S.D.S. Review Returns to Planning Commission

The Fremont County Planning Commission resumes discussion on the Southern Delivery System (SDS)at their January 6th monthly meeting. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is seeking approval of a Special Review Use permit to allow the construction of a water intake, three pump stations and 17 miles of 66-inch diameter pipeline in Fremont County. Once completed, the utility would transmit up to 78 million of gallons of water a day from the Arkansas River to Colorado Springs, Security and Fountain.

Bruce McCormick, CSU Water Services Officer, detailed potential benefits to Fremont County from the $1 billion SDS project at the December Planning Commission meeting but the Commission postponed voting on a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners saying the matter needs more study.

CSU has stated that a pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir is the preferred and least expensive route but they are pursuing the Fremont County option in the event a Pueblo West route does not pan out.

Although the December meeting was not a public hearing, Chairman Tom Piltingsrud allowed public comment as McCormick answered a number of questions. Residents questioned the project's impact on surrounding environment, wildlife, water supply and delivery systems.

Fremont County and CSU signed an intergovernmental agreement under which CSU agreed to pay $50,000 as a deposit to cover the county's costs during the permit review process.

The Planning Commission Tuesday will also consider a Special Review Use permit for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility for illegal immigrants on a 7 1/2 acre parcel west of the Fremont County Airport. The developer of the property, J.I.O.L. LLC, completed purchase of the parcel at the Airport Industrial Park on the west side of Highway 67 from Fremont County a couple of months ago. Site preparation work has already begun as the developer has a strict time line from the General Services Administration to get the ICE facility built and in use by early this summer.

The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 6th in the Commissioners Board Room, LL-3, of the Fremont County Administration Building.

December 23rd Board of Commissioners Meeting

The announcement of the Fremont County 2008 Employee of the Year was the highlight on a brief agenda of business for the county commissioners at their December 23rd regular meeting.

Commission Chairman Larry Lasha announced that the Employee of the Year honor went to Suzie Veatch who has 18 years of service in the Fremont County Assessor's Office. As a Deputy Assessor, Mrs. Veatch is in charge of the personal property division in the Assessor's Office. The nomination letter commended her for her positive attitude in dealing with customers, finds pleasure in working the counter to help local residents, and "always has a kind word, a word of encouragement, or just a cheery good morning for you each and every day". In addition to a framed certificate she also receives a $300 award bonus for the honor.

The Commissioners also presented nomination certificates commending the work of the other county employees who were nominated. They include Chief Deputy Assessor Carol Weaver, Veterans Service Officer Betty Hanawalt, Human Services Income Maintenance Manager Bev Merlino, Pat Smith of the Assessor's Office, County Clerk's Motor Vehicle Director Cathy Galves, Sign Department Manager Sterling Rife of the Road and Bridge Department, and John Hamilton, the heavy equipment manager at the Road and Bridge Department's Central Shop.

The Employee of the Year is chosen annually by the elected officials of Fremont County.

The Commissioners Tuesday also certified the annual list of mill levies for all taxing entities in Fremont County which collect property taxes. For Fremont County government a levy of 12.438 mills will yield a total of $5,393,601 for the 2009 budget. The mill levy is calculated against a countywide assessed valuation of $433,619,000. Finance Director Dana Angel noted that the Assessor's Office lowered the final assessed valuation figure by $3 million from the preliminary number that was provided last August.

Other samples of mill levies and property taxes to be collected include:

1. The City of Canon City collecting $355,460 in property taxes on a valuation of $132.48 million;
   
2. The City of Florence collecting $425,041 on a valuation of $23.42 million;
   
3. Canon City RE-1 Schools collecting $8,025,000 on a valuation of $220.88 million;
   
4. Florence-Penrose RE-2 Schools collecting $4,553,985 on a valuation of $154.12 million;
   
5. Cotopaxi RE-3 Schools collecting $1,265,864 on a valuation of $53.12 million;
   
6. Canon City Fire District collecting $2,593,627 on a valuation of $199.51 million;
   
7. Florence Fire District collecting $407,292 on a valuation of $85.01 million;
   
8. Deer Mountain Fire District collecting $89,668 on a valuation of $22.46 million.

In other business Tuesday the Commissioners:

• Reappointed Tom Piltingsrud to the Fremont County Planning Commission representing the City of Florence;
• Adopted the official list of holidays the county will observe in 2009;
• Adopted resolutions appropriating and transferring monies from various funds to meet end of the year budgetary requirements for the 2008 county budget.

Grants Secured for Pathfinder Park and Road and Bridge Department

Christmas came early for Fremont County officials with the confirmation that two grants have been awarded to the county for road and bridge projects as well as for more improvements to Pathfinder Regional Park.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs notified the Fremont County Commissioners that following a recommendation from the Gaming Impact Advisory Committee, Fremont County will receive a $350,000 grant for road and bridge projects to be completed in 2009. The grant must be used exclusively on county roads impacted by casino gaming traffic that travels to Cripple Creek.

The budget for the gaming dollars calls for $231,000 to be spent on an asphalt overlay project on 3 1/2 miles of Red Canyon Road starting at High Street. $50,000 would be spent on erosion control and bank stabilization on Phantom Canyon Road where flash flooding has eroded away parts of the road along some steep cliffs. Another $69,000 of the grant would be spent to install guard rail for safety improvements along High Park Road (County Road #11).

The commissioners were also notified by Great Outdoors Colorado that Fremont County has been awarded a $200,000 Local Parks and Outdoor Recreation grant. The GOCO grant will be used to construct restroom facilities, bleachers, and lighting at the outdoor arena at Pathfinder Park west of Florence. Those improvements will greatly enhance use of the arena on a year round basis.

Fremont County Commission Chairman Larry Lasha noted that Verla Noakes of the Fremont County Extension Office deserves credit for writing the grant application and being instrumental in pulling together the community wide support for the grant.

The commissioners have already made a commitment in the 2009 budget to spend nearly $265,000 in the Conservation Trust Fund (lottery dollars) on utility infrastructure improvements to get electricity and water service to the county's portion of Pathfinder Park.

C-DOT Replacing Old Steel Bridge on Highway 120 at Portland

Work has begun to replace the Hardscrabble Creek Bridge on Colorado Highway 120 near Portland, about four miles east of Florence. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project involves removing the current structure and construction of a new bridge, detour paving, road reconstruction, new guardrails, seeding and signing.

Highway 120 remains in its original alignment while the detour is under construction, just north of the old bridge. When completed, traffic then will be shifted onto the detour, allowing the new bridge to be built. The detour is expected to open to traffic in late December or early January. Traffic impacts will be minimal, requiring only occasional stops for truck hauling operations and when traffic is shifted to and from the detour route. All work will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

"The bridge was originally built in 1928 and after 80 years, it's become functionally obsolete, especially with the amount of truck traffic that uses this route to and from the Portland cement plant," said CDOT Resident Engineer David Miller. "When it's completed, there'll be wider shoulders through the immediate area, improving safety as well."

Tezak Heavy Equipment Co. of Canon City, is the contractor for the $2 million project. It is scheduled for completion in April 2009.

Motorists are reminded to please Slow for the Cone Zone, stay alert and pay attention to and obey all work zone/advisory signs and flaggers. Traffic information about this or other CDOT projects is on the www.cotrip.org website or by calling 511 statewide.

Garden Park School on State Register of Historic Properties

The Colorado Historical Society has announced that the Garden Park School in rural Fremont County has officially been listed on the Colorado Register of Historic Properties. The property was officially designated in late November in recognition of its contribution to the heritage.

The old school building is located approximately ten miles north of Canon City along Garden Park Road. Lifelong residents and other neighbors in the area championed the cause for the school's historical listing in recent years in an effort to secure grant money to help save the historical one room school.

The 1895 Garden Park School served as the educational center for the children of local ranching families from its opening until consolidation closed the school in 1961. As the only public building on the landscape for miles, it also served as an important place for social gatherings such as dances, Sunday school, and theatre productions.

Architecturally, the school displays the distinctive characteristics of the schoolhouse building type. Exhibiting such elements as a rectangular plan, front gabled roof, tall narrow windows on each side, and a single classroom, the building's use is clearly evident when viewing it from a distance. It was built using local labor and abundant native materials. Those materials included clay from nearby Oil Creek provided the necessary adobe bricks. A stucco application in 1916 and 1917 was a typical treatment for adobe which was susceptible to deterioration.

The Fremont County Commissioners and the Fremont Heritage Commission salute the efforts of Garden Park residents to get this historic schoolhouse listed on the Colorado Register. A grant was secured earlier this fall to perform an assessment as to how to protect the historical value of this building through appropriate repair work.

December 9th Board of Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners adopted the county's 2009 budget with words of caution that revenue problems the county experienced so far in 2008 are expected to continue in 2009. The Commissioners said the budget underwent some last minutes changes as the result of a recalculation of revenues from leasing bed space at the Fremont County Jail.

It's estimated Fremont County will close out the current year $393,000 below budgeted projections for sales and use taxes. 2009 sales and use taxes have been budgeted at the same level of 2008. But the Commissioners say it's anyone's guess whether sales tax revenue will continue to decline or start recovering.

The gains Fremont County saw in 2008 from $427,000 in property tax revenue under the voter approved Tabor time out will be mostly wiped out this year by the reduction in the sales tax revenues. Those declines along with less than anticipated revenues at the Fremont County jail are once again cutting into the county's general fund reserves.

While the Sheriff estimated revenue at $980,000 this past year from leasing bed space in the new 96 bed jail addition it now appears the county will close out 2008 with less than fifty percent of the jail bed revenue realized, or less than $500,000. Jail bed leasing revenue for 2009 has been budgeted at $485,000 but if trends continue early in the new year and revenues don't materialize, the Sheriff may be forced to consider closing some sections of the jail. The 2009 county budget reflects an additional transfer from general fund reserves for the 2008 budget year of an extra $118,000 to the Sheriff's budget.

District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said the revenue shortfalls the county is experiencing as 2008 ends has prompted the board to be cautious as they enter 2009. In 2008 the Commissioners put into place a longevity pay plan that rewards employees with over five years of service with the county. The 2009 budget reflects renewed funding for longevity pay. The commissioners said they are still examining options for a cost of living pay increase to employees for 2009 and whether it can be instituted in January or might have to be delayed for several months when it's clear how the 2008 budget is closed out.

Norden said there is some good news for the 2009 county budget. The federal "Payment in Lieu of Taxes" program (PILT) will be fully funded at the 100 percent level by the federal government for the first time in many years. He said that will add over $300,000 more in 2009 plus the county will collect $386,000 from funds being back filled for 2008.

In other business the commissioners:

• Authorized the chairman to sign the agreement between Fremont County and Fremont Facilities Corp to remodeling of the old Harrison School for Project Echo offices.
• Approved the county's contract with ACS for 2009--2011, the computer programming the county uses for management of all its finance operations, Treasurer, Assessor, and Finance Office.
• Approved transfer of a kennel license from Robert Pierce to Sandra & Samantha Klotz at Hwy 50 and 'R' at Penrose.
• Approved vacation of the rights of way for Ron Walker's property in the Beaver Park area at Penrose and his zone change request from Ag Suburban and Ag Rural to Ag Forestry.
• Conducted a public hearing for the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments Emergency Funds Allocation program block grant. Stephanie Freeman said about $32,000 is being alloted to Fremont County to fulfill emergency requests for rent, utilities, transportation, etc. The allotment runs from March 1st through the end of February 2010. She said the 2008 allocation is already depleted and they are using funds provide from an El Pomar grant to assist families and individuals. Clients can apply for up to $300. She said in 2008 they have served up to 145 families or individuals from this fund.
  

Southern Delivery System on Planning Commission Agenda

Colorado Springs Utilities' (CSU) application for a Special Review Use permit in Fremont County for the proposed Southern Delivery System (SDS) comes up for review Tuesday evening by the Fremont County Planning Commission. While CSU officials have said they prefer a pipeline route from Pueblo Reservoir for the SDS project, they decided earlier this year to proceed with an application for the necessary permits in Fremont County as an alternate route.

This Special Review Use permit application in Fremont County specifically deals with the construction of a water intake and pump station along the Arkansas River east of Florence, two additional pump stations, seventeen (17) miles of a sixty-six (66) inch diameter pipeline and an electric substation and transmission facilities. The electric substation and transmission facilities will require a separate permit application by Black Hills Energy.

The proposed river intake and Pump Station #1 would be located on the north side of the Arkansas River, west of Highway 115 near the Fremont Sanitation District treatment plant. Pump Station #2 is proposed to be located in the Beaver Park area of Penrose, north of 3rd Street approximately one-third mile east of the extension of 'A' Street to the north. Pump Station #3 is proposed to be located approximately one-quarter mile west of Highway 115 and approximately two miles north on Highway 115 from the intersection with County Road #F45.

The proposed stand-alone electric substation will be located about a half mile south of the intersection of Highways 115 and 120 east of Florence. The properties to be purchased or leased for the project will consist of approximately four-hundred and thirty-one (431) acres.

Colorado Springs Utilities SDS Project Manager John Fredell will make the presentation to the Planning Commission. Earlier this year CSU and the Fremont County Commissioners entered into an intergovernmental agreement in which CSU agreed to pay $50,000 as a deposit to cover the costs of the technical review of the SDS Special Review Permit applications.

A recommendation from the Planning Commission will go to the Fremont County Board of Commissioners which is expected to set a public hearing date for the proposed SDS project on January 13th. The Planning Commission will not conduct a formal public hearing as part of Tuesday night's presentation but the chairman may allow limited public comment and questions.

The Fremont County Planning Commission meets at 7 o'clock Tuesday evening in the Commissioners Board room in LL-3 on the lower level of the County Administration Building at 615 Macon Avenue in Canon City.