Fairfield basement flooded; proper handling of asbestos; and a public health update

A water line break at the Fairfield Center in Meeker flooded the basement with about 6 feet — more than 400,000 gallons — of water last Tuesday. The community center houses the county’s public health and human services departments and Chuckwagon, the senior meal service. 

The basement, which is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, has been used for storage. Human services and county human resources files were damaged and had to be destroyed — via use of the road and bridge department’s wood chipper. Of greater concern were the Personal Protective Equipment supplies stored there, some of which were salvaged.

County and town employees helped clear out the basement once most of the water had been drained. 

In a work session Tuesday, Facilities Manager Eric Jaquez and the Board of County Commissioners discussed installing a differential valve that will shut off the water if the system loses pressure. According to Fairfield Center Manager Bruce Bair, this is the third time the system has sprung a leak. The first two were pinhole leaks.

Commissioners gave Jaquez authority to move forward with remediation. Preliminary figures estimate remediation at around $50,000. Jaquez was waiting on asbestos reports during the meeting Tuesday. Building staff had also expressed concerns about radon and mold. The county has submitted the incident to insurance.

LANDFILL

Asbestos was also the topic of an update on the landfill. According to road and bridge director Dave Morlan, there has been some confusion about how asbestos-containing materials are to be handled and disposed of. Rio Blanco County is one of a very few locations in the state permitted to accept asbestos in its landfill, and went to considerable expense to obtain that permission. Having materials brought in by private citizens that are non-compliant jeopardizes landfill employees and could jeopardize the county’s landfill status. 

Property owners conducting remodels or renovations should contact the county to determine if materials produced could contain asbestos and how those items should be handled before they go to the landfill. 

On a side note, changes made to landfill fees in January have generated an additional $53,000 this year. 

PUBLIC HEALTH

The coronavirus pandemic has increased grant funding to local public health departments. Public Health Director Alice Harvey would like to hire an additional staff person, using grant funds, to assist with the demands of contact tracing. One new positive case last week resulted in 20 hours of contact tracing.

“The key to reopening the economy is a strong local health presence,” Harvey said. “Just having one additional case took up half of my workweek.”

Public Health Nurse Kelly Christian, who came on board less than a year ago, has resigned. 

REGULAR AGENDA

During the board’s regular meeting, Certified Public Accountant Paul Miller presented his audit of the county’s budget, and praised Budget and Finance Director Janae Stansworth. The audit was clean.

The board approved a retail liquor license for Ripple Creek Lodge.

Commissioners approved event plans for a Tuesday Gymkhana event through the summer months, Yellow Snowman’s sno-cone vendor booth and the Masonic Lodge’s pancake breakfast on July 4, and the Rio Blanco County Fair. 

The commissioners also approved a resolution approving an exemption for a subdivision requested by Tammie Crossen and Charles Arnold, whose property is bisected by Hwy. 64. RBC Planner Leif Joy said the exemption is allowed under a 1972 law, and including it as a resolution makes it easier to search for title information. 

In commissioner updates, Commissioner Gary Moyer said he had been working to add pesticides to deal with the Mormon cricket invasion to the list of cost-share pesticides on the county’s list. 

BOARD OF HEALTH

The commissioners reconvened at 1 p.m. for the quarterly Board of Health meeting. They appointed Margie Joy to the board, filling a seat vacated by Dr. Shelby Lindsay, and approved new bylaws for the board. 

Harvey revisited the 5-year goals she introduced in January, and said they’ve made progress on all the goals. She also updated the board on the status of COVID-19 in the county. New modeling from the state’s public health department indicates Colorado is in the “trough” right now, with a second wave of cases expected to start up in August, coinciding with school reopening. 

She also expounded on what social distancing is, saying, “Social distancing is more about the number of high-risk contacts you have and reducing the frequency of those contacts.” High-risk contacts may include talking to someone without wearing a mask for more than 15 minutes or without maintaining a distance, or touching a contaminated surface. 

“We urge the public to continue to be smart and do everything they can to protect the vulnerable,” Harvey said. 

By NIKI TURNER | [email protected]