The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners approved a grant application for a Boulder Watershed study during a regular virtual meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.

Jennifer Cook said the grant application to the Allen Green Foundation is for $5,000, which would pay for a portion of the study on the Gilpin County side of the Moffat Tunnel near Rollinsville.

The data will help inform the County for future funding and conservation, and she is requesting approval for the application, which was due the next day. She also requested joining in with a grant application for the Bioblitz, which is part of a bigger project to do water quality sampling from the Headwaters, and she had a letter applying for funding for the whole project and just needed signatures.

With Commissioner Web Sill on vacation, Commissioners Sandy Hollingsworth and Chair Linda Isenhart approved the application for both of the grants.

County Attorney Bradford Benning introduced his new Paralegal Sarah Baciak, so now he can give quicker service to the County. He discussed the Red Tail Cabin Easement Agreement.

The county purchased the two historic Red Tail cabins to improve them. Access to the cabins is a private driveway, so the County is proposing a reciprocal agreement with the owner for access to the cabins and allowing the owner to install utilities along the road.

It will still be a private road, and the County will have to maintain access to the property. Benning said the agreement isn’t quite done, but the other party is comfortable with his changes including the definition of normal use and minor changes.

He asked the Board to approve this today with the minor changes. Chair Isenhart said when the cabins were purchased, she thought about it as a project for students to work on. “Are we still able to go up and visit the property?” She would like to be able to access it any time.

Benning said the County can access it for their use and can have school programs They can have proposed parking subject to the agreement, which hasn’t been put on paper yet.

The previous owners were going to demolish the cabins. Tammy Archer said they have historic designation on both cabins.

The Commissioners approved a motion for the agreement between Gilpin County and the Burney Investment Group with changes that the attorney will complete.

Benning discussed the Dakota Ridge Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). He said the County has an agreement with the state for the tower site. They lost power at the site, and the generator kicked in and then ran out of gas.

This will revisit the agreement regarding who takes care of what. The generator will become the state’s responsibility. The towers are million-dollar structures.

Regarding the United Power Communications Tower Lease, Benning said United Power approached the County asking for an agreement to put some equipment on the tower. United Power is comfortable with the changes he has on the lease.

The County is charging $4,300 for use of the tower, which will be an annual release. They have to do a capacity and structural study on the tower. Most importantly, emergency services and the U.S. Forest Service use this tower.

United Power does service the area, so this helps them. The County has a lot of capital improvements on the site, including a prefab building housing the equipment. Benning said the County is protected, and they will discover any problems right off the bat.

They are hoping to get work done before snow flies and hoping to get this approved today and get their signature. The Board approved the United Power Lease agreement.

Benning introduced the second amendment to DRMS construction materials permit for the Frei Waltrum Quarry Expansion. Benning said this is causing a lot of concern in Clear Creek and Gilpin County.

The quarry, owned by Albert Frei company, has been around a long time, but they are proposing an addition to this. Gilpin County has property, and in 2007, the County entered into an agreement for crushed rocks and spoils. The fill area is on Gilpin County.

This is primarily crushed granite for road base and construction material. It’s hard rock mining, and the biggest market is the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and road base. He said a conversation with Frei is in order.

The Board approved adding Juneteenth as a Gilpin County Holiday on June 19, a federal holiday. That would make 13 holidays for the year. The calendar also includes the Frances Xavier Cabrini Day, which is the first Monday in October and replaces Columbus Day.

The Board approved an additional $3,100 for additional funding to determine financial impacts from the Graves Study. Human Services Co-director Susie Allen said they are in the process of updating data from two years ago, but this would be a good project to outsource for Graves to get information in time for the budget.

Susie Allen requested farming out the Employers Council Human Resources Generalist Consulting for COVID Project to Graves for $1,600 based on $80 an hour. The Board said that for $1,600 it’s a no brainer.

The next special meeting of the Gilpin Board of County Commissioners will be on October 5, 2021. The next regular meeting will be on October 12, 2021.