Civil Air Patrol Promotes Cadets

Three Fremont County students enrolled in the Colorado Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program were honored at Tuesday's meeting of the Fremont County Board of Commissioners. Cadets Jack Nordell, Mike Enderle, and Hudson Baker received certificates for commissions as Cadet 2nd Lieutenant. Pictured from left to right are Squadron Commander Bryce Nelson, Cadet Joseph Ensley, Nordell, Enderle, and Baker.

February 9th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners awarded a pair of bids Tuesday as part of the ongoing improvements underway on Fremont County's portion of Pathfinder Regional Park. Heath Andreatta Excavation of Walsenburg was the successful low bidder to install a sewer line eventually connecting a new restroom to the nearby sanitary sewer main.

The Commissioners awarded a contract to Watson Building Company of Canon City which submitted the lowest of eight bids for construction of a restroom facility next to the outdoor arena at Pathfinder Park. Watson's bid totaled $122,398. The bid went to Watson despite concerns raised by Brock Green of the Pathfinder Park steering committee. Green said he believed the county would incur more maintenance problems and costs from potential vandalism with a stucco exterior and solar panels on the roof. Green said he believed cinder block construction made more sense. County Engineer Don Moore said stucco construction would still mean a solid built facility with good insulating value for a restroom that will need to be heated if open year-round.

The Commissioners said they were confident in the specifications drawn up by the engineer. Commissioner Larry Lasha added that security lighting and cameras at the arena will hopefully deter and would be vandals. Commission Chairman Ed Norden said the stucco restroom can be built at comparable or lower cost than a cinder block building and that the board may negotiate further with Watson to reduce some additional cost.

Following a pair of public hearings in which no public comment was offered, the Commissioners voted to approve a pair of special review use permits for AllTel Communications to erect two cellular towers in western Fremont County. Both towers will be 48 feet high with a requirement by the Commissioners that they be painted tan or brown to blend in better with the landscape. One tower will be built on the southwest corner of Copper Gulch Road and 'H' Path in the Deer Mountain area. The other tower will be located along the south side of Highway 50 about two miles west of Highway 69 in the Texas Creek area.

The Commissioners also heard no public comment in approved an amendment to the Fremont County Zoning Resolution. The amendment clarifies the validity of information and supporting documents for all Planning and Zoning applications; states a clear declaration for conformance to plans, drawings, and commitments when the applicant signs the application; and imposes professional review fees on an applicant when third party expertise must be called in to aid in evaluating an application.

The Commissioners Tuesday voted to reappoint Fred Smith, Phil Thomas, Ralph Kunselman, and Paul Telck to the Fremont County Weed Advisory Board. Curt Sorenson and Doug Buford were also newly appointed to the Weed Advisory Board. All terms are for two years.

The Commissioners also approved a Special Events Liquor permit to allow the Canon City Rodeo Association to sell beer at the Blossom Festival Rodeo April 29th through May 1st and for a motorcycle event and concert on June 26th.

Planning Commission Resignation & 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 Commissioners will be appointing someone to fill a vacancy created by the resignation last week of Keith McNew. McNew told fellow Planning Commission members that he was resigning due to personal conflicts and other priorities at this time. McNew has served on the Planning Commission for the past 5 1/2 years.

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 has also begun monthly workshop sessions to update the Fremont County Master Plan, a county-wide guideline for reviewing land use proposals.

Because McNew served in the seat which typically has represented western Fremont County, the Board of Commissioners is encouraging letters of interest from western Fremont County residents. However, the application process is open to anyone. 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 fax at (719) 276-7304. The deadline for letters is 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010.

The Planning Commission appointment is for a three year term. 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.

January 26th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners handled a busy agenda of business at their January 26th regular board meeting highlighted by a salute to the volunteer efforts of a Fremont County Sheriff's deputy.

Deputy Bruce Briscoe was honored by Colorado Special Olympics with a plaque for his many years of volunteer efforts to organize law enforcement torch runs in southern Colorado. Ralph Maher, coordinator for the southeastern Colorado Special Olympics Torch Run said Briscoe started with the torch runs in 1997 when he was a deputy in Custer County and then continued to organize them when he began work with the Fremont County Sheriff's Department. Maher said Briscoe's efforts have helped to raise over $10,000 for Special Olympics. Briscoe said what hooked him in helping with Special Olympics was the joy he saw on the faces of the athletes. Briscoe has also volunteered as a Special Olympics coach.

The Commissioners also saluted the work of former Canon City Mayor Bill Jackson on the Fremont County Planning Commission. The Commissioners presented Jackson with a crystal award noting his 13 years of dedicated service to the Planning Commission as the City of Canon City's municipal representative.

With a recommendation from County Clerk Norma Hatfield and four support letters from citizens, the Commissioners voted to conduct the 2010 August Primary Election by using all mail ballots. Hatfield said it's much more economical to conduct a mail ballot election. She said mail ballots are also very popular with voters throughout the county.

The Commissioners heard a presentation from Steve Foute from the Pueblo Regional Office of the U.S. Census. Foute spoke about the importance to local government to see that all citizens are counted in the census. Foute said the distribution of federal and state grant dollars are tied directly to census population counts every ten years. It's also vital to the drawing of boundaries for legislative redistricting. The Commissioners unaimously approved a resolution calling attention to 2010 as "Census Awareness Year" urging citizens to cooperate by filling out the census forms when they begin arriving in the mail in March.

The Commissioners voted to approve a resolution adopting new fees in the Planning and Zoning Department dealing with minor and major modifications to Site Development Plans, Special Review Use Permits, and Conditional Use Permits; Master Plan amendments; Zoning Resolution amendments; and zoning compliance letters.

Commission Chairman Ed Norden said the $300 fees being established on Master Plan amendments and Zoning Resolution amendments that are initiated by citizens will be monitored closely to determine if the fees are fair. Norden said the board wants to make sure that citizens are not discouraged from initiating their own amendments but that they felt some type of fee needed to be in place to avoid a situation where the entire process comes to a standstill if there were an influx of citizen initiated amendments. He said under that scenario, the Planning and Zoning staff would be tied up on amendment reviews.
Commissioner Mike Stiehl agreed saying the fees are not intended to have a chilling effect on citizens participation but to set a reasonable fee for the staff time invested.

The Commissioners adopted two other resolutions on Tuesday's agenda. One resolution is in support of a possible resolution being drafted by the National Association of Counties calling on railroads to be more considerate to the needs of local government in solving problems created by rails pass through various communities. The other resolution formally adopts a job description for County Manager George Sugars who recently completed his first year on the job. Chairman Ed Norden said there was always an understanding of Sugars' responsibilities but when he was hired a year ago the Commissioners felt it was a priority to get him on the job and then to work on the final job description as the year progressed.

In other business Tuesday the Commissioners: Received an annual report from Code Enforcement Officers Robert Sapp and Ron Zenisky on 2009 Code Enforcement Efforts; Appointed Dan Grenard to fill two years remaining on an unexpired term on the Fremont County Heritage Commission created by the resignation last fall of Flo Orona; Authorized the chairman to sign a lease agreement being negotiated with AllTel for possible location of a wireless communications tower on county property at Cotopaxi;
Approved the transfer of a use permit for Forge Food Mart along Forge Road south of Canon City from Sheila and Ronnie Kimmel to Bill Tezak for two more years. The Commissioners were told there are no immediate plans to reopen the business; Awarded the 2010 county stationary bid to Rocky Mountain Print and Copy for $767.