John Scarffe, Gilpin County. The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners approved a restructure and the addition of an employee to the Human Resources and Finance departments during a regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at the Gilpin County Courthouse. The board also approved an attorney for Human Services, the purchase of two vehicles and the annual emergency operations plan.

Human Resources Director Susie Allen and Finance Director Clorinda Smith introduced a request to add a full-time staff member to work half time for Human Resources and half time for Finance with a financial impact of about $45,000 annually. Only one full-time employee has been added to the two departments since 2011, even though 24.25 employees have been added to the county since 2011.

Resources are needed in three priority areas, and finance and human resources are two of those areas, according to background. Additional staff would give the Finance and Human Resource directors time to provide leadership, work on long-term strategic planning and oversee projects identified in a summit.

Those projects include updating the compensation plan and adopting a play plan step program, marketing plan and retention program, along with training programs and electronic evaluations. The board approved the restructuring and additional employee.

Human Services Director Sherrin Ashcraft presented a contract for a Human Services attorney. The agreement between Gilpin County Human Services and the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Timlin would designate him as the special attorney to represent the department in all proceedings under the Colorado Children’s Code.

Timlin will act under the immediate direction of the department director with the concurrence of County Attorney James J. Petrock. The department will compensate Timlin for his professional services at the rate of $125 per hour and $58 per hour for paralegal services and legal assistance.

The commissioners approved the contract. The commissioners also approved the purchase of two vehicles for the Parks and Recreation Department. Director Kyle Benedict requested the purchase of two used passenger vans, one ADA compliant, for about $58,000.

Staff recommended the purchase of one used 14 passenger Ford van for $27,000 and one used seven passenger Ford Transit van for $31,000 equipped with a wheelchair lift. The vehicles are instrumental for summer camp operations.

Emergency Preparedness Director Nathan Whittington submitted the 2019 Annual Operations Plan. The Annual Operating Plan is a working document compiled each year by wildfire agencies participating in the plan as part of the Interagency Cooperative Fire Management Agreement and is a component of the Statewide Cooperative Wildland Fire and Stafford Act Agreement.

The purpose of the plan is to set forth standard operating procedures and responsibilities to implement cooperative wildfire protection on all lands within Gilpin County, according to the plan. The agreement is between the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service Intermountain Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mountain Prairie Region, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region and Gilpin County Intergovernmental Agreement for participation in the Colorado Emergency Fire Fund and Colorado State Forest Service.

“Situation and damage assessment will be transmitted through established fire suppression intelligence channels,” according to the plan. The Fort Collins Interagency Dispatch Center will be the point of contact for all Gilpin County fires threatening federal lands. The Gilpin County Communication Center will be the contact point for all fires on non-federal lands and if assistance is requested for fires on state and private property.

The board approved the plan. The board also approved 11 vendor contracts for the County Fair and authorized Fair Coordinator Heather Pearce to sign additional Fair vendor contracts, when received.

(Originally published in the April 18, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)