The Gilpin County Commissioners called their work session to order at 9 a.m. on September 19, 2023. In attendance were Commissioners Marie A. Mornis, Susan Berumen, and Sandy Hollingsworth, as well as County Manager Ray Rears, and County Attorney Brad Benning.

The work session was called to discuss some topics outside of the regular meeting including the Strong Communities Grant Program, Employee Handbook Updates, the Public Information Officer position, and the East Portal Cabins.

Robert Gutierrez, Director of Community Development, presented the Strong Communities Grant Program information to the commissioners. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has established a new grant program for municipalities and counties: the Strong Communities Planning Grant Program is intended to support local governments in planning for sustainable growth and development patterns and affordable housing in the future.

This program provides planning grants to help communities align policies and regulations in order to locate affordable housing in infill locations near jobs, transit, and everyday services; ensure new neighborhoods have housing of all types, sizes, and price points; and direct housing to areas with access to multimodal transportation options.

Approximately $4 million in funding is available for planning grant awards.

“We’re trying to make the regulations match up to the place,” Gutierrez said, referring to parts of mid-county that have residential, industrial, and commercial zoning. If the properties are non-conforming, then potential residents or business owners have to apply for variances, and the County would like to make it easier to develop new properties.

The new zoning would allow more flexibility for mixed use. Gutierrez said that the areas of Rollinsville and Jankowski Drive would benefit from rezoning and could become more user-friendly. Clarifying the zoning regulations would allow the County to then work on other issues like water and septic.

Berumen said that the grant program is great because it can “help reduce barriers for communities.” The Program is intended to incentivize the adoption of transformational practices, programs, and policies that support sustainable growth and development patterns and affordable housing into the future.

The commissioners discussed the wording of the resolution and Gutierrez will be making minor changes.

Hollingsworth asked, “Will it affect current building permits?” Gutierrez responded in the affirmative: that when they set a date for the new regulations, then it would affect those future builds. The commissioners told Gutierrez they are now better prepared to review the grant at the regular meeting and he was excused.

Director of Human Resources Chanda Johnson went over changes in the Employee Handbook.

Johnson said there would be new language on sexual harassment in the Handbook to reflect new laws on the subject. The commissioners made some minor changes to some unclear language on filing a complaint while Johnson noted all the edits.

Johnson reviewed the whistleblower protection policies and the new additions to the drug policy for agencies that receive federal monies, as well as media policies and who is allowed to represent the County to the media.

Pre-employment drug testing still applies to marijuana since the substance is considered illegal federally. Because the County receives federal monies they do not wish to deviate from this policy.

Johnson said some staff have expressed they do not have enough vacation time or the ability to bank enough vacation hours. Hollingsworth said this change would have budget implications and that it can be “kind of a moving target.” Johnson said employees would like to carry over their vacation hours into the next year. Mornis agreed that this could affect the budget. Johnson responded she could ask the Finance Director to come up with some numbers on exactly how this will affect the budget.

Bereavement policies were reviewed and the board discussed how sick leave is used in relation to bereavement. Currently, the handbook indicates three days’ leave for in-state and five days for out-of-state funeral arrangements. Rears said bereavement time could potentially be stacked with sick time since it is mentioned twice in the book.

Another work session was called to clarify a few more items like vacation leave, the authority page, and sick/ bereavement leave.

Johnson stayed to speak to the board about the role of a Public Information Officer, who would be responsible for attending County meetings and addressing public comments and questions. Rears said this position would be proactive instead of reactive, highlighting all the positive things the County is doing for the community and hopefully getting ahead of social media rumors. Rears is looking for direction from the board on whether they would like to include this proposal at the next meeting. This would be a new position covering the entire county.

Mornis said it needed a new description since the same term is used in crisis situations; Hollingsworth said they could find a different title for the position. This person would ensure that communications are consistent with the communication plan and program of the county. Some wording was edited in the job description to clarify the duties and scope of the position. The subject will be revisited at the next regular meeting.

Benning presented an update on the East Portal Cabins, saying that the County has structural engineers looking at the site while they are waiting for some notification from Union Pacific regarding whether or not the cabins are structurally sound. If they are not structurally sound, then the County can spend the money to make them sound.

Benning said the biggest issue is whether there is any contamination of the surrounding lands and whether remediation is necessary. The County may apply for historic preservation grants going forward. Benning recommends not taking control of any permits until water and soil assessments have been made.

Finally, Rears introduced the new Deputy Clerk to the Board. Lyndsey Denton shared a bit about her background and abilities. Sharon Cate, former Clerk, will help with training.

The work session was closed at approximately 12:15 p.m.

The next regular meeting of the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners will be on September 26 at 9 a.m. and is held in person at 203 Eureka Street in Central City and online via Zoom.