County Commission Update

Hi Folks,

At our regular meeting last week, we met with Road Supervisor Rory Parsons. The crew has been very busy trying to keep up with winter and spring maintenance issues. One of the big issues this time of year is trying to keep culverts flowing. They generally tend to freeze up and then when the water starts to run there is no place for it to go. They try to get out and unthaw the culverts before we get big flows but that doesn’t always work. We have had some closures on Milligan Canyon Road because we just couldn’t keep ahead of the freezing and thawing. It all seems to be working now.

We met as the Solid Waste Board and heard a report from the Solid Waste Supervisor, Candice Bell. Last month we spent about $300.00 on recycling and took in about $239.50. That doesn’t seem like a really good deal, but whatever we recycle, we don’t have to pay tipping fees on, so it is really a plus for us. Overall our Solid Waste budget needs some work. We have cut some costs out, but we are going to need to look at some options before the 1st of July. We plan to set up a series of Public Meetings later this spring so we can talk with folks about how we want to proceed.

We held a Public Hearing to take comments about CDBG funds for building 6 on the South Campus in Boulder.

We also said that the Boulder Mosquito District could advertise to sell through auction a UTV with a minimum bid of $3000.00.

I looked really hard at the possibility of putting a bypass on Pipestone Creek while the bridge is being installed. The amount of fill material we would need to purchase and haul and other issues would be cost prohibitive. I realize there will be big inconvenience for some folks, but the end result should be a big benefit to the creek and some residents of Whitehall, including the museum. The road is slated to be closed from Monday morning March 13th for about 50 days or sometime around the first of May. Jefferson Valley Ambulance will have an ambulance and other equipment parked on the south side of Pipestone Creek. The Fire Chief is exploring options for fire service.

FYI: The Legislature is about half way through the 2017 session. March 2nd starts a four day transmittal period. They will be back in session on March 6th.