The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a.m. on March 18, 2008. The following were in attendance: Chairman Ted Lyons, Commissioners Steve Burgess and Gary Beedy, County Administrator Roxie Devers, and County Attorney Stan Kimble who was present in the afternoon. Clerk to the Board Corinne Lengel was absent and excused. Kay Christie with The Limon Leader and Eastern Colorado Plainsman was also present until 11:00.

Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Joe Kiely, Limon Town Administrator, asked the Board’s approval for renewal of the liquor or 3.2 beer license for the Tamarack Golf Course. Since no complaints had been received concerning the facility, Mr. Burgess made a motion to approve the license renewal for the Tamarack Golf Course. Mr. Beedy seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

The Board had reviewed the minutes from the March 6, 2008 meeting. Mr. Burgess noted he had asked Ms. Lengel to add that the lease on the 80 acres could be terminated if someone wanted to purchase the property. He then made a motion to approve the minutes with the addition. Mr. Beedy seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Devers presented for cancellation County General check #8102 written on March 6, 2008 to Susan Hamilton for $72 since it was a duplicate payment. Mr. Beedy made a motion to cancel the check. Mr. Burgess seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

The Board reviewed the February reports from the County Clerk, the revenues and expenditures for County General, and the expenditures for RSVP.

Land Use Administrator Ken Morrison met with the Board to discuss several issues. He first provided an email from Florida Power and Light asking procedural questions on Use by Special Review permits and how soon their application could be heard, with him responding that May would be the earliest. Mr. Morrison then provided the minutes from the March 5^th Land Use Board hearing on Cedar Point Wind Power’s Use by Special Review permit application. The permit was unanimously approved, with no negative comments on the project. With no further discussion, Mr. Burgess made a motion to set the Cedar Point Wind Power application for hearing before the County Commissioners on April 7, 2008. Mr. Beedy seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Morrison provided 2008 year-to-date reports of building permits issued and Oil and Gas permits received, plus those received in 2007. He informed Mr. Beedy that the footers have been poured for the cattle guard located in his district that was of concern.

Mr. Kiely, who had remained for the meeting, spoke to the Board about the water to be supplied by Limon for the Cedar Point Wind Power project. As Mr. Lyons understood the situation, it’s ok to use the water to make the concrete and truck it to the site, but not to haul the water there and then make the concrete. Mr. Kiely explained that this is the position taken by the Big Sandy Water Board, but water can be purchased for the project if the batch plant is located in the district. Four of the Directors on the Water Board voted to approve export of the water, with one against. Their attorney reasoned that the vote had to be unanimous because of Article III in their bylaws stating that all of the Directors have to sign the approval following a hearing. Based upon this decision, the Commissioners had concerns about fires and the county’s weed sprayer using water from the Big Sandy District. Mr. Morrison explained that two batch plant sites were included in the wind project proposal and the company purchased a 40-acre tract with a well and will build 1.5 miles of pipeline to the site if necessary.

Mr. Kiely reported to the Board that the RFP is out on the rail loop project and due back April 2nd. There are at least two bidders. Limon has put in $5,000 and Mid States Authority $30,000, with Goodland Energy Center being responsible for the rest.

Mr. Beedy questioned Mr. Morrison about review of oil well permits and road access to the wells. He responded that a copy of the application is sent to the Road & Bridge foreman. While coordinating routes based on development was discussed, the Board decided that the drilling companies don’t know how development will proceed.

The Board reviewed an Order by the Colorado Supreme Court denying Rodney Preisser’s Writ of Certiorari, and a Final Determination from the Division of Property Taxation for the Hub City Senior Center that their property tax exemption should be continued, effective January 1, 2006. They also reviewed a letter from the Karval Community Cemetery Board requesting that David Logan be reappointed to another six-year term since his current term expired. Mr. Beedy made a motion to appoint David Logan to the Karval Community Cemetery Board for another six-year term. Mr. Burgess seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Devers reported that Lincoln Community Hospital Administrator Herman Schreivogel requested that both her and Mr. Lyons send letters of support for the hospitals grant application for loan repayment for physicians and mid-level providers. Since they were needed by March 14^th, she provided copies of the letters for the Board’s review. Mr. Burgess received a request from Plains Medical Center for a letter of support for the same grant. Further checking will be done to see if it’s too late to submit it.

Bookmobile Supervisor Katie Zipperer met with the Board, upon a request from Mr. Burgess, to discuss the payment of bills. Mr. Burgess stated that bills submitted last month were overdue, some by 30 days and one from December. He had them paid, with the other Commissioners approval, but this is unacceptable and the bills must be paid on time. Mr. Burgess explained the process of submitting vouchers, provided a chart of accounts, and suggested Ms. Zipperer speak to Ms. Ware in the Clerk’s office if she needs help. Ms. Zipperer said Ms. Devers had provided dates of future Board meetings.

Mr. Burgess reported that Chris Monks had put the parts ordered on the bookmobile, but when Ms. Zipperer took it for a drive there was still some vibration. Mr. Burgess intends to take it to Denver Thursday to have the front end aligned. The date will be rescheduled though since Ms. Zipperer said the bookmobile is out this week. She added that lighter items are being moved to the back.

Bill Tarin, former RSVP employee, met with the Board to discuss his termination, specifically that he was terminated for the unjust cause of missing a meeting that he wasn’t aware of. Mr. Lyons asked that his remarks pertain to him and not to Ms. Maskus, the program director. Mr. Tarin referred to his letter to the Board, which they had read, and noted that the meeting in question is normally on Wednesday, but was on a Monday instead. The change in day was announced at another meeting when he weren’t there. Mr. Tarin also spoke about his performance report, which he had signed before it was completed, and did so because he didn’t know better. Further, Ms. Maskus had told him and his wife that if they didn’t sign the termination they would have to sign some other form. When questioned by Mr. Beedy about the dates on the performance report, Mr. Tarin stated that Ms. Maskus must have thrown away the page they signed in November and replaced it with one she requested they sign in January. Mr. Tarin added that the explanations on the performance report didn’t say anything since most were one-word answers. Ms. Maskus said he didn’t have contact with people in Limon, but he saw them every month and had set up to see them twice a month in Limon, Genoa and Arriba starting in 2008 and to brainstorm on how to increase participation. Mr. Lyons asked Mr. Tarin why he would sign a blank performance evaluation when he states in his letter that he had 20 years in the military in a supervisory position. His response is that things are done differently in the military than in civilian life. Mr. Tarin informed the Board that he was told Lincoln County had allowed him 66 hours\month to work, but Ms. Maskus said they couldn’t pay for more than 35. He wasn’t putting in enough hours because he wasn’t allowed to. Mr. Lyons stated that from his perspective of being a supervisor for 20 years that we are adults and Ms. Maskus didn’t need to call him about the meeting he missed. Mr. Tarin explained that he didn’t know about the meeting and when asked about January meetings Ms. Maskus said there were none. Mr. Tarin admitted he has a job at the Flagler Elementary School for two hours/day, but when he took it he told the school district that his #1 priority was RSVP. Mr. Beedy questioned Mr. Tarin about the request from him and his wife to have their reviews together. He responded that Ms. Maskus called and said to come in and they were done together with no privacy, as was the termination. Mr. Beedy said there was a concern about his behavior at Carla’s Cluster Care, specifically talking to the residents about his termination. Mr. Tarin said they asked him about his position and he told them he was terminated because he missed a meeting. Since the Board was provided with information today they hadn’t seen before, Mr. Burgess said he would like to talk to Ms. Maskus again and the other Board members agreed. Mr. Tarin told the Board he doesn’t want his job back, but would like answers to his questions, including as to why him and his wife cannot be volunteers any longer.

Mr. Lyons asked Ms. Devers to give her report. She informed the Board that John Negrin with Ebenal contacted her to ask if they would be interested in pursuing discussions about selling the landfill to his company. Mr. Burgess was opposed at this time. Even though the county has a liability because of the landfill, he was concerned about what will happen to the citizens of the county as far as fees. It might be considered at some other time if the county had financial problems. Mr. Beedy felt that the county could handle its trash better than a company after seeing the debris along I-70 coming from other landfills. Mr. Lyons agreed with their remarks.

Ms. Devers told the Board that the quote from Cobitco was changed because Karval is getting CRS-2R, not CRS-2. Everything else was correct. She also provided the Board with an email from Jennifer Nestor stating that the laptops received by her office from the military have to go back to them when no longer needed.

Ms. Devers then discussed several issues concerning the landfill. The first was a Design Capacity Report Form to update records for the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division. She had completed the form except for the maximum design capacity of the landfill and asked several people from the State for help, but to no avail. Roger Doak did tell her there is no design capacity for rural landfills, but the life is calculated in terms of years. Ms. Devers felt that the only alternative was to estimate the number of cells that could be added at the landfill, then calculate the capacity. The Board agreed and told her to figure six more. The other landfill issue was personnel. Ms. Melhuish has resigned and Mr. Eberle may as well. The Board asked Ms. Devers to put an ad in next week’s papers advertising the clerk’s position and to wait on Mr. Eberle’s. Ms. Devers said Landfill Manager Mick Jaques asked for help on Tuesday mornings until the position is filled. The Board will talk to Chris Monks to see if Kris Smith can do this.

The last thing Ms. Devers reported was that a driver for Titan Industries stopped in her office and said his boss wanted him to sell equipment left from a product show rather than take it back to the factory. He had 3 generators, a parts washer, and an air compressor, along with other items, for which he wanted $4,900. She contacted Mr. Burgess about purchasing it, as well as having Chris Monks inspect the equipment and the Sheriff check it out before a decision was made. Mr. Burgess said he looked at the items this morning and the price was well worth what we bought. He asked about checking with the towns and fire departments to see if they needed the generators, but the Board decided to keep them to have available for countywide use for emergency purposes.

The Board briefly discussed the lease with Dean and Bev Rains that they had asked Mr. Kimble to prepare. Ms. Devers said she checked with Ms. Rains and they want to lease only the 40 acres next to their property, not the 80 acres to the north. The Board discussed selling the 80 acres and Mr. Lyons will contact Jack Pfost about this.

Under old business, Ms. Devers informed the Board that Ms. Lengel had checked her Verizon bill and the 911 surcharge and sales tax is still going to Lincoln County. Since she has a 740 prefix, Ms. Devers contacted Diane Kimble since their cell phone is a 760 like Mr. Burgess’, thinking that might be the problem. However their money is also going to our county. The only alternative is for Mr. Burgess to contact Verizon. The Board asked Ms. Devers to place an article in the newspapers asking people to check their bills to see where the money is going.

Mr. Burgess reported that there was a Genoa Motor Sports presentation on TV the other night and it can now be seen online. Mr. Beedy said he recently looked at their website and it indicated the project might be done in phases.

Since the county’s Energy and Mineral Impact grant for courthouse improvements and security has been signed by the State, Ms. Devers asked the Board how they want to proceed. Mr. Lyons will talk to Shawn Smith about his portion of the work and the Board agreed they would need to talk to Sheriff Nestor about scheduling the work around trials and holding prisoners.

The Board discussed the possibility that Lincoln Community Hospital will be applying for an Energy and Mineral Impact grant. Mr. Burgess explained the hospital had an inspection and the inspector said the generator wasn’t wired right. The specifics have yet to be determined, but after speaking with local electricians Mr. Schreivogel believes the work will have to be engineered and probably completed by a metro area contractor. Mr. Lyons added that Mr. Schreivogel had contacted the local electrical inspector and Ms. Devers that John Huppert with K.C. Electric will look at the situation early this week. She spoke to Greg Etl with DOLA and he asked her to submit the application, even if it is incomplete, since that will get it in the April 1^st grant cycle.

Robert Kraxberger with Social Services and Shop Foreman Chris Monks met with the Board to discuss the replacement of the Social Services 2000 Pontiac van, which has a cracked head and will cost $1,200 to repair. The van has 143,000 miles and the transmission has been replaced. Mr. Kraxberger said they would like to replace the van with a small economy car to use when only 1 or 2 employees are attending meetings. He looked at state bid and the cars meeting their criteria are a Cobalt, Avenger and Impala. Dan Cochran with Limon Chrysler said they could meet state bid. Mr. Kraxberger noted that the Cobalt was $11,603 on state bid, but was small. The Avenger was $16,151 and the room in it was impressive. Gas mileage was 19 city and 27 highway and it fit best with what they wanted. Limon Chrysler has a used Avenger with 14,000 miles for $15,595. Under state bid were two Impalas, one for $15,045 and the other $20,025. The Board was not interested in the used Avenger since the price was about the same as a new car, plus you have the warranty. Mr. Lyons noted that a van is multi-purpose and gets close to the same mileage as a car. Mr. Burgess was concerned about the Avenger’s 4-cylinder and its durability. He prefers a V6. Mr. Monks told the Board that the Dodge van Social Services has is similar to the Pontiac since the transmission has already been rebuilt. The only vans that could be found on state bid were larger model Fords, so Mr. Kraxberger will do further checking on them and report back to the Board this afternoon. The Board asked how the van would be paid for and Ms. Devers responded that Ms. Barksdale said it would be TANF funds. Mr. Kraxberger added that since there is no trade in value on the van, she wanted to spend the $1,200 to repair it and then give it to a TANF family to go to work. Mr. Lyons had concerns about this, but Mr. Kraxberger explained that this is used for county diversion for someone about to go on TANF. If they receive the van, they are ineligible for benefits for a specified period of time. Mr. Lyons thought the van should be given to Public Health. Mr. Monks said that for $2,062 they could get a new rebuilt engine with a 3-year warranty, plus a new transmission. The Board agreed to this, but wanted to find out what funds were used to purchase the van to see if there were stipulations on it no longer being used by Social Services employees.

Mr. Monks asked the Board to think about what they want to do with the Dodge van they drive, which has about 90,000 miles. While it’s only needed minor repairs, at about 100,000 miles they seem to develop transmission problems.

Mr. Burgess asked Mr. Monks if Kris Smith could work in the landfill office on Tuesday mornings until someone new is hired? He thought that was possible.

Mr. Kraxberger noted that Ms. Barksdale had left three bids on document destruction with the vehicle bids. They have about 20 big boxes to dispose of. Ms. Devers didn’t believe any of the other offices would have such large amounts. Mr. Lyons suggested he check with the bank.

Ms. Devers provided the Board with an email from John Negrin concerning the issue of purchasing the county landfill for a recycling center for municipal solid waste. They had earlier addressed the issue and were not interested.

The Board asked Travis Nall to meet with them to discuss the window he replaced in their room. He said the work took about one day, including interruptions for other work. He did have to chip out some mortar. The cost was $341 for the window and $20 for other materials. We would have to order 40 to obtain a savings of $50/window. The Board asked Mr. Nall to order five more for the Assessor’s Office. Mr. Nall asked about moving the handicap door on the west side of the courthouse to the Sheriff’s Office. Some materials will need to be purchased and the Board agreed to this idea. Mr. Burgess presented a wall hanging of ribbons that Eula Fisher had won at the county fair for a period of 50+ years. The Board decided to hang it in the courthouse and to have a plaque made. Mr. Nall told the Board Lennox usually checks the Freon levels in the air conditioning units once or twice a year and asked if he could have them do this. They said yes since it would save on service calls.

The Board proceeded with their reports. Mr. Beedy attended CCI meetings on the 7^th and a regional learning center committee meeting on the 11^th, where the decision was made to proceed with a feasibility study and the preliminary design work. On the 13^th he went to Karval to meet with Shaun Deeney and the Division of Wildlife regional manager about the road into Karval Lake. Mr. Seymour wanted it elevated at the entrance and this was agreed upon. The county will provide the labor and equipment, but bill for fuel, with the cost of the gravel being shared. Also, the outhouse will be put in this summer and the county will provide a backhoe. On the 13^th Mr. Beedy also attended the Lincoln Dads dinner and the STAC meeting on the 14^th. The budget projections are not good with loss of funding from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which will be inadequate starting in 2009 since the money being received is less than what was appropriated. Further, Colorado is obligated to pay the cost of the projects that were bonded and it’s anticipated that all of the contingency funds will have been used this year for snow and ice removal. Mr. Beedy provided the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations for the other Board members to review. After the STAC meeting, Mr. Beedy attended CCI meetings on Social Services and Land Use. One bill that he voted to oppose was to allow bonding by cities and counties on energy savings for residences and businesses. The cost is collected through taxes and the bonding is for 20 years. The committee voted to monitor the bill however. Also, there is discussion about using Clean Energy Development Authority funds on a statewide basis, but those funds are for large transmission projects. The final item Mr. Beedy reported was about a complaint he received concerning Social Services payments to childcare providers being late. He will check with Ms. Barksdale concerning this.

Mr. Lyons reported that on the 7^th he checked the feedlot road south of Limon and also CR 26 south of Forristalls. On the 11^th he attended the Fair Board meeting, at which time the fence issue was resolved and Mr. Burgess was to check with Terry Hubbell about providing more than just manpower. There was discussion about having a beer garden on the south side of the arena during the ranch rodeo and the fair rodeo. The Fair Board members present were in favor of it. Also, the Limon Leader brought a sample of a fair book, but without the rules and regulations, that could be inserted into the newspapers, and asked about putting it out in 2009. There would have to be two mailings to provide all of the information. This will be discussed further at the May 12^th meeting. Mike Vaughn was also present at the meeting, but there were no questions. On the 13^th Mr. Lyons checked County Roads 2S, 26, and others where his road crew was graveling. They finished CR 26 where low spots were being filled in. Mr. Lyons said on the 14^th he received a call from Georgia Link about putting a bar in the events building. He told her that it was a beer garden south of the arena being discussed. Carol Garrison also spoke to him about this. He later discovered that the issue was the Special Events license obtained by the VFW for an event at the building. The Board may have to address the issue of alcohol being allowed there. Ms. Devers stated that the decision was made by a previous Board to allow the use of alcohol for fear of not doing so would eliminate certain events, such as wedding receptions, from being held there.

Mr. Burgess reported that on March 6^th he attended Baby Bear Hugs. While they usually have a walk/run as a fundraiser, this year they are looking at doing a raffle with the prize to be a store credit or a Visa card with a set amount. On the 10^th he attended Baby Bear Hugs in Yuma, along with Melody Maskus who gave a presentation on what RSVP volunteers can make for the program. Since April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, Centennial Mental Health (CMH) will be asked about parenting classes. On the 11^th he was in Denver and purchased a survey rod for his road foreman and also attended the Fair Board meeting that evening. It was decided that if only two Tiny Tots show up that both would be princesses. There will be no chickens for the children to catch and the number of kids in the catch-a-pig contest will be limited, with numbers being drawn to see who can participate. Also, Stacey Phythian will be the new parade director, with help from Brenda and Carol. Mr. Burgess said he also received a phone call from Carl Stogsdill that day about cutting off the funding for economic development. He explained what Mr. Beedy said about having trouble with funding this year, so the county gave $5,000 now and will provide their other $5,000 later. On the 13^th, Mr. Burgess attended the CMH meeting where they still have an acting director. Deb Rykken will be the new director for the three southern counties, with the Limon Office still being covered by staff out of Elbert County. This will be monitored for some time. If things do not improve, Mr. Burgess thought the county should look at leaving CMH and going into the southeast area. On the way home from that meeting he checked on his road district’s project on Highway 63. On the 14^th he spoke to Terry Hubbell and he agreed that the State would buy the wooden fence posts, at a cost of about $1,200, for the fencing along the fairgrounds property. He needs to get with Mr. Mosher to see how many are needed along the state side. It will cost about $5,000 for the fence. Mr. Hubbell told him that after April 1^st all requests for funds would have to go through Fred Schultz.

The Board asked Mr. Kimble what liability the county had with allowing a monitored beer garden, something happening, and the question of where the beer came from. Mr. Kimble said that CU used to sell beer at their ballgames, but ceased doing it because it couldn’t be proven where the alcohol was obtained if there was an accident. He wasn’t sure of the county’s liability, so Ms. Devers will check with CTSI.

Mr. Kimble told the Board he was contacted by the Boulder County Attorney asking what the Preisser case was about since it showed up on the county attorneys list serve. The court didn’t even make comment about the case, which is a good sign. The only alternative left to Mr. Preisser is to appeal to the United State Supreme Court.

Mr. Kimble informed the Board that Ms. Devers had contacted him about preparing a lease on a parcel of county property. He had several questions, so provided a draft for review. Mr. Lyons thought Dean and Bev Rains should be asked if they want to buy the property rather than lease it, and had Ms. Rains meet with them to discuss the issue. She said yes, they would like to purchase it. The property is of benefit to the county since it sits on Highway 94, but is to them since it attaches to their horse or cattle pasture. She noted that there is no water on the property, which is about 40 acres. She will speak to her husband and was informed that the lease would be $4/acre. The Board did not set a selling price. Mr. Lyons asked if the Board has to request bids on the property? Since the county doesn’t have a bidding policy, Mr. Kimble was not sure there is a requirement to do so. The Board could choose to sell the property for $100/acre, with no title policy. He also noted that if we lease and require the lessee to put in a fence, then the county may have to pay them a reasonable amount if the property is sold or the lease isn’t renewed, which is another good reason to sell. Mr. Lyons said he would check with Jack Pfost about the value of the property when he asks him to list the other 80 acres for sale.

Mr. Burgess said he has looked at the property in south Limon that has a gate across what might be a road easement. He checked with the Assessor’s Office, but they didn’t know. Mr. Lyons said if he had the legals he would ask Ms. Mellott at Hedlund Abstract to check.

Mr. Burgess reported that the college in Pueblo is using solar panels to heat and cool their basketball arena and received a $20,000 grant from Aquila. He will check further on this. He also asked about setting a date for the free landfill day, but the Board decided to table this until the March 28^th meeting to see where the employee issue stands.

Mr. Kraxberger met again with the Board and found that Limon Chrysler has two 2007 Town and Country vans, with mileage of 16,881 and 17,995. The cost is $15,950 for either, with the gas mileage being 19 in town and 26 highway. He did further checking on the Avenger and found that the mileage is 21 in town and 30 highway. Also, the 6-cylinder lasts longer than the 4. The only vans on state bid were police specials. He talked to Dan Cochran again at Limon Chrysler about state bid and he said those are stripper cars with nothing, but Mr. Kraxberger said that was ok since Social Services runs them until they’re of little to no value. Mr. Cochran said again that he could meet state bid. The warranty on the vans is the balance left. Since Mr. Kraxberger estimated that Social Services puts 25,000 to 30,000 miles on their vehicles/year, the warranty would be good for less than a year. The warranty is the same for both vans and cars. Since used vans are now being considered for purchase, the Board asked Mr. Kraxberger to check with Anderson Motors and report back on the 28^th.

With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on March 28, 2008.

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Roxie Devers, Acting Clerk to the Board Ted Lyons, Chairman