BOCC Meeting
February 21, 2012

The Commissioners approved BOCC meeting minutes for Jan. 24th, 2012.

Grand County Finance
The Commissioners approved Feb. 21st warrants for payment on Feb. 22nd including the Grand County Housing Authority. The Board authorized the Chair to sign a request for a taxpayer number and certification W9 form under the name of the County of Grand.

General Public
The Commissioners addressed concerns brought forward by two Grand County residents who need to replace a mobile home that was damaged by a falling tree. The mobile home is located on a one-acre parcel zoned mobile. The property currently has two mobile homes, one of which is the damaged unit. Grand County Planning Director Kris Manguso explained that replacing the damaged home, which had lost its pre-existing status, could be done with a special use permit (SUP). The owners expressed concern over the uncertainty of having the SUP reviewed every 5 to 7 years. The BOCC directed the Planning Director to draft a recommendation with a possible lifetime permit to enable the property owners replace what they had.

Grand County Sheriff
The Commissioners authorized the Chair to sign the annual contract and operating plan for the Sheriff's Department to provide law enforcement within the Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA) for $23,800.

Grand County Juvenile Services
The Commissioners reviewed the schedule for Ian Aneloski who works under two grants for helping Grand County youth. The Mentoring Program, paid for through a grant from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, currently has 10 mentors and 13 youth and Aneloski checks in with the kids and mentors every other week. He mentors three youth who don’t have adult mentors. Aneloski is writing the third year of the four-year grant. This is the last year the grant will be under Grand County Juvenile Services. They are looking at bringing the program under Grand Beginnings or another non-profit in order to be eligible for additional funding due to the 501C3 status.

Grand County Planning Department
Planning Director Kris Manguso gave an update on several issues per the Commissioners’ request.
1. The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) – not Tri-State – is planning on building a new transmission line from the substation at Willow Creek to Grand Lake and on to Estes Park. The line is being presented as an alternate power source for the power lines going through the Adams Tunnel. Grand County will make comments on the draft environmental impact statement when it becomes available.
2. Manguso verified for the Commissioners that Grand County is in Transportation Planning Region (TPR) 3. Maintenance is done in Region 1 up to Berthoud Pass because the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) dispatches from Eisenhower Tunnel. CDOT works with the 15 Transportation Planning Regions (TPRs) and elected officials for statewide and regional planning.
3. Manguso updated the Commissioners on a complaint she has received regarding a potential zoning violation. A home-based business is storing heavy equipment in a residential zone. The BOCC directed Manguso to write a letter to the property owner.
4. The Commissioner also approved Resolution 2012-2-21 and authorized the Chair to sign all applicable documents. The Resolution is for a special use permit allowing a mobile home on property zoned agricultural.

Transportation
Discussion was held regarding the Grand County transportation group. Commissioners directed staff to organize another meeting to revisit the question of how to fund public transportation in the County. Anyone is welcome to attend. The Grand County Planning Department will research how other mountain communities fund public transportation, like the Summit Stage in Summit County. Commissioners mentioned that Breckenridge operates a public transportation system with approximately $3 million annually out of the city’s general fund, and another $1.5 million from the ski area.

Board Business
The Commissioners asked to reschedule the Winter Park Town meeting for some time in April.

The Commissioners voted to give $500 of Conservation Trust Fund money to the West Grand School District for crack-sealing the walking path.

According to Mountain Parks Electric, the Fraser Road & Bridge shop is now under a new rate structure which will save the County money.

The Commissioners discussed an annexation plan sent by the Town of Fraser. There were questions about road alignment, especially along Country Road 72 leading to the Fraser cemetery. Planning Director Kris Manguso is asking the Town for clarification on which County roads would be annexed by the Town and what this might mean for existing agreements. For example, Denver Water helps finance improvements to certain County Roads in the area.

Granby Landfill Remediation
On Tuesday, Commissioners heard updated and modified recommendations from a team of engineers for stopping the landslide under the Granby Landfill, which the County closed in April 2010. Back in August, the BOCC voted to pursue a tie-back system with 500 anchors to stabilize the movement. When engineers from Shannon and Wilson began designing the tie-back system, they discovered that twice the number of ties would be required. With over 1,000 anchors, the design was pushing the envelope on this type of stabilization system, reducing its probability of success. When the cost of the project increased considerably with the additional tie-backs, the engineering team and County officials decided to step back and revisit other remediation options.

The team of six engineers at Tuesday’s presentation included Ground Engineering, KRW Consulting of Lakewood, Shannon and Wilson Land Consultants, and two Colorado School of Mines professors. The Commissioners voted to pursue a de-watering concept broken down into three phases which would give the County an “out” if the plan doesn’t provide the needed results. The County would essentially drill a series of wells to pump water from under the slide to stabilize the area. The idea builds on results from the current wells removing water from the slide. As of January 1st, 1 million gallons of water had been pumped out over 13 months and the rate of movement was less compared to other times of the year before the pumping. The de-watering phase 1 is a pilot project involving drilling five deep wells – two located on the landfill and drilled through refuse. Discharge water would be stored in a frac-tank for later disposal. If phase 1 is successful, the County would move to phase 2 and then phase 3 with more wells.

The other new idea presented at Tuesday’s meeting was a ground stabilization system called cylinder pile walls (CPW). The cylinder pile walls would involve drilling a 5-foot-diamater shaft and installing a rebar cage which is then filled with concrete. A concrete beam ties the shafts together. The cylinder pile walls provide more reliability with less ground disturbance than the tie-back system. The CPW would cost about $14.7 with a probability of success at greater than 90%. The CPW system has been successfully implemented in other parts of the country including Colorado and South Dakota.

The Commissioners voted to move forward with the de-watering plan phase 1 not to exceed $250,000. The board also directed staff to amend the contract with Shannon and Wilson to enable the firm to complete the CPW design which is 30% finished. The idea is that if phase 1 and 2 of the de-watering plan prove to be unsuccessful, the County will have a fall-back design in place with the CPW. The engineering team recommended to the BOCC that they start de-watering phase 1 in March. If the de-watering phase isn't working they could consider the cylinder pile walls. The price tag for all three phases of the de-watering would be approximately $8 million. The engineering team also gave an update on the ongoing maintenance required including sealing the crack to keep water out. The Commissioners are being careful to consider the ongoing cost of anything the County chooses to do

At Tuesday’s meeting the engineering team also revisited the possibility of moving refuse from the Granby Landfill to Kremmling, or to a new smaller landfill at the Granby landfill site (if the area proposed proved to be stable), and the Front Range. With a price tag of $28 to $37 million, removing the refuse is one of the most expensive options.

Commissioners' Meeting Schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 21st
5:30 p.m. Commissioner Nancy Stuart will attend a Monthly meeting of the Grand County Library District Board of Trustees

Wednesday, Feb. 22nd
8:30 a.m. Commissioner Nancy Stuart and Commissioner Gary Bumgarner will attend a department heads meeting at the Grand County Administration Center in Hot Sulphur Springs.

11 a.m. Commissioner James Newberry will attend a Defend the Colorado event at the State Capitol in Denver.

Monday, Feb. 27th
7 p.m. Commissioner Gary Bumgarner will attend an Economic Development meeting at the CSU Extension Hall in Kremmling.

Tuesday, Feb. 28th
11 a.m. Commissioner Gary Bumgarner will attend a Northwest Colorado Economic Development District (NWCEDD) meeting at Frisco Commons. The NWCEDD is a new program of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, whose objective is to encourage collaboration among regional stakeholders in community and economic development, and gather supporting resources to fulfill its goal of enhancing community wealth.

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