June 24th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners on Tuesday adopted a new fee schedule for building and septic system permits and adopted a new policy setting out how property owners can make temporary use of unconstructed county road rights of way.

The board met twice in recent days with County Building Official Mike Cox to review proposed fee increases for building and septic permits. The Commissioners said they wanted to come up with a fee structure that they feel is fair to contractors while still allowing the county to recover the county's costs of office work, field inspections, and travel. The new fee schedule does allow for a fuel surcharge but Cox said he tried to make sure that it was not particularly burdensome on people who live greater distances from Canon City. A copy of the new fee schedule is available at the County Building Department.

The Commissioners voted to adopt a Road and Bridge Department policy regarding "Use of Unconstructed County Road Rights of Way" . At issue is an effort to try to clarify under what circumstances property owners can make temporary use of county road rights of way which are currently not being used for any road accesses. It would restrict an adjoining property owner to use only the portion of the right of way (ROW) to the center of the right of way from the edge of his property. It would not allow any permanent structures; buildings, barns, trees, ditches, pipelines, signs, etc. Any fence in the ROW can be no more permanent than metal or wood posts and wire. The property owner would be responsible for maintenance during such temporary use. If the county or another property owner needed the ROW to provide access to other property the temporary use would have to be vacated.

Over the years the county has had requests or recognized on occasions that property owners make personal uses of county ROW. In some cases disputes have arisen between neighbors over who gets to use such ROW....if it is even available. This policy is intended to offer explanation as to when, why, and how such ROW's might be used.

The board granted a request by Front Range Aggregate to delete a contingency item from their reclamation plan which required the company to provide a mitigation plan for impacts to neighbors' water wells south of the Arkansas River in the Parkdale area across from the Front Range quarry. A consultant recommended by the neighbors to assess the situation said he didn't believe there would be any impact to wells across the river to the south.

The Commissioners required that Front Range Aggregate mail letters to neighbors inviting them to be heard at Tuesday's meeting if they were still concerned about the need for a water well mitigation plan. No neighbors attended so the board voted to delete the contingency item. The issue related to the amended reclamation plan the county OK'd several months ago which would have the quarry turned into a large water storage facility when the quarry is fully reclaimed.

In other business the Commissioners:

• Heard a presentation from CDOT (Colorado Department of Transporation) Engineers regarding a rockfall project in September that will require closings of Highway 50 in the Coaldale area and use of a county road for a detour;
• Approved a two lot minor subdivision for Stan and Kristina Hinton on 9.39 acres on the northeast corner of 10th and 'A' Streets in the Beaver Park area;
• Approved transfer of a conditional use permit for the Spotted Burro gravel pit along County Road 123 from Colorado Concrete to Rockbottom LLC;
• Approved another resolution extending the time for the refunding of revenue bonds authorization for Sangre De Cristo Hospice, and;
• Approved authorization for the chairman to sign a service agreement with The Engineering Company for the water study in the Pathfinder Park and Brewster area west of Florence.
  

July 1st Planning Commission Agenda Set

The Fremont County Planning Commission will resume discussion at its July 1st monthly meeting on amendments to the Fremont County Zoning Resolution. The Commission initiated consideration of various amendments to the resolution in June including creation of an 'Airport Zone District' intended to restrict development at the Fremont County Airport to aviation related uses. Other amendments deal with clerical issues and reorganizational items.

The Planning Commission will also consider changing the zoning for property at the airport. Airport property is now zoned 'Airport Industrial Park'. Under the proposal the county airport property would be rezoned under the new 'Airport' zone and the remaining area would be rezoned as 'Industrial Park Zone'.

Other agenda items for the Planning Commission include:

• A zone change request from Business Zone District to Agricultural Suburban Zone District for Matthew Brown. The property involved is 3.5 acres and is located on the north side of Highway 50 east of Swissvale Road in the Swissvale area of western Fremont County.
• Consideration of a three lot preliminary plan for Maple Leaf Estates by Edward and Linda Jarosz for their property on the southeast corner of Windsor Avenue and York Street in the North Canon area. The subdivision proposed would divide about ten acres into three lots of 3.52 acres, 4.45 acres, and 2 acres. Access to the lots would be off of York Avenue.

The Fremont County Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m., Tuesday evening, July 1st, in the County Commissioners meeting room on the lower level of the Fremont County Administration Building.

June 9th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners voted to approve a controversial permit for uranium exploration in the rural Tallahassee area northwest of Canon City but postponed final adoption of permit conditions for another month.

The Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the conditional use permit for Black Range Minerals to explore for uranium on 8,169 acres of the Taylor Ranch along County Road 2. Black Range said most of their exploration will be confined to 3,000 acres near the center of the ranch property.

Commissioner Mike Stiehl said approval of the exploration permit does not imply mining application approval. Stiehl said that while property values may be impacted, he believes it may be associated more with the stigma of the presence of uranium throughout the Tallahassee area rather than this specific application.

Commissioner Ed Norden said the board's decision was complicated by the fact that so many people made impassioned arguments for and against the application. Norden said the Commissioners didn't make the law of split estates, with different people owning mineral rights versus surface rights, but that's the issue the Commissioners were left to judge in fashioning a solution to try to protect property rights of both.

Of the board's decision, Commission Chairman Larry Lasha said "It was a struggle".

The Commissioners said they had developed a draft of proposed conditions which are available for review by clicking on the link on the home web page of www.fremontco.com. Norden said the conditions are intended to address hours of operation, documentation of a water source, access to the property, possible impacts to county roads, and requirements of a hydrologist monitoring each bore hole when they are sealed. A list of findings adopted in the board's resolution for the permit are also posted on the web site.

The Commissioners will accept additional written comment limited to the proposed conditions through 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 25th. Adoption of the final conditions is on the agenda for the board's regular meeting on July 8th.

The Commissioners Monday also conducted a public hearing on a site development plan for the new Penrose Public Library. The library site is located on the northwest corner of Dawson Street and 7th Avenue in Penrose. Karen Olmen of the Library Board requested that the Commissioners waive the requirement for hard surfacing of Dawson and 7th Streets. As recommended by the Planning Commission she said that would add $42,000--$45,000 to their costs and possibly kill the library project. District 2 Road Foreman Gary Wierton disagreed with a proposal to simply put down 4 inches of gravel....saying the roads have serious drainage problems and need to be brought up to county standards or they would simply lose all the gravel in a year.

The final motion by the board agreed to waive paving or chip sealing of those two streets with the county pledging to assist them in bringing the roads up to standards if the library district would go to work to see if they could contact some area contractors who might be willing to donate the necessary gravel. The landscaping requirement was also waived except for replanting of grasses. The Commissioners had general praise for the volunteer efforts that have gone into making the library project happen.

The Commissioners on June 9th also:

• Approved a special review use permit for Alltel Communications to erect a 100 foot wireless monopole tower on a 62 acre site owned by Jean Colon. The property is located directly southeast of the corner of Highway 50 and MacKenzie Avenue at the east edge of Canon City;
• Re-appointed Robert Henderson to the Fremont County Airport Advisory Board;
• Approved a special events permit for the Fremont Fairs and Shows Association's Ranch Rodeo on July 26th at the rodeo grounds south of Canon City;
• Approved a list of thirteen combined polling places for Fremont County's 30 precincts in the August primary election and November general election.

Hantavirus Precautions Urged

With the return of summer, state health officials again are warning Coloradans in rural parts of the state to avoid hantavirus exposure while cleaning cabins, buildings, sheds and barns that may have been closed up for winter.

Hantavirus is a serious respiratory disease carried by deer mice that are common to rural areas throughout the state. The virus can infect humans who inhale dirt and dust contaminated with deer mice urine and feces, when working in or cleaning out rodent-infested structures.

Two more hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases in the state were confirmed last week, according to John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist who specializes in animal-related diseases. "We are up to four reported cases in 2008, including one fatality," he said.

The two recent cases occurred in Dolores and Delta counties on the Western Slope. Both patients were hospitalized but are recovering. Local health officials, in coordination with the department, are conducting investigations into how each individual was exposed to the disease.

Two other cases were reported earlier this year, one in Kiowa County in February and the other in Fremont County in early May. The person from Kiowa County did not survive.

Pape urged people to be particularly careful where there are mouse droppings and evidence that mice have been in and around the buildings or nearby wood or junk piles. A large, rapid increase in the number of mice around a home often precedes a human Hantavirus case and should be considered a red flag.

Property owners should rodent proof buildings by plugging holes or other mouse entry ways, and conduct year-round rodent control, using traps or poisons, or hire a professional exterminator. You should use special precautions when cleaning rodent infested structures; open doors or windows to provide good ventilation for 30 to 60 minutes before cleaning out structures; avoid stirring up dust by watering down areas of mouse infestation with a mixture of bleach and water. If live mice still are occupying a structure, rodent control should be done before extensive cleaning efforts. The structures should be thoroughly ventilated and any accumulation of dust, dirt and mouse droppings should be sprayed with a mixture of bleach and water before any cleaning begins.

Hantavirus, which is deadly in nearly half of the cases, begins with high fever, severe body aches, headache and vomiting. The onset of these symptoms begins from one week to six weeks after exposure.

Initially, there are no respiratory symptoms present. However, within one to five days, the illness quickly progresses to respiratory distress, including a dry cough and difficulty breathing caused by the lungs filling with fluid.

Deer mice are brown on top and white underneath. They have large ears relative to their head size. House mice on the other hand are all gray and have small ears. These small, gray house mice commonly found in urban areas do not carry the disease.

A photograph of a deer mouse can be viewed and downloaded at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/zoonosis/hanta/index.html.