First published in the March 22 issueof The Mountain-Ear.

John Scarffe, Gilpin County.

Colorado Gold will be coming to Gilpin County. During a regular meeting of the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners at 9 a.m. March 13, 2018, at Central City Hall, the Board approved a Special Use Review for a proposed marijuana cultivation facility from Colorado Gold, LLP.

The Public Hearing on the matter was continued from the Board’s previous meeting. County Planner Daniel Horn said the Commissioners had some concerns about water usage and that has been addressed and sent to the attorney.

County Attorney Jim Petrock said that Horn has an addendum attached to the resolution that addresses the water issues, and it’s lengthy. He contacted the state engineer’s office in Pueblo. They are very knowledgeable about consumptive use of water and were very willing to help.

Indoor marijuana irrigation is commercial use and different from agricultural use. Water rights are very closely watched by the City of Denver, Petrock said, so they have addressed it in every conceivable water use.

Colorado Gold, LLP, wants to relocate its retail cultivation license to Gilpin County at 130 Jankowski, according to the application. The company will employ five full-time employees. No food or beverages will be served.

The noise level will be moderate with the summer air conditioners making the most noise. Heavy equipment will be needed only in the erection of the building.

During public comment, Board Chair Ron Engels said he has received a letter that will be recorded. Cindy McCollum, who owns two commercial buildings near the site, said her concern is the water. She expressed concerns about the water pressure, which sometimes can be next to nothing.

Cole Caldwell, compliance officer for Colorado Gold, said that the well that is shared between 15 parcels allows two gallons per minute, so they will have enough water. They have also lined up companies to deliver water. They don’t want to take water away from residents.

The Division of Water Resources requires receipts. They will be putting in 10,000 gallons of cistern capacity that will help meet fire requirements, Caldwell said. Everything consumed will go right back into the hydraulic system.

Colorado Gold also will install a carbon filtration system so none of the exhaust vents will vent to the outside without going through the system and each door will have a system. “Activated carbon filters will be used on all air exiting the building, as well as in rooms with doors to the outside, to prevent the amazing smell of cannabis flowers escaping.”

Security issues are already laid out by the state. They will have commercial grade locks and monitored alarms, cameras on every door and room.

The monitoring company communicates by phone and any time a door is unlocked he gets an email. They also keep records of video for 40 days and have a battery backup system that works for four hours after power goes out.

Board Member Gail Watson, who is also Chair of the County Water Board, said the board had two meetings to review this and hadn’t heard about any problems except that the new owner of a business having a broken feed pipe. They are all metered, and the board thought the water would be fine.

Engels asked Petrock if he was comfortable with this, which he is. Watson said they should spell out that community development will need to review. The Board approved the Special Use Review with Watson’s amendment.

Clerk and Recorder Colleen Stewart told the Board that she will retire at end of the year and has been concerned that her Chief Deputy, Gail Maxwell, will run for the office. She requested a line item for help from Dominion Voting System and asked them to perform the duties of Chief Deputy to provide transparency. Her request was cut from the budget.

The County Chief Deputy is running for Clerk and Recorder, and she has at least one opponent. Stewart said the County needs to make this upcoming election even more transparent than usual, so she has been consulting with Dominion and the Secretary of State’s office.

She presented a new proposal to the Board for both the primary and general elections. Then she introduced Dwight Shellman, County Regulation and Support Manager with the Secretary of State’s office.

Shellman said that Colleen and Gail are in a difficult fix due to the circumstances this year. This is more about public perception than if there is a fair election. A person running for the office is counting the ballots.

They do encounter this from time to time. Other counties have a staff member who can take the labor, but that option is not available in Gilpin County, Shellman said. The chief deputy is the elections manager. It’s a difficult problem.

In the past, the Secretary of State’s office has provided additional support but that is not free of charge. They did it in Saguache County and hired an experienced election official for a total cost around $25,000.

This particular year presents other challenges. It’s a general election so they have no surplus of staff. This will be the first primary in which unaffiliated voters can vote, Shellman said.

They don’t know about the turn out and volume of ballots, so he encouraged the Board to provide Colleen with the support she needs to step aside and have qualified people here. They can’t train someone quickly.

They have used the new voting system since 2016, and they don’t know of any contractors or people who are familiar with the system. “I understand this is a chunk of money and you have a lot that requires resources but they are in a tough spot this year,” Shellman said.

Engles asked, in similar situations in other counties what is the role of the outgoing clerk and recorder? Shellman said that nothing in the law prohibits that, but most county clerks are managers of people who they hire to manage the technology. Gail builds the election and tabulates ballots.

“I don’t think Colleen has a great deal of experience with all those applications. County clerks manage all kinds of technology,” Shellman said. “The public perception issue here in Gilpin County is that Colleen and Gail have been running elections for a long time and people think Colleen is aligned with Gail, so her actions are as suspect as Gail’s. That’s the dynamic I’ve gotten the sense of.”

Engels said they should take a couple of weeks for that level of expenditure and he would like to see how that plays out during a work session at the next Board meeting.