HomeMy WebLinkAbout20120231.tiff WELD COUNTY FEDERAL MINERAL LEASE DISTRICT
November 14, 2011
Members present:
Dave Long, President
Bruce White
Travis DePorter
Also present:
Pat Pershichino, Department of Public Works
Janet Carter, Department of Public Works
Trevor Jiricek, Department of Planning Services/Environmental Health
Mark Thomas, Department of Public Health and Environment
Bruce Barker,County Attorney
Present by phone conference:
Donald Warden,Weld County Budget Director
CALL TO ORDER:
Dave Long, President, called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.
APPROVE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 26,2011:
By motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of October 26, 2011 were approved
unanimously.
2012 BUDGET HEARING AND APPROVAL
Donald Warden, Weld County Budget Director, stated the notice for this public hearing to
consider the 2012 budget was posted on November 7, 2011, to meet Colorado statutory requirements.
He stated the recommended budget includes revenue for both 2011 and 2012, with expenditures
included only for 2012. He stated the Board will be spending the monies one year in arrears in order to
be certain of the amount available for funding. Therefore the budget,as presented, includes revenue of
$845,882 received in 2011, as well as $850,000 estimated to be received in 2012. Expenditures are
included for administrative costs for the district, with $840,000 in contract payments, for a total of
$845,882.
There being no questions from board members, President Long opened the public hearing. No
one was present to speak;therefore,the public hearing was closed.
Mr.Warden stated action is needed on two resolutions. The first,to adopt the budget for 2012,
and the second,to appropriate the necessary funds.
By motion duly made and seconded, the 2012 Budget was unanimously adopted as
recommended.
By motion duly made and seconded, the Resolution to Appropriate Sums of Money was
unanimously approved.
2012-0231
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PRESENTATIONS FOR FUNDING REQUESTS:
Public Works Haul Routes Program. Janet Carter, Engineer II, Department of Public Works,
stated Weld County Public Works maintains over 2,300 miles of gravel roads in unincorporated Weld
County. With a total of 3,330 miles of road, there has been considerable impact on roadways from the
oil and gas industry, namely because of heavy truck traffic and constantly moving locations. Ms. Carter
showed pictures of damage that is typical on the roadways. She stated the negative impacts include
dust issues without meeting trigger points, structural stability problems, and increased maintenance
requirements. She stated departmental staff members have been working closely with oil and gas
industry officials and have,consequently, identified the primary haul routes for Weld County, which will
be developed over time to help mitigate the problems. She stated staff considered oil and gas wells
which are currently permitted or producing, citizen complaints,traffic volumes, and percentage of truck
traffic on the roads. Ms. Carter reviewed the eight projects which will be completed in 2012,stating the
structural stability of the roads will be increased,the maintenance costs will be reduced, and a proactive
measure to account for dust pollution has been provided by the County. She stated Public Works will
pay for 20 percent of the projects with HARP funds in order to complete the projects.
Responding to questions from President Long, Ms. Carter stated the map of haul routes will be
updated soon, to include current projects. Pat Persichino, Director of Public Works, stated staff will be
working on updates this year and, as traffic volumes and permits are monitored, more routes can be
identified and included on the map.
Public Health Water Testing Program. Trevor Jiricek, Director, Department of Planning
Services/Environmental Health, stated the request is for a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer, at
an approximate cost of$156,000,to allow the Department of Public Health and Environment to conduct
analysis on groundwater samples. He stated this would allow citizens to have water sampled at a
reasonable cost, which would benefit individuals living in those areas near oil and gas wells by assuring
whether there are negative impacts to water wells.
Mark Thomas, Chemist, Department of Public Health and Environment, reviewed the fees
currently in place, and stated the department will charge$250 for a drilling baseline package. He stated
the method has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and reviewed the eighty-six
compounds that will be detected with this machine. He stated the test takes approximately one-half
hour, and purchase would be according to the Weld County bid process. Responding to Mr. White, Mr.
Thomas stated the department will collect all samples to ensure the appropriate technique is followed.
Mr. Jiricek stated staff would also then be able to vouch for the chain of custody of the sample. He
stated there is a science to even collecting the sample; therefore, only trained technicians could collect
them. Responding to Mr. DePorter, Mr. Jiricek stated several employees are currently qualified to
collect samples. He also stated the instrument could be used for samples from other municipalities and
jurisdictions within the county, making a secondary benefit. Mr. Thomas indicated training will be
provided by the appropriate vendor after purchase.
In summary, Mr.Jiricek stated the instrument will minimize potential impacts by validating any
question of contamination to groundwater, as well as conduct initial gas screening for methane gas.
Responding to further questions, Mr. Thomas stated the Gas Spectrometer has a life of approximately
20 years, the four-year maintenance costs have been included in the fees, and operator time is minimal
because the technician can perform other duties while the sample is being tested. He further stated the
required power, extra cooling, etc. is already built into the department, therefore, a two or three day
procedure is all that will be necessary in order to clean out and calibrate the instrument.
Responding to questions from Mr.White, Mr.Warden reviewed his recommendation of funding
$50,000 per year for three years. He stated that, although the Board cannot fund future amounts, the
first year can be funded with the intent to fund the additional two years. He also stated approval of this
request would convey the intent to the Department of the Interior that projects than roads will be
considered for funding.
Mr. White stated he is in favor of this project, and President Long stated it gives confidence to
the public.
CONSIDER FUNDING APPROVALS FOR 2012:
Mr. Warden recommended the board consider $790,000 for haul routes and $5O,000 for Gas
Spectrometer, and stated any administrative costs not spent will be carried over to 2013. President
Long reiterated the request from Public Works is more than the board has available; however, the
department will fund the remainder. For future requests, a local match or in-kind contribution can be
included.
On motion duly made and seconded, the motion to fund $50,000 for the Department of Public
Health and Environment (with a three-year intent), and $790,000 for haul route projects for the
Department of Public Works was approved unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Mr. Warden stated he will work with the County Attorney to draft the two Intergovernmental
Agreements for the Boards approval at the next meeting. He suggested January 9, 2012,and stated that
date could be the first quarterly meeting for 2012.
NEXT MEETING DATE:
The board agreed on January 9, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.; however, Mr. White stated he may need to
either have the alternate attend,or telephone conference in for the meeting.
ADJOURN:
President Long adjourned the meeting at 4:15 p.m.
The above and foregoing minutes were p nted for approval on the 9t day of January, 2012.
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David E. Long, President
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