February 3rd Planning Commission Agenda

An application for a gypsum mine permit, a zone change request, and a minor subdivision make up the agenda for the Fremont County Planning Commission's February 3rd monthly meeting.

GCC Rio Grande is seeking a Conditional Use Permit to operate an open pit gypsum mine about 2 1/4 miles south of the Fremont-El Paso County line. Ron Hedrick proposes to operate the Salt Canyon Project on 559 acres on the northwest side of Highway 115 under a lease from the State Board of Land Commissioners. The property previously had a permit issued in 2001 but mine operations never began.

Justin Kaiser is seeking a zone change from Ag Forestry to Business Zone District for 6 1/2 acres of property along the south side of Highway 50 across from a rock shop about four miles west of Texas Creek. Kaiser is seeking the zone change to allow seasonal retail sales and to allow an existing residence to be used as a watchman's quarters.

The Planning Commission will also consider a request for a two lot minor subdivision by Fred and Jane Gifford for their property in the Four Mile area southeast of Canon City. The property is just west of the intersection of Crawford Drive and MacKenzie Avenue. The existing lot of just less than one acre would be divided into two lots of .64 and .28 acres.

The Planning Commission meets at 7 o'clock Tuesday evening, February 3rd, in room LL-3 of the Fremont County Administration Building at 615 Macon Avenue in Canon City.

S.D.S. Informational Meeting set for Florence

The Southern Delivery System (SDS) project participants are hosting an information open house Thursday evening, January 29th in Florence to discuss the Highway 115 Alternative, the alternative that would go through Fremont County.

The open house will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Florence Municipal Center, 600 W. Third Street. It will give Fremont County residents an opportunity to learn more about SDS and ask questions in advance of a February 10 hearing by the Fremont Board of County Commissioners to consider a Special Review Use Permit for the project. Residents can drop by at their convenience.

SDS project participants will be available to discuss the permit application and information about key project components, how project impacts will be mitigated and the benefits of the project to Fremont County.

Project experts will be on hand at information stations to provide information and answer questions about the project's water intake location on the Arkansas River near Florence, proposed Florence River Park improvements, pipeline construction, SDS pump stations and power requirements, environmental issues, property impacts, SDS benefits to Fremont County and the commitments by SDS project participants to Fremont County and its residents.

For more information on the Southern Delivery System, visit www.sdswater.org.

Commissioners Conduct Annual Organizational Meeting

District 1 Fremont County Commissioner Mike Stiehl was elected as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for 2009 as the commissioners conducted their annual organizational meeting Tuesday. District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden (pictured at right with his son Matt) was chosen as the 2009 Chairman Pro-Tem. The organizational meeting followed a brief swearing-in ceremony for Commissioners Stiehl and Norden who were both re-elected to second terms in office by voters in November.

Other annual organizational business Tuesday included:

1. Reappointment of Brenda Jackson as County Attorney;
2. Reappointment of Matt Koch as Fremont County Surveyor;
3. Designation of the bulletin boards outside the office door and in the front lobby of the Commissioners' office for official public notices;
4. Designation of the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m. for regular board meetings;
5. Designation of the Canon City Daily Record and the Florence Citizen as the Official Newspapers;
6. Designation of Sunflower Bank, Canon National Bank, ColoTrust, and Colorado Surplus Asset Fund as official depositories for county funds;
7. Awarding of the annual stationery bid to Peak Printing which was the low bidder at $5,574.

The Commissioners Tuesday also approved a special review use permit for the new Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) building at the Fremont County Airport Industrial Park. JIOL L.L.C is the firm building the ICE facility which is scheduled to open in June to process illegal aliens. The facility will have four detention cells but immigration detainees cannot be kept in the cells for more than ten hours daily. The commissioners had fast tracked JIOL's permit application so that Tuesday's public hearing in front of the commissioners could be advertised prior to a review in front of the Fremont County Planning Commission.

The Commissioners appointed two new members to the Fremont County Tourism Council (FCTC). Larry Oddo of the Holy Cross Abbey Winery and Amy Colvin of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad were appointed to three year terms on FCTC to replace Ryan McCallister and Danny DeGeorge whose terms expired.

The Commissioners newly appointed Kit Jones and reappointed Dean Baird and Dave Thompson to the Fremont County Airport Advisory Board. All three were appointed to serve two year terms.

In other business Tuesday the Commissioners:

• Approved a formal resolution as part of the contract for a $200,000 Great Outdoors Colorado grant that will be used for bleachers, lighting, and restrooms near the outdoor arena at Pathfinder Regional Park;
• Approved a resolution establishing the office of County Manager;
• Approved a contract with the Department of Local Affairs for a $350,000 Gaming Impact grant announced last fall and targeted for various road improvements on Phantom Canyon, Red Canyon, and High Park roads enroute to the gaming town of Cripple Creek;
• Approved transfer of a special review use permit for an electric utility substation on Eight Mile Hill from Aquila to Black Hills Energy;
• Re-adopted the Fremont County Zoning Resolution dropping references to twenty-six different amendments and referring to it now as a single all inclusive document;
• Approved a final plat for Maple Leaf Estates subdivision which creates three lots on ten acres southeast of the corner of York and Windsor Avenues north of Canon City.
  

Tourism Council Awards Community Grants

The Fremont County Tourism Council today awarded $7,000 in grants to support community projects and events in 2009 which attract visitors to Fremont County. Tourism Council by-laws require that at least five percent of the annual proceeds from the county's two percent lodging tax be distributed to non-profits for use in promoting local community events. But with a downturn in lodging tax revenues in 2008 fewer dollars were available this year for the community grants.

The Tourism Council decided to focus their financial assistance on seven key events in the county in 2009. The grant awards include:

Canon City Music and Blossom Festival: $1,000
Fremont Heritage Commission's 'On the Road' tour (in late Sept): $1,000
Penrose Apple Day: $1,000
Florence Chamber of Commerce production of video & brochure: $2,000
Royal Gorge Lions Club 'Brain Freeze': $500
Belvedere Blues Fest: $1,500

The Tourism Council last fall received requests from fifteen organizations seeking over $30,000 in promotional assistance for their events. In 2008 the Tourism Council was able to award $15,000 in community grants funding.