JANUARY 25, 2010 CALL TO ORDER At 9:05 a.m., Chairman Craig J. Meis called to order a regular Administration meeting of the Board of Mesa County Commissioners at the Mesa County Courthouse, Commissioners Public Hearing Room, 544 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction, Colorado. Those present included Commissioners Steven Acquafresca and Janet Rowland; Jon Peacock, County Administrator; Angela Luedtke, Assistant County Attorney; and Roberta Raley, Clerk to the Board. (Minutes transcribed by Roberta Raley, Clerk to the Board.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES JANUARY 4, 2010 STEVEN ACQUAFRESCA MOVED, JANET ROWLAND SECONDED, AND MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 4, 2010, MEETING. JANUARY 11, 2010 JANET ROWLAND MOVED, CRAIG J. MEIS SECONDED, AND MOTION CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 11, 2010, AS ENTERED INTO THE RECORD. (Commissioner Acquafresca was excused from this hearing and abstained.) PRESENTATIONS MICHAEL GARDNER Chairman Meis presented a plaque to Michael Gardner for service on the Mesa County Planning Commission; serving from 2003 through 2009. He thanked Mike for his service to the community. John Justman, Chairman Mesa County Planning Commission, thanked Mike for his participation; as did Kurt Larsen. COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS Commissioner Acquafresca reported Tuesday, January 12, he, and County and City staff made a presentation to the two Directors of the Department of Local Affairs regarding the 29 Road viaduct project; February 1, they will be going to Denver to make another presentation to the Grant Advisory Committee. Also, on January 12, he attended a panel discussion at the Library on landfills and recycling. Wednesday, January 13, he met with Fred Raisch, Colorado Weed Association, regarding upcoming weed legislation; and participated in the CSU Orchard Mesa Research Center Advisory Committee meeting. Page 1 of 6
(Continued from the previous page) Thursday, January 14, he attended the dedication event at Fruita for the Human Services, Health Department, and Workforce Center. Tuesday, January 19, he attended the Riverfront Commission; and participated in a Water Law short course. Wednesday, January 20, he attended the second half of the pre-trial telephone conference with the Public Utilities Commission on the CAM mine; and spent the afternoon and all day on Thursday participating in the Wild and Scenic Stake Holders Collaborative group, on the river designation segments. Friday, January 22, he attended the Grand Mesa Scenic Byways meeting; and attended the departure reception for Bob Ladenburger, St. Mary s Hospital. Saturday, January 23, he attended the Mesa County Cattlemen s banquet. Commissioner Rowland reported on Thursday, January 14, she was in Denver attending the Prevent Child Abuse Colorado Board meeting and met with Susan Bechman, County Commissioner from Arapahoe County. Friday, January 15, she and Chairman Meis met with Ed Rozman. Tuesday, January 19, she met with officials from the BLM, Public Works staff, County Attorney, and Don Clay regarding the lack of legal access to his property. Thursday, January 21, she participated in the Benevolent Community Partnership Executive Committee meeting. Friday, January 22, she and Chairman Meis, along with Sheriff Hilkey, Assessor Barbara Brewer, and Clerk and Recorder Janice Rich were at the community coffee in DeBeque. Chairman Meis reported on Tuesday, January 12, he attended the luncheon for West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association. Wednesday, January 13, he attended the Chamber Energy briefing. Thursday, January 14, he attended the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado meeting in Rifle; and attended the How are the Children at Famous Dave s. Tuesday, January 19, he attended the Chamber Legislative Conference; and took the December County Employee of the Month to lunch. Wednesday, January 20, participated in the PUC hearing for CAM mine along with the County Attorney and staff; and took the HIPAA training. Thursday, January 21, he attended the Criminal Justice Leadership Group meeting. Friday, January 22, he attended the DeBeque community coffee; and the Club 20 Executive Committee. Saturday, January 23, he attended the CJSD annual awards banquet. HOW ARE THE CHILDREN? Wanda Scott, Nurse Family Partnership, reported the program s inception was in September 2000, and they started collecting data in October 2006. In 2009, they served 198 families and 167 children, with 8 fulltime nurses. Page 2 of 6
(Continued from the previous page) Some of the many positive outcomes from the program include: positive parenting skills, budgeting, reduction of pregnant women smoking, fewer low birth babies, and less days for babies in the NICU. The number of nursing visits since inception has been: pregnancy - 8,449, infancy - 9,664, and toddlers - 3,707. COMMENTS Jackie Wells, All Terrain Motor Sports, relayed to the Board she was slated to have a sales tax audit through the Colorado Department of Revenue starting February 1. She has concerns with how sales tax is exempted in Mesa County on agriculture equipment, and the burden of proof of delivery on the units to avoid sales tax on either in or out of state units. Jackie stated she believed much of this could be alleviated if the units were titled through the Department of Revenue, as there would be verification they were collecting the proper sales tax. Chris Reddin, Business Incubator Center, stated sales tax is a great burden on businesses. Ann Driggers, Grand Junction Economic Development, stated the playing field needs to be leveled where tax exemption comes into play; they have lost several deals due to other entities exempting the sales tax and this area not. ADMINISTRATION CONSENT AGENDA 1) APPROVE A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN MESA COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO AIR QUALITY CONTROL DIVISION AND THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION TO ESTABLISH A CONTINUED PLANNING PROCESS TO ADDRESS MONITORED HIGH PARTICULATE MATTER (PM10) LEVELS IN THE GRAND VALLEY AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO SIGN.(Agreement on file at the Mesa County Clerk s Office; Contract and Agreement File No. MCA 2010-005.) 2) ADOPT A RESOLUTION SUSPENDING PLANNING REVIEW FEES FOR 2010 AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO SIGN. (Resolution on file at the Mesa County Clerk s Office, recorded in Book 4971, at Pages 213-216, Reception No. 2521014, Resolution File No. MCM 2010-012.) Discussion on Consent Agenda items: 2. Loren Benoit requested an amendment to page 2 of exhibit A, driveway permits should be $0. Commissioner Rowland stated the only fees to be paid by an applicant would be for advertisement. Loren stated there was one other fee, the appeal fee. Commissioner Rowland asked why we were charging for the appeals. (Continued to the next page) Page 3 of 6
Kurt Larsen stated by charging a fee for the appeal would discourage frivolous appeals; the Board has the ability to refund the fee. Kurt stated a footnote could be added that if the appeal was upheld by the Board, the fee would be refunded to the appellant. The Board agreed with the footnote. JANET ROWLAND MOVED, STEVEN ACQUAFRESCA SECONDED, AND MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, AS ENTERED INTO THE RECORD AS AMENDED. INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AUGUST 10, 2010 PRIMARY ELECTION BE CONDUCTED AS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO SIGN. Presenters: Janice Rich, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder; Sheila Reiner, Chief Deputy; and Catherine Lenhart, Elections Director Janice Rich stated in 2009, legislation was passed allowing the Primary Election to be conducted by mail. The Mesa County Citizens Review Committee met in August to review this option and unanimously supported it. In the 2008 Primary, seventy-five percent of the voters cast a vote-by-mail ballot. From the public notice that was posted, Elections received 20 comments during the comment period; 12 were in support of the option. Sheila Reiner stated the vote-by-mail option was estimated to cost $76,000 for the Primary Election; saving the County just under $275,000. The legislation requires two service centers for walk-in voting; those would be the Courthouse and at the Mall DMV. Chairman Meis stated he recognized the cost savings, the cost was one thing; but it was a cost benefit analysis. If the election process cannot be safe-guarded, one has to spend the money. He asked what safe-guards Mesa County has in place. Sheila reviewed the election process for the Board from ballot printing, mailing, to accepting the voted ballots. Chairman Meis stated it was imperative that Mesa County has accurate and fair elections. He stated he had reservations for mail only for general elections, where both parties are on the ballot. Commissioner Acquafresca stated the absentee voting numbers have risen as legislation has been passed that allowed the electorate to apply for an absentee permanently rather than each election. Commissioner Rowland asked if the recommendation was unanimous from the committee. Sheila stated it was. Commissioner Rowland asked if there was any public notice about the meetings. Page 4 of 6
(Continued from the previous page) Janice stated a formal invitation was sent to the two major political parties, the League of Women Voters, the disability community, and to the unaffiliated voters. She did not know how the two political parties chose their representation for the committee, or informed their membership. Jennifer Shook, Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, stated it was significant to her the number of citizens choosing the vote-by-mail ballots. She stated for many people getting to the polling site on election day was a real problem. Commissioner Rowland stated in reviewing the comments received, most of those that were opposed gave no real reason. The vast majority of those voting in the primary chose to vote by mail. The signature verification process is very thorough. The County uses an all mail ballot process for the Coordinated Elections in the odd years; she asked when we started doing that. Sheila stated in 1997. Commissioner Rowland stated there are cameras on 24/7 in all the rooms where the ballots are processed. This makes good fiscal sense; this is a highly regulated process. Chairman Meis stated Commissioner Rowland covered this very well. Even though, the County has invested millions in equipment, it is put to good use during the general election; the capital costs associated with running an operation pales in comparison to the ongoing operational costs each election cycle. He believed the County had good safe-guards in place to protect a vote-by-mail election. STEVEN ACQUAFRESCA MOVED, JANET ROWLAND SECONDED, AND MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AUGUST 10, 2010 PRIMARY ELECTION TO BE CONDUCTED AS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT AND AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO SIGN. (Resolution on file at the Mesa County Clerk s Office; Resolution File No. MCM 2010-013.) UNSCHEDULED BUSINESS Chairman Meis asked to move the Board of Human Services meeting from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. JANET ROWLAND MOVED, STEVEN ACQUAFRESCA SECONDED, AND MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO MOVE THE BOARD OF HUMAN SERVICES MEETING TO 2:00 P.M. TODAY. Page 5 of 6
ADJOURN With no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Meis adjourned the meeting at 10:55 a.m. Janice Rich, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder (Verbatim digital files of the Commissioners Proceedings of January 25, 2010, are on file in the Mesa County Clerk s Office.) Page 6 of 6