July 24th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners approved a final plat for a new subdivision in the Four Mile area southeast of Canon City at Tuesday's regular meeting. The Cranberry Park subdivision will be built on 11 acres on the northwest corner of Steinmeier Avenue and the railroad crossing. The subdivision would include 24 lots with seven single family town homes and 21 two-family townhouse units. Designer Ron Southard told the Commissioners that storm water drainage issues have now been addressed by providing for a 600,000 gallon detention pond at the entryway and another 50,000 gallon detention pond in the southeast corner. Southard also pledged that the developer will go to work next February on widening the corner over the Oil Creek Ditch at the intersection of Steinmeier and East Main to improve the turning radius for public safety purposes.

The Commissioners also discussed several proposed changes in the Planning and Zoning Department fee schedule. Penalty fees of $150 are proposed for annual reviews of Conditional Use permits and Special Review Use permits. Permit holders are required each year to submit information. If that information is delinquent and the Planning and Zoning staff has to initiate a file search and contact the permit holder, a penalty fee of $150 would be imposed. The cost of annual dog kennel inspections would also go from $100 to $200. Also proposed on the fee schedule is a penalty for persons or companies who start operations without a Conditional Use permit or Special Review Use permit. If they've already operated without a permit then the cost of the permit would be doubled from $1,800 to $3,600. The Commissioners will consider formal adoption of the fee changes at the August 14th regular meeting.

In other business the Commissioners:

• Approved a temporary use permit for the Fremont County Non-Profit Center Foundation's 8th Annual Belvedere Blues Festival scheduled for Friday, September 7th through Sunday, September 8th at Merlino's Belvedere. A special events liquor permit was also approved for the Blues Fest;
• Authorized the chairman to appoint a referee to conduct Board of Equalization hearings if the schedule demands;
• Approved a liquor license renewal for Mary Thurman at Waterhole #1 in Lincoln Park.
  

Tourism Council 'Request for Marketing Proposals'

The Fremont County Tourism Council (FCTC) has issued a 'Request for Proposals' to secure the services of a qualified marketing group or individual to provide professional services in completing and implementing a marketing plan for the Tourism Council. As part of its' tourism promotional efforts FCTC is in need of administrative assistance and expertise relating to annual media buys, publication of the annual visitor's guide, guide distribution, handling website and telephone fulfillment requests, and attending tourism and marketing conferences. Other administrative and budgetary tasks are listed as part of the complete scope of work outlined in the RFP document.

All proposals must be received at the Fremont County Commissioners Office, Room 105, at 615 Macon Avenue, Canon City, Colorado, 81212, no later than 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007. Anyone interested in submitting a proposal should pick up a copy of the six page 'Request for Proposals' document that is available now at the Fremont County Commissioners Office. The document outlines all of the qualifications, scope of work, and the projected time line for approval and award of an RFP by the Tourism Council.

Planning Commission Vacancy

The Board of County Commissioners is accepting letters of interest from citizens of Fremont County wishing to serve on the Fremont County Planning Commission.

The Commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. to review land use proposals, such as subdivisions, zone changes and use permits and make recommendations to the County Commissioners who render a final decision on land use proposals. The Planning Commission is also responsible for updating the Master Plan, a county-wide guideline for reviewing land use proposals.

The Planning Commission appointment is for a three year term for a seat currently held by Keith McNew of Coaldale. All persons are welcome to apply but letters of interest are particularly encouraged from western Fremont County residents. Interested persons should submit a letter stating their qualifications and reasons for wanting to serve by mail or in person to the County Commissioners at 615 Macon Avenue - Room 105, Canon City, Colorado 81212, or by facsimile at (719) 276-7304. The deadline for letters is 4:30 p.m., Friday, August 3rd, 2007.

For more information concerning the Planning Commission please contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 276-7360 or by email at planning@fremontco.com.

July 10th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners Tuesday rejected a site development plan for a new bar in Penrose saying it was not compatible with the neighborhood. The decision on the proposed Lincoln Center Saloon at the intersection of 9th and Broadway in Penrose followed a public hearing in which all public comments were in opposition. Thomas and Sandra Lincoln, who now operate Marv's Place bar in Penrose, had hoped to relocate and open a new bar at the site of the former library in Penrose. Billy Haddow expressed the sentiment of several neighbors saying the bar would not be compatible in what is primarily a residential area and would not be suitable because it is so close to the Penrose School. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to reject the site development plan agreeing that bar would not fit the neighborhood and could pose problems for parking, traffic, and safety of school children.

The Commissioners also approved a new deadline for citizens to file protests of property valuations with the Board of Equalization. Because the County Assessor's Office is still mailing out notices of determination for valuation protests, the Commissioners set a new deadline of 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 24th, when protests must be received for hearings by the Board of Equalization (BOE). The Commissioners are expected to schedule those BOE hearings into early August.

The Commissioners Tuesday approved a bid award of $113,521 to Maxwell Asphalt of Salt Lake City to do crack sealing and seal coating on the Fremont County Airport runway and taxiways. Airport Manager Richard Baker said the work will cost the county $17,407 while the remainder will be paid for by federal and state aviation grants. Baker also expressed thanks to Doss Aviation of Pueblo for donating $5,000 to pick up the additional cost of applying oil to another taxiway since there was not enough funding in the original grant package to complete the entire project.

In other business the Commissioners:

• rejected the only proposal received from Fremont Paving to mine gravel and rock from the Union Mill Hill gravel pit north of Florence;
• announced an open house with refreshments from 1 until 4 p.m. on Friday, July 20th, at the Fremont County Veterans Service Office in the County Administration Building hosted by new Veterans Service Officer Betty Hanawalt;
• and scheduled a public hearing for the Tuesday, August 14th board meeting on the conditional use permit application from Holcim Inc. to again mine gypsum from the gypsum quarry near Coaldale.