HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10/03/2023 PUBLIC HEARING
October 3, 2023
Present: Kathy Chandler-Henry Chairman
Matt Scherr Commissioner
Jeanne McQueeney Commissioner
Mike Nugent Chief Strategy Officer
Regina O'Brien Clerk&Recorder
This being a scheduled Public Hearing,the following items were presented to the Board of County
Commissioners for their consideration:
Constituent Input
Chairman Chandler-Henry opened and closed constituent input, as there was none.
Commissioner Updates
Commissioner Scherr had no updates.
Commissioner Chandler Henry reminded the public that the county was in the process of the ECG Airport
Master plan. She encouraged folks to take a look at all things airport and provide public comment at
www.egemasterplan.com. Public comment would remain open until October 18th.
Commissioner McQueeney encouraged people to"look before you book"to see if flights were cheaper out
of Eagle than Denver. She recently booked her Christmas flight, and it was less expensive out of Eagle than
Denver.
County Manager Updates
Mike Nugent stated that he had no updates.
Business Item
1. Agreement for Professional Services Between Eagle County and EFFCT 2023
Maria Gonzalez,Public&Environmental Health
Executive Summary: The Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council will be increasing community awareness of
resources available to prevent or reduce the harm of substance use,while reducing stigma around opioid use and
treatment access. Concurrently, an increased understanding of signs and symptoms of use, as well as overdose
prevention,will be promoted through the development and implementation of a broad marketing campaign. The
research, development and roll out of this campaign will occur over a 2-year time period. Eagle County serves as
the fiscal agent for the Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council.
Heath Harmon,Eagle County Public Health Director, spoke. He provided a brief overview of the
significance of the contract and what they hope to achieve with it. The contract was for an anti-stigma and
education campaign to reduce the number of substance abuse related deaths and to encourage folks to reach out
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for help. This campaign would build upon state-level campaigns and amplify some common messages. The
contractor would come to Region 5 to meet with local partners and community members. This was a$300,000
contract over two years. This was not exclusive to opioids,but rather all substance use or misuse, decrease
stigma,and help people find resources.
Chairman Chandler-Henry asked where the funding was coming from.
Mr. Harmon stated that the funding was coming from opioid settlement dollars which had been
distributed to 15 different regions in the state through the Attorney's General office.
Chairman Chandler-Henry asked if Mr. Harmon had a feel for what Eagle County looked like as a county
as far as opioid and other substance abuse issues,deaths, or problems.
Mr. Harmon stated that the state and Eagle County use substances more than other states. We have higher
levels of use which makes it challenging. Opioid specific data was difficult to determine because information
comes third hand;there's not a good way to capture the information. Over the past five years,there had been an
average of three to four overdose deaths per year.
Commissioner McQueeney thanked Mr. Harmon for his participation on this regional council.
Commissioner Scherr asked if this was a public process or if decisions were made by Region 5 council.
Mr. Harmon stated that the process would start before the end of the year. The council was just a starting
point and made up of county entities or county departments from each of the five counties. It was hard to say
how deep the council would get into the community at this time,but they did want to invite community members
in to help guide and shape the process.
Commissioner McQueeey moved to approve the Agreement for Professional Services Between Eagle
County and EFFCT 2023.
Commissioner Scherr seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Open Space Funding Update
1. East Vail Bighorn Sheep Conservation Project Discussion
Marcia Gilles, Open Space and Natural Resources
Executive Summary:
The Open Space Advisory Committee met on 9/11/2023 with Town of Vail representatives and Eagle County Open
Space staff to discuss the Town's request for 5 million dollars in Open Space Funds to assist with the Town's
condemnation acquisition and conservation of the 23-acre bighorn sheep habitat in Booth Heights. The Town of
Vail owns an additional 124 acres also mapped as bighorn sheep habitat,zoned Natural Area Preservation and
designed as Town open space,which the Town seeks to place under a conservation easement along with the Booth
Heights parcel. The Town has asked Eagle County to hold the conservation easement on the combined 147 acres;
however,the County is not willing to hold the conservation easement. OSAC did not provide a recommendation on
the terms and conditions of or the holder of the conservation easement. OSAC voted to recommend to the Board of
County Commissioners funding of up to$5 million in Open Space Funds for the acquisition of the Booth Height
property and conservation of the 147 acres as the property meets moderate to high conservation criteria,but
recognized the current legal issues could create some political considerations for the County Commissioners. The
purpose of the October 3, 2023 meeting is for County Open Space staff to present OSAC's recommendation of the
147-acre open space,project,review outstanding due diligence items, and discuss County process; and for Town
staff to present the Town's funding request. The Board will consider the OSAC recommendation and the Town's
funding request,but does not intend to make a decision on the funding request or the amount of any funding at this
meeting.
Marcia Gilles,Eagle County Open Space Natural Resource Director introduced Town of Vail(TOV)Mayor
Kim Langmade and Russ Forest of the Town of Vail Manager's office. She presented an overview of the property.
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A 23 acre portion was currently owned by Vail Resorts and an additional 123.56 acres was currently owned by the
TOV; this would make the project 147 acres in total with a conservation easement on the entire acreage. There
were other partners that the TOV was seeking funding sources through fundraising. She showed a map of the
property. The zoning on parcels 2&9 consisted of natural area preservation. A conservation easement would add
an extra layer of protection. She provided an Open Space Advisory Committee(OSAC) overview. This group of
seven committee members provided recommendations to the board. The OSAC had a diverse representation of
different perspectives, and they were charged with determining if the project met the conservation requirements.
She reviewed the six(6)criteria that the OSAC uses, and the recommendation was high based on this criteria.
Staff's recommendation was high as well.
Commissioner Scherr believed that the applicant, TOV, was the higher power with regards to politics. He
believed this was a valuable open space consideration,but the price was a tough one. He did not believe the TOV
had contributed anything, the citizens of Eagle County had and some were TOV residents. Open Space for the
county was purely a non-political county consideration with no political boundaries, and the open space itself
belonged to all of Eagle County. He reiterated that this was a valuable open space consideration and supported that,
but he wanted to get through the formalities before making a decision to maintain the integrity of open space.
Chairman Chandler-Henry asked what other due diligence needed to happen.
Ms. Gilles stated that beyond the appraisal,the other due diligence remaining was the conservation
easement terms, access,habitat improvements, etc.which still needed to be drafted.
Chairman Chandler-Henry thanked the Town of Vail for bringing forward an open space parcel to ECG and
OSAC. She reiterated that they look at open space throughout the county, and this has been challenging in the
eastern part of the county. There was a general agreement,but they were not ready to take action yet as due
diligence items needed to be flushed out.
Commissioner McQueeney stated that the reputation of OSAC was under attack in this expedited process.
The board was getting inundated with emails and the reputation of OSAC should be removed from this. She felt the
board needed to wait until the TOV was the owner of the property,all the contingencies were worked out,the
appraisals were in, and protection of bighorn sheep. She felt that they should stay away from the 5 acres that was
approved for housing and look at all the open space in the surrounding area. She felt$5 million was very high for
the number of acres.
Mayor Langmaid thanked the board for its leadership,the OSAC, and Director Gilles. She stated that there
was a sense of urgency and the price was high. As of last night they received$875,000 from 473 donors over 13
days. This work would continue as there was a larger goal and long-term plan for more educational awareness,
habitat restoration, and stewardship. TOV had considered this as a precious piece of open space, and it was
important to add the extra parcels, 2 and 9,on the map. Parcel 2 was access to the"production"area and Parcel 9
was where the rams hang out in the winter. The Town had been proactively doing habitat restoration on their land.
CDOT had put up a new fence. She believed that all of these efforts show that this is an important piece of open
space.
Mr. Forest expressed his thanks to everyone for completing the due diligence.
Chairman Chandler-Henry stated that the applicant could take away a clear indication of the board's
willingness to collaborate and follow OSAC's recommendation of up to $5 million dollars as everyone works
through the process.
Jeff Shroll,Eagle County Manager,thanked Mr. Forest for his time. He said that the county had a long
term partnership with the TOV on this and other projects such as transportation, and he looked forward to these
partnerships.
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Work Session - Eagle County Room
1. Eagle County Evacuation Planning Update
Birch Barron Emergency Management
Executive Summary: An update will be provided to the Eagle County Commissioners on countywide evacuation
planning efforts,roles&responsibilities,traffic management, and the proposed I-70 interchange in east Gypsum.
Presenters will include Eagle County Emergency Management,the Eagle County Sheriffs Office,Eagle County
Road&Bridge, and Eagle County Engineering.
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There being no further business be -.,• r ,the meeting was adjourned until October 10,2023.
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Attest: 1z414 u m2.
Clerk to the Boarder Chairman
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