John Scarffe, Gilpin County.  The boundaries of the Colorado Northwest Enterprise Zone have been redrawn to include Gilpin County, the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners learned during a regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at the Gilpin County Courthouse. The Board also approved a resolution supporting the election to include Real Property into the Timberline Fire Protection District and heard an update on the “We the People” lawsuit.

Ray Rears, Central City community development director & historic preservation officer, told the Board that the map for the Northwest Enterprise Zone was redrawn and approved in March. It now includes Central City and the majority of Gilpin County and is for inclusion of those areas into the Enterprise Zone.

Rollinsville and Russel Gulch also are included in the Enterprise Zone, but the Central City Parkway was excluded, Rears said. They chose not to include Black Hawk because it was not disadvantaged enough after they saw the implosion of a parking garage, but if businesses want to come in they can be referred to the program.

In September 2016, the Black Hawk City Council approved plans for the Monarch Casino to demolish its parking structure through mechanical mechanisms and an implosion, and subsequently the implosion was completed.

At the November 1, 2016, Gilpin County Board meeting, Rears told the Board that Central City has been working with the Association of Governments for Northwest Colorado and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade to be included in the State’s Enterprise Zone program. The program provides businesses in designated areas with a tax credit against their state income tax liability.

Enterprise Zone Districts are formed every ten years, but in between they are allowed to do some annexation. Central City would be annexed by a zone that includes Grand County, Rears said.

Central City needed Gilpin County’s participation, Rears said. Low population and income levels would qualify the northern half of Gilpin County. The Commissioners agreed to provide Rears with a letter of support.

At the November 15 meeting, Rears reported that he had received a letter of support from Black Hawk and had reached out to Clear Creek County, and they’re on board. The Commissioners presented Rears with a letter requesting inclusion in the program.

At the April 25 meeting, Rears said the new map would be in place until 2025. Central City also agreed to the full cost of $2,000 to be included in the zone, and the County will take on $1,000.

Rears presented an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Gilpin County and the Northwest Enterprise Zone for the County to take advantage of the certification of corporate and contribution pass-through tax credits or similar type programs, according to the IGA.

Commissioner Linda Isenhart said that the U.S. Forest Service will be working to create a nice parking lot at the cemeteries above Central City, “So I see some positive things happening right now.”

Rears announced that the Northwest Enterprise Zone will be having an Economic Opportunities Meeting on May 3 at 10 a.m. at the Central City Town Hall.

The Board approved a resolution supporting the election to include Real Property into the Timberline Fire Protection District. Board Chair Gail Watson said that Board members attended a Timberline meeting two weeks ago.

“Everybody in the County should be served by a fire district, and Timberline is the only fire district stepping up. We would like to make this public so everyone knows the County supports it,” Watson said.

Isenhart said that areas in the County should be covered, and she thinks it’s a good move for the County. Commissioner Ron Engels said, “It’s great that Timberline was able to step up and provide this service.”

According to the resolution, Gilpin County is blessed with the beauty, tranquility and solitude that comes with its unique location along the continental divide, and these areas are located within the Wildland Urban Interface. The area is uniquely vulnerable to wildfire.

“It is the responsibility of those living in this Wildland Urban Interface to prepare for and defend against the possibility of any fire which might endanger their property as well as the property of others,” states the resolution. “Two tax areas in Gilpin County lie in no such district, and as such, both benefit from the efforts of others and avoid the shared expense necessary to prepare for and fight such fires.”

Timberline has proposed including these two tax areas in the District and has scheduled an election to allow the citizens of the district and proposed inclusion area to support or oppose this inclusion, according to the resolution. “The Board of County Commissioners believes that such inclusion is wise, fair and proper, and supports the District in this effort.”

In case of a fire or other emergency, the Board approved a revised procurement and purchasing policy including contracting. Watson said this came out of a meeting with Boulder.

“We want the sheriff to be able to jump on it during fire season,” Watson said, and Engels said that the ability to strike quickly can keep a fire under control.

The introduction to the revised policy prepared by Finance Director Clorinda Smith states that the revision to the document is to make an exception during an emergency. “These changes are to allow exceptions so the ‘initial attack/first operational period’ of an emergency event like a fire can take place by the Sheriff. This period should not last long, and this is to take care of a small gap in time until the Board of County Commissioners are reached.”

The Board and County manager authorize the Sheriff, or in his absence the Undersheriff, to make emergency purchases of $150,000 or less in the event of a fire, weather or other emergency, even if the event is a potential declared disaster. The authorization applies to only one event per calendar year.

Engels said that it won’t ever be close to the $150,000, and Sheriff Bruce Hartman said that is absolutely correct. “This decision wouldn’t be made in a bubble,” Hartman said. “We would have the incident commander involved if we have to spend substantial resources.”

County Attorney Jim Petrock gave the Board an update on the “We the People” case. A Denver County resident presented a Consensual Commercial Lien and Ledger and bill of exchange for $254,708,582.24 to the Board at the June 28, 2016, meeting.

Materials presented to the Commissioners and County Attorney James J. Petrock claim that Gilpin County officials, including the Sheriff and a judge, have not paid and filed a personal recognizance bond required by the law and the Constitution. Stephen-John Nalty filed 35 documents on the International Commercial Recording Office Public Access Portal, recorded June 28, 2016.

The Lien, filed on behalf of the Indestructible Trust for the People in Colorado, states, “This is a non-judicial remedy for the people when their public servants dishonor their oaths of office and engage in predicate acts of conspiracy.”

In an email message on July 11, 2016, Nalty said, “Whenever any one of the people’s unalienable rights are violated or due process of law is violated, it is my duty to seek remedy for them.” Nalty said that We the People in Colorado began when many of the people in Colorado broke away from the National Liberty Alliance, which he was with previously.

The filing charges Gilpin County Sheriff Bruce W. Hartman, Judge David R. Gloss and County Attorney Petrock with wrongful dishonor to the bill of exchange, dated July 10, 2015. Most of the materials presented to the Commissioners comprise an alleged indictment of Hartman and Gloss by the People’s Grand Jury in Colorado, Post Office Box 21233, Denver, Colorado, 80221.

Petrock told the Board on April 25 that the FBI has been investigating those who filed this lawsuit and has been following these people for years. Petrock received a call from an FBI agent saying that the Attorney General and FBI have indicted seven members of this group.

Watson said that one of them is on the lamb. “Let’s hope this doesn’t fire them up even more.” Isenhart said that it’s upsetting, at some level, when you realize how absurd it is.

(Originally published in the May 4, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)