Rules for water usage

"Most Gilpin County wells drilled after May 8, 1972, are permitted for household use only, meaning the water cannot be used for gardens, lawns, or other outdoor watering."”

Gilpin County Commissioner Sandy Hollingsworth

GILPIN COUNTY — Cookies were on the table, but residents brought plenty of questions to Gilpin County’s “Cookies with Commissioners” meeting Monday, August 31, at Timberline Fire Protection District Station 3.

Commissioner Sandy Hollingsworth led much of the informal discussion, joined by Commissioners Jeff Aiken and Susan Berumen. County Manager Ray Rears, Community Development Director Jamie Boyle, Public Works Director John Combs, Gilpin County Assessor April Nielsen, Timberline Fire Chief Paul Ondr, and Administrative Chief Jennifer Hinderman were also present.

The meeting was the second of three community gatherings planned by the commissioners and focused largely on the development of Rollinsville, fire protection, and wildfire mitigation.

Rollinsville cisterns moving forward

Hollingsworth began with an update on the long-running Rollinsville planning effort.

Residents have consistently asked for better fire protection, road improvements, parking, and some economic development without dramatically changing the character of the small community.

“What we heard from the community then is that people wanted some improvement, but they didn’t want it turning into Breckenridge,” Hollingsworth said.

One of the most immediate improvements will be the availability of firefighting water.

Commissioners recently directed staff to move forward with two cisterns: one on private property on the east side of Rollinsville and another near the County Public Works property on the west side.

Ondr explained that the tanks are rated at 48,000 gallons but actually hold about 40,000 gallons because additional reinforcement is needed for mountain snow and wind loads. The County hopes to have at least one installed and filled by the end of this year, with the second targeted for next spring.

The project is expected to be funded primarily through lodging tax revenue designated for community safety.

Residents asked where the water would come from and what would happen after a fire depleted a tank. Ondr said Timberline has an agreement allowing water to be obtained for one cistern, though some details are still being worked out.

A resident asked a question about the cisterns: who would pay to replace the water after a fire? Ondr said the property owner would be responsible for the cost of refilling the cistern, with hauling making up much of the expense.

“The actual cost of 40,000 gallons of water isn’t all that big,” Ondr said. “Really, the hauling is the bigger issue, and the legal access to the water.”

Ondr said an average house fire can require anywhere from about 100 gallons to 30,000 gallons of water, depending on the circumstances.

He continued to say that Timberline has an agreement with an entity that will provide the water, which firefighters would haul to the cistern in department trucks.

A changing vision for Rollinsville

Boyle also discussed the County’s ongoing zoning rewrite and what it could eventually mean for Rollinsville.

She said the current proposal would combine the county’s commercial districts and could create a new mixed-use district in the core of Rollinsville. The concept was originally called a “village” district in the 2020 comprehensive plan, although Boyle joked that “hamlet” might be more fitting. No final decisions have been made on that topic.

Residents also questioned the idea of widening Main Street. Hollingsworth stressed that the County is not looking to condemn homes or force property owners out.

The challenge is figuring out where the old rights-of-way actually are in a community platted more than a century ago. In some places, modern mapping shows roads crossing private property or even homes.

Fire mitigation and water remain concerns

Wildfire mitigation brought another round of questions. Hollingsworth said the County continues working with Timberline, watershed groups, and the US Forest Service to pursue larger grants for landscape-scale mitigation. County money has also been used for mitigation along rights-of-way, with Timberline performing some of the work.

Residents also discussed rainwater collection, well restrictions, and the difficulty of getting information about Colorado water rules to everyone who lives in the county.

The talk moved to Colorado’s unusual water rules. Hollingsworth reminded residents that most Gilpin County wells drilled after May 8, 1972, are permitted for household use only, meaning the water cannot be used for gardens, lawns, or other outdoor watering.

But Colorado generally allows residents to collect up to 110 gallons of rainwater in two rain barrels and use that water outdoors, including for gardens.

TABOR and differing views

The conversation became livelier when a resident raised the County’s proposed TABOR revenue-retention measure.

The resident questioned why the County needs to retain additional revenue when it has substantial reserves.

“But here you are, you’re trying to scratch more money away from us,” he told Hollingsworth.

She responded that the County has worked to build and protect those reserves, including money set aside for emergency response, possible water acquisitions, and several months of operating expenses. The County has also spent a lot in recent years catching up on deferred capital projects.

“We did three years of pretty high spending,” Hollingsworth said, adding that major work at the Justice Center, Community Center, and other County facilities has allowed the County to begin moving back to more routine maintenance spending.

She also reminded those attending that commissioners do not have the final say on the measure.

“That’s why the voters get to decide,” Nielsen and Berumen stated.

Roads bring more questions

Combs fielded several questions about county roads, particularly dust control and South Beaver Creek Road.

He said water restrictions delayed dust control by about a month this summer. Tolland Road alone costs roughly $40,000 for a single dust-control application.

The county has also reached its water allocation from South Boulder Creek for the year, and Combs said officials will not know what next year’s allocation looks like until it is reviewed in March.

South Beaver Creek Road is another major project on the horizon. Combs said the County has divided improvements into four roughly mile-long phases because of the cost and complicated drainage problems.

The first phase, beginning from the Highway 119 end toward the Mountain Meadows area, has been proposed for the 2027 budget. If funding is approved, the County would put the work out to bid and hopes to begin construction next year.

Residents expressed worries about speeding and heavy recreational traffic heading toward East Portal Trailhead in Rollinsville. Hollingsworth said the County continues discussing possible solutions, including a future timed-entry system, but such a system would require cooperation from the Forest Service.

Hollingsworth repeatedly asked residents what else was on their minds, allowing the conversation to move from one local concern to the next until the meeting wound down.

The final Cookies with Commissioners gathering is scheduled for Monday, September 14, at 6 p.m. at the Gilpin County Community Center, 250 Norton Drive. The discussion will focus on the County budget.