North Canon Sewer Improvement District lands Federal Stimulus Money

Residents of North Canon were told last week that the long awaited project to extend sanitary sewer lines to 176 residences is expected to be under construction in September. Recently retired Fremont Sanitation District Manager George Medaris, who is working on the project as a consultant, said contracts are being finalized to use federal stimulus funds to pay off a $2 million loan through the Colorado Water and Power Development Authority. Medaris said that barring higher than expected construction bids, it will mean that thanks to stimulus dollars, residents of North Canon will avoid having to pay a $45 monthly debt service fee over twenty years.

Medaris said that means the only cost to residents will be an estimated $600 cost to abandon their old septic tanks and a standard monthly sewer charge of $18.26 once the sewer lines are in place. The remainder of the estimated $3.3 million project is being paid for with a $1.3 million Community Development Block Grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Fremont County Commissioner Ed Norden told the North Canon residents that the Board of Commissioners has also requested that offers continue to be made to cost-share the $600 septic abandonment charge for homeowners who cannot afford it. Norden said those homeowners would have to meet income qualifications for programs through either the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments or the Department of Human Services. Residents also have the option of abandoning and filling in their own septic tanks.

Fremont Sanitation District Manager Jeff Blue said some 12 construction contractors have requested bid documents for the project with a bid opening set for September 1st. Blue said the schedule calls for a bid to be awarded by the Sanitation District Board on September 15th with a requirement that construction be underway by September 30th. He estimated a final completion date for the entire project by December, 2010. Once the project is done Blue said residents will then have to vote to formally join the Sanitation District or be forced to pay outside user fees.

Medaris said it is now vital that residents within the North Canon Local Improvement District who have not yet signed individual contracts to participate, do so very soon. He said once the sewer lines are installed and the area is incorporated into the boundaries of the Fremont Sanitation District those residents who have not signed contracts will be forced to hook-up to the sewer line at their own cost. Residents should contact the Sanitation District at 269-9050 for assistance in completing those contracts.

Medaris noted that when he took over management of the Fremont Sanitation District back in the early '80's, he heard complaints then about failing septic systems and the need for sanitary sewer in North Canon. Medaris said as he retires from the district he is glad to see the project finally come to fruition at a minimal cost to the residents of the area.

August 11th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners approved a pair of resolutions at their August 11th regular meeting setting speed limits on High Park Road (County Road 11) to Cripple Creek.

One resolution establishes a 35 mph speed limit from Highway 9 northeast to County Road 5. The other resolution makes the more significant change by increasing the speed limit to 45 mph from CR 5 to the Teller County Line.

District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden noted that since he took office over four years ago he has heard citizens' complaints about speed traps at the bottom of a long hill just east of CR 5, while ranchers complain of speeding motorists killing their cattle and driving away. Norden said the county had maintained that speed limit primarily because of a posted cattle crossing where cattle have to cross the road to get to water. Typically every year several head of cattle are struck and killed by speeding motorists.

Norden also noted that another reason the county delayed in adjusting the speed limit is that the State Patrol has targeted High Park Road for safety speed enforcement because of the high number of injury and fatal accidents along that road headed to Cripple Creek.

Norden said Tallahassee District 3 Road Foreman Curtis Stone came up with a proposal to cut rumble strips in the pavement as motorists approach the cattle crossing from both directions. The county believes that will better serve an effort to get motorists' attention to slow down to the 45 mph speed limit to watch for cattle. The Road and Bridge Department also intends to improve the signage for the cattle crossing.

County Manager George Sugars shared the results of a speed analysis performed last spring. The study showed that 85 percent of the traffic that came through the area averages 55 miles per hour. Sugars said the commissioners believe posting a 45 mph speed limit is a reasonable compromise that makes sense for motorists unhappy over speed traps, plus should still address the safety issues of avoiding loss of life for both motorists and ranchers' livestock.

The only other action taken by the commissioners was to ratify prior action to write a letter of support and authorization of the chairman's signature for an Energy Mineral Impact grant application. The application was submitted before the July 31st deadline to seek funds to help finance an estimated $43,000 design contract for a future water line from Florence to the county's property at Pathfinder Regional Park.

Declining Sales Tax Revenue Forces More Furloughs

Declining sales tax revenues have prompted the Fremont County Commissioners to order more cost cutting measures to deal with the county's budget crisis in an effort to balance the budget by the end of the year. County Manager George Sugars notified elected officials and department heads in a memo last Wednesday that the commissioners have directed that employees take another 38 unpaid furlough hours in addition to the ten furlough hours announced last May.

Sugars said after a meeting with all of the elected officials the commissioners decided to establish furlough days of Tuesday, September 8th; Monday, October 12th; Thursday, December 10th; plus a non-paid holiday on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11th. That schedule will allow the county to close all Fremont County offices on two days when state offices will also be closed. State employees will also take a furlough day on September 8th and a county furlough day on October 12th will align with the state's observance of Columbus Day. The commissioners say aligning furlough days with the state's schedule will allow the county to save a few more dollars by closing Social Services Offices as well as the County Administration Building.

The ten hours of furlough time announced in May already targets holidays. For employees working 4 days/10 hour weeks the ten furlough hours are being computed from five holidays in which they would get 8 hours of holiday pay instead of 10 hours. And there will be no holiday pay for employees for the day after Thanksgiving and for the half-day on Christmas Eve.

Sugars said the steps the county took in May is estimated to have cut costs by $520,000 plus yielded about $25,000 in additional revenues. But it wasn't enough to bridge the gap between declining sales tax revenue and increasing costs at the Sheriff's Department including the cost of fighting the Newlin Creek wildfire south of Florence in July.

The urgency to make more budget cuts came as Fremont County Finance Director Dana Angel provided mid-year estimates still showing a $600,000 budget deficit by the end of the year if further cost cutting measures were not taken. Angel said the reality is that sales tax collections have actually worsened since May. When the first round of budget cuts were announced sales tax collections for January through April were down $113,000 or 7.7 percent from a year ago. Angel says through the end of July Fremont County sales tax collections for 2009 are down $307,000 or 11.1 percent below a year ago. Angel is now predicting that the county will close out 2009 with a $408,000 sales tax shortfall.

Commission Chairman Mike Stiehl said the board regrets having to make deeper budget cuts that affect employees but to deal with that significant of a revenue shortfall it's bound to affect personnel. He said the commissioners also recognize that requiring more furlough time will affect services to the public. However, until revenues improve the commissioners say diminished services are also part of the reality during these tough economic times.

The commissioners add that it is anticipated that the elected county officials will equally share the burden with all other employees of the forced furlough hours by personally and voluntarily reimbursing the county for the same furlough time.

July 28th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners spent only a few minutes dealing with a brief agenda of business for their July 28th regular meeting.

In her semi-annual report to the Board, Fremont County Treasurer Pat McFarland said several county funds reflect the current budget dilemma facing the county. McFarland particularly noted that the Fremont County Sheriff's budget shows a June 30th deficit of $639,000. The Commissioners noted that the $2.7 million spent so far this year by the Sheriff's Department versus the $2.27 million in funds available is a basic two part problem. The board noted that expenses keep going up while revenues continue to decline.

A large chunk of the $639,000 deficit is a holdover from the 2008 Sheriff's budget. The Sheriff’s Department spending exceeded revenues last year by $281,000 and at some point the Commissioners will have to make the necessary adjustments to cover that deficit. The problem is that there is no ready solution. As sales tax revenues have continued to fall in the first half of 2009 a quick fix remains out of reach. In addition the Commissioners note that the Sheriff was unable to lease a number of empty beds at the jail last year to produce the necessary revenue to cover last year's deficit.

The Commissioners say they will soon have to make more critical decisions in cutting expenses in the county's budget for 2009 to cover the deficits and revenue shortfalls the county is experiencing.

Commissioner Ed Norden announced that at the August 11th regular meeting the Commissioners will consider a pair of resolutions to adjust speed limits on County Road 11, the High Park Road to Cripple Creek. Norden said the proposed speed limit changes are the result of motorists' complaints over speed limits in recent years and a speed analysis conducted on the road again several months ago. Norden said ranchers' concerns about motorists who drive at excessive speeds through a cattle crossing zone were being addressed by installation of some rumble strips to get drivers' attention and to slow them down.

Norden said the August 11th resolutions would propose a 35 mile per hour speed limit from Highway 9 to County Road 5 and then a 45 mile per hour speed limit from that point northeast to the Teller County line.

The Commissioners also formally authorized the Chairman to sign a contract under which Fremont County will administer a $1.3 million Community Development Block Grant for the North Canon Sanitary Sewer Project. The Board last year approved the creation of the North Canon Sewer Improvement District. Fremont County will technically administer the funds for the project until construction is completed and the 176 homes in that area formally are annexed into Fremont Sanitation District boundaries.