Mindy Leary, Gilpin County. The Board of County Commissioners met on May 21, 2019,  for their biweekly meeting at the Gilpin County Courthouse in Central City to first award Vicki Nemec, who is retiring after 25 years of service as the administration services coordinator. She was presented with an award and received a standing ovation. 

After receiving her award, Nemec presented an RFP to combine the county printers under one maintenance contract, as their lease ends in July. The county is currently paying $56,715 over a three-year period for 5 multifunction printers (MFP) and the recommendation is to enter into a contract with Lewan for copier services in the annual amount of $14,499. Lewan will pay for toner and supplies for all the MFPs and desktop printers, equaling a cost savings over 3 years of $19,406 compared to current costs. The board approved the recommendation. 

The County Commissioner Board then recessed as the board and reconvened as the Local Liquor Licensing Authority to have a public hearing for a Special Events Permit for the 4th of July Barn Dance that will be held at Gilpin County Fairgrounds. Rob Savoye and Kristen McFarland of the Peak to Peak Music Education Association presented the application with a site map and express goal of raising money for Gilpin County Schools.   

Commissioner Chair Linda Isenhart asked, “Will this be a well-attended event?” McFarland said, “We have run an event called NedFest for 20 years and you always hope it’s going to sell out but can be very weather-dependent.” 

Isenhart expressed concern, “Are you putting a floor down? I would like to find out what it would cost for us to have a floor to put down for other events.” McFarland said she would like to invest 10-12k on a temporary floor which in the long run would be cheaper than renting.

“So this is not NedFest?” Gail Watson asked. Savoye said, “They basically destroyed our venue and since most of our Board of Directors of the nonprofit live here in Gilpin County, why not move to Gilpin County?” McFarland said they’ve been raising money for Nederland Elementary School Music Department and have given a couple scholarships to talented young people for music lessons, but, “The thanks we got for all of it was them building stuff on our field. So why don’t we give the Gilpin County Schools some love?”  

McFarland said this will be nothing like NedFest, as it is not a multi-day event and there should be no problem with parking with the huge lot available. Watson expressed concern for disturbing any neighbors and that they should be notified for the public hearing portion for the temporary use permit. 

In closing, McFarland said that there’s really not a lot going on for the Fourth of July other than the Nederland Parade and she wants to make this a fun, family event with a bouncy castle, fire engine rides and a kids’ tent. The event will be over at 9 p.m. so people can reposition for the Black Hawk fireworks display. All commissioners were in favor of approving the application for this special events permit liquor license.     

County Manager Abel Montoya presented a recommendation on the appointment of the new County Surveyor, namely Robert Hennessy, PLS. “He does not represent an adjacent county. One of the functions of the county surveyor would be to help with any disputes among adjacent county boundaries.” All commissioners were in favor.

In addition to the appointment of a new county surveyor, Montoya submitted a memorandum concerning additional surveying work that the county may need that would include on-call work. The county would require a firm to evaluate and agree on a project beforehand. Flatirons, Inc. submitted a proposal that was not only the cheapest, “They’re the only company that stated they would not charge mileage or per diem.”  

Robert Young, d.b.a. Elk Horn Investment Group, LLC presented a Boundary Line Elimination Application concerning BLE #19-01 in Russell Gulch, requesting to consolidate 14 lots into one lot with plans for a Historic Landmark Designation of the Frontenac Mill Site. Future plans for this site include public hiking trails, with mountain biking separate from hiking trails and wildlife conservation. Ron Engels moved to approve the application, and all were in favor.  

(Originally published in the May 30, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.