citizen represented in the foot north there, there's no activity, so that one's vacant.
Grasse Mesa, homework, association or that community, they officially just said, you know, things that kind of pass us by where we don't have concerns anymore, so we're just not gonna have the board.
So there's seats available, but they're, they don't, I haven't found it to be like priorities, oh my god, we've got to fill the seat because there's these issues in this area.
So there are some gaps, but I think we have the key ones covered.
Thank you.
Long way to say.
I'm not a lot inside of that.
Yeah, it's a, it's an important board.
I appreciate you keeping it going, because it is important, we get all those, all those members together to talk about what's going on.
I think it's, it's important.
So there's, like I said, what's there there?
They're all, they're all very dedicated, the operators do a good job of showing up, so that makes it all work.
And then rifle TV, they don't film it as often, I can say, film two or three meetings a year now, where they used to film everyone, or even when we're doing it 10 months a year.
So we can get some disclosure there as well.
Public comments, we really haven't had anything significant come to the last three or meetings that I can recall when I look back at the notes.
And we get either zero to one or two most of a commenters.
And a meeting and the most community counts comes every meeting, most every meeting, not they give me a report, I'll give one to that.
And it's community counts till active.
They are still active.
They're still there.
And they've, they've, they have a great, I'm still in the, I actually still in that board.
I'm not an officer of the board, but I've been sitting on that board for a while and just to help out make sure it's at the table where it needs to be.
And they have a really great Carlos, the executive director, she's does a fantastic job and she's by her own agreement, it has.
She didn't have a real requirement, I need to work this many hours to just stay on the board.
I need to not do as much while there's not as much activity going on, so it's a really a perfect fit.
She's very good at it, she's not driving the expenses up, she's driving the expenses down, which is great for now.
Which also reflects it, I think what, what you approved and you, you provide some funding support for them and I think you have some not this year because they have some reserves that really didn't need it, which was good.
Let's see, energy symposium.
So we had just had our 12th annual, we had, we had, we had, we did have, we had 345 people registered.
There was a highway closure and we lost five or seven folks just because they just decided it was just too much, like Tuesday night before, but 335 folks did attend.
So that was great.
Actually, the Tuesday night, we have sort of a warm up for the meet and greet event.
The, the rifle you theater this year, a commissioner will believe was there for that.
I thought that as a new venue worked out really well, we had even with the highway people took them five and a half to seven hours to get here on that Tuesday night.
We had 190 folks at the show up at meet and greet.
We checked them in and gave them the main badge.
And so that was a success considering there was a certain 75 car pile up on I 70 that.
That was that that was a cloud.
That was a message then.
But they showed up hungry in Thursday.
And that's just pretty much networking or do you do a presentation there.
That's strictly networking.
Somebody just comes in there and I just want to re-enter drives and see each other from not seeing each other from last year, whatever.
And a lot of great food.
That's what it's just sort of yours.
Great venue.
I love the food we had barbecue.
We had a mountain of charcuterie for it.
They was pretty pretty amazing and.
We do anonymous surveys on on all the all the elements because I don't know being me.
I just don't want to do the same event every year and make the same mistakes.
I knowingly so we we've Paul folks anonymously and we had 80 folks this year that filled out our survey to tell us how we did.
And they're very candid they just all comments on all say this the barbecue on Tuesday night was the best barbecue ever except for one person thought it was horrible.
So you you go with the 90 percent why did they come in?
Well, I don't know something about the burnants.
And so you don't like grilled smoked fatty meat don't eat grilled smoked fatty meat because that's what it is.
I'm good for the magic.
Yeah, whatever.
But no, it's but just good but we get a lot of good feedback and every year we shape things based on the specific comments.
But just sort of an overview and you haven't your hand out, but I think it's worth mentioning.
The key one for me tells me, did we have success and and I talked a lot of folks that do a lot of events and we get numbers that you just don't see.
You take your average community of people you bring them to an event.
A lot of them are just going to go, this is just kind of not my bad right.
And so you just you can only do so well, but yeah, 95 percent very or extremely satisfying.
So the two day experience.
I mean, that's.
We never have that.
I we've had close but that's you can't go.
Then 97 percent were.
That's happy this because Victoria a contractor myself we worked really hard over the last five months.
But 97 and we have a great team as you saw at the event.
I have a lot of folks above we have hired contractors that are vent planners.
We have a lot of county staff that help us out as well.
But I'm sorry.
It's been thanks for the county staff that helps out that you break them.
I was huge.
I'm going to mention one of my name.
Great.
Thank you.
Thanks.
It's huge.
But to mention one thing there is I think the biggest testament that you have.
Is from day one when we started and tell now.
You have many of the same people returning.
And to me that shows you that you're successful in other words.
If a person goes to it.
And they go this this is a.
Doing it for me or this just wasn't good or this whatever.
They're not coming back.
We have I mean I see many of those people that I've seen for the past 12 years.
That are still coming because they see it as a valuable experience.
And that's what they always tell me.
And we're able to pull in great speakers people who know what they're talking about.
And they want to learn from them.
You know that to me that's you know this is all good too.
But to me it's just they want they want to be there and they want to talk to their.
Fellow oil and gas people and network with them.
And so then there's I know there's other.
Opportunities like that within Western Colorado or the United States to do that.
But this has become a big thing to a lot of people.
They're going to be there and they're there.
Yeah, we bring from you.
You look County, Washington County, a lot of County.
I mean every corner of the state we had a.
Fifty or 52 distinct local governments and tax-upported districts.
That we're in right as from from the part of the state either one to five people per.
And so that I mean that to me is a testament of it.
And what we've done again with your support.
We've and all these years we've never turned away local government for cost.
I mean it costs a good few hundred dollars to come as a local government.
It costs a lot more if you're industry and and he little local government.
They want to come they have or they have a reason to learn about a long gas.
They get to come and we have sponsors that make sure that no one gets turned away from a local government.
And that's a priority.
And that's I don't know it's just good to do that.
This is the first class event and nobody gets turned away if you're a local government.
Great.
So yeah, 97% like the thought they've been organization management was top notch and that was good.
87% were extremely or very satisfied with the state fry event.
That's a big deal.
That's a big piece of what we plan every year.
But people really evaluate that as a four hour time block of networking and food and just really having those more robust conversations.
After the first day of being in the room and learning about all the topics.
So so that was as continues to be valued.
89% very extremely satisfied with as you were talking about commissioner.
The topics and the speakers.
And then.
And then that's a 90% and then if you included just people who were to say I'm satisfied with the speakers and topics.
That's 97%.
So we're not leaving too many people behind on what representative I guess.
93% very extremely satisfied with the catered breakfast and the keynote lunches.
We have a.
The fellow from brick house comes in and does that food for two days straight.
And I mean, he's got a great team.
He works hard and and it the results show that people will know the.
Which is a good piece.
Part of, you know, you have you take care of people two days.
You want to feed them.
And so I feel I didn't.
That's right.
91% very very extremely satisfied with the.
That was the Tuesday evening meeting.
And he was our first time event at that at that location.
The rifle youth theater.
The staff was fantastic to work with.
That's a really good for to.
To have that again there again.
So then there's odd sort of scales.
It's not hard to describe it on scale one to ten.
We asked people was to likely that you would recommend to a call.
A or friend or someone that they come to the symposium next year.
And 82% sport is as a nine or 10, which is considered.
Promotors are someone said, yeah, this is great event.
But that's for eight out of ten.
That's almost like you didn't really care.
So 82% said, I'm definitely down.
I get home.
Tell these people they should join us.
That's.
You feel good when when they're going to be that word of mouth.
Marketing to bring the right audience to us next year.
The revenue did exceed our expenses by good margin.
So it didn't.
There's no tax dollars expended on this event.
It's all ticket revenue and sponsorships.
Thank you.
You bet.
And then.
So again, that's the sit and then see the event YouTube channel.
That's in your link there.
And I'll send another one with just about got all of the.
Back to turn on and make live all the 20.
Good.
That's a good presentation.
But of course a keynote speaker on the second day.
So I'm.
I want to listen to that.
Then.
So I don't how we pull us together.
I mean, I do a lot.
But I'm not it.
So the Corey Hayman is a contractor.
She continues to be at the end of this message.
She was just a second year helping me out.
And she just helps with all the bookkeeping and all kinds of organizations.
We're thinking allow me to focus on like this year.
We're improving 43 different speakers.
And that's a lot of cast I heard.
I'll tell you what.
Yeah.
It takes a lot of time.
It's like communication.
I get a lot of relief by having that source of support and help so that I can focus on.
Make sure that that works.
Because I got nothing if we don't have our.
The speakers and then they understand what their job is when they get in that sort of thing.
So.
We've seen a ton of assistance from the other kind of departments.
I just can't overstate how much I appreciate.
The support of this commission and administration and the department has an individual employees that help to sound.
So special.
Thank you.
And gratitude for my colleagues.
The facilities team on the set up day on Tuesday, which is a big deal.
It's a lot to do.
Jason Wester and Spencer Evans showed up for that and helped out.
And then when we shut down the event on the Thursday afternoon, Dave Ebbler and Tracy Waffler joined then to help us on that tear down.
I'm really we're converting a room from seating for for.
300 people like in just road seating like they have for the sanctuary and we turn into as you see the six top tables thing.
That's a big turnaround and then to put it back the way the church wants it.
And then I really want to mention the last minute.
I didn't realize we were short a couple of folks.
Road and bridge folks JD France and Jimmy Snowden.
They showed up and man, they just filled up ready to go and I mean we had to keep up with them.
They were great.
They just said let's go.
We've got this thing and setting all those tables exactly 10 feet, not 10 feet to inches apart.
That sort of thing.
Which is extremely important.
And those guys were just fantastic.
So that was helpful.
And then for community development, windshield helped out for the two full days of the event organization and management.
Again, that's a great relief for me because she really knows what we're trying to do.
Why were there?
And so she's flagging things for me in Victoria to make sure that we just keep everything running really smoothly.
So that is great.
And then for our tear down on with close it all up.
The planners Heather John Philip and Lynn plus broke.
They helped for a couple hours along with those other folks I mentioned to help us put that put the church back in the way the church needed it.
And to get us out the door with all of our stuff and everything out.
So that's a big big deal.
And then also.
That's.
Coral over there.
Chelsea.
Fredran.
Excuse me.
So she may available Jack Stewart and Obed Rommels.
They deliver straw up there that steak fry and they brought some county owned generators that we use as back.
We actually used one of them, but one of them we have there just for a backup in case our rental ones are actually they were donated from rifle equipment this year.
So if we have any power issues, so we're going to have a problem there.
And then Jack can know that they went back on Thursday after the steak fry.
And I guess the raccoons got into the.
The trash receptacle thing was up there on that private property and they took the time to wear it and they picked up all this trash that shouldn't have been there to make sure the land.
In order was taken care of, they went way above and beyond.
Is that on Heather's property? Yes. Yes.
And so that was a big deal. Just like I say, all these folks just not even thinking twice,
and they're just putting in that extra effort to make the county look good.
Just represent all the folks in the finance that was great.
So I just thought of them. Thank you at all of them.
You know, you all for making sure those people were available.
That's all I had on the symposium other than if you want to do another one.
The 13th annual would propose that would be you have direction for must to do another.
Okay. Yes. So then if we do everything the same, it'll be able to 13 to 15 next year.
And we'll start gathering up our speakers and lots of stuff and come up with another fresh agenda.
We've got to start planning in.
Those are those both keynote figures.
I mean, with the argument, I can't say that.
Argin, yeah.
Argin, he was excellent.
Then Roger, he was actually better than a little breakout session.
He was of state.
Yeah.
I have to say that.
I thought it was really good in the room there with this.
And then when he got on stage, I just,
he was, yeah, it was good.
It was great.
It was like a breakout. He was.
Yeah.
Well, he's going to even know the stuff.
But he's more of an academic.
And so it's, it's a different type of thing.
But again, we're just trying to hit different strokes every year.
We're trying to hit the bigger national global pictures with those keynotes every year.
And so we'll be searching for two fresh ones for next year.
And we're going to be color and learn to click.
You can hear from both of them.
Yeah.
No, the argument was great.
And he actually donated this time, which was amazing.
Because he's a high, high profile guy.
But sure.
Wow.
And he was, he was willing to, to come and help us out.
That's great.
So we'll plan for that.
And our 13th annual.
I'm going to give myself another month.
We're after four, I've forced myself to really think about it again.
I might just put it aside for a few days.
You weren't, I think I've got a few things catch up on.
But we'll get after them.
Old gas commission and other rule making.
Sort of a nothing burger on this one.
But the ECMC, they just completed their I priority habitat rule making.
This year they focused on the southeast water of the state.
And they're feeling may recall.
But every year they, they grow from the southeast and northeast of the northwest, which is us.
And then the southwest.
And so they just worked away around every four years.
So this year was more on the southeast corner of what we paid attention to.
And they attention was to make sure that the, the only thing they did in our area was gross.
And raptor mapping.
And so we took a close look at that to make sure.
Mass.
Brad is most involved with to make sure that nothing odd ball got thrown into the gas.
And it did not.
So.
Pretty quick.
Fun theory as expected.
That's the only recent ECMC rule making.
And then the air quality control commission.
There's been a few of those, including during the symposium, which was not ideal.
But anyway, in February, they had a regulation seven rule making.
We were a party with our western rural local government coalition.
I did the work on that on your behalf.
And overall, we supported the air pollution control divisions.
Proposal to revise regulations seven.
Primarily what they're doing was aligning Colorado's air quality rules with EPA's.
On.
Nonpoint source sub part quato see the ozone and precursor type of regulation.
So they really just, they, they didn't do thing too wild crazy on that one.
They just align with the federal.
Standards and rules for their same similar set of two different sets of compliance.
There are operators in the area.
So that one was okay.
We supported.
And we did actually see that achieved was a small operator, which is our area.
Our operators smaller operators a greenhouse gas intensity exemption.
And the rules through 20 30 that was a very important one.
That benefits our pios operators.
So we were there to table to help fight for some.
So in 20 20 30, is that going to be back on the table?
Yes.
So the rules already written on what they'll have to comply with.
They've got a lot more years.
I've got a few more years to.
Can't comply.
Work the way through.
We've done a logical advances and other things to make it as hopefully as painful painless as possible.
Come at 20 30.
Then the regulation 24 26 and 30 that one was during the symposium.
I actually managed to do the testimony on that one on that Thursday right after the symposium.
I kept my head up long enough to get that done.
But that was priority.
That was a big deal.
There's a lot of problems with that one.
I don't know what your perspective is.
Where the state was pretty striding in what they were pushing for and asking for.
We got some some allowances and we got denied flat down some others.
But we supported the as always the science based priority.
Toxic air mission control regulations that are technically feasible, cost effective and capable of producing.
Expected known tangible public health benefits.
Our core concern was avoiding an initial program that is only broad and administrative.
We complex or legally vulnerable to challenge.
Particularly where the burdens fall disproportionate rural.
Must in Colorado.
Including natural gas.
Down the basis.
So would you talk about that one thousand foot.
Sit back person.
And one mile brought buffer.
What is that?
So that was a key priority.
Again, the upstream exemption from additional benzene controls was preserved.
And then what we had asked for was.
A 1000 foot rather than a one mile buffer zone for for maldehyde.
Excuse me.
I took a ability to terminate.
I was unsuccessful.
And so.
They just broke in a lot more of our operations.
You are going to mile out.
From.
From the direction.
I only stretch.
Yes.
Yeah.
Like like a radius around an initial source.
And so our operators and a lot of the history folks.
And it wasn't as long as the gas was other than in a few as well.
They felt like the state was just.
Really just crank it down way more than necessary.
If what's not.
They're going to put controls on them.
They're going to be very costly.
But they're likely to have.
Minimal actual public health benefits.
Because what they're doing is they're regulating to things that aren't tied to the actual receptors human beings being in an area where there might be some missions that you would want to control because there's humans nearby.
Places whether it isn't anybody or thing around.
They're still required.
It's a pretty pretty.
Possibly pretty.
So they have to go out and test for from maldehyde.
Out to a mile out.
Yeah.
And from maldehyde.
How much.
So you imagine that.
Here where we are a mile out.
There's.
There's nothing out there.
A mile out.
Yeah.
So.
So it's.
I mean, we're.
I mean, from maldehyde.
From.
There's an upstream.
upstream.
Exemption.
No.
I mean.
Haven't even really.
Had any discussion on from maldehyde.
So.
I think it's that wrong.
What they're doing is a requiring.
More advanced controls for from maldehyde.
Well, I.
There is some from maldehyde that involved in all of gas out there.
So there it's.
And.
Well, it has to be exactly where it comes from.
But it is there.
It's definitely part partial to the industry at some level.
But.
It was.
Our asked was.
If there was.
If someone within a thousand feet.
Then let's go ahead and put these mass controls on it.
But if.
If somebody's.
If there's a house or residence or some kind of a park or something.
There's a mile away.
The state said, yep.
We're going to have these more rigid controls even though like an hour.
I have the fog for all that.
And then what we're talking about here is going to reach those receptors.
Those humans.
All right.
So it's just.
It's.
Pretty.
So expensive.
And they're going to do this every year.
They're going to add more.
Is that already.
So what.
What do you have to do to prevent from out.
I do not know what the control mechanism is for.
But.
As to do with equipment.
That.
I think.
Yeah.
Maybe.
Learning.
Yeah.
I'm not sure.
That's what this.
I can.
I guess.
But we heard from a lot of different industries.
Real concerns with that sort of buffer that they had that didn't seem to be.
Designed to protect the public more than to.
Make it.
Just control because you can control no matter.
The amount of the cost.
The amount of.
And actually.
In terms of benefit.
By controlling.
So.
That's only experience.
I've ever had with.
From.
I've.
I've've.
And I've.
I've.
yeah.
They are.
So.
I've.
Let me.
Have.
of.
I've.
But.
period.
It's.
Why.
written in stone, what they're going to do, they're going to apply those fees, and that's going to be it, measure
ring your hands, but they're going to pass the rules that I have to say, but we'll be there to say, please don't.
Yeah, they're a resource management plans, uh, land management plans. I don't really have anything on that today.
You're quite right now. It's going to be quite, um, stage to take the lead, but they're not.
Oh, I think we got it on. Phil Roli is sweet water lake, and that's not you. In your bill,
but try it. Yeah, that one hasn't been mine. That's so bad. So other than that, just recommend actions,
uh, not going to ask them for help. Yeah, so other than continue the symposium, and then,
if you want me to continue, potentially to wrap these down here, make a good direction. I think that'll be
from all three of us to continue what you're doing. Continue representing us. And if you have something
that's controversial, and you need our, our direction, go to Fred and we'll, we'll, we'll definitely
learn about it. I mean, additional direction, but we're, ladies with symposium,
please don't work. You're doing, they have this coalition still have it being existence is a big deal.
It's a big part of the state. 2021 different governments. 23, 23 counties. Yeah,
it's a big deal. It's an East and East, East and West and West and West and Sloan.
Now, do you have some of the folks in East ever once a while, so they seem to appreciate being at the table
and we're helping them get to the table. So that's keeping them aware of what's going on, because they have
their smaller county, smaller staff. Yeah. So that's the direction, correct? Anything that I'll
want to add to that? No, we're good. Okay. You've got a direction for most to continue on as
as you're doing, you know, and the panel and you're back for a good job. Thank you, Richard.
On the bottom side, I think it'll be briefer than I was, I apologize. Now, it's because we were asking
questions. Thanks, Kirby. All right. Thank you. That's, it's in response.
Thank you. Good. You're an active one in the items. So we are to the county attorney's update.
Nothing specific here. I believe this baby should be back tomorrow. If not, I'll be here for your
work session. It gets a. We're going to talk about that. Yeah.
Heather and I will be in Denver to take the deposition of the plaintiff in one of our court cases on the
20th. And then the county attorney's conference is June 4th. So county attorney's from around the
state will be gathering in snow masks. It's close to home this year. Always a good resource and always
good to hear what other counties are dealing with and compare notes and things in our shared
practice area. So. Good training there. Okay, Fred. Okay. Thank you. Well, with that calendar.
Yep. You got it. Just a couple of days in the jump through the calendars. The first one, just to remind
the board, we have now with Vola's help set and I think you will know this, but just to do it again,
the humanitarian dinner is set for September 14th. That's way in the future. Just want to make sure you
knew that. Five thirty start at the hotel, Colorado. Moving on, then with Mr. Jackson's
very timely tip here on the work session. What we'd like to do is we want to push that work session
until May 19th from tomorrow. When I cancel tomorrow, I'm push it till it's basically two weeks from today.
Okay, great. Matt, that way you'll have all three. Why is there a topic? There's several AIs one. AIs one.
There'll be a lot to get the list for you. Commissioner. I'll be great because then we'll have all three
commissioners as you were just saying. That's really important on that topic. So still start. Let's plan for
9 a.m. Start on that. If we want to, if we have more, I'll get with the board real quick and see
we advance it to 8 a.m. But for now, just leave it at 9 a.m. And then I also want to flag for the board on
June 18th. It was flag for me. June 18th is the special ribbon cutting celebration honoring the completion
of the hanging lake trail reconstruction projects for service. And that is actually at the
hanging lake trail had at 10 a.m. If you're interested in attending that, that is the first day of the
Job conference. What date was that? Thursday, June 18th, June 18th. Yeah. I'll be at Joel. You'll be
jolting. Okay, as the calendar today, I believe we have our Wofe coalition, all of the Zoom
column. Mr. Will. Two o'clock. That's our regular schedule of meeting tomorrow. We've checked that off.
So that'll be canceled. No work session tomorrow. Tuesday, through Friday, May 5th.
If the 8th is, I think Commissioner Will is getting ready to leave, and that is for the NACO Western Interstate Region Conference.
It's making sure, I know you all know that, but good to check notes. Wednesday, Commissioner Jankovsky, you and I are meeting with Sarah Sims.
It's not Wednesday, it's not, I have a conflict.
If I had a for Tuesday and a fifth, it did shift. I'm sorry if that didn't make it.
Yeah, I didn't. I won't be able to make it. I have a conflict.
Well, I'll let me visit with you ahead of time, and then we'll meet with them.
It's, it's around the Human Services Service Commission.
Yeah.
And that's space for the mechanics of the Human Services Commission and funding.
So that was, but it's a 3 p.m.
Are you out totally the whole day?
I'm out from.
Okay. I'm from 2 p.m. on a map.
Okay. All right. I'll get with you and talk about it.
Yeah, great.
I apologize for the miss up on the camera.
All right.
There is this Thursday. May 7th is the run for watershed collaboration meeting.
I've mentioned to the board.
It's 10 to 3 at the third street center in Carvindale.
That's a joint meeting.
The variety of groups.
Monday, who may 11th, who's putting on, who's putting that on.
I said, they're going for a wildfire group.
It's a consortium of groups.
That was the right.
Yeah.
Good day.
Oh, good day.
Powering water.
That's right.
Water and power association.
That's authority.
I don't think it's in association.
Let's see.
Monday, May 11th, you're back in here for your regular board meeting.
We will not have commissioner will for that meeting.
We have them to see.
Do we have a land use and if we do have land use, we need to let the applicant know there's two commissioners.
So I believe I'll confirm that.
I'll confirm that.
Thrift Rob while we'll make sure that's the case.
We flagged that for them before because you raised the same question.
We'll do that again to make sure.
So they understand.
And they have an option knowing they'll only have two commissioners.
If it's a vote decision.
So thanks.
Monday, May 18th, then you're back into this room.
Also as you're regular board meeting.
Then it gets quite busy.
So Wednesday, May 20th, 26th is the book cliff Mount Soaperson Southside.
Land owner, appreciation, barbecue.
It's a local working local work group as well.
That's at Veterans Park in silt 530 to 730.
And then you have also that same day.
I have a mic calendar.
May 20th is the agency.
Board and EDD meeting in rifle in rifle.
That's a nine the noon.
Excuse me.
Nine to two PM.
Is that what you have commissioners?
Yeah.
Okay.
Because I imagine you're going to be there for that.
Okay.
Monday, May 25th.
The rifle County offices are closed at can be closed in the
Drivers of Memorial Day.
Very important day.
Moving to the next day, Tuesday, May 26th is the next.
Elected officials meeting the last one was canceled.
Yeah.
Mr. Hannah got a pass on you.
If you have.
I voted that one in May.
Yeah.
Just look at the opportunity.
So needing a commissioner for.
I think it's probably my turn as an.
I think it's.
Okay.
Thank you.
Mr. Shamson.
To PM.
At the sheriff's office.
Thursday.
May 28th.
730 a.m.
To 10.
A.m.
Is the Garfield County economic development.
Your.
Some annual meeting.
And I believe.
We're going to have.
Somebody from Center of Excellence there.
I don't know if it's been.
Talk about what's going on.
It's very appropriate with fire.
She's coming up.
Can we talk to him?
Just confirm what we know.
I think ball has said they confirmed.
Yeah.
Okay.
Alright.
We did.
Alright.
To verify that.
Alright.
Very good.
That'll be excellent.
And then.
I've had.
Last on my calendar.
Is the Monday through Wednesday.
June 1st through the third.
Knowing that June 1st is a board meeting.
That day.
Is the summer CCI conference.
And that's in Dylan.
With the beginning of you typically have your board meeting in the morning, then you will take off to go to see see
Yeah, that's still in the morning. Yep, that works. Okay, so another land use thing right to let them know
About that's what we're trying to do so that way the work can cut out
And that is all I have I don't go to the
June 15th board meeting we still would have to see that in from eight to sort of a 10 a.m. start for the board meeting because we're going to have to see that in so we probably
We'll have to go into the even if it's rolling the agenda we're going to the afternoon I would imagine
So we will probably need to take a lunch break and that on that agenda. Yes, and thank you for saying that
What day for the 15th of June so ways out
To 10 right that's right
And then the more meeting that I would like to mention that question because that's when we typically invite the other municipalities to come to us.
We'll just be there they're they like you as the centerpiece, but then because it's so focal over where we can come here and we will give them this pallet is time to write or comment.
Yeah, I probably will invite along with Rob and Rob and Richard Scott Marsh, but also definitely Henderson to that just because the IMT to be an action if that's all right.
And that's I think Rob had an update to just on the calendar right. Oh, we do have a fair opportunity tomorrow night.
And that business
We're going to have a six thirty six in close or six. Yeah. Okay. Make sure. Yeah. All right. Yep. That's great. That's it. Thank you. Okay. We're going to commission your will since he's going to be out on the
Sure tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. I do want to say.
Michael, I made the crawfish boil that the airport is a good. It was actually great.
Somebody flew him in. Yeah.
I had a big old pot. Oh, you can be there. I wasn't front of you guys. I was there then I had to cut out to another meeting. Oh, just I just missed you. I'm looking for you.
Well, let's just yeah. Mike, Mike, thanks for making the use on deal for us. Yeah, report on that again. That was good.
And so yes, I'm I'm heading out and we go on and we go on the 11th without board meeting and then I get back and I go straight to the state crack.
So you began the next week in as well. No, that's in that week.
Yeah, but the state track meet and I was going to be here. The fact that.
Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Good luck to all.
So I'm going to attend on the 20th.
Is that I see electrical college graduation. So I'm going to try hit that and then run down to the booklet.
I've always went to it. It's the domestic agency meeting that so that that's.
I'll make I should make agency it's just that that's in that that's in that that's in the evening six p.m.
I'll try to do I try to at least hit the board.
You're going to try and be two places of once. Yeah, good luck.
And then I didn't get it invite Tom for that.
Carmed up who room cutting your. Yeah.
I'm not going to go to it.
That's on the 21 there's a lot of fundraising to that. So yeah.
And we're ready. They're going to have a new pool. Yep. And then 20 22. I'll be right.
Except for the evening. I have.
Well, I'm not sure the time, but I have my granddaughter's high school graduation is a rifle graduation. So that's on the 20 second.
Then on the 27th have down for the the parachute to ask when reasonable being that there were comments from one to four.
You guys have that. Well, what is 27 to me, man, who is it. It's the parachute to ask them that regional well being.
That I asked a community foundation.
Okay, I haven't down anyway.
Then I was in 28th of the vehicle of development.
Then the 29th. I plan to attend the area agency. The area agency on aging at the rifle.
Thank you.
Then obviously we also see meeting on the first and June been head out to the CCI number conference.
And then why did you mention the 18th and 19th of jolt.
We're going to join the agency meeting on the 17th.
And then the speakers reception the night of the 17th.
At the hotel, Maverick for the speakers of the jolt.
The 18th and 19th if you know it. Yeah, about that.
Okay, I didn't have that speaker.
So that the Maverick.
Yes.
I'm not 6 p.m.
The agency meeting is scheduled to be from one to five.
That's that's pretty much it for the calendar.
I do have about two requests for work sessions.
If you guys are interested.
So the one is the CTA.
That's for that.
Like the transmission lines.
They were there.
They were wanting to come and talk to us about what's going on.
Garfield County in the surrounding areas for transmission lines.
Specific to Garfield County.
It's going to get up.
If it's educational.
I don't really know that I want to hear about it.
You're as more at more building staff,
building staff, but if it's lines lines that are going to be, you know,
new transmission lines in Garphal County, definitely would like to know about that, but you know
it, we've gone through public hearings with Excel on everything they're doing. I haven't heard
of any, I mean if there's transmission lines coming through Garphal County, that's a flat, that's a
flat. I'm not sure, I'm not aware of one, so I don't want to just sit here and have them
educated.
Okay, let me just go and go and go and see if it's specific to stuff here in the county, then
yes, otherwise no. But I would also say just for the board, you also put them on as often
times like today you'll have a presentation topic. So you have two options, you can shepherd them
into a work session. The challenge with that is there's tend to be dedicated policy matters
and things like that that's going to move them away versus just take up the time within a work
session. Maybe it's better on a regular agenda, isn't it? As an alternative. Yeah. And that keeps some
compressed to, right, because your time is so valuable and they have to sit through our meeting. Right.
I guess my point is another option, whether I'm just best to use them or try to run them off.
Yes, and this is concerning health insurance and this is C, B, T, or whatever.
And I did have a Zoom call with them and they were talking about the cost of health care,
the health insurance and the Western slope health plan.
This guy's from Crested Beauty and I know they got us in counties involved with this. They were
requesting the work session that shows where it can maybe save money out of health insurance and health
call. Well, that needs to go back to Fred and our HR. I mean, that needs to come internally.
So I think that we need to go to Fred and then I know we're going to have a big increase in health
insurance from what we're hearing. The thing that made that kind of sounds like an explicit proposal
and maybe it kind of is, yeah. Right. And so we're going to be all work with you. Yeah,
so we'll also grab what that is. Okay. And the C, B, C, E, B, T, clinics, Marathon clinics and we're
very important. Yeah. Yeah. We'll find a spot. We'll figure them out and find a spot for them.
Okay, Mike, your calendar. Well, first last Friday night, my grandson Peter and I went and it
tended to as a guest of honor for the use on 50 years. Well, and it was, uh, that's great. It was
very well done. They had a great light band there. The food was excellent. They had all kinds of food
and all kinds of varieties and a wonderful dinner and everything. And they were very, uh, what if I want to
say thankful and acknowledge the county and all the help that we have given him. Throughout the years,
they had a silent auction. They had a live auction, a very lively option here.
It was quite an entertaining deal. And I don't know exactly how many, how much they made combined. But while
I was there, it was very sizable about a money. It was raised for them. And then they did their kiss, the pig.
Did you get pregnant? I did not kiss the pig. But I have kissed a pig in front of a thousand screaming high school kids before.
So I know that experience.
They raised, at the last second, I think, they raised.
Oh, I don't know how much more on top of which they already had. And they had at least ten pairs or single entries in that, which each one brought in a substantial amount of money.
So you saw them really cashed in.
They got fundraiser good. There was a great fundraiser for them. And a good time was had by all good.
So yeah.
The federal mineral lease meeting, our next meeting will be on the 13th at 90th at the offices.
And I think everything else has been covered.
A GMC meeting in rifle on the 20th.
Nice. Thank you.
I think we've covered everything else.
Yeah.
Seeing what you've covered everything.
So the board meeting on Monday.
I think we had a very productive meeting today.
Thank you everybody.
We can be adjourned.
Okay.
Thank you.
Be near.
Thanks, Roy.
Thanks.