By Lucas Turner | [email protected]
RBC | At the May 14 regular meeting of the Rio Blanco County Board of Commissioners, the board heard grant funding requests from a variety of community groups including non-profits, tax districts, municipal governments and county departments.
GRANT REQUESTS
RBC’s Broadband operations team requested $366K for a network assessment and equipment upgrades. Facilities Administrator Eric Jaquez highlighted the critical need to proactively maintain and upgrade equipment and software to ensure redundancy and reliability of the network. The initial review project will cost about $20K following which staff estimates replacing various outdated or end-of-life components in the network including switches, transceiver modules, secondary power supplies and software with licensing for future years.
Rangely School District is requesting $150K to help offset the cost of replacing aging sewer lines that are starting to fail. A 4-foot section collapsed at the junior/senior high school and a similar failure happened shortly after at the elementary school. The lines were installed around the same time and are showing their age. Replacement is a high priority for safety and welfare of students and staff. Estimates put the full project cost at $535,000, which would be a severe strain on the school district’s budget.
Meeker School District is seeking up to $175K to replace outdated lighting at Barone Middle School which they hope to match with their own allocation of $50K.
The Town of Rangely’s wastewater treatment plant requested $44K to begin replacing aging aerators that were originally installed in 2000 and need frequent repairs. The age of the equipment leads to lower quality output of treated wastewater, and more noticeable odors near the plant.
Meeker Fire Department requested grant funds to purchase additional radios after an influx of new volunteer firefighters, as well as replacements for some older radios.
The Town of Meeker originally requested $50k that would go toward a street repair project, however engineering estimates for the total cost on the project were $535K, more than four times the amount originally anticipated. The town requested a deferment since they can’t move forward with bids at this time. Commissioners plan to revisit the issue in their 2025 capital budget planning process.
The Tank Center for Sonic Arts in Rangely is requesting $6.5K (approximately) to help support their 2024 season operations and events like facility maintenance. Some operations include 10 concerts throughout the season, about 3/4 of which are offered free to the public. The Tank also uses some funds to offset recording/engineering costs for some of the artists that come through to perform.
Other requests were from Mind Springs Health ($20K) to continue providing 24/7 crisis services in local hospitals following a state mandate, and $5K from Meeker Mustang Makeover to help expand their kids camp program.
The commissioners discussed each grant and asked questions, weighing factors like need, budget impact and past funding allocations. They did not approve any particular requests or indicate when grant award decisions will be announced.
LANDFILL
County landfill staff updated the board on various ongoing challenges at the landfill including windblown trash, which is causing significant amounts of extra labor for landfill workers. Taller fencing was suggested as one way to help mitigate the issue, in addition to developing a better communication/alert system for county residents traveling to the landfill. During high wind events the landfill has to shutdown temporarily for safety reasons, and any incoming trash gets dumped and exposed trash blows away, creating significant amounts of extra cleanup work.
RBC officials and landfill staff also had a lengthy discussion about carcass disposal at the landfill and potential risks including methane gas biohazards and the ability to handle any uptick in animal carcasses being dumped. Commissioner Overton asked about pricing and feasibility of an incinerator. Composting was also mentioned, but both options would require additional regulations and infrastructure.
CHILDCARE CENTER
Lisa Moffitt, director of Firm Foundation Childcare, updated the board on the center’s opening and goals.She highlighted the center’s efforts to form a support system with local business and organizations, boost enrollment, hire more staff and acquire additional funding
In other business the board:
– approved a special event application for Meeker Lions Club’s June fundraising event supporting Hopewest
– approved a liquor license for the Meeker Arts and Cultural Council’s upcoming event
– $5K match for an AGNC mini grant to do kitchen improvements at the Fairfield center,
– a grant application “to improve our security around the facilities for the elections” including installing a new door in the Clerk’s office
– signed a letter of support for Colorado Northwestern Community College grant application to federal funding for a Rangely Airport improvement project.