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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09/14/2021 PUBLIC HEARING
September 14, 2021
Present: Matt Scherr Chairman
Jeanne McQueeney Commissioner
Kathy 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 stated that Habitat for Humanity had homes for 12 families at Grace
Avenue in Gypsum. There would be a home dedication this Thursday, September 16th at 4:00 p.m. This was a
cooperative effort with the School Board as homes were available for school teachers, first responders,and all sorts
of folks. She thanked Habitat for its work on workforce housing issues.
Commissioner McQueeney mentioned spending time over in the Roaring Fork Valley at a Roaring Fork
Transit Authority(RAFTA)meeting. The meeting was very interesting as they gave a history of RAFTA.They did
impressive work, and she was excited for how this could benefit Eagle County.
Chairman Scherr spoke about the Vail Symposium programs. He encouraged folks to visit
vailsyposium.org to review the offerings.
County Manager Updates
Jeff Shroll stated that he did not have an update and offered his time to Public Health& Environment
Director,Heath Harmon,who would be providing an update on all things related to COVID.
Mr. Harmon stated that a lot had changed in the past 30 days. He shared a slide presentation that
demonstrated what the last 30 days had looked like, and what he'd hoped for the future. The COVID-19 Delta
variant arrived in the state early in the summer and was identified on the western slope. What was known about the
Delta variant was that it was two times more infectious than the previous strains. There had been multiple studies
that were demonstrating a greater severity of disease. For those individuals who were not fully vaccinated,the
median age was 53 in terms of hospitalization,whereas, compared to individuals who were fully vaccinated,the
median age was 73 for hospitalizations. School-aged youth were having higher incidents now compared to most
adult age groups. The Delta variant was dominating the scene. A number of counties were starting to go back to
full public indoor mask mandates and others were looking at doing that in the near future. There had been a lot of
school outbreaks since the end of July but most within the past month. The Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment(CDPHE)had issued some revised guidance for schools. CDPHE was making a stronger
recommendation that universal masking should occur for all age groups,K-12 ages children, as well as early
childcare education centers. Ultimately, these were recommendations,not mandates or requirements, at the state
level. The good news was that there had been a decrease over the past week. The bad news was that we were still
at a higher rate than in mid-August when the order was implemented. He remained optimistic and hoped to get
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down to 50 cases per 100 thousand or less as a community. He emphasized the importance of vaccinations for the
community. The current public health order would be expiring soon and the current rates were being considered.
At this point in time,they would be recommending masks in schools. They would be exploring the risk/benefit for
ages under 5. The goal was not to have a mask mandate in perpetuity. He acknowledged that there were pros and
cons and ups and downs to everything including masks being required within the community. He believed that
there would be future variants,and the goal was to move to a more sustainable approach in the future. He would
continue to promote vaccinations and boosters were on the horizon. He highlighted the testing locations in Eagle
County. The state had a school based testing program. Lastly, it was a goal to work towards a place where
mandates could be phased out.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about the death rate.
Mr. Harmon stated that there were 23 deaths through the end of July and an additional seven since the end
of July.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry wondered what was causing an increase in deaths.
Mr. Harmon stated that the Delta variant was more severe especially in individuals who were not fully
vaccinated. Delta was adept at finding individuals in the community who were not fully vaccinated. He believed
that as incident rates went up in the community,then the severity went up in the community.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about the direction of future mandates and if there was a target date
for moving away from mandates.
Mr. Harmon stated that nothing was currently in place, but he expected that it could be by the end of the
year.
Commissioner McQueeney asked if anything had been announced on a state or federal level regarding the
booster vaccines.
Mr. Harmon stated that boosters were available for those people at risk who received Pfizer or Moderna
vaccines. He expected that the FDA would be meeting to discuss a booster dose. He expected that the next age
group would be five to eleven years of age. The target date was November first.
Chairman Scherr asked about the transmissibility for young children not eligible for the vaccine.
Mr. Harmon stated that there would be more asymptomatic cases among youth. The role that youth play in
terms of transmission were in high risk settings such as households. Schools provided a close proximity and long
hours. He believed the virus would be around for a while.
Consent Agenda
1. Resolution 2021-071 of Approval for ZS-8009,RFSCG-1 Cannabis Cultivation Facility
Tez Hawkins, Community Development
2.Agreement for Services between Eagle County,Colorado and PEACHnet(Partners Engaged in Achieving
Change in Health Network)/University of Colorado, Denver
Health Harmon, Public Health& Environment
3. Resolution 2021-072 Authorizing the Ratification of the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate for 800 Castle
Drive,Eagle, Colorado 81631
Kim Bell Williams, Housing
4. July 2021 Payment Report
Jill Klosterman, Finance
5.Approval of the Minutes for the Board of County Commissioner Meetings for August 4,August 10, and
August 17,2021
Kathy Scriver, Clerk& Recorder's Office
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Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to approve the Consent Agenda for September 14,2021,as
presented.
Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous.
Constituent Input
Chairman Scherr opened public comment.
Robert Good of Eagle spoke. He stated that the Pfizer vaccine was not fully FDA approved. He was
disappointed that natural immunity or previous infection was not mentioned by the public health official. He
believed that natural immunity was the strongest defense against COVID. The vaccines did not work and would
not protect against the Delta variant. He believed that public officials needed to be transparent and work out of
their office. Lastly,he believed that officials and school board members were making false comments about
vaccines. He wanted to see emails and hard drives to make sure there was no political motivation.
Rebecca Zener of Eagle spoke. She appreciated the presentation this morning. She believed that Eagle
County did a good job at pioneering what the end might look like. She was very optimistic that the mask mandate
should be dropped tomorrow. She applauded that Eagle County was being reasonable in not having an indoor
mask mandate unlike a lot of other places in Colorado. She believed it made more sense to mask adults rather than
children. Children had the most to be harmed and the least to gain.
Wendy Armstrong from Eagle spoke. She talked about"perspective." She believed that several people
could look at the same image and see something different. She wondered after all the scientific proof that had been
sent to the board regarding the harmful effects of wearing masks and negative effects of getting a vaccine,they
were unable to see the truth. She believed there were more vaccinated people in the hospital than unvaccinated.
She read a letter written by a teenager expressing frustration for the mask mandate.
Heather Berquist, Gypsum resident, spoke. She spoke about the current public health order requiring
children to wear masks and promoting vaccinations for the least at-risk population based on recommendations from
the CDC. She offered three examples that questioned the credibility of those recommendations by the CDC. She
believed the definition of a vaccination kept changing.The CDC didn't follow the science and the evidence showed
that children were not at risk. These should be red flags. She asked that the public health order be removed and not
renewed.
Sunny Corrigan from Vail spoke. She spoke about the negative effects of the mask mandate, and as a
mother she believed that masks were not healthy for children. She believed the mask mandate should be
reevaluated.
Holly Barnum from Avon spoke. She expressed opposition to the mask mandate. She requested that the
mask mandate be ended. She believed that surgical type face masks were not effective. Masks were not doing what
people were saying they were doing. She believed it should be a choice to wear a mask.
Celina Olden of Eagle spoke. She spoke about the presentation by Heath Harmon and believed that one of
his graphs fed into the fear campaign demonstrating a spike in cases. She took offense to the conversation she had
with Chairman Scherr regarding primary source data. She commented on a statement made by Mr. Harmon
regarding children being resilient who were older than 18-months and wondered what qualified him to make that
statement. She wanted to know the brand of testing being done. The FDA website listed 268 brands that were no
longer to be used for COVID testing. As a taxpayer she wanted to know what brand was being used. Was it faulty
or on the list? She was concerned with the cash incentives being used for testing in schools; $179,000 was given to
the Colorado Department of Public Education to use for testing. She wanted to know what the cash incentives were
with the brands being offered.
Chairman Scherr closed public comment.
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Business Item(s)
1. Early Head Start Continuation Grant and Budget 2022
Kenda Kleinschmidt, Human Services
Executive Summary: The Early Head Start(EHS)program has completed the required paperwork for the annual
grant renewal. This application is for year three of the five-year grant cycle. The application includes a grant
narrative and budget,a self assessment report, an annual report to the public, selection criteria, program and
school readiness goals, governing body and policy council decisions, a program improvement plan,the approved
quality improvement plan and the training and technical assistance plan. The federal share of the budget is
$1,047,457.00 and the non-federal share is $261,864.00 for a grant total of $1,309,321.00.
Ms. Kleinschmnidt, Eagle County Deputy Director Child, Family& Services, shared some details
regarding the Early Head Start Program. Eagle County Early Head Start received about one million dollars from
the Federal Government to operate the program each year and required a 20%county match to serve 74 children
and their families or pregnant women. They recently completed the process of updating the Quality Improvement
Plan and were waiting for the approval from the Office of Head Start to ensure that any deficiencies were
corrected. She shared that they would be providing a new center-based option for parents this year at the Edwards
Early Learning Center.
Leigh Carlson-Hernandez, Eagle County Early Childhood Manager, shared specifics about the grant.
This was the third year of the five year grant cycle. Every year they used a program planning cycle that helped
them review the program and make improvements. They take into consideration the needs of the community and
evaluate the progress on the five year goals. The main community assessment was done in 2019. There were a
lot of impacts from COVID-19 on families in the program and in the community. The selection criteria was used
to select the next family from the waitlist who would be offered enrolment into the program. They found that
financial security,employment,and housing were the top needs for this past year. They spent the entire year
doing a review of their policies for their program operations to make sure they were updated with the new
performance standards. The areas for improvement were to increase male family member engagement and
support dual language learners in language and literacy. The program goals were reviewed annually in the self
assessment process, and there were no changes but they had some new strategies to work on for this year.
Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Early Head Start Continuation Grant and Budget 2022.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous.
2. Early Head Start Continuation Grant SF-424 for BoCC signature
Kenda Kleinschmidt, Human Services
Executive Summary:As part of the Early Head Start continuation grant, please approve the SF-424 form as well.
Commissioner McQueeney move to approve the Early Head Start Continuation Grant SF-424 for BoCC
signature
Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous.
3. Early Head Start Waiver of Non-Federal Funds
Kenda Kleinschmidt, Human Services
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Executive Summary: Early Head Start respectfully requests a waiver for$150,000 of the$258,775 non-federal
share requirement for 2021. This waiver is requested due to the impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Early Head Start Waiver of Non-Federal Funds
Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous.
4. Early Head Start Waiver of 2021 Non-Federal Share Justification Narrative
Kenda Kleinschmidt, Human Services
Executive Summary: Early Head Start respectfully requests a waiver for$150,000 of the$258,775 non-federal
share requirement for 2021.This waiver is requested due to the impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Early Head Start Waiver of 2021 Non-Federal Share
Justification Narrative.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous.
Planning File - Eagle County Room
1. Planning File-American Gypsum Mine Special Use Review ZS-9114
TJ Dlubac, Contracted County Planner for Eagle County Community Development
Executive Summary: The applicant,American Gypsum, LLC, is requesting to expand their existing special use
permit, which was issued in 2003,to allow for a deeper mining depth in the Lower Pit, add approximately 99
acres of new mine area to the east of the existing Upper Pit, and to increase the allowable disturbed area from 25
acres to 50 acres.
Chuck Zaruba, Plant Manager,and Jon Edeen, Mine Manager,American Gypsum were present.
Mr. Zaruba stated that the applicant was requesting an additional 25 years of operation and expansion of
the area. There would be no changes to the operations,truck traffic, capacity out of the plant,or change in mining
methods. He explained the gypsum mining process. He stated that their presence in Eagle County was critical to
maintaining a diversified local economy and providing over 100 jobs. The process began many years ago.
Bureau of Land Management(BLM)and Colorado Department Reclamation Mining Safety(DRMS)approvals
were requested before the Special Use Permit per Eagle County guidance. The BLM approved the application in
June 2020 and an approval by DRMS was received in December 2020. He showed a map of the permit boundary;
a total of 99.2 acres would be added to the existing 830.2 acre permit area. They have performed wildlife studies
and made sure there were no issues. The plant did not negatively impact the wellbeing of the county's wildlife
population.
Chandler-Henry asked how the product was transported.
Mr.Zaruba stated that about 60 percent of their product stayed in state, and most of the product was
transported via truck to other states.
TJ Dlubac, contracted County Planner,presented a Powerpoint presentation. He showed a vicinity and
zoning map and provided a summary of the project. The lower pit was owned by the applicant,the upper pit and
proposed east pit were owned by the BLM. The former Special Use Permits have been in existence since
approximately 1992. Public comment was initiated via property posting, newspaper posting,and mailed notices,
As of this day no comments had been received. He reviewed the standards of approval and indicated that the
application conformed with the standards with four proposed conditions. There was an increase in road use and
the Town of Gypsum expressed concerns for mud being tracked onto Hwy 6. To address those concerns,the
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Eagle County Road& Bridge Department would use recycled asphalt to maintain portions of Trail Gulch Road.
Staff recommended approval with four conditions finding that the request met all the standards.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked if this was an additional Special Use Permit or if this superseded
the other.
Holly Strablinzky,Assistant Eagle County Attorney, stated that this Special Use Permit would supersede
the last and forwarded the conditions that still needed to be applied to the special use.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked if there were hazard materials onsite.
Mr.Zaruba stated that this was not a leaching operation, and there were no hazard materials onsite used
for the process outside of normal lubricants and diesel fuel.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about the well permit and if the additional 50 aces would make a
difference in water usage on site.
Mr.Zaruba stated that there would be no increase in water usage. The water was used primarily for dust
suppression.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about BLM land mining and if a permit fee was paid to BLM.
Mr. Zaruba stated that they pay an annual maintenance fee per acre.
Chairman Scherr asked if this was the first time they had used BLM land.
Mr. Zaruba stated that the original lower pit was on BLM land.
Chairman Scherr opened and closed public comment, as there were none.
Commissioner McQueeney believed this was a straightforward application. She was happy to see that,
based on the lack of comments of concern,that people were generally supportive. Based on the presentation and
the standards, she supported the application.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry concurred with Commissioner McQueeney and expressed her support.
Chairman Scherr agreed with his fellow commissioners and staff that the application met the standards of
approval with conditions.
Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to approve the file no.ZS-9114-2020 with conditions 1-4,
incorporating staff's findings because this application, as conditioned, meets the standards for approval of a
Special Use Permit.
Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. •
O
There being no further busine ; b d,the meeting was adjourned until September 21,2021.
Attest,: � oo :///fi
Cle to the Board rman
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