Mindy Leary, Gilpin County. On Tuesday, November 17, 2020, the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners met online at 9 p.m. for a regular meeting. Commissioners Gail Watson, Linda Isenhart and Ron Engels were present, as were County Attorney Brad Benning and County Manager Abel Montoya. Highlights included a Covid-19 update, a public hearing and a local landmark designation. 

Emergency Manager Nate Whittington presented the Covid-19 update. There are now 64 cases in Gilpin County with 30 new cases in the past two weeks and a 9.5% positivity rate.

“There has been a significant spike of Covid-19 throughout the response community. The school has shut down and the fire department has gone to 100% remote training,” said Whittington. 

Gilpin went to Level Yellow on Friday, meaning no bars in casinos or table games and restricted capacity to 100 people indoors. The health department is asking for businesses to have symptom screenings after meal breaks, as well as at the beginnings of shifts, for employees and contractors. Additionally, the department encourages wearing a mask, avoiding travel, remote working and staying home if you have symptoms.

Alcohol service is restricted between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and bars not serving food are closed to indoor service. Facial coverings are required on all county properties and all public indoor spaces.

The board then sat as the Board of Adjustments and conducted a Public Hearing for application BOA 20-02, because of a mistake on a previous variance. 

County Planner Tami Archer said the setback needed to be reduced by one more foot because of utility hardship. No public comment was made and the adjustment was approved unanimously.

 Archer then presented a local landmark designation for the Zephyr View Cabin in Lincoln Hills at 31 Pitts Place owned by Honorable Gary Jackson. The owner applied for a building permit on October 8 with proposed rehabilitation of the foundation and an addition. 

The HPC (Historic Preservation Committee) voted unanimously that the BoCC designate the Zephyr View Cabin as a local historic landmark in Gilpin County.

“It’s a rich part of our history and of Black History.” The HPC website will have all the history and the reports soon. 

Judge Jackson was present during the meeting and said the family has had the cabin since 1926. The reporting on the cabin was thorough and detailed. 

Isenhart made the motion to recommend the Zephyr Cabin as a local landmark and all were in favor. 

Resolution 20-24 to approve Supplemental Appropriations to the 2020 budget was approved unanimously.

Next on the agenda, the Finance Fund and Fund Balance Reporting Policies will be adding a Parks and Recreation fund of 2.57 mills per year until 2023, which was approved on the last ballot. The Library mill levy was also approved for $397,000 yearly (given inflation and annual growth).

The Legal Status Report included a discussion on the distribution of opioid settlement funds, of which Gilpin will receive money for treatment and/or facilities for opioid treatment. The money will be divided according to impact and population. Isenhart suggested joining with Jeffco for the distribution of these funds and all were in favor.

The County Manager Status Report stated that the new Human Services Building is almost done; the final inspection will take place in January. A brief walk-through for the staff will happen soon, a few at a time.  

Business Analyst Jaime Tirado helped the county go digital, but his time with the county is over. He helped make the budget builder online and the county thanks him for his service.

The Gilpin County Commissioners Report included the snow and ice removal policy, which states that no driver will go into overtime, was ratified.

Rea Wrobel has offered to continue on the Planning Commission for three more years as a regular member. All were in favor. Roxy Goss was also accepted to a new three-year term to the Planning Commission, as well as Art Fuqua until 2022. Curtis Duncan was approved as an alternate as was Melissa Harless for a one year term.

The board then considered the minutes for October 26, 30 and November 3, 2020. No changes were made, and the board approved them unanimously.

The next regular meeting for the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 9 a.m. virtually and can be accessed by following the instructions on the current agenda on the Gilpin County Commissioners website at http://www.gilpincounty.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=9285259&pageId=11072364

(Originally published in the November 19, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)