High Park Road Paving to Start

The Fremont County Road and Bridge Department and Kiewit Western Construction Company of Colorado Springs will begin construction work Monday, October 3rd, on the asphalt overlay project on Fremont County Road 11. Approximately three miles of the High Park Road will be overlayed with two-inches of asphalt. It is the third year of asphalt overlay work on High Park Road using Colorado Gaming Impact Grants. $415,000 of Gaming Impact Money is being spent this year on the paving work. It was determined that the overlay was needed because the asphalt was deteriorating. That resulted from casino traffic traveling to Cripple Creek as well as heavy truck traffic using the road.

The three mile work area will begin about 1 ½ miles northeast of the junction from Colorado Highway 9. The Road and Bridge Department will be flagging traffic and motorists can expect some minor delays in the construction zone October 3rd through the 7th.

The Fremont County Commissioners have submitted an application to the State Gaming Impact Board for another $484,000 in Gaming Impact money in 2006. If awarded it would finance completion of the final 1 ½ miles of asphalt overlay plus chip sealing of the High Park Road and the Garden Park Road north of Canon City next year. The Gaming Impact money can only be used on those county roads impacted by casino traffic going to and from Cripple Creek.

Fremont County Tire Collection Day

Fremont County, the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments Regional Recycling Program, and the Holcim Company are sponsoring a Community Tire Recycling Day at Holcim’s Portland Cement Plant this Saturday, September 24th. The Holcim Plant along Highway 120 east of Florence will accept scrap tires from 8 a.m. until 12 noon this Saturday.

Holcim Performance Optimization Manager Keith Krugh says the company is continuously evaluating opportunities to reduce their reliance on non-renewable resources such as coal. Krugh says old tires are just one of many materials that can be effectively recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency has certified tires as a replacement for coal in cement kilns to reduce emissions, particularly during summer months when ozone levels tend to peak. The Portland Plant will effectively remove between 1.5 to 2.5 million tires per year from Colorado’s scrap tire waste stream of approximately four million annually. Krugh said the old tires are actually a cleaner fuel for cement kilns than coal. Krugh says using the old tires conserves natural resources and keeps those tires out of landfills and tire piles.

The tire collection day is the first time Holcim has partnered with Fremont County and the Regional Recycling Program to collect used tires from county residents since the plant began using tire-derived fuel (TDF) in its cement kiln. The plant recently installed a tire shredder to handle the on-site inventory of whole tires.

The Fremont County Commissioners urge all county residents to take advantage of the opportunity and deliver their scrap tires to the Holcim Plant between 8 and 12 noon this Saturday.

September 13th Commissioners’ Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners rescinded action at the regular Board meeting for a paving bid awarded at a special meeting on September 1st. The Board awarded a bid for a two-inch asphalt overlay project on three miles of the High Park Road (County Road #11) to Kiewit Construction of Colorado Springs. Kiewit was the low bidder at a price of $50.50 per ton. The action reversed a vote taken at the previous meeting when the bid was originally awarded to A & S Construction of Canon City. The Commissioners noted that A & S’ bid of $50.70 per ton would amount to only a $1,500 difference on the $400,000 project and tried to keep that money in the community supporting a local company and local jobs. But since the project is funded with Colorado Gaming Impact funds , the state requires that the contract be awarded to the low bidder unless local government has a bid preference policy in place and it is advertised as part of the bid consideration. Construction on the three miles of High Park Road overlay is expected to begin by the last week in September. Motorists traveling to Cripple Creek can expect minor delays during construction.

The Commissioners also directed Fremont County Code Enforcement Officers Robert Sapp and Walter Elkins to proceed with the mailing of notices to residents of the Acres of Ireland subdivision at Howard informing them of proposed address changes. Sapp noted that 49 lots in Acres of Ireland are incorrectly addressed which create a problem for law enforcement, ambulances, and fire trucks responding to a home in an emergency. Sapp said the 49 incorrectly addressed lots do not follow a proper numerical sequence and have created a lot of confusion in the past. The County Commissioners will consider formal action to change the addresses at their October 25th meeting at which time any Acres of Ireland residents wanting to speak to the Board will have the opportunity to do so.

In other action the Commissioners also:

• reappointed Glen T. Smith to the County Building Code Board of Appeals
• appointed Commissioner Mike Stiehl to the Fremont County Finance Corporation
• approved a new 20-year franchise agreement for Bresnan Television Cable
• renewed a hotel and restaurant liquor license for the Brass Horse in Penrose waiving the 45 day requirement for a late application filing
• approved a temporary use permit for the Apple Day festivities on October 1st
• and, approved assigning the Colorado State Highway Access Permit CDOT for Highway 115 improvements at Pathfinder Park west of Florence to the Canon City Recreation & Park District.

Commissioners Award Two Bids at Special Meeting

Bids for an asphalt overlay project on County Road 11 to Cripple Creek and for an outdoor arena at the new Pathfinder Regional Park were awarded by the Fremont County Commissioners at a special meeting Thursday afternoon, September 1st.

The Commissioners awarded the bid for another three miles of 2-inch asphalt overlay on High Park Road (County Road 11) to A & S Construction of Canon City. The A & S bid was for $50.70 per ton compared to $50.50 per ton from Kiewit Construction of Colorado Springs. Commissioner Ed Norden said the difference would amount to only about $1,500 more under the $400,000 paving project but felt it made sense to give the bid preference to a Fremont County company that pays local taxes and has a local employee base. Work on the three miles of paving is expected to get underway in September or early October. It is the third year of work on asphalt overlay on High Park Road utilizing Colorado Gaming Impact grants. The County will seek a 4th year of grants to complete the overlay of High Park Road extending down to Highway 9.

The Board also awarded a bid for construction of an outdoor arena at Pathfinder Regional Park to CL Construction of Fountain. The firm submitted the lowest of seven bids received for the project. CL’s winning bid totaled $89,355. The bid covered materials and installation of an arena 150 feet by 300 feet including bucking and roping chutes. The arena construction is being funded under a $500,000 Great Outdoors Colorado grant. $100,000 of that grant is committed towards the arena cost. The County will likely pursue further grants to finance installation of bleachers, lighting, and an announcer’s stand for the arena. The County is continuing work to clean and level the construction site. Once soil is excavated and an arena floor is built, CL Construction will be given the go ahead to start work on the arena.

Phantom Landfill to bury CWD Domestic Elk

Animals from a domestic elk ranch in Penrose that must be slaughtered because of chronic wasting disease will be disposed of in the Phantom Landfill north of Florence. But the Fremont County Commissioners took action Thursday to make sure no animals confirmed to have CWD will be buried there. Twin Landfill Manager Gary Fuselier informed the County Commissioners of the plan last week. Fuselier said the plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is to begin slaughtering 350 head of elk from Ron Walker's elk ranch at Penrose which were earlier confirmed to have been infected by chronic wasting disease. The only method federal officials have used to control the spread of CWD in domestic herds is to order the slaughter of all animals.

Once Fuselier learned of the plan he informed County officials. Commissioner Mike Stiehl then made a number of contacts this week with the Colorado Department of Public Health, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the State Veterinarian, and the CSU lab in Fort Collins to verify the proper procedures are being followed.

At a special meeting of the Fremont County Commissioners Thursday afternoon the Board adopted a list of conditions which will assure citizens that any elk confirmed to be carrying CWD will not be buried at Phantom Landfill. Fuselier said the U.S.D.A.'s plan is start the process next Tuesday at Walker's Penrose ranch where the elk will first be sedated. The animals will then be loaded in a trailer and taken to the landfill where they will be euthanized. Agriculture Department officials will then supervise the identification of each elk carcass and remove the head of each animal while the landfill will cover the elk bodies with plastic for up to 48 hours. The elk heads will then be taken to Fort Collins where lab tests will determine if the animal was infected with chronic wasting. If CWD is confirmed the body of the entire animal will then be removed to Fort Collins for disposal. Elk confirmed not to be infected with CWD will then to be buried in the Phantom Landfill under disposal guidelines also outlined in the conditions approved by the County Commissioners.

Commissioner Stiehl noted that Phantom Landfill's conditional use permit already allows the company to bury dead animals. But Stiehl said the Commissioners appreciate Fuselier's extra efforts in contacting the County to make sure the CWD diseased elk were properly handled.

Small Business Tax Alert Program

Information from the State of Colorado, Taxpayer Service Division, Department of Revenue:

The Colorado Department of Revenue recently began offering an e-mail based “Tax Alert” program. This program was designed as a way to inform small businesses, associations and organizations of the latest tax information available. Items sent out through this program include tax rate changes, reminders of tax filing requirements, schedule of no-cost tax classes, new legislation, changes to tax regulations and their FYI tax publication(s) of the month. You can view the latest Tax Alerts at www.TaxColorado.com under the “Looking for…” heading.

Information from the Fremont County website, www.fremontco.com under Miscellaneous and Community Links:
Starting a small business? Here's some helpful links:
Colorado Taxes - taxcolorado.com
Pueblo Community College - pueblocc.edu
PCC's Small Business Development Center – 719/296-6119
For additional information on Home Occupations in the unincorporated areas of Fremont County, contact the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Department at 719/276-7360.

BUILDING DEPARTMENT SATELLITE OFFICE OPENS IN COTOPAXI

The Fremont County Building Department has set up a weekly schedule to serve western Fremont County residents from a satellite office in Cotopaxi. Fremont County Building Official Mike Cox says to begin with, he will staff the Cotopaxi office from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday. Western Fremont County residents will be able to make application for building permits and handle other Building Department business during those regular business hours.

The Building Department satellite office is located in a modular facility that was moved onto site adjacent to the Sheriff’s Cotopaxi substation and is handicap accessible. Residents can reach the satellite Building Department office by turning north off of Highway 50 in Cotopaxi onto County Road 12, then turning east towards the County Road shop just north of the railroad tracks.

Opening a satellite office in Cotopaxi to serve western Fremont County was part of the plan announced by the Fremont County Commissioners earlier this summer when the Board decided to discontinue use of an independent contracted building inspector and return those responsibilities to the County’s Building Department official.

District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said the Commissioners have been pleased with the response from citizens since the change was made June 1st. Norden said despite some builders and homeowners having a few difficulties adjusting to the change, “by and large the Commissioners and the building inspectors have received positive comments from the public”. He added that in many cases people have expressed surprise that building inspectors were on the job site the following day after a phone call was made requesting an inspection.