Commissioners Conduct Hearings on 2006 Budget

The Fremont County Commissioners conducted a pair of public hearings on the 2006 preliminary county budget on November 22nd. One hearing took place during the Board's regular meeting that morning with another hearing at 6 p.m. to afford working people an opportunity to participate. The Commissioners offered a preview of a budget that will see expenses grow by 1.67 percent while revenues will increase by only 1.13 percent.

The Commissioners and Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker explained that it will be a difficult year in '06 and that citizens could start seeing some services impacted by budget cuts. Beicker noted that his department will try to cope in part with the tight budget by not funding two positions.....a clerk in the front office and a supervisory position in the detention staff at the jail. The Commissioners said the Road and Bridge Department will do without six staff positions which are being eliminated by atttrition.... people who will not be replaced. Even with that, the Commissioners say the Road and Bridge Department will be limited to doing only basic road maintenance with limited gravel resources and no money available for chip sealing or asphalt overlay. The only exception will be work on two roads to Cripple Creek with chip seal oil and asphalt being paid for by a $400,000 state gaming impact grant.

The Commissioners explained that the biggest revenue impact deals with specific ownership taxes which is money collected from motor vehicle registration fees. It wasn't realized until last February that a $225,000 shortfall in specific ownership taxes to the county in 2004 and again in 2005 was due to the $48 million in school construction bond issues approved by voters in Canon City RE-1 and Florence/Penrose RE-2 School Districts in November of 2003.

Because specific ownership taxes are distributed based on property tax mill levies, it meant that the two school districts would get larger portions of those tax revenues because of new mill levies for the bonded debt. That redirected large sums of specific ownership taxes from every unit of local government that relies on property taxes to the school districts. And because the reason for the shortfall was not recognized until last spring it meant that the '04 and '05 budgets were balanced by drawing down Fremont County's cash reserves. 2006 marks the first time that the shortfall of three-quarter million dollars over three years will be dealt with in a county budget. Comissioner Ed Norden explained that the county should be carrying a general fund reserve of $1 million to $1.5 million but was actually set to end 2005 with only $197,000 in reserves. 2005 budget savings should help close out the year with about $500,000 in reserves. But trying to get those reserves back to a more respectable $700,000 level will force spending cuts elsewhere.

The Commissioners said even while sales tax revenues should increase by about five percent and the county's property tax assessed valuation is up by nearly 11 percent, it won't help keep pace with the spiraling costs for fuel for the Sheriff and Road and Bridge Departments, costs of inmate care in the jail, and child welfare costs in the Human Services budget.

The Commissioners note in fact that because the TABOR amendment will limit revenue growth in 2006 to about five percent, the growth in property valuation will actually mean that many people may pay less property taxes to county government next January. That's because with the assessed valuation increasing by 11 percent but TABOR revenues growing by only 5 percent the property tax burden is spread out among more people and businesses. Thus for some, it will mean a lower property tax bill for their portion to county government.

The Commissioners warned that unless solutions are found to the revenue shortfalls in 2007 and beyond the county may be forced to eliminate more non-essential government services. The Commissioners said they plan to discuss those issues with citizens at more town hall meetings in 2006 in a search for proposals that might be taken to voters for their consideration next November.

PATHFINDER REGIONAL PARK GROUNDBREAKING

Ground was officially broken November 23rd for the new Pathfinder Regional Park being developed west of Florence by Fremont County and the Canon City Recreation and Park District. The Fremont County Commissioners, members of the Recreation District Board of Directors, and officials from the Florence-Penrose RE-2 School District were joined by other state and local dignitaries in turning shovels of dirt initiating construction work on the Highway 115 access project into the 178 acre site.

State officials taking part were Wally Piccone, Executive Director of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and Deb Downs, Regional Director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Representatives participating on behalf of the County's 47 acre portion of the project were Activities Center Steering Committee co-chairpersons Virginia Patton and Larry Wagner. Patton also serves as President of the Fremont 4-H Foundation.

A $500,000 'GOCO' grant is being used on the initial Phase One portion of the project. That money will help build a new $100,000 outdoor arena on the County's property, an entryway into the park, and the initial soccer and multi-sports fields on the Recreation District property. The County is completing survey work for excavation this fall and winter for the outdoor arena after which CL Construction of Fountain will begin erecting the arena itself.

A $300,000 Mineral Impact grant was secured for construction of the Highway 115 access. After bids were recently opened by the Recreation District and the low bid came in at $327,000, the Department of Local Affairs approved a $75,000 supplemental grant to help pay for the access. A & S Construction of Canon City was the successful low bidder and will begin work soon on the highway access.

Fremont County Commissioner Ed Norden and Recreation District Board President Scott Johnson spoke at the ceremony about the partnerships formed to acquire and develop the park property. Norden pointed out that a lot of people had a vision for many years of finding a site for a new fairgrounds and Pathfinder Park represents a vision that is about to happen. Norden noted that every face in the crowd had a dream that the project would be someday be done. He said "We are actually on the verge, that someday is here".

Fremont County 2006 Employee of the Year

A 35 year Fremont County Road and Bridge Department employee has been honored as the 2006 Fremont County Employee of the year. Curtis Stone, the foreman of the District 3 Tallahassee Road Department shop, was presented with the award by the Fremont County Commissioners at the board's November 22nd meeting. Stone was selected by the Fremont County elected officials after a review of several employee nominations. Stone's nomination letter from a fellow county employee noted that "he always has a postive attitude, a smile, and is a pleasure to deal with".

Commission Chairman Larry Lasha noted that county roads in Stone's area are always well maintained and safe to drive. A state official from County Technical Services Inc. said that during recent training sessions Stone was interested in following guidelines and keeping his employees safe.

In addition to a $300 cash award for being chosen Employee of the Year, District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden presented Stone with a toy miniature road grader. Norden said it signified that Stone possessed the greatest of skills while operating a road grader and "probably would feel more comfortable sitting on a road grader right now, than being here with us". Norden said that during his campaign for commissioner in 2004 he heard plenty of positive things about Stone's work ethic from previous commissioners and retired road department employees.

2005 County Reappraisal Report Issued

The Colorado State Board of Equalization has approved a plan put forth by the Fremont County Commissioners to reimburse the State for costs associated with the reappraisal of commercial property in Fremont County. The reappraisal was ordered one year ago by the Colorado Division of Property Taxation after it was determined that errors were made in the actual appraised values for commercial and industrial properties in the County.

In a final report issued by the Division of Property Taxation in October, Fremont County was ordered to repay $131,262 plus interest at four percent for a total of $136,689 to the State Board of Education. That represents the amount of excess aid to schools that was paid to school districts in Fremont County in 2004 due to commercial properties in the county being appraised below market value by the Assessor. Fremont County was also ordered to pay supervision costs of $54,751. That represents the time that staff members from the Division of Property Taxation spent working on the reappraisal from January through June with County Assessor Jim Deatherage and his staff.

The State Board of Equalization also accepted the Commissioners' plan to utilize a provision in state law that will permit the County to include the full $54,751 amount in additional spending in the 2006 Assessor's budget instead of a reimbursement to the state. Among investments to be made with those funds next year is money for new GPS-enabled tablet computers for use by appraisers in the field and money to produce a current set of G.I.S. maps to replace deteriorating and obsolete maps now in use at the Assessor's Office.

The reappraisal order that was issued to Fremont County one year ago indicated that median sales ratios for commercial and industrial property were not within standards set by the state board. The state also found that the Assessor's Office had improperly changed the values on 79 Fremont County commercial and industrial properties in 2004. Value changes can be made only during a reappraisal year which took place in 2005. The only changes that could have legally been made in the intervening year of 2004 were due to new construction, remodeling, additions, demolitions, or change in use of the land.

The final report from the State Board of Equalization said that the 2005 reappraisal work raised the values for commercial and industrial properties in Fremont County to $66,674,171 representing a 9.4 percent increase.

The state also commended Deatherage and his staff for their cooperation during the reappraisal and said the staff took the responsibility for completing the job in a professional manner.

NOVEMBER 8TH COMMISSIONERS' MEETING

Four public hearings dominated the agenda for the Fremont County Commissioners' November 8th regular meeting. The Commissioners approved a conditional use permit for Shane Cooper to operate a gravel pit on ten acres of B.L.M. land along Iron Mountain Road 1 1/4 miles east of the Copper Gulch Road. The pit was formerly operated by Fremont County and is located directly north of a gravel pit operated by the Glen Vista Homeowners Association. Approval of the gravel pit came with the requirement that Cooper provide 600 tons of screened gravel to the County for use on the Iron Mountain Road. Truck traffic from the pit will be limited to 25 trucks per week and hours of operation are limited from sunrise to 6 p.m.

The Commissioners approved a zone change from Agricultural Estates to Business Zone for Richard and Jamie Kelly on 2.5 acres of land in the Colorado Acres area. The property is south of the intersection of County Road 27A and 'D' Path along the east side of 27A. The Kellys plan to develop the property for renting space to tenants for professional offices, retail sales, service providers, medical clinics, and other potential business uses.

The Commissioners approved a Special Review Use Permit for William Holt for expansion and operation of a cemetery including a mausoleum, columbarian, crematorium, offices, and storage on the southeast corner of Highway 115 and Chestnut Street in the Lincoln Park area. The 36 acre site will permit expansion of the Mountain Vale cemetery which is now located on the 36 acres.

Also approved following a public hearing was a change from a club liquor license to a tavern liquor license for the Penrose V.F.W. Post #2788 at 402 Broadway in Penrose. State liquor inspectors had recommended the license change after the V.F.W. Post was recently cited for selling liquor to a non-club member.

In other action before the Board, the Commissioners:

• Reappointed Dean Baird and Dave Thompson to the Fremont County Airport - - Industrial Park Advisory Board.
• Approved a six month extension for Jim Milam to meet contingencies in developing the Milam Acres minor subdivision along Grandview Avenue south of Canon City.
• Announced that the Board will conduct two public hearings on the proposed 2006 Fremont County Budget on November 22nd. The first hearing will be at 10 a.m. during the Board's regular meeting with the second hearing at 6 p.m. November 22nd. Both budget hearings will be in the Commissioners' meeting room on the lower level of the Fremont County Administration Building.
  
  

Cotopaxi Town Hall Meeting Scheduled

The Fremont County Commissioners announce that another town hall meeting has been scheduled for citizens in western Fremont County. The town hall meeting is set for Wednesday evening, November 16th at 6:30, at the Cotopaxi School Cafeteria. The meeting will focus on Fremont County budget and finance issues and 9-1-1 emergency response issues in western Fremont County.

District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said Commissioners Mike Stiehl and Larry Lasha will join him at the meeting along with Randy Lesher, the Chairman of the Fremont County 9-1-1 Authority Board. Lesher will explain how 9-1-1 emergency calls are handled and dispatched for residents of western Fremont County and the technology behind the 9-1-1 addressing system.

Residents will also have an opportunity to ask questions about any other issue of concern.

BLM - Arkansas River Travel Management Plan

(The following news release was distributed by the Canon City Office of the Bureau of Land Management and is reprinted here because of interest to Fremont County residents.)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun the final stage of the Arkansas River Travel Management Plan.

The major action being addressed in this Plan involves changing the Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) travel regulations on public lands in the planning area. Currently the regulations limit OHV use to existing roads and trails and the plan proposes to limit OHV use to designated roads and trails. The planning area includes about 240,000 acres of public land within a 75 mile-long section of the Arkansas River corridor between Canon City and Hecla Junction, including portions of Fremont, Chaffee, and Custer Counties.

To this point, work on the Plan has focused on the first two stages of the planning process: identifying the relevant issues and concerns and identifying the goals and objectives that should be achieved. Two sets of public meetings were held in Canon City and Salida over the past year to identify the issues and concerns of the various stakeholders and to solicit comments on the Travel Management Plan goals and objectives. The public was asked to submit comments on the goals and objectives by September 30.

After reviewing the public comments, the BLM has begun the third and final stage of the planning process, to develop the alternatives and begin the environmental assessment. BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Manager, Roy Masinton said “We are trying to give people who use these public lands or have an interest in their management, an opportunity to comment throughout the planning process. In early 2006 there will be another comment period and public meetings where people can review and provide us their input on the proposed alternatives.” Following this comment period, BLM will then review the comments and make any appropriate changes to the alternatives and Environmental Assessment before issuing a decision.

Anyone with questions about the Arkansas River Travel Management Plan can call Dave Walker at the BLM office in Canon City at (719) 269-8545