Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County
Agenda for August 31, 2009
9:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance
9:30 Work on specific 2010 budgets
1:30 Conduct a public hearing on amending the Lincoln County Zoning Resolution to require that railroads be considered as a special use, thus requiring a special use review as to any proposed railway expansion, relocation, or development
2:15 Discuss exempting the sales of agricultural use pesticides from Lincoln County sales tax
1. Approve additional expense vouchers if necessary
2. Approve the minutes from the August 28th meeting
3. Review the minutes from the August 18, 2009 Tourism Board meeting
4. Review the 2010 Court Security Fund grant application
5. Review the July Veterans Service Officer report
6. Review information from CDOT of a Notice of Funding Availability for the coordination of human services transportation
7. County Commissioners’ reports
8. County Administrator’s report
9. County Attorney’s report
a. Update on an active criminal investigation
10. Old business
11. New business
The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a.m. on August 31, 2009. The following attended: Chairman Ted Lyons, Commissioners Steve Burgess and Gary Beedy, County Administrator Roxie Devers and Clerk to the Board Corinne M. Lengel. County Attorney Stan Kimble attended in the afternoon.
Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance, and since there were no other expense vouchers to approve, the Board reviewed the Tourism Board minutes from August 18, 2009.
Mr. Burgess then made a motion to approve the minutes from the August 28, 2009, commissioner meeting, with the addition of “from Volvo.” Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
The Board then reviewed the 2010 Court Security Fund grant application and the July Veterans Service Officer report, as well as information from CDOT of a Notice of Funding Availability for the coordination of human services transportation.
In regard to the roads in District One that District Three
took over maintenance on, Mr. Lyons said he’d been thinking about it, and
Estelle Thaller’s question about needing new maps if they were going to do
that, and decided that he just wants to leave things the way they’ve always
been. Chris Monks told him it was only
about twenty-three miles of road and he felt that District One would be able to
take care of it. Ms. Devers said the
Board had never taken official action regarding the matter anyway, so there
really was nothing to undo. Mr. Lyons
also reported that he’d received a phone call from Scott Ravenkamp earlier this
morning, who told him that he’d heard they are considering putting the mountain
plover on the endangered species list.
Mr. Burgess reported that he’d gone by County Road 32 the day before and they are having problems with the road washing out there by Neal Ewing’s place. Mr. Burgess asked the neighboring landowner if it would be permissible to go onto their property to get things cleaned up, and was told that would be fine. Mr. Burgess commented that they definitely need to put in a bigger pipe. He also spoke with Jodi Schifferns about the Tourism Board, and let Chris Monks know that it was permissible to both parties if the county took corrective action at County Road 32.
Mr. Beedy said the only item he had to report was that he attended the Economic Development Corporation budget meeting this morning, and they are requesting that the county give the full $15,000 next year. It appears that the towns will give their original amounts again, and Ports-to-Plains will pay Patricia Vice’s salary one day per week for eight months. Mr. Beedy also said he still needs to contact Leo Hurtado to discuss the bid for the electrical work for the fuel storage tanks, as there is a discrepancy there that he doesn’t understand.
Ms. Devers had nothing to report, so Mr. Lyons called for old business. Mr. Burgess asked if the others had agreed to let him purchase a ten-foot pipe to replace the bridge on County Road 28 and to take the money from the bridge fund. The others agreed it would be fine.
Ms. Devers said she had e-mailed Amanda Brown with Gary Woodward’s office to see if she would still consider auditing Lincoln County’s financial records, but she had declined. Ms. Devers spoke with Social Services Director Colette Barksdale, who said she would contact other directors in nearby counties to see what firms they use.
Ms. Devers had composed a letter to the Oil and Gas
Commission regarding Rule 804 – Visual Impact Mitigation—that the Board had
spoken with Kerry Halde about on Friday and the Board approved the letter.
Jess and Scott Solomon came by the meeting at Mr. Lyons’ request to discuss the
problems with the septic system at the fairgrounds. Jess commented that nothing would be recognized by the state
unless there is an engineer’s stamp on it, so he gave the Board a contact name
and number and suggested they get in touch with him before doing anything else.
There was some discussion about trying to tie in with the town sewer system, but
again, Jess advised contacting an engineer first.
Once the Solomons had gone, Mr. Burgess said that the new motor grader they purchased is still not working right, and CAT can’t figure out what is wrong with it, even though they have had it about three months. Chris would like to trade the 2009 with four hundred hours on it for a 2007 with 900 hours on it, and the CAT representatives are trying to decide what to do. Mr. Burgess commented that they simply don’t want to fight with it anymore.
Ms. Devers said she’d been contacted by an employee’s spouse who told her that the employee wants his paycheck to be in actual paper form, rather than directly deposited into his bank account. She had spoken with Ms. Lengel, who told her that it would need to be set up in the accounting system, and she wasn’t sure what all that would involve. Not only that, but since the county no longer purchases actual paper checks with the payroll account number on them, they would most likely have to special order something. She had no idea what it would cost to change the system since the computer technician that sets those accounts up would be required to do it, and he charges $125 per hour. Ms. Devers added that she wanted the Board to be aware of the situation, and she would bring it up again later when Mr. Kimble arrives.
The Board briefly reviewed the job applications for road foreman, and Mr. Burgess said that he felt they should create a Supervisor I and a Supervisor II category, with a stipulation that the higher position would be required to manage at least fifteen employees.
Ms. Devers said she’d e-mailed someone at the state to ask what would be required of the county should the decision be made to remove the two percent sales tax from pesticides. She was told that he believed it would need to go to election. Ms. Devers explained what Stan Kimble had said about the ordinance allowing the commissioners to remove the sales tax if it was specified in the ordinance, but she had not yet received a response to her e-mail.
The Board worked on the following budgets for 2010: Office of the Board, Administrative, Council of Governments, Grounds & Buildings, Fire Control, Health Inspector, Ambulance Service, Emergency Medical Service, Pest & Predator Control, CDBG, EMS Subsidy, Transportation Enhancement Grant, Road & Bridge and Landfill.
At 1:00 p.m., County Attorney Stan Kimble gave his report, stating that he’d sent a letter to Joe Linnebur regarding the purchase of a chemical sprayer, adding that he had spoken with Joe the day before, who said he was, indeed, spraying. However, Mr. Kimble could not find out exactly what chemicals Mr. Linnebur is using. He commented that they would just have to wait and see if Wayne Shade notices any change within the next couple of weeks before Mr. Linnebur is scheduled to meet with the Board again.
Mr. Kimble said that Ms. Devers had left him a message regarding possibly having to hold an election to remove the sales tax on pesticides, and suggested they send the Lincoln County ordinance to the Attorney General’s office to get clarification.
Mr. Kimble will be meeting with one of the sheriff’s deputies today to discuss one of the Model Traffic Code cases, as they had requested his assistance if the traffic violator hires an attorney, which apparently is the case. He said it shouldn’t take too much of his time or be too difficult, and added that they are beginning to see a bit of revenue due to the Code.
Mr. Kimble has started work on a Pest Ordinance for the county, and Ms. Devers asked him to check to see if there were any laws regarding a person having a choice of how they get their paycheck when the county does direct deposit for all employees.
Ms. Devers asked Mr. Kimble if he had reviewed the county’s Economic Incentive Policy, since the Board had made the motion the previous Friday regarding economic incentives to businesses. Mr. Kimble said he had not reviewed it and Ms. Devers wanted to know if the county would be locked into giving tax credits, or if the policy makes it more flexible the way it reads.
At 1:30 p.m., the Board conducted a public hearing on amending the Lincoln County Zoning Resolution to require that railroads be considered as a special use, thus requiring a special use review as to any proposed railway expansion, relocation or development. Jay Jolly was the only audience member in attendance. The hearing was tape-recorded and the tape is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.
Ms. Devers said she had received no letters or phone calls objecting to the resolution, and Jay Jolly said the only reason he was there was just in case someone did show up to object. He did ask if objections could still be filed, and Mr. Kimble said that even if they were, it would be too late to affect the passing of the resolution, as they would have had to have been filed prior to today. He added that future objections would be taken under advisement, but that they would be public record.
Mr. Burgess made a motion to adopt a resolution amending the Lincoln County Zoning Resolution to require that railroads be considered as a special use, thus requiring a special use review as to any proposed railway expansion, relocation or development. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
At a regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln
County, Colorado held in Hugo, Colorado on August 31, 2009, there were present:
Ted Lyons,
Chairman Present
Steve
Burgess, Vice Chairman Present
Gary
A. Beedy, Commissioner Present
Stan Kimble,
County Attorney Present
Corinne
Lengel, Clerk of the Board Present
Roxie Devers,
County Administrator Present
when the following
proceedings, among others, were had and done, to-wit:
It was moved by Commissioner
Burgess and seconded by Commissioner Beedy to adopt the following resolution:
A RESOLUTION
OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, LINCOLN COUNTY, COLORADO, AMENDING THE LINCOLN
COUNTY ZONING RESOLUTION TO DEFINE “RAILROAD” AND TO MAKE ALL RAILROAD
EXPANSION, REALIGNMENT, OR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY SUBJECT TO USE BY SPECIAL
REVIEW IN ALL ZONES
WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners
of Lincoln County, hereinafter referred to as the “Board”, did approve the
Lincoln County Zoning Resolution on April 18, 2002, which Zoning Resolution has
since been subject to amendment; and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. 30-28-116 allows for
Counties to amend zoning regulations under a prescribed method and procedure;
and
WHEREAS, after review of the purposes
set forth in Section 1-120 of the Zoning Resolution, the Board has determined
that it is in the best interests of the citizens of Lincoln County, Colorado,
to amend the Zoning Resolution so as to allow for the Board to take a more
active role in the event of any proposal for railroad expansion, realignment, or
development activity which may be proposed to occur in Lincoln County;
THEREFORE, it is Resolved that the
Zoning Resolution, upon approval as required by state statute, shall be amended
as follows:
SECTION 1. ADDITION TO
DEFINITIONS. Upon adoption of this Resolution, Section 1-160, “Definitions”
shall be amended to include the following definition of “Railroad”:
Railroad. The term “railroad” shall include all bridges used or operated in
connection with any railroad; all the roads in use by any corporation operating
a railroad, whether owned or operated under a contract, agreement, or lease;
all switches, spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities of every kind used or
necessary in transportation of persons or property; all freight depots, yards, and
grounds used or necessary in the transportation of persons or property; and all
freight depots, yards, and grounds, used or necessary in the transportation or
delivery of any of said property.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF
SECTION 2-220.B. Upon adoption of this
Resolution, Section 2-220B, shall be deleted and amended to state as follows:
B. Uses Allowed by Special Review. Any use not specifically allowed in a
zone district is a Use Allowed by Special Review and may not be permitted
unless a Development Permit is issued for that use. Particularly, any and all railroad use shall be considered a Use
Allowed by Special Review in all zoned districts located in Lincoln County and
any proposal for railroad expansion, realignment, or development activity which
may be proposed to occur in Lincoln County shall be subject to Use by Special
Review.
SECTION 3 – VALIDITY.
If
any part or parts of this Resolution are for any reason held to be invalid such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
Resolution. The Board hereby declares
that it would have passed this Resolution and each part or parts thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any part or parts be declared invalid.
SECTION
4 – REPEAL.
Upon
adoption and enforcement of this Resolution, existing or parts of Resolutions
covering the same matters as embraced in this Resolution are hereby repealed
and all resolutions or parts of resolutions inconsistent with the provisions of
this resolution are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5 – EFFECTIVE PERIOD.
This
Resolution, upon final passage as dictated by C.R.S 30-28-116, shall take
affect upon the final approval by the Board.
Adopted
and Approved this ____ day of ________________, 2009.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
LINCOLN COUNTY, COLORADO
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Weed Control Coordinator Wayne Shade stopped by the meeting to invite Mr. Lyons to a meeting in Sterling regarding prairie dogs, and Mr. Kimble asked him if he had seen Joe Linnebur doing any spraying. Wayne said he hadn’t actually seen him spraying, but that he had seen the sprayer.
Mr. Lyons said that he and Wayne had discussed sending a letter to the railroad officials thanking them and letting them know what an excellent job their sprayer had done with the weeds along the railroad rights-of-way. Since a similar letter was sent last year, Ms. Devers will send one to Mike Graybeal with Union Pacific.
Wayne also said he thought that everyone they had sent a letter to regarding their noxious weeds had responded in some manner.
Mr. Kimble gave a brief update on the active criminal investigation, stating that it concerned a case with the Karval School. The commissioners have received several letters from concerned citizens regarding the issue, and Mr. Kimble wasn’t entirely sure why they had gotten them. He said it really is not a commissioner matter, and that they do not have the authority to do anything since it is a judicial issue.
When asked if the Board should take any action, Mr. Kimble said that responses could be sent to everyone who had submitted a letter, informing them that the commissioners have no jurisdiction, and that their letters have now become public record. Mr. Beedy and the others agreed that the letters should be sent; at least that way the submitters would know that the commissioners had responded. Ms. Devers asked that Mr. Kimble write the letter.
In regard to the Lincoln County Economic Incentive Policy, Mr. Kimble said he would review it. Ms. Devers said that she had sent the policy to Kara Cubage and Mr. Kimble told her to e-mail Ms. Cubage and let her know that the county is accepting no applications until the policy is reviewed by Mr. Kimble.
Mr. Burgess made a motion to extend the moratorium on the Lincoln County Economic Incentive Policy until September 17, 2009, in order to give County Attorney Stan Kimble time to review it. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
At 2:15 p.m., Mr. Burgess asked Mr. Lyons to step down as chairman, due to any conflicts of interest and to remain consistent with past meetings, and he would chair the discussion on exempting the sales of agricultural use pesticides from Lincoln County sales tax. Mr. Kimble said he checked state statute in Title 29, as well as the county ordinance, explaining again the responses he had gotten on the county attorney List Serve regarding the county being allowed to remove the sales tax without an election. He asked if there was a deadline as to when it needed to be completed, and Ms. Devers said there wasn’t much that could be done for this year, anyway.
Mr. Beedy made a motion to table further discussion regarding the exemption of sales of agricultural use pesticides from Lincoln County sales tax until September 8, 2009, or September 17, 2009, if necessary. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Mr. Burgess asked if it should be done through means of a public hearing, and it was decided that would be determined once the Attorney General’s office responds.
Ms. Devers informed the Board that Travis Nall is on Step 7 of the pay scale, and then Mr. Beedy commented that he feels the county needs to purchase chemicals for weed control by bid, and that they should be submitted to Ms. Devers. The others agreed.
The Board completed a brief questionnaire regarding transmission siting from CCI, and then, with no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on September 8, 2009.
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Corinne M. Lengel, Clerk to the Board Ted Lyons, Chairman