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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 04/06/2021 PUBLIC HEARING April 6, 2021 Present: Matt Scherr Chairman Jeanne McQueeney Commissioner Chandler-Henry Commissioner Jeff Shroll County Manager Holly Strablizky Assistant County Attorney Kathy Scriver Deputy Clerk to the Board This being a scheduled Public Hearing, the following items were presented to the Board of County Commissioners for their consideration: Commissioner Updates Commissioner Chandler-Henry spoke about the regional airport. Last week marked the 60 year anniversary of Eagle County working with the FAA. She also mentioned that March was Women's History Month. As part of Women's History Month,the Vetran's Administration was honoring women vets and vetran service officers. Commissioner McQueeney reminded everyone that the legislative session was underway. There were roughly 600 bills. If people were interested in any of them or wanted to know what the county's positions were on any bills,they could check the Eagle County website. If people wanted to weigh in as community members,they could do so online. Chairman Scherr stated that the Education Foundation of Eagle County,which supports the public school system,would be hosting Project Funway. This year the event would be held virtually. Designers would be creating design houses. County Manager Updates Jeff Shroll reminded everyone that Roaring Fork Fridays had resumed. Eagle County managers, elected officials,department directors and other county staff would be visiting the Roaring Fork Valley at the end of each week. Kelley Collier would be visiting the Eagle County Community Center from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on Friday,April 9. COVID-19 Update Birch Barron,Eagle Emergency Management Director,provided an update. The big news today was that vaccines would be available. Disease prevention was still important. Any disease level would create disruption to schools and businesses. The county disease level had gone down but was still high. The state would be providing new guidelines. The county was still fighting fatigue, false confidence, large gatherings, and the new strains. The new variant was highly contagious. Locally there had been zero hospitalizations at this time. The vaccine prioritization was herd immunity. The county was entering into Phase 2, and there were more vaccines available than people. All three vaccine options were now available. Anyone over 15 wanting a vaccine could sign up to get 1 04/06/2021 a vaccine this week. As of now,49 percent of the eligible Eagle County population had been vaccinated. His final message was encouraging people to share the message of the importance of getting vaccinated. Consent Agenda 1. First Amendment to the Agreement Between Eagle County and Redbird Aircraft David Reid,Airport 2. Ratification of the State of Colorado Subaward Agreement between the Department of Transportation and Eagle County for operating assistance funding for ECO Transit Jared Barnes,ECO Transit 3. Agreement for Services between Eagle County and Skyline Mechanical for REME Halo Air Purifying Systems Ron Siebert, Facilities Management Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Consent Agenda for April 6,2021, as presented. Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. Constituent Input Chairman Scherr opened and closed constituent input, as there was none. Business Items 1. Resolution 2021-020 in Support of the Town of Vail's Reclassifying Emergency Services Dispatch(911)to Protective Services,and Hereby First Responders Rhea Silverkorn, Administration Executive Summary: America's 911 telecommunicators are currently categorized in the Standard Occupational Classification System as an"Office and Administrative Support Occupation,"a category which includes secretaries, office clerks, and taxicab dispatchers. This classification fails to recognize their central role in public safety and homeland security,their specialized training and skills,and their uniquely stressful work environment. Classifying public safety telecommunicators as"Protective Service Occupations"alongside police, firefighters, security guards, and others whose job it is to protect our communities would better reflect the work they perform, and align the SOCS with related classification systems. All Vail Public Safety Communication Center dispatchers are trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch, qualifying them to offer potentially lifesaving instructions including CPR, bleeding control and instructions to treat choking, childbirth and airway control over the telephone until paramedics arrive on scene. In 2020 alone, approximately 12,246 calls were initiated for medical and fire emergency services wherein dispatchers provided instructions and guidance. Of those calls, 66 were cardiac arrests, 39 were structure fires, 37 mental health/overdose, and 8 childbirth calls. The County supports the Town of Vail's efforts to have the Vail Public Safety Communication Center Emergency Dispatchers classified as Protective Services personnel and recognized as First Responders. 2 04/06/2021 Marc Wentworth, Director of Emergency Communications, spoke about the diligence of dispatch staff and level of service they had all provided. COVID had brought many challenges into the call center and into their workplace. The incident dispatch team logged nearly one thousand hours of time. He was pleased that the board of County Commissioners would support the resolution. Sheriff Van Beek spoke about the work and professionalism of the staff. He supported the resolution and stood in solidarity with the team. Commissioner McQueeney expressed her support. She offered a letter of support to correct the misclassification. Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to approve the resolution supporting the Town of Vails' Reclassifying Emergency Services Dispatch(911)to Protective Services, and Hereby First Responders. Commissioner McQueeny seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 2. The Board of County Commissioners will meet as necessary to review and take action on any issues related to the COVID-19 Local Disaster Emergency. Chairman Scherr stated that there was nothing to review or take action on. Planning File - Eagle County Room 1. Planning File: ZS-9014, Gypsum Creek Marijuana Cultivation Tez Hawkins,Planning Executive Summary: The Applicant seeks approval for a Special Use Permit to allow for the expansion of an existing outdoor marijuana cultivation facility from 2 acres to 40 acres. The expansion also includes adding a 5,000 sqft. marijuana infused product(MIP) extraction facility, a 3,500 MIP storage structure,two barn structures, and thirty shipping containers to the property. The Staff Addendum is updated with revised conditions,addendum attachments are re-numbered, and a new attachment with a redline to the conditions is also now attached. Tez Hawkins presented a Powerpoint presentation. He reviewed the basics of the project location and existing proposals. The applicant had been approved for an existing special use permit approved under R15-031, which allowed for two acres of outdoor marijuana outdoor cultivation and 8,500 sq ft. of greenhouses used for processing/extraction. The existing special use permit was out of compliance for failure to obtain proper permit to commence processing operations on the property. The current proposal would expand the outdoor cultivation area by 38 acres for a total of 40 acres as well as 25,600 sq ft. of marijuana processing/extraction facilities,three new water storage ponds, a 20 kilowatt hydroelectric turbine,two OWTS (onsite wastewater treatment systems)as well as compliance with R15-031,the existing Special Use Permit. This was the fourth hearing on the file. The Gypsum Fire Protection Department was supportive. The ponds had potential impacts to slopes 30%or greater. The applicant provided a slope analysis. The pond design was pending review and recommendations by the geotechnical engineer. Staff suggested Condition 12 (twelve)that,ensured the pond won't impact slopes greater than 30%, and if the pond did,the condition required review by the Colorado Geological Survey. Holly Strablisky,Assistant Eagle County Attorney, stated that after review of the Condition she noticed it was inconsistent in the terminology when referring to the 30%. The conditions would need to be revised to say "slopes of 30%or greater in both places." Mr. Hawkins stated that staff expressed concern with the pond related to water supply. The water needed to be available at all times for fire fighting purposes. They asked the applicant to keep the pond supplied with water 3 04/06/2021 year round. The applicant provided staff with a letter from a water attorney stating that the pond would be supplied with a least one acre ft. of water. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked if there were any outstanding concerns from the Town of Gypsum that needed to be addressed as far as the water supply. Ms. Strablisky stated that she had not heard from the Town since the hearing before the Planning Commission. Mr. Hawkins stated that he reached out to the Town of Gypsum, and they were satisfied with the comment they had already provided. Chris Green,representative for the applicant, spoke. He believed the applicant had responded to all of the life safety issues. Building construction on the upper bench,proposed fencing, and issues related to construction of the buildings had been submitted to the county. They also provided a solution to the pond concerns. Deborah Shaner, fire protection engineer spoke about the rural water supply. She figured they had about 50,000 gallons of water available for a fire emergency. Justin Kirkland asked about the calculations to insure what the usable gallons would be in February. Ms. Shaner stated that she evaluated the volume above the freeze line. Mr. Green believed they were adequately covered. The permit was in and the applicant had been responsive. Commissioner McQueeney asked Chief Kirkland if the board had any comments or concerns with the proposal Chief Kirkland believed they were in a good place. Ms. Strablizky stated that the requirement came from Chief Kirkland, and as long as they were okay, staff was okay. Commissioner McQueeney asked about the original proposal. She had a difficult time figuring out what was currently there and what was being added. Mr. Hawkins explained that the application did both. The applicant took what was existing and incorporated it to what was proposed. It was his understanding that all 40 acres didn't happen at once; it happened with market conditions. The applicant did not have to come back in for a second permit to use the 40 acres. Sarah Baker, attorney for the applicant, stated that Condition 9(nine)addressed her questions and allowed for immediate expansion up to 10 acres. Once.Condition 9 (nine)was satisfied,the full 40 acres were available for cultivation. Chairman Scherr opened and closed public comments. As there was none. Commissioner McQueeney acknowledged the amount of work that had gone into the file. She believed the request met the standards. Commissioner Chandler-Henry concurred with her fellow commissioners. She was excited about the industry and work being done up Gypsum Creek Road. She was pleased that the file met the standards and was consistent with the comprehensive plan. Chairman Scherr thanked the applicant and Chief Kirkland. This was an innovative project,and he hoped it would succeed. He agreed that the file met the standards for approval. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve planning File ZS-9014 with staff's recommendation and conditions of approval Commissioner Chandler-Henry - •ed the motion. The vote was unanimous. ti'''' E CpGy'` There being no further busi, ;... 'oard,the meeting was adjourned until April 13, 2021. iw , N C- 7,---t.2______: Attest: g (bolo" -7-'fr's / Clerk to the Board Chairman 4 04/06/2021