The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) called their work session to order at 9 a.m. on February 20, 2024, at the Historic Courthouse in Central City. In attendance were Commissioners Susan Berumen (Chair), Marie A. Mornis, and Sandy Hollingsworth, as well as County Manager Ray Rears, County Attorney Brad Benning, and Sheriff Kevin Armstrong. Several people attended including other county officials.

The work session was called to discuss some topics outside of the Board’s regular meetings, including a Staffing and Compensation Study by Coreflection, food pantry design, and childcare with the Childcare Steering Committee(CSC).

The consultants for the staffing study, Managing Partner Melissa Antol and Brian Wilkerson, reiterated information that was delivered last November during a work session on staffing and compensation.

From Coreflection’s handout, the consultants explained the reasons they determine a department to be high risk: • Staffing constraints that could result in the inability to meet legal minimum standards (statutory or regulatory) • Posing significant liability, risk for the County • Current staff levels and resource allocation strategy jeopardizes essential operations of department and organization • Lack of staffing, skills, resources defers problems, but increases impact and costs in the long run

Departments with high risk include: Sheriff, Finance, Facilities, and Community Development.

Low to moderate risk-level departments are explained as having limited abilities for constant service and effectiveness. These include IT, Attorney’s Office, and Public Works.

Those departments with no significant risk may still depend on employees “wearing multiple hats” and burnout is still a factor, according to the study. These include the Clerk and Recorder, County Manager, Coroner, CSU Extension, Human Resources, Human Services, Parks and Recreation, Public Health, Surveyor, and Treasurer.

The commissioners reviewed the study of the Sheriff’s Department and Armstrong approached the board to speak on the matter.

Armstrong said, “I appreciate Coreflection’s intense and thorough investigation. Law enforcement changes everyday, and it can be complex to stay on top of all the changes.”

He continued to say that the department is seriously understaffed in a lot of areas and that last year the department had over $300,000 paid out for overtime.

Mornis asked if there had been any changes since November. Armstrong said they have acquired the Mobile Data Computers which will help to connect the deputies and allow them to do their own investigations, relieving some of the stress from dispatch.

Also, there are currently three people attending the police academy who will finish in June. Two of them express the desire to do patrol. Dispatch used to have eight people and now has only five, who are therefore forced to work 12-hour shifts.

He said that proper staffing would help deter burnout, exhaustion, and turnover. He also mentioned the liabilities to the officers when they respond to a violent crime and do not have backup.

Mornis asked about recruiting outside the area for dispatchers and Hollingsworth mentioned looking into previous employees. Rears hinted that they might seek to offer hiring, referral, or retention bonuses for longstanding unfilled positions.

The consultants said that the Sheriff’s Office “needs the most targeted support of all the entities within the County.”

Finance Director Joe Allaire joined the consultants to talk about the staffing needs of the Finance Department. He shared that they have a new payroll system coming, as well as virtual card payments, but they lack the capacity to achieve priority-based budgeting, as has been mentioned in previous meetings.

Rears asked the commissioners if they would like the IT position on the agenda, Berumen and Hollingsworth replied in the affirmative.

Facilities Director Ryan Keenan spoke with the board about the need for another in-house janitor for the Community Center. He also said they are having difficulty with snow removal and pool maintenance.

The solution could be to hire a third custodial position and network with other departments to fill snow shifts. They could also offer overtime or incentives.

Community Development Director Rob Gutierrez explained that a county as small as Gilpin usually does not offer services like electronic permitting, and that this may be because of Gilpin’s proximity to Denver.

He reported that the Community Development Department has over 300 unclosed records and paper permits. He said the department needs employees with more experience and skills for the essential services they perform.

The consultants recommended a GIS Planner to provide accurate, consistent maps across multiple areas, in addition to a Senior Planner.

Rears suggested waiting until they hear back on some grants.

The County employs a 24-hour IT consulting service but still needs an internal IT resource who can manage the external provider and support internal departments, while assisting with cybersecurity. The position and job description has been posted since Resolution 24-30 passed on January 23. 2024.

Though the Lobbyist work sessions have lightened the load for the Attorney’s Office, Benning is under capacity in managing water rights, litigation, and special projects, which impacts his capacity to address day-to-day requests.

The recommendation is to add one part-time paralegal to manage water rights and support regular County operations.

Public Works Director John Combs asked the board for two more full-time employees: one fleet mechanic and one transfer station heavy equipment operator. The trash site often reaches capacity and becomes unable to accept waste.

He also said the commissioners were right to say the department has moderate risk because Public Works is “responsible for the safe travel of all drivers.”

They also have limited capacity for culvert management and maintenance keeps getting deferred.

One recommendation is to offer incentives or overtime to employees.

The commissioners then talked about the departments with low to moderate risk but had little time left before recessing for lunch.

Gabrielle Chisholm, Parks and Recreation Director, asked the board about hiring an additional groundskeeper.

She also talked about altering the job descriptions of two Recreation Generalist positions to reflect the work being performed. She said eighty percent of their time is spent with the Youth program and their pay should reflect that.

Also if they could dedicate more of their time to the child service programs, then the program could expand from 40 to 50 youth, thus making more revenue for the Center. The childcare and youth programs are in high demand.

The commissioners let Chisholm know that they must first meet statutory and regulatory needs for staffing in the County, and that Parks and Recreation is not seen as an essential service.

After a lunch recess, the board resumed the work session to discuss the food pantry design.

Keenan, joined by CHSQA consultants, Jesse Goldman and Lily Buskirk, presented three design plans for the food pantry building.

The design team let the board know that the designs are totally flexible at this point and can be tailored to the County’s needs. Two options had a commercial kitchen and offices, while another design offered two bathrooms, more storage, and a break room.

A commercial kitchen can also be used to teach healthy cooking, hone culinary skills, and support community events. It could generate revenue from private use while also assisting the County.

The office spaces could be used by Senior Services or Public Health.

Volunteers of the Gilpin County Food Pantry sat in the audience and their input was called on during the discussion.

Roxanne Goss said having an entrance and an exit would prevent “traffic jams.”

The commissioners asked about expansion in the future and the designers assured them of the possibility with the current plans.

Ultimately the commissioners expressed a desire for a 2,500 square foot building featuring a walk-in freezer, a commercial kitchen, three offices, and a wide exterior entry point, with no need for a mezzanine, break room, or lockers.

The designers said they would get a range of cost estimates according to square footage.

Hollingsworth said the name miscommunicates its multiple uses.

Rears asked whether the name of the building should reflect this, and he offered “Annex Building” as a possibility.

The board heard a proposal from Adi Wabisabi who volunteers as the Board President for the Nederland Food Pantry (NFP) and would like to fundraise for the new food pantry and network in other ways.

Wabisabi shared some background on NFP. It was founded in 1985. Since the pandemic, the public need for assistance has been sustained.

One of the challenges in Nederland is the misnomer that it is just a food pantry. It also houses the Community Garden, Clothing Closet, and provides basic services like harm reduction services, healthcare help, and financial assistance.

Last year they raised $180,000 in donations and may be looking to network with Gilpin County.

Rears said the County would be looking for a non-profit to manage the operations, and since the Nederland Food Pantry’s lease will be up in 3 years that could be good timing for when the Gilpin County Annex Building is ready.

Wabisabi responded that NFP would like to diversify and that the region would be better served through a network. Their current budget is around $250,000. He said his board is open to extension.

Rears said they should work out the details and tie it into the construction timing. Berumen said they are interested in moving forward. Wabisabi said that he hopes at the very least to reduce costs by working together.

Next the board discussed that Master Policy & Procedure Manual New Policies: Disposition of County- Owned Real Property & Political Activity/Electioneering & Courthouse Rental.

Typically, the courthouse has been rented for political events and the policy would outline a standard and process.

The policy for the disposition of County-owned real property is similar to Central City’s, and the Treasurer handles a lot of the process.

They determined there can be no political activity of any kind on County property since the County must be non-biased.

At 3 p.m. the board discussed child care with the CSC, composed of Lyndsey Denton, Kathleen Balfour, and former Senator Jeanne Nicholson.

The CSC told the board it would be best to approach the child care issue as a non-profit entity. The board agreed and said there should be a commissioner or ex-officio county official appointed by the BoCC who also serves on the nonprofit board, since the property is owned by the County.

A name has yet to be decided, but they discussed the possibility of “Mountain Kids,” as a play on mountain goats’ strength. The CSC would like a survey so the community can contribute to the name, though time is a constraint.

They talked about the hiring structure and how a Director would be in charge of hiring the rest of the staff, including an Assistant Director.

Denton asked what the next steps are – Rears said to bring the request for funding, enrollment numbers, and expect to execute the lease.

Senator Nicholson has connected the group with a CPA who lives in North County and can do the reporting for the nonprofit organization.

As soon as they are able, they would like to solicit help through social media. Many families are in dire need of child care in the area and the CSC would like to move as fast as possible in meeting this need.

The work session concluded at approximately 4:20 p.m.

The next regular meeting of the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled for February 27, 2024, at 9 a.m. and will be held in person at the Historical Courthouse, 203 Eureka Street, Central City and online via Zoom.