In the midst of multiple budget workshops to plan for the 2023 budget, county commissioners met Tuesday for work sessions and a regular meeting.
DHS UPDATE
Recently appointed Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Carmen McKay said they are filling positions and staff are getting certifications completed. County Attorney Don Steerman said he is “very optimistic” about the way things are going at DHS under McKay’s direction.
VETERANS AFFAIRS
Veterans Affairs Officers Joe Dungan and Ron Epplin updated the board. Epplin is new to the role, replacing ‘Hoot’ Gibson on the Rangely side after Gibson’s retirement. Dungan said demographically Rio Blanco County has a significant percentage of veterans per capita, making up almost 10.5% of the county’s population with a reported count of 525, which he believes may be an underestimated number.
Dungan said they do a lot of outreach with veterans organizations, including helping veterans with travel costs to the VA hospital through the Veterans Trust Fund. Getting to and from the VA hospital is one of the bigger issues for local veterans. “Not all veterans get paid when they go down to the VA,” Dungan said.
WEED AND PEST
As with many other departments and local businesses, the county’s weed and pest control program faced some difficulty with product availability this year due to supply chain issues and accompanying price increases, according to director Jane Turnburke.
MOSQUITO SPRAYING
Members of the White River Alliance (WRA) and Moffat County’s pest control director Jesse Schroeder, spoke to the board about the future of mosquito abatement in the county. Schroeder explained Moffat County’s program, which uses “every tool in the tool box at every stage of the lifecycle [of the mosquito]” to control the pest. More than half of the mosquito control budget goes toward larvacides, with the goal to try to prevent mosquitos from reaching maturity. Fogging, mostly done by hand, is used where CO2 mosquito traps indicate a need.
WRA members shared the group’s concerns about the use of aerial spraying on health, beneficial insects like bees, aquatic insects, beetles used to control invasive tamarisk, and the impact on algae in the river.
The use of bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) dunks or pellets in standing water is a “holistic, cost-effective approach” to mosquito abatement, said WRA member Deirdre Macnab. Bti, a naturally occurring soil bacterium that kills mosquito larvae, is harmless to other animals, unlike permethrin sprays which kill beneficial insects.
Beekeeper Terry Smalec of Rangely said when he is notified that spraying will occur in the area, he has to lock up his bees before the plane comes by, and still loses some, whether to heat from being locked up or from exposure to the spray. He noted that he’s not anti-spraying in the event of an outbreak of West Nile virus or other public health concerns.
Shawn Welder and John Wix spoke about the effect of spraying on the river and its impact on fishing and recreation. Wix, a lifelong county resident, said in flying over the river for many years, the changes in the algae blooms started 12-15 years ago, when aerial spraying of private property upriver increased.
“You can see the difference in algae levels above and below spraying,” Wix said.
WRA asked the board to “take the lead” on implementing an integrated pest management program similar to that of surrounding counties.
“If Moffat can do it I don’t see why Rio Blanco can’t do it,” Smalec said.
Commissioners also heard from Dana Foley with County Technical Services, Inc. (CTSI) that provides an insurance pool for participating Colorado counties. Foley said recent increases in costs are mostly due to reinsurance and new state requirements for law enforcement officers.
For Rio Blanco County, claims in the last year were led by administration (10), road and bridge (9), and law enforcement (8).
“There’s nothing big in terms of huge trends in your county,” Foley said. “That’s a good thing.”
In the regular meeting, commissioners:
υ approved settlement of $10K for the dust control project
υ increased the Frontier Paving contract for the RBC Sand Shed by $106,904 (total not to exceed $274,084)
υ approved an amendment to the Dominion Voting System agreement from a five-year to a two-year renewal. The county negotiated for a year-to-year contract and agreed on the two-year plan.
υ approved a $6,713 grant to provide part-time security personnel at the courthouse
υ approved a memorandum of understanding regarding the Greater sage-grouse resource management plan amendment and environmental impact statement, to include verbiage that gives the county a “seat at the table” when it comes to the discussion.
Following commissioner updates, the board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters regarding the potential addition of a deputy DHS director.
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What is the County Beat?
We make a concerted effort to cover local government as part of our mission to inform citizens and hold power to account.
The County Beat details discussion and action by the Rio Blanco County board of commissioners, who generally meet the second, third and fourth Tuesday of each month.
By NIKI TURNER – [email protected]
