Mindy Leary, Gilpin County. On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners met for their regular meeting online at 9 a.m. Commissioners Gail Watson, Linda Isenhart and Ron Engels were in attendance, as were County Manager Abel Montoya and County Attorney Bradford Benning. Highlights included an update on the soft reopening of Gilpin County Offices, the opening of Gilpin County campgrounds and a discussion on reopening casinos.

The Board of County Commissioners began the careful and incremental process of recovery and re-opening while staying vigilant in suppressing the still present health risks from Covid-19 and managing Gilpin’s limited resources. 

On May 11, 2020, a soft opening of the Courthouse occurred with only the first floor of the Courthouse open for services. In-person services in the offices of the Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer, Public Trustee, Assessor and DMV are available by online appointment only at www.gilpincounty.org.

Human Services received a grant request from Food Bank for the Rockies for feeding kids through the summer. The County previously did not qualify due to the census population but were given another chance due to the unemployment rate and isolation, said Laura Solomon, Human Services Director. A motion was made to approve funding for the Summer Lunch Program and was passed unanimously.

Governor Polis announced that starting today Coloradans can start booking reserved campsites should the counties where the campsites are located allow it. They must observe social distancing, sanitation guidelines and accept campers by reservation only. This is not a mandate or a request to open, but should they choose to do so, then campgrounds can work with CDPHE to open for reservations. 

Columbine Campground is looking to open on June 1 because they have adequate PPE, cleaning protocols and rangers present, which would require the public health order that closed the county roads to be lifted. This is a managed campground by American Land and Leisure who has sent their planned protocols to CDPHE.

The Forest Service decided not to open for Memorial Day because they would be too inundated, but they have said West Magnolia campground in Boulder County will reopen June 1. 

Re-opening casinos too soon would violate the safer-at-home order and Gilpin’s request to ask for a waiver at this time would probably be denied, said Engels. Protocols for opening casinos could fall into the same category of restaurants to get them open sooner. 

Two primary workgroups could begin work on meeting the waiver requirements from CDPHE such as the handling potential surges at nearby hospitals. Ratification of members of the workgroup is underway.

If everything looks good on June 1 with the Covid-19 case numbers, then casinos may be able to open along with restaurants with spacing. If not, then the County would potentially make a request for a variance so as to open around mid-July. 

Consideration of the meeting minutes from May 5 had two changes which were made and accepted.

Central City passed an order that all people entering buildings in Central City will be required to wear masks. 

Timberline Fire Chief Paul Ondr presented a study on the proposed impact fees for new commercial construction in Gilpin County. The premise behind impact fees is that new development is paying its way without burdening existing residents. 

To do impact fees a nexus study is necessary. A reasonable relationship has to be shown between the fee and impacts of capital improvements. 

(Originally published in the May 21, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)