RBC | The board of county commissioners met this week to discuss the following public business.
WHITE RIVER SOLAR PROJECT
The White River Solar Project can now move forward following unanimous approval by the board of county commissioners Tuesday, wrapping up a long series of public hearings in which Rio Blanco County residents argued about the space between private property rights and negatively affecting one’s neighbors. Conflicts around the project have also centered on a long list of claims both for and against solar panels. Ultimately the board’s vote came to existing local laws specified in the county’s land use regulations (LUR), county master plan and unanimous (7-0) approval by the planning commission. NextEra representatives took time Tuesday before the vote to reiterate why they felt approval was deserved:
Work to revise project specifications multiple times to meet regulations and go beyond those requirements to accommodate resident concerns.
Work offering detailed and publicly available answers to a variety of claims and questions raised by RBC residents.
Conducting required scientific studies on subjects like wildlife, soil and more over multiple years to ensure compliance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, state, local and federal regulations and property owner requests.
Commissioners mentioned future potential for a “moratorium on all energy projects” pending a public review process of the county’s land use and related regulations.
BROADBAND EXPANSION
The board voted unanimously in favor of the latest ambitious expansion of Rio Blanco County’s one-of-a-kind fiber broadband network. As part of that process the IT/Communications department asked the board to approve another task order for the broadband network expansion project. The county is seeking a federal grant allocated in $20 million increments to fund expansion. One part of that process includes noting the value of existing county owned broadband infrastructure as the county’s “matching contribution” to apply for the grant. The expansion would mean fiber run directly to hundreds of underserved homes which either lack broadband altogether, or are connected via wireless broadband radio towers. Director Trevor Nielsen said once complete the work would increase department efficiency and free up staff time currently being used to maintain the wireless/radio tower network.
MCCIC TRANSITION
Facilities Director Eric Jaquez shared details about a plan to help the Meeker Colorado Civic Improvement Corporation Board (MCCIC) become more independent from the county. MCCIC has been paying RBC $30K to contribute to the salary of a maintenance staff member. That staff member recently quit, leaving those duties up to Jaquez’s department until a permanent replacement is found.
In addition to replacing staff, Jaquez proposed a series of steps the MCCIC board should take to transition forward with the goal of managing their own maintenance staff and senior living apartments by the end of 2023. The proposed solution would mean facilities staff would retain maintenance duties for the center meaning an MCCIC employee would only be responsible for maintenance of the apartments. Jaqcuez suggested making use of a soon-to-be vacant apartment as housing for MCCIC employee housing. Various other items are noted in the proposal including ongoing county support for certain functions like completion of all currently planned/budgeted capital improvements at the apartments, a five-year maintenance plan, assistance writing a job description and navigating the next county budgeting process, among others. RBC commissioners supported Jaquez’s proposal, noting they agreed it is time for MCCIC to take more responsibility over the apartments.
MCCIC Board President Mona Avey pushed back against Jaquez and commissioners, saying she had not received adequate communication about the transition plan and asserting the MCCIC board is bogged down in other projects already. Jaquez said discussion of the process and timeline has been ongoing since February and involved multiple departments. He said all board members including Avey had been contacted in a timely manner about the process in general and prior to Tuesday’s meeting. Commissioner Ty Gates expressed his desire for the MCCIC board to be proactive and prioritize this transition process above other work, including making it an official discussion item at their next meeting. The next MCCIC board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug.14, 2023.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
At least three BOCC work sessions Tuesday related to personnel/staffing challenges, policies and decisions required by the board. For instance, commissioners discussed necessary changes to an existing bereavement leave policy to remain in compliance with state laws in the Colorado Health Families Workplace Act (HFWA). The new law expands the situations for which county employees could request bereavement leave. After some discussion the board directed staff to update the policy to “merge” RBC’s existing policy with one proposed by the state. Attorney Don Steerman said merging both will bring the county into compliance with state law, while maintaining some aspects of RBC’s policy that are more generous, notably that bereavement leave hours won’t count from accrued sick-days.
EMPLOYEE HOURS
A staff member working for the clerk and recorder’s office in Rangely requested to go down to 32 hours and take off Fridays, according to RBC Clerk and Recorder Shawn Luce, who noted that the office was pretty slow with customer demand. Commissioners did not agree to grant the request, but Luce expressed concern about being able to retain employees if she can’t accommodate certain demands, due to a variety of available jobs in remote-work in particular.
SHEEPDOG TRIAL LOGISTICS
Maym Cunningham visited the board briefly to touch base about the upcoming Sheepdog Trials event. Coordinating this year may involve some new challenges due to the recent departure of Fairgrounds Manager Boyd Richardson. Historically Richardson and staff members have assisted in getting bleachers/equipment to Ute Park for the event, among other responsibilities. Those duties will fall to Road and Bridge Director Scott Marsh this year, who is in process of hiring Richardson’s replacement.
PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEY
RBC Public Health staff shared data snippets from responses to the “community health assessment” required by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). Rio Blanco County Public Health Director Makala Sheridan highlighted observations, stats and health trends based on 352 total responses to a community health survey. Broad results indicate that RBC is a relatively healthy county compared to most, ranked 23rd (out of 64) total Colorado counties for overall health ranking.
The top three health concerns among residents include mental health, aging and substance use disorders. Highlighted strengths were recreation, small town feel, public lands, safe community and open spaces, all of which center around “determinants of health” which Sheridan described as “conditions where we live, work, play, worship and age.”
Statistics around healthcare center on insurance and affordability. 11.3% percent of RBC residents are uninsured for healthcare coverage. Among residents who say they were not able to get the healthcare they needed, 20% said it was because of a lack of insurance, 18% said they had insurance but could not afford their copay. Residents travel out of the county for vision specialty care, primary care and mental health. RBC has higher incidences of some chronic diseases than the state of Colorado including coronary artery disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes and diabetes. On the other hand RBC has lower rates of obesity than those found statewide.
RBC has one of the highest rates of suicide per capita in the state at about two per year, a well established, decades-long trend. Sheridan said survey data indicated a significant underutilization or lack of access to mental health resources. 12% of respondents felt they could not access mental health counseling for reasons such as inability to find or afford counseling services, insurance denying coverage, and fear/stigma.
Substance uses of concern cited by respondents are alcohol, methamphetamines, nicotine, marijuana and fentanyl. 25% of respondents said they know someone who was struggling with substance abuse, 15% stated that they have a family member who’s struggling with substance abuse and 7% say that they have a close friend.
Sheridan’s presentation also highlighted eating habits and socioeconomic factors affecting food insecurity and malnutrition. She also touched on demographics, income levels, education levels, cost of housing, employment and more socioeconomic factors that influence determinants of health.
Sheridan also shared information about COVID vaccine statistics and the disease’s effects on residents. That portion of the update will be covered in a future edition of the HT.
You can view the entire presentation in full at youtube.com/live/_xncVi2glzI?feature=share&t=3223
BY LUCAS TURNER
