Community revitalization workshop July 27

RBC | In a brief meeting Monday at the Rio Blanco County Courthouse, the board of county commissioners approved a letter from the BOCC and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts to the Bureau of Land Management regarding the management of wild horses. They also approved a permission letter between the Meeker Chamber and the Town of Meeker to allow liquor to be served at the courthouse on July 15 for Meeker Days. The commissioners also approved the final settlement for the 2017 crackfill project in the amount of $1,360.80 and awarded a bid to Stripe A Lot, Inc. for the 2017 pavement marking paint project in an amount not to exceed $83,744.01.
In commissioner updates, Jeff Rector said the hang gliding event was a success, and that he has been helping with the planning for the July rally race.
Commissioner Bolton just returned from Washington, D.C., where he met with members of the state department, the White House, and the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to discuss the Jordan Cove LNG project.
The project involve exporting liquid natural gas from the Jordan Cove terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., to buyers on the Pacific Rim.
“We’ll actually have a place to go with Rockies gas,” Bolton said. Jordan Cove’s goal is to start selling gas in 2023. “President Trump is going to make energy exports a priority.”
Bolton was encouraged by the meetings, and said, “It’s pretty neat to see what’s happening back there right now.”
Bolton also said the Department of the Interior (DOI) has released the annual Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). PILT funds help local governments offset losses in property taxes due to non-taxable Federal lands within their boundaries. According to the DOI website, Rio Blanco County received $552,914 for its 1,498,650 acres of public lands. By way of comparison, Garfield County received $3,127,876 for its 1,187,879 acres. Moffat County received $704,722 for 1,672,063 acres. The formula used to compute the payments is based on population, receipt sharing payments and the amount of federal land within an affected county.