John Scarffe, Gilpin County.   Outdoor activities including work on the cemeteries, a bicycle race, fire mitigation and Fairgrounds arena maintenance kept the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners inside during a regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, at the Gilpin County Courthouse. During public comment, Central City Resident Allen Tiefenbach brought up “The Great Pile of Gilpin.”

Tiefenbach told the Board that, in July 2016, an article in the Denver Post stated that the Colorado Tourism Office reported 77.7 million visitors to the state in 2015, spending an all-time high of $19 billion dollars. Colorado is now the second fastest growing state in the United States, and many are moving here because of recreational opportunities and quality of life.

“I moved to Gilpin County because of the quality of life, the beauty, the quiet, the proximity to Denver, the outdoor recreation, and because I believe (no pun intended) that we are sitting on a gold mine of natural resources that we have yet to capitalize on,” Tiefenbach said. “We have tons of recreational opportunities and potential trail connections that are yet to be developed.”

The Central City Cemetery District consists of eight historic cemeteries set among a mountain meadow of striking beauty. The District is a major amenity that, if used properly, could be the destination for many recreational activities, Tiefenbach said. Discussions are already underway regarding connecting the area with trails leading into downtown.

“If we want bicyclists, millennials, hikers, and other recreationists, we have to provide the attractions they are looking for,” Tiefenbach said. Central City and Gilpin County recently took a significant step forward by the cemetery fencing project to stop unregulated ATV destruction. “The finished result is very attractive and very effective.”

“Now I am turning my focus to what I call the ‘Great Pile of Gilpin,’” Tiefenbach said. In 2007, Gilpin County entered into an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allow the Ameristar Casino to temporarily store dirt in the cemetery district.

A rock crusher was to get rid of the material over a year’s time, and the material would be used for recreational parking and signage. “It has now been 10 years, and that rock pile has actually gotten larger. I am not aware of this lease agreement being extended, nor do people I have talked with at the BLM,” Tiefenbach said.

He has asked what the removal plan is for this and was told eventual plans are to use it for a road fill project. “What kind of message are we sending to our visitors about our respect for history and concern for the area when the local governments themselves use it as a dumping ground?” Tiefenbach asked. “How can we market and recognize this area for the asset that it is with a monstrous construction pile blocking the Oddfellows Cemetery and completely dominating the views there?

“I ask again, is this really the best that we can do? I would appreciate a commitment from Gilpin County to begin relocation and/or removal of these materials,” Tiefenbach said.

Board Chair Gail Watson said this would be best for a separate work session. “One person’s pile of rubble is another person’s valuable stuff.”

Deb Wray, who addressed the Board previously about camping, trash, noise and criminal activity at the cemetery district, thanked the Board and said: “If you haven’t been up to see the area, it’s pristine. We will be able to do the Cemetery Crawl in August because people aren’t up there, and it isn’t a mess now. It will be an education that Gilpin isn’t one of those places where you can do whatever you want.”

The Board approved $21,500 in funding for the cemetery fencing project. Board Deputy Clerk Sharon Cate said the Board voted to participate in the project for a Buck and Pole fence but did not approve a dollar amount.

Community Development Director Tony Petersen requested a Temporary Use Permit for the Colorado Classic Bicycle Race through Gilpin County. This would be a fairly major bike event. “They really wanted to come through Gilpin County,” Petersen said.

This is a special race by professional people, and the Colorado State Patrol will take the lead and will include the sheriff, Timberline Fire District and the Gilpin County Ambulance Authority, Petersen said. “They seem prepared to make this race run properly.”

Stage Three of the race is scheduled for August 12, 2017, and they expect Gap Road will be closed to through traffic for about two hours as racers and support vehicles pass through, according to Petersen’s memorandum to the Board. The mountain portion of Stage Three will start in Denver, traveling over Highway 72 and Spruce Road, the Gap Road, Highway 119 and Highway 46 before returning to Denver.

People will want to see a portion of it, and that will be on Gap Road, Petersen said. Not a lot of parking is available on the county road which is included in their plan, but the State Patrol will identify parking places.

One of the race organizers, John Tarkenton of Boulder, said the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will be involved along gap road. They will have a roving officer in that zone to make sure people will park in a safe and controlled manner.

In terms of numbers, there won’t be that many people. Their primary expectation is for spectators on the west side of Highway 93, Gap Road, Golden Gate Canyon and Highway 119. Tarkenton said the race will be going counterclockwise and actually goes by for about 30 minutes.

At a zone on Highway 119, team members will hand water and food to the racers, and team cars will also hand them water and food. They have 120 racers on the invite list.

Petersen said they will be sending out notifications to residents when the roads will be closed, but they have already identified areas along the route. Tarkenton said that on the first week of June they will have a map showing where the closures will take place.

Sheriff Bruce Hartman said he has had people working with the state patrol, and it’s set up as well as it can be. “Everyone’s partnering very well, so I have no concerns.”

Commissioner Ron Engles asked who the contact person is for residents who ask why they are closing my road. “I don’t know who is having a wedding or graduation party at their home and we’re going to get an earful.”

Tarkenton said they will have people on their end who will take questions on this. “If you’re trying to get from Highway 119 to the bottom of Coal Creek Canyon, that will be a much bigger problem. They have been in touch with the ambulance and Timberline. “We work together to allocate personnel and make it possible for emergency vehicles to make it through the race.”

The Board approved the Temporary Use Permit. Gilpin County Extension Director Irene Shonle asked for time to discuss fire preparedness proposals and plans. She requested $425 to bring Keith Worley in to do a class on preventing structural ignition fires for both the Timberline Fire Protection District and the general public, and the Board approved the request.

Shonle updated the board on a proposal that would allow Gilpin County to join the Wildfire Partners program that Boulder County has used to help homeowners keep their insurance. She is planning on partnering with Boulder County on a nationwide grant program to help with fire mitigation and expand the Wildfire Partners program.

The program does a checklist of things you have to do for fire mitigation on private property and homes. Those who complete the checklist get a certificate, and the program is in a partnership with the insurance industry, Shonle said.

A financial match would come from her salaries and from the Wildfire Partners, so the County wouldn’t need a match. Shonle is really hopeful they can get a grant, and she is applying for a $245,000 grant. It’s not only great for the County, but it will be a model for the state to help people get insurance.

To be successfully funded, the program wouldn’t be available until late 2018 or 2019. She asked the Commissioners if they would be interested in a work session discussing options for the County, and Watson said they will schedule one.

Events Coordinator Vicki Nemec and Director of Public Works and Facilities Bill Paulman requested a reallocation of funds for Fairgrounds maintenance and to purchase funds for the outdoor arena. Facilities Maintenance is responsible for maintaining the Fairgrounds and barn, Paulman said in a memo to the Board.

Due to a staffing shortage, some of the work around the Fairgrounds has been deferred, Paulman wrote. “This deferred maintenance is beginning to have an adverse effect on the usability of the facility.”

One full-time position in Facilities Maintenance has been unfilled from the beginning of the budget year, creating a surplus. Paulman requested reallocating $6,000 from the salary budget to fund a contract with Larry Sterling Excavating, Inc., for maintenance of the Fairground, barn and arena. He also requested $12,000 from unassigned County funds to purchase 300 yards of sand to amend the soil of the outdoor arena.

Paulman said that his maintenance worker has been doing a lot of the work, and he has requested an additional maintenance worker. The position is vacant because someone left, so the work is being done by lots of overtime.

Engels said that this is fairly specialized work, and it’s a skill set a lot of people are not going to have. They have to hire someone who can run the equipment and knows what the finished project is going to look like.

Watson said that this should fall under Parks and Recreation and is part of a bigger conversation they will have. Commissioner Linda Isenhart asked if the $6,000 would cover that. Paulman said they need two inches of sand added to the entire arena, which is roughly $2,000. That doesn’t include public works trucking.

“You can add one bag of sand to the arena and it helps, Paulman said. Engels said that getting started is a good thing. “What’s our plan for getting the rest of it done? What can we get done with a third of the work?”

Nemec said that anything will make it a lot better than it is now. Engels said they should get it to half way and offer $5,000 to get it a lot farther, even just taking care of the grounds. Isenhart moved to approve the agreement with Larry Sterling for $6,000 and to spend up to one third, $4,000, for sand this year, and the Board approved.

(Originally published in the May 18, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)