County Commissioners Ponder Topics Ranging From Pass Access, Mt. Morris Lode Sale, All Hazards Team

by Jodi Linsey

Hinsdale County Commissioners met for their third regular meeting of the month on Wednesday, October 29. Following are highlights on a wide-ranging topics during the open discussion portion of the workshop touching on subjects ranging from conditions on Cinnamon and Engineer Passes to PILT funding.
Commissioner Robert Hurd led a discussion about two recent incidents involving out of state visitors getting stuck on top of Engineer Pass in a couple of feet of snow. Both of theses parties accessed the pass from the Animas Forks side. According to County Administrator Sandy Hines, the county has received calls and comments suggesting that the gates located on the pass roads that are closed and locked during winter months be locked now, although Hines pointed out that there are still hunters and recreationalists as well as property owners accessing the high country beyond the gates.
Commissioner Kristie Borchers had multiple items to report, including upcoming sampling at the Ute-Ulay Mine complex that is owned by the county. She stated that during some routine clean-up, antique transformers were discovered in an overgrown area and that the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will conduct testing to determine if they pose an environmental danger.
Borchers reported Hinsdale County Marketing Committee has received six proposals in response to its Request for Proposals (RFPs) for a one-year contract for a Marketing Consultant. Of those six proposals, there were two local people or companies, one with close local ties, one from Salida, Colorado, and two larger marketing companies. The RFP follows the declination of Kate Hopson to renew her contract with the Marketing Committee after her five-year tenure in that position.
Catching up on housing news, Borchers spoke about the county’s commitment to the ongoing Affordable Housing Project by working to obtain a grant to pay for the hiring and two years’ salary of a Housing Coordinator. She will also pursue other funding sources to reduce the county’s costs for the project while obtaining buy-in from other local institutions.
There was further discussion on topics from the potential loss of SNAP benefits for the 27 local families currently relying on them, to AlpineLoop.org, to the loss of highway cameras in Powderhorn and on Spring Creek Pass.
The regular workshop agenda began with recent flooding in the Upper Piedra area in the South End of Hinsdale County, with County Emergency Manager Phil Graham reporting on the possibility of residents receiving State and Federal Emergency Funds. In the following regular meeting, the Commissioners ratified the Emergency Declaration that was verbally declared by the County Administrator on Monday, October 20.
Next on the agenda was discussion about Emergency Medical Services Director Katherine Heidt’s employment contract, with some minor changes in language approved by county attorney Michael O’Laughlin and yearly compensation of $75,600. In the following meeting they unanimously approved the contract.
Brad Jones has been nominated by Sheriff Denim Starnes to be Hinsdale County’s official alternate to sit on the Gunnison Hinsdale Combined Emergency Telephone Service Authority (GHCETSA), which is the authority regulating the 911 system in the local jurisdiction. The Commissioners readily approved Jones for this position in the following meeting.
The Commissioners next took up the matter of the finalization of the sale of Lot 2 of the Mt. Morris Lode Subdivision to Josh Gray following a prolonged process including a title search to determine the surrender of the property for unpaid taxes in the 1920s. The Commissioners decided to then create a subdivision in order to protect a corner of the property that contains a short length of the popular walking trail along Henson Creek. The requirement for a Special Use Permit also complicated the timeline as the buyer, Josh Gray, first inquired about the property and is still planning on building a campground of yurts.
Phil Graham was back in front of the Commissioners to discuss the Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise Grant contract, which is a small grant that helps fund the Hinsdale County wood chipping program, an integral part of the local wildfire mitigation program. This was easily approved in the following meeting.
There followed a lively discussion about the possibility of expanding the number of participants that the county can manage from the current cap of 60 to 80 employees in the All Hazard Team Program. Following delayed state reimbursed for salary and benefit costs of the employees, the county came close to dropping the program altogether but have since worked with the state to remedy the situation. The Commissioners agreed to the increased employment ceiling during their regular meeting.
The final workshop agenda item discussed by the Commissioners was an opportunity for a JAG grant to pay for integral security infrastructure for the Sheriff’s Dept in the new County Administration Building. This agenda item was approved in the following meeting.
Following a break in the action between the workshop and the regular meeting, the Commissioners opened bids for the 2026 propane service contract. Out of the three bids received, the one receiving the winning vote was submitted by JC Propane, with a price of $1.59 per gallon for 10,000 gallons for Hinsdale County and an added benefit of $1.99 per gallon for Hinsdale County employees.
Other than the business that was introduced in the workshop and subsequently dealt with in the regular meeting, Commissioners reconvened at 1 p.m. to discuss the concessionaire fees at Deer Lakes Day Use Area. Betsy Bair of Senator Jeff Hurd’s office explained that both the county and the Senator’s offices have received complaints concerning the implementation of user fees at Deer Lakes. Following critical repairs that were paid for by U.S. Forest Service, management of the area was given to concessionaire, Recreation Resource Management, which also manages Williams Creek Campground above Lake San Cristobal. The management company has imposed new fees including a camping fee, a day use fee, and a new impact fee.
There will be another meeting in January with Senator Hurd’s office which, in the interim, will attempt to negotiate changes in the fee schedule to allow for moose viewing and fishing without extra fees.