Published by the Boulder County Commissioners

November 2000

Additional Open Space Acquisitions Approved

In September and October the Commissioners approved acquiring a number of mining claims for the County's open space inventory, including:

Steen/ITEC Approximately 363 acres of patented mining claims in the Gold Hill area on both sides of Lefthand Canyon. The top of Bighorn Mountain, a natural landmark, is included in the property and the north side of Lefthand Canyon is within an environmental conservation area.

Total purchase price: $2.4 million.

Fledderjohn B Approximately 97 acres of mining claims located in the Gold Hill area, including part of Bighorn Mountain. Total purchase price: $452,000.

Rugg Various mining claims totaling approximately 91 acres and covering the bulk of Spencer Mountain between the old townsite of Eldora and Peterson Lake. Total purchase price: $420,000.

Wolcott B Approximately 32 acres of mining claims located in the southwest part of the County. Total purchase price: $145,000.

Mehl B Approximately 24.05 acres of patented mining claims near the Town of Jamestown, with the intent of trading them with the U.S. Forest Service as part of the BLM land exchange. Total purchase price: $70,000.

Toll Ten acres of a mining claim located within United States Forest Service boundaries south of the Lake Eldora Ski Road, for future trade to the U.S. Forest Service. Total purchase price: $12,000.

In addition to the above mining claims, the Commissioners approved the following open space acquisitions in September and October:

American Pacific Financial B 89.31 acres of agricultural dryland that has been annexed to the City of Lafayette and zoned for industrial development. The property includes approximately a half mile of the Rock Creek Corridor. It is bordered on the south and north and partially on east by existing open space properties. Total purchase price: $2.2 million.

Adams/Codger Two tracts of undeveloped mountain land about 10 acres up Highway 7 west of Lyons. One piece is 159.4 acres on the south side of the highway and is steep and heavily forested. The other piece is a series of mining claims totaling 77 acres. South St. Vain Creek runs though the larger parcel. Total purchase price: $172,000.

Bielins  Approximately five acres north of the centerline of Lefthand Creek plus a 30-foot wide trail corridor of this irrigated agricultural land east of the diagonal highway. A conservation easement will be purchased over the remaining 31 acres. Total purchase price: $353,250.

For information concerning these open space acquisitions, call Parks and Open Space Director/County Commissioner Ron Stewart at 303-441-3500.

The Walker Ranch Wildfire began September 15^th and burned approximately 1067 acres before being declared officially contained on September 20t^h. The majority of the acres burned were on the Walker Ranch Boulder County Open Space (995) followed by 49 acres of Denver Water Board land and 17 acres of privately owned land. The fire was seven miles southwest of Boulder. There was no lightening at the time the fire ignited and it is believed to be human caused. However, fire investigators say because the fire burned so completely in the area where it started, the cause may never be officially determined.

While residents from more than 200 homes were evacuated, no structures burned. The fire also threatened the historic Walker Ranch buildings but none burned. While they worked long, hard shifts on difficult, mountainous terrain, no firefighters were injured. At one time, as many as 555 firefighters from numerous agencies battled the blaze, using 74 fire trucks. Other resources included air tankers that dropped more than 133,000 gallons of slurry fire suppressant and U.S. Forest Service helicopters that dropped numerous 400-gallon loads of water from Gross Reservoir.

The initial estimate for fighting the Walker Ranch Fire totaled $1.5 million with final costs expected to exceed this first estimate. Federal aid through FEMA will cover some of the expenses with other local entities such as Boulder County paying the remaining expenses.

Parks and Open Space Department staff have already begun revegetation in burned areas of Walker Ranch. This reseeding will help begin to restore the land and provide erosion control. The Meyers Gulch/Meyers Homestead Trail will reopen to the public sometime in October. The Loop Trail will remain closed indefinitely until all safety concerns are addressed, such as removing fallen trees. For more information about the Walker Ranch Fire, call Boulder County and City Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Stern at 303-441-3637. For information concerning the Walker Ranch revegetation, call Parks and Open Space Resource Manager Therese Glowacki at 303-441-3952.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) awarded Boulder County three achievement awards in this year=s nationwide competition. These are the highest honors county government can receive. The NACo awards are given for programs that improve county government by streamlining organization, improving services to residents, and achieving goals in a more cost effective way. NACo Achievement Award winners for Boulder County include:

Community Action Program's Immigrant Advocacy Program CAP initiated the Immigrant Advocacy Coalition in 1997 to provide educational and advocacy opportunities for immigrants in the county and to fill the gaps in services for immigrant populations. Some of the Coalition's successes include providing on-going training for immigrants and advocates about changes in immigration law and regulations; organizing yearly citizenship drives for eligible immigrants; and producing a widely-distributed manual of information about resources, services and laws that affect immigrants. Local immigrant populations served by the program include Latino, Hmong, Bosnian, Russian, and people of various Asian nationalities. An estimated 600 individuals in Boulder County qualify for citizenship and the Immigrant Advocacy Program is working with the majority of these residents who wish to pursue citizenship. For more information, call CAP program coordinator Noel Brissenden at 303-441-3976.

District Attorney's Stop Fraud Program The D.A's Office of Consumer Affairs developed this program to help prevent telemarketing scams. It provides older residents and housebound individuals with information about telephone and mail solicitation and is designed to put a barrier between the scam artist and their potential victim. For example, an important element of the program is a red phone sticker that advises consumers to call the D.A.=s Office prior to giving money or information to a solicitor. The eye-catching STOP stickers have been distributed throughout Boulder County through Senior Centers, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Money Managers, Meals on Wheels, the County's Aging Services Division, and other outreach programs. After the Stop Fraud Program was introduced in August 1999, calls to the D.A.'s Office from consumers with concerns about telemarketers jumped dramatically. Conservatively, the program has prevented local of residents from losing tens of thousands of dollars to fraudulent telemarketing scams. For more information, call Consumer Affairs Division Director Cynthia Taylor at 303-441-3700.

Adult Protection Review Team

The county created the Adult Protection Review Team in 1996 to introduce a broad range of community services and support for at-risk adults in Boulder County, including individuals aged 60 or older and individuals 18 and over who have a disability. The Adult Protection Review Team uses a multi-agency partnership to discuss and review cases and coordinate services for at-risk adults. The review team has successfully filled gaps in services for at-risk adults in the community; improved the cost effectiveness of existing county program; provided additional training and knowledge for county employees and others working with at-risk adults; increased community awareness of elder and at-risk adult abuse; and promoted intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in serving this population. Since the Adult Protection Review Team began operating in 1996, reporting of adult abuse cases has increased significantly along with caseloads. At the same time, the involved agencies are better able to respond appropriately to these adult abuse cases in an effective, efficient and caring manner. For more information, call Adult Protection Review Team chair Frank Alexander in Aging Services at 303-441-1170.

Commissioners' Budget Worksession Thursday, November 9^th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. During this worksession, the Commissioners will make final decisions for the 2001 County Budget. For more information, call Budget Manager Margaret Parish at 303-441-3499.

Contract and Bid Awards

• For Sundquist Building ceilings portions to All Area Acoustics ($12,500)

• For Sundquist Building interior doors & windows to Colorado Doorways ($27,110)

• For Sundquist Building windows to Hillcrest Glass ($32,200)

• For Courthouse West Wing remodel tenant finish mechanical to AMI ($109,972)

• For Courthouse East Wing granite installation to Rock & Company ($40,496)

• Longmont Courts Building masonry to Top Notch Masonry ($218,000)

• For Longmont Courts Building site drainage work to Defalco Lee Construction ($40,133.84)

• For Eldorado Springs Wastewater Feasibility Study engineering services with Aquatic Environment Services, Inc.($9,990)

• For internet services with Cable & Wireless ($15,720)

• For Troy MICR 4050 secure printers with Ganson Engineering ($3,053 each)

• For Emergency law enforcement dispatch service contract with the City of Lafayette ($217,265 revenue)

• For 2 waste compactors with Wastequip May Manufacturing ($33,316 -- County will be reimbursed $19,664 by Boulder County Recycling & Composting Authority)

Finance Division Contract:

• Non-profit contract with El Comite de Longmont ($28,350)

Boulder County News is published periodically by the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide information concerning Boulder County Government to Boulder County municipalities and others interested in County information. Whenever possible, contact names and phone numbers are included. Please direct comments and suggestions to the editor, Margaret McKinney, Public Information Officer, at 303-441-3399, or E-mail: mmmco@co.boulder.co.us.

Phone: 303-441-3500, Fax: 303-441-4525