Zoning regulations to be reviewed
Phillips County commissioners approved the law firm Sullivan Green Seavy LLC to conduct a thorough analysis of each of the 11 sections of the county’s land use resolution.
The firm will make recommendations for improvements or amendments for the county’s zoning regulations for a total cost capped at $3,500.
Commissioners reported this and other activities in the month of September at their end-of-month meeting Thursday, Sept. 30.
Letter sent regarding vaccine mandates
At their Sept. 20 meeting, commissioners met with several residents who voiced their concerns about COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Commissioners informed them that they would first check with health care providers in the county before taking any action. The commissioners ultimately sent a letter to Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Sept. 24
In the letter, commissioners requested that the Sept. 30 deadline for vaccination be extended to Oct. 31 to allow more time to explore options that better serve the community.
The commissioners noted that Phillips County is a rural community and the effects of the mandate are different from the more urban areas of the state and cited the possibility of losing health care staff due to the mandate.
Opioid settlement discussed
Phillips County Administrator/Planner Laura Schroetlin and assistant administrator Nici Akey are currently working on the opioid planning grant regarding the opioid settlement.
Colorado is divided into 19 regions for the distribution of opioid settlement funds. Phillips County is in the northeast Colorado region, along with Sedgwick, Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Logan, Morgan, Washington, Elbert and Lincoln counties.
The grant includes $20,000, providing the opportunity to hire a facilitator for the 10 counties as a group to help establish a program for treatment, education and rehabilitation as part of the opioid settlement. It also opens up the possibility of working with local health care facilities to add sets of rooms or wings to the buildings for this purpose.
Waste characterization plan reviewed
Commissioners met with Phillips County Landfill manager Bill Andrews and Mark McMullen of American Environmental Services. McMullen’s services were reviewed for his 2022 contract for $34,340.
He is in charge of developing engineering and operation designs, managing annual training and taking care of state permitting for landfill operations. McMullen reported to the board that the current landfill could have a useful life of 400 years based on today’s regulations and implementing his recommendations for waste disposal.
Possible new phone system discussed
Last month, the board met with Phillips County Communications Center director Kenny Gaskill and Vince Kropp and Jamie Smith of PC Telcom to discuss the Colorado Broadband Grant application.
Smith also provided the board with information and cost estimates to replace the current phone system at the courthouse and comm center with a Voice over Internet Protocol system and new wiring.
The board discussed the possibility of purchasing the new system with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Research on the current phone service and connections will be done before any action is taken.
Conditional zoning waiver granted; signed conditions not returned
The board met with Sarah Dille and Jim Kienholz on Sept. 8 to discuss the possibility of obtaining a waiver for a piece of agricultural land to be zoned as commercial for approximately 10 months beginning in November to allow for additional housing for J and T Harvesting employees.
At their Sept. 10 meeting, commissioners voted to grant the waiver — so long as conditions were met — to house up to 10 overflow guests from Golden Plains Motel in a building that Kienholz owns on County Road 20.
The waiver was approved to begin Nov. 1 with an ending date not to exceed 10 months. The conditions attached to the waiver were:
— Trash will not be allowed to accumulate on the property.
— Excessive noise from any source on the property will not be allowed.
— The privacy of the neighboring property owners will be respected.
— Only the location proposed is included in the waiver.
Failure to meet the conditions voids the waiver. As of the Sept. 30 meeting, Dille and Kienholz had not returned the signed conditions.
Other business
In other business last month, commissioners:
— Approved the purchase of a 2022 Load King trailer for the road and bridge department for $44,034.52.
— Approved the request from Gaskill to use funds from the American Recovery Plan Act to purchase two consoles, an antenna and a feed line from Absolute Solutions for $2,159.58, device programming from BearCom/Motorola for $1,620.20 and additional upgrades to the Text-to-911 project that was previously approved for $1,100.
— Approved the use of American Recovery Plan Act funds for utility mapping services at Harvest Park RV campground for $4,000.
— Purchased a used trailer for cardboard recycling for $1,500.
— Heard an update regarding issues with railroad crossings adjacent to Highway 23. The county is currently waiting on a replacement and repair plan from Jason Michael, construction manager at the Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado Railway.
— Approved the subdivision exemption request from Marc and Gail Schlachter to sell seven acres located southeast of Holyoke to Broc and Heather Pelle.
— Approved a zoning amendment application submitted by the town of Haxtun to change from agricultural to commercial for property just west of the cemetery near County Road 30 and Highway 6 for a new city maintenance building.
— Renewed the liquor license submitted by Ricos Dogs LLC dba Blisties.
— Held a 22-minute executive session for the purpose of receiving legal advice on a specific legal question.