RBC | Rio Blanco County Budget and Finance Director Janae Stanworth and other staff guided the board through upcoming grant applications for the next few months during work sessions on Tuesday. The first grant application for a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant would be for $77K of which the county would only pay $7K or approximately 10%. Emergency Management/Natural Resources Director Eddie Smercina said the money would be used to contract services to update the county’s hazard mitigation plan. The plan is regulated by FEMA and must be updated regularly. Smercina explained that the process would involve a series of public input meetings to allow stakeholders to voice their concerns about any potential hazards within the county. Generally, wildfire is the number one hazard. Smercina also highlighted flooding, particularly a “100 year rain event” and other out of the ordinary events as potential hazards that can be mitigated against. County staff and Commissioner Ty Gates, the previous emergency manager, emphasized that once the plan is done it opens up additional federal funding for special districts to do their own mitigation work, such as developing defenses and operational procedures for the event of a major flood or wildfire.
COLUMBINE PARK
The facilities department wants to use $100K that the board allocated for this year’s budget to pursue a matching DOLA grant. If awarded the county would have $200K to use towards Columbine Park improvements. Facilities director Eric Jaquez said one major goal of the capital project would be moving 4H/Extension office employees out of the Rangely Annex buildings to new offices at Columbine Park, assuming key players were on board for renovations and other logistical concerns. The proposed change would mirror the extension office location Meeker.
Jaquez listed priorities for the use of funds as:
– Safety and security improvements/maintenance including light poles and camera systems
– A good building for 4H/Extension offices and a potential classroom
– Upgrades to the livestock scale systems to make it easier for Rangely 4-H participants to weigh animals
– Matching panels for smaller animals like hogs, goats and sheep similar to the ones at the county fairgrounds in Meeker
– General cleaning, painting, light maintenance on the grandstands
– Jaquez said the priorities were identified by a steering committee which was open to the idea of relocating extension offices. All parties involved need a more concrete plan to move forward though, which Jaquez says he’s developing. Commissioners and staff plan to meet with more stakeholders next week to determine if the plan is feasible. The related DOLA grant application is due in August.
BROADBAND GRANT
Communications/IT Director Trevor Nielsen shared exciting news about a Colorado Broadband Office Grant with the board. Rio Blanco County is the only applicant on the Western Slope to apply for Tier 1 project funding to further develop broadband infrastructure. The designation means the county only has to match 25% of the federal total allocation, whereas Tier 2 qualifiers have to match 50% of funds. The amount limit for the grant is $20 million, which the county could apply for if they can allocate $5 million to match. Nielsen explained that the funding would go towards “last mile” upgrades, for example dropping fiber to places that are currently only served by wireless connections. The funds would also go toward software the communications department was already seeking to purchase, which will help staff manage customer billing, maintenance schedules, usage data and other metrics. Nielson also said the improvements would mean some savings for the county through the use of more efficient software, as well as places where wireless equipment would be replaced by fiber, cutting maintenance costs.
FUND BALANCES
As part of the discussion about allocating money to the broadband grant, the board reviewed current fund balances to see where money could be shifted/reallocated. Stanworth explained that a majority of funds contain money that cannot be re-allocated for whatever reason. Categories of available funds as identified by Stanworth include:
– Non spendable – prepaid services/projects, fixed assets, inventory
– Restricted – money designated for specific uses like grant matches/awards, CCITF funds, conservation trust, landfill closure/post closure contingency
– Assigned – money that can be assigned for future capital projects, equipment upgrades, or set aside to fund future purchases
– Unassigned – additional money within the general fund, on top of the minimum required reserve amount.
Unassigned funds, which can be moved around more easily by the board, are primarily in the general fund according to Stanworth. County policy is to keep 12 months of funds for operations via the general fund, six months for road and bridge, and four for all other non-capital funds like human services, use tax etc. As of 2022 numbers, the county has enough unassigned money to cover:
– General Funds – 16 months
– Use Tax fund – 39 months ($2.7m)
– Road and Bridge – six months
– Human services – six months
– Landfill – 44 months ($3.1m)
The general fund balance increased by $2.8 million from 2021 ($24.9M) to 2022 ($27.7M). During the budgeting process for 2023 the board assigned funds to:
– Meeker airport small aircraft apron – $1M
– Meeker airport fuel farm upgrade – $750K
– County-wide radio replacements including a paid position – $750K
– Unspecified amount saved for the Rangely Airport taxiway project, estimated at $8M
– $200K for the Fairfield Center parking lot
– $200K for a White River Museum update
The landfill also has 44 months of working capital in reserves, including $1.2M for future closure costs, financial assurance and additional allocations of $90K each year to fund development of future cell construction. The landfill is also planning to purchase a $600K shredder. The communications department has $300K on top of non-spendable four months in operating reserves. Stanworth noted that money shifted from other fund balances in the general fund could be paid back/replenished by the communications fund. Nielsen said improvements to broadband would mean more customers and thus more revenue which could help pay back any unassigned funds the board chooses to put towards the $20 million matching American Rescue Plan allocation.
REGULAR MEETING
During their regular meeting the board approved:
• a recently passed audit on solid waste landfill’s financial assurance
• an amendment to the CR 4 Bridge Rehab intergovernmental agreement to address traffic control costs that were not included in the initial funding request
• alcohol licenses for upcoming Range Call events
• a formal letter approving RBC.GOV as the county’s official domain name, following what Nielsen said is an extensive process
• Resolution 2023-17 canceling and voiding a certain check
• Resolution 2023-18 establishing the Distribution of Title I Federal Forest Reserve Fund Money
The board ended the meeting with an executive session pursuant to §24-6-402(4)(f) C.R.S. to discuss personnel matters regarding the Community Development Department.
BY LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]
