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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05/11/2021 PUBLIC HEARING May 11, 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 reminded everyone that Saturday was Colorado Public Lands Day. This was a chance to celebrate public lands as vital resources providing clean water,protecting wildlife habitat, and offering many recreation opportunities. Commissioner McQueeney acknowledged Pam Serba's retirement after 30 years of providing early childcare in her Eagle home. She would be missed for the service she provided. She added that HB-1222 passed, and this bill supported family child care. In addition, HB-1304 would be heard this Thursday, and she would be providing some remote testimony. The bill would create an Early Head Start Department on the state level,helping to elevate the importance of early childhood development. County Manager Updates Jeff Shroll stated that there was a high school track meet coming up. This was the first meet in over 500 days. He expressed excitement for the upcoming summer activities and for the community opening up to those types of activities. COVID-19 Update Birch Barron, Emergency Management Director,provided his weekly COVID-19 update. He indicated that the cases in Eagle County were on the decline over the last week. There had been no new cases of COVID in the last week. Vaccines were still being administered and hospitalizations were mainly composed of individuals who were not vaccinated. As a community, 59.8%of eligible people were vaccinated. The county target was 60%. As of yesterday,the FDA had approved doses for 12 to 15 year olds. Once there was an approval by the CDC,the county could soon be providing those vaccines. On the policy front,the Eagle County public health orders would expire this month. There was a clear end to the crisis. Mr. Barron had lost four family members to the disease, and the county had lost 22. However, the county's death rate was low in comparison to other states. This had been a difficult year with COVID, smoke, fire, the loss of a young child in the river,and the loss of our community members. He was thankful to be a part of this community and expressed gratitude for the community members 1 05/11/2021 and the people who wore their masks to protect others. There were still clinics open throughout the county. Once the vaccines were approved for youth, appointments could be scheduled. Consent Agenda 1. Intergovernmental Agreement Between Pitkin County and Eagle County for the 2021-2025 Season of Snow Removal in the Frying Pan Valley Nicole Trujillo, Road& Bridge 2. Resolution 2021-025 approving 77 Bellyache Ridge Zone Change ZC-9113-2020 Steve O'Connor, Planning 3. Resolution 2021-026 Concerning Hearings on Taxpayer Generated Petitions for Abatement and Refund of Taxes-R022084,R023174,R041312, R041315 Rhea Silverkorn,Administration Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Consent Agenda for May 11, 2021,as presented. Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. Constituent Input Chairman Schen opened constituent input. Heather Bergquist,Gypsum resident and kindergarten teacher, spoke. She expressed distress over how the children had been treated over the course of the past year. She believed the mask requirement had a host of negative effects on young children. She believed the use of masks was psychologically damaging. She did not support vaccines due to the incompleteness of clinical studies. She was opposed to mandatating or forcing COVID vaccines on children. She asked that the board consider the children, consider the harm, and stop the abuse. Andrew Osborne of Gypsum spoke. He shared some personal stories about people dying shortly after receiving their second COVID vaccine and shared examples of other incidents over mask disputes. Michelle Morgan, Gypsum resident, spoke. She expressed her opposing views regarding the mask mandate and regulations. She believed the COVID vaccines were experimental. Robert Goode questioned the studies around COVID vaccines. He opposed the local government forcing people to be vaccinated. He believed the mask ordinance was unconstitutional and the emergency orders were illegal. Chairman Schen closed public comment. He thanked everyone for attending and understood that there would always be differences of option. Business Items 1. Resolution 2021-027 Eagle County Open Space Rules and Regulations Adoption Peter Suneson, Open Space 2 05/11/2021 Executive Summary: Open Space has developed the Rules and Regulations Resolution to address user conflicts, natural resource protections, and to enable broad,comprehensive policies that will be consistent across all Open Space properties to promote a safer and more enjoyable user experience at all open space properties Peter Suneson, Open Space Education & Outreach Specialist., Phil Kirkman, Open Space Specialist and Katherine King,Open Space Director were present. Mr. Suneson reviewed the process. Mr. Kirkman stated that most of the public comments received mentioned dogs. The Edwards properties had leash rules, and signage was posted on each of the properties. Other comments related to public access for fishing. Mr. Suneson stated that many folks supported the process. The fees for permits would be increased due to the time it took to process applications. Special events and programs were prohibited without a permit. There were no permit fees for non-profit organizations. Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to adopt the Eagle County Open Space Rules and Regulations. Commissioner McQeeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 2. Early Head Start Quality Improvement Plan Kendra Kleinschmidt, Human Services Executive Summary: It has been determined that the Early Head Start(EHS)program has one area of deficiency and one area of noncompliance due to violations of the program's standards of conduct and regulations. As a result, EHS has written a Quality Improvement Plan that outlines the ways the program will correct the deficiency and area of noncompliance. The program has through August 2, 2021 to complete all action steps outlined in the Quality Improvement Plan. The Quality Improvement plan has been reviewed and approved by program stakeholders, including Policy Council. Ms. Kleinschmidt, Deputy Director of Human Services,reviewed the process. She provided an overview of the Early Head Start Program. The program was serving 74 children and their families. Federal grants had been received and helped fund these programs. She spoke about two serious incidents that occurred resulting in a deficiency and non-compliance in the past year. If the program were to receive a second deficiency, the county would be required to recompete for the grant, and the grants were difficult to receive. The team and partners were committed to the quality of head start and to the success of the program. The improvement plan was reviewed by the quality council and was approved. There were two objectives and 10 action steps created to correct the deficiencies. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked Ms. Kleinschmidt to address the timeline. Ms. Kleinschmidt stated that they had been actively working with their contracted childcare centers since January 2021 putting into place the elements outlined in the quality improvement plan. Commissioner McQueeney stated that the plan had been approved by the Policy Council and acknowledged that this was the final step in finalizing the plan. She wondered if there was any budgetary impact to implementing the quality improvement plan. Ms. Kleinschmidt stated that there was a budget for training. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Early Head Start Quality Improvement Plan Commissioner Chairman seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 3 05/11/2021 3. The Board of County Commissioners will meet as necessary to review and take action on any issues related to the COV1D-19 Local Disaster Emergency. Chairman Scherr stated that the board had nothing to address or review related to COV1D-19. Work Session - Eagle County Room 1. Eagle River Water and Sanitation District Water Resources Master Planning Rhea Silverkorn,Administration Executive Summary: Eagle River Water and Sanitation District General Manager Linn Brooks will provide an overview of water resources master planning. pF EAGie 4, CO There being no further busines 8 e rd, the meeting was adjourned until May 18, 2021. K cO Attes • �oaaoo_ Cler to the Board Chairman 4 05/11/2021