HomeMy WebLinkAbout20083064.tiff RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
MINUTES
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
NOVEMBER 17, 2008
The Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, met in regular session in full conformity
with the laws of the State of Colorado at the regular place of meeting in the Weld County Centennial
Center, Greeley, Colorado, November 17, 2008, at the hour of 9:00 a.m.
ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by the Chair and on roll call the following members were
present, constituting a quorum of the members thereof:
Commissioner William H. Jerke, Chair
Commissioner Robert D. Masden, Pro-Tem
Commissioner William F. Garcia
Commissioner David E. Long
Commissioner Douglas Rademacher
Also present:
County Attorney, Bruce T. Barker
Acting Clerk to the Board, Jennifer VanEgdom
Director of Finance and Administration, Donald D. Warden
MINUTES: Commissioner Long moved to approve the minutes of the Board of County Commissioners
meeting of November 12, 2008, as printed. Commissioner Rademacher seconded the motion, and it
carried unanimously.
CERTIFICATION OF HEARINGS: Commissioner Garcia moved to approve the Certification of Hearings
conducted on November 12, 2008, as follows: 1) USR #1669 - Kelly and Sally Harmon; and
2)USR#1670-Lowell-Paul Dairy, Inc.,c/o Northern Colorado Disposal. Commissioner Masden seconded
the motion, which carried unanimously.
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA: There were no amendments to the agenda.
PUBLIC INPUT: No public input was given.
CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Rademacher moved to approve the Consent Agenda as printed.
Commissioner Masden seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
PRESENTATIONS:
RECOGNITION OF SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES - BARBARA BURNS: Chair
Jerke read the certificate into the record, recognizing Barbara Burns for 32 years of service with the
Department of Human Services. Judy Griego, Director, Department of Human Services,stated Ms. Burns
has been a mainstay for the Fiscal Division of the Department and she expressed her appreciation to
Ms. Burns for her dedication. Ms. Burns indicated she has enjoyed her employment with the County.
Chair Jerke expressed his appreciation to Ms. Burns for her long-time service, and indicated it is
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encouraging that employees such as herself have helped to create a continuity of service for the citizens
of Weld County.
COMMISSIONER COORDINATOR REPORTS: There were no Commissioner Coordinator Reports.
NEW BUSINESS:
CONSIDER REVISIONS TO FEE SCHEDULES FOR FEES COLLECTED BY WELD COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT: Trevor Jiricek, Department of Public Health
and Environment, stated a majority of the revisions were previously presented within a work session, and
he is available to answer any questions regarding the fees. In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Jiricek
indicated there are people present today who would like to comment on the proposed fee changes for
biosolids.
Tim Larsen, Liquid Waste Management, stated he would like for staff to provide the reasoning and
justification for the proposed biosolids fee increase, especially since he believes the fees are already fairly
pricy. Responding to Chair Jerke, Mr. Jiricek indicated the fee of$375.00, per quarter section, has been
in effect for the past six or seven years. Further responding to Chair Jerke, Mr. Larsen indicated his
company applies for permits on the assumption that half of the ground of any given field is fallow, and half
of the ground is planted in crop, therefore, the company usually only land-applies to approximately half of
the permitted area. He clarified the company also permits additional percentages of land in order to
provide for a buffer to other farmers and to accommodate weather conditions. He indicated the company
currently pays the fee for up to approximately three times as many acres as are actually applied on. He
stated Weld County assesses the fee on a per-acre basis; however, other entities, including the State of
Colorado, assess the fee on a dry per-ton basis. In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Larsen indicated the
number of deliveries to a specific field varies greatly within a given season; however, he estimated the
number of trips to be between 40 and 60 for each 80-acre parcel, for an overall average of 50 trips. He
further stated the company is currently hauling a majority of liquid matter; however, the company will
continue to increase hauling de-watered matter, which will reduce the overall amount of trips each year.
Chair Jerke indicated at an average of 50 trips per field, the current fee of $375.00 equates to
approximately$7.00 per trip, and the proposed fee of$500.00 will equate to approximately$10.00 per trip.
In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Larsen stated the mileage for each delivery varies dramatically, anywhere
between six miles one-way, up to sixty miles one-way, depending on the location of the site and where the
product is being hauled from. Chair Jerke indicated he is trying to understand the relative cost for the
hauler and/or farmer, as opposed to the raw costs associated with transport, in order to determine if the
proposed costs could be considered as exorbitant. Mr. Larsen expressed his apologies for not being able
to provide better statistics, and indicated he does not know what the exact rate should be. He stated he
has compared the costs against Adams County, with a fee structure based upon a per-ton basis, and due
the difference of fees, it is hard to come up with an exact cost for services. Responding to Commissioner
Rademacher, Mr. Larsen indicated a majority of his business is conducted within Weld County, and his
biggest concern regarding the fees is the transportation cost. He requested the Board continue the matter
so further discussion and analyzation may take place before the Board approves any changes. He clarified
the fee rate which he currently pays within Weld County is almost double the rate which is charged by the
State of Colorado. Commissioner Masden indicated a majority of Mr. Larsen's business is conducted
within Weld County, therefore, the majority of the miles traveled by the delivery trucks are within Weld
County as well. In response to Commissioner Masden, Mr. Larsen stated his company hauls to
approximately 45 municipalities along the Front Range.
Paul Ferguson, Metro Waste Water, indicated he agrees with Mr. Larsen, and requested the Board
continue the matter to a later date so that additional discussion may take place. He indicated
approximately one-third of his business is conducted within Weld County, and he also permits
approximately double the acreage of what is actually land-applied on a yearly basis. He indicated he
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Page 2 BC0016
believes the fee increase will force a lot of the farmers within Weld County to stop utilizing his business,
which is a harsh situation for such an agricultural county. He further indicated he will be precluded from
permitting additional acres, which will reduce the financial feasibility of the permit program. He stated he
has worked with Mr. Jiricek regarding the regulations and fees; however, if the fee is increased, he will
have to decrease the number of acres on which he land-applies within Weld County. He clarified the
distance traveled by the delivery trucks varies between 35 and 104 miles each way; however, most of the
miles are traveled on lnterstates or State Highways, and very few miles are traveled on County Roads.
He stated the company is required to repair any County Roads which are damaged as a result of the
hauling, and he is not aware of any roads which have had to be fixed by his company. Responding to
Commissioner Rademacher, Mr. Ferguson indicated his company has no ability to raise fees in order to
pass the cost on to the various municipalities. Further responding to Commissioner Rademacher,
Mr. Larsen indicated he has very limited ability to raise fees; however, most of the municipalities are very
tight with the funds due to the recent economic situation. He confirmed any additional costs will eventually
be passed on to the farmers, which has not been done in the past. Mr. Ferguson indicated his company
just increased the fees to farmers beginning in October, 2008; however, the increase does not even cover
the necessary fuel costs to haul the product to the farmers. Responding to Chair Jerke, Mr. Ferguson
confirmed the fees charged to farmers are calculated on a sliding scale, and a fuel surcharge was added
this past October to try and recover some of the fuel costs. He clarified his fees are$8.00 per acre for dry
land, and $12.00 per acre for irrigated land, with a two percent surcharge on the total mileage to recover
fuel costs. He further clarified the sliding fee scale is a real bargain for farmers within Weld County.
Luke Bonn, Parker Ag Services, LLC, indicated he also hauls a limited amount of biosolids within Weld
County, and he concurred with the statements presented by both Mr. Larsen and Mr. Ferguson. He stated
he was not provided with adequate time to review the proposed changes and create a proposal to share
with the Commissioners. He requested the matter be continued so that the fees may be discussed in
depth. Chair Jerke indicated the proposed fee changes have been in the works for several weeks,
therefore, he is surprised that the companies feel like they have not had enough time to review the
changes. Mr. Bonn indicated he has been aware of the regulatory changes, and he was only made aware
of the fee increase proposals less than two weeks ago. Mr. Jiricek clarified he provided e-mail notification
over six weeks ago to the five businesses who complete the most land applications within Weld County.
He indicated Mr. Bonn was not a part of the e-mail group; however, he did provide an e-mail to Dave
Corliss, who works for the same company. Mr. Larsen clarified the regulations have recently been
adjusted and the group was looking into the option of trying to modify the fee from a per-acre charge to
a per-ton charge, which is consistent with most of the surrounding counties. He further clarified if his
company is able to pay the fee for the actual amount of land application, it will make more sense and be
more economical. He stated the potential fee change was not discussed until after all the regulation
changes were discussed.
Responding to Chair Jerke, Don Warden, Director of Finance and Administration, stated amendments to
the fees charged by the County are finalized through the Ordinance process; however,these specific fees
are mandated by the State, therefore, the Board is permitted to amend these fees by Resolution. He
clarified the amended fees become effective as of January 1, 2009, therefore, these particular fee
amendments must be confirmed no later than December 31, 2008. In response to Commissioner
Rademacher, Mr. Jiricek indicated price and cost statistics have been provided by several of the
companies within the past two weeks. He clarified Adams County charges a flat fee of$375.00, plus$1.25
per-dry-ton applied, and if Weld County were to adopt this procedure, the revenue would be reduced by
approximately two-thirds, which is a significant reduction. He indicated it is possible to review other
statistics and fee schedules; however, it will require time to create a revenue goal and create new figures.
Chair Jerke confirmed Mr. Warden has indicated that a short amount of time exists before the fees must
be finalized, therefore, he suggested continuing the matter for a couple of weeks in order to conduct an
additional work session. Upon conferring with the Acting Clerk to the Board, Commissioner Masden
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moved to continue the matter to December 10, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Rademacher seconded
the motion. Chair Jerke indicated a work session will be scheduled, and he requested that the
representatives present today provide their contact information to staff in order to receive notification of
the scheduled work session. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
CONSIDER STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: Cyndy Giauque,
Assistant County Attorney, stated the proposed updated version of the standard form of agreement is for
independent contracting services. She stated several Departments had requested an update to the form,
and the Department of Human Resources has reviewed the form and recommends approval.
Commissioner Masden moved to approve said standard form. Seconded by Commissioner Long, the
motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING:
CONSIDER REQUEST TO WITHDRAW APPLICATION FOR USR#1464-ALFONSO BORREGO/JOSE
NIETO: Chris Gathman,Department of Planning Services,stated staff received a request from Jose Nieto,
current property owner, to vacate Use by Special Review Permit #1464. He indicated the permit was
approved in 2004 for an oil and gas support service facility, which was never constructed, and staff
supports the vacation request. In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Gathman confirmed the previous property
owner did not move forward with the project, and has since sold the property to Mr. Nieto. Commissioner
Garcia moved to approve said request to withdraw. Seconded by Commissioner Long, the motion carried
unanimously.
SECOND READING OF WELD COUNTY CODE ORDINANCE #2008-16, IN THE MATTER OF
REPEALING AND REENACTING, WITH AMENDMENTS, CHAPTER 23 ZONING, OF THE WELD
COUNTY CODE: Commissioner Garcia moved to read Ordinance #2008-16 by title only. Seconded by
Commissioner Masden, the motion carried unanimously. Bruce Barker, County Attorney, read said title
into the record. Mr. Gathman stated two minor revisions have been made since the first reading, including
a revision to the table within Section 23-4-450, to indicate the third designation of lot size to be five (5)
acres and above, instead of the limitation of 34.99 acres. He further stated Paragraph M within the same
section was deleted. Mr. Barker indicated a small clerical error exists within Paragraph B, and the word
"to" needs to be inserted after the words"..for Wind Generator are subject...". No testimony was provided
concerning the matter. Commissioner Rademacher moved to approve Ordinance #2008-16 on second
reading, as amended by Mr. Barker. Seconded by Commissioner Masden, the motion carried
unanimously.
CONSIDER PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING CONCERNING USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT AND
AMENDED USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT #1493 - COPART, INC./STEPHAN BRANCUCCI:
Jacqueline Hatch, Department of Planning Services, stated Use by Special Review Permit #1493 was
approved in March, 2005, and an amendment to the permit was approved in September, 2006, for a
commerical junkyard and salvage yard. She stated the site is 60 acres in size, is located west of County
Road 27 and north of County Road 4, and she read the legal description into the record. She clarified the
Probable Cause hearing has been scheduled to determine if the site is in full compliance with the
Conditions of Approval and Development Standards of the permits, or, if it is necessary to schedule a
Show Cause hearing to consider revocation of the permits. She indicated an inspection completed on
August 7, 2008, by representatives of the Department of Public Works, confirmed that the stormwater on
the site was not appropriately handled. She further indicated staff met with representatives of Copart, Inc.,
on August 28, 2008, and determined at that meeting that the detention pond and outlet structure on the
site would be constructed in accordance with the original construction plans, before the date of
September 30, 2008. Ms. Hatch stated the property was inspected again on September 24, 2008,at which
time staff determined the site was not in compliance, and granted a continuance until October 31, 2008,
for the necessary construction work to be completed. She indicated Copart representatives provided
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Page 4 BC0016
revised Drainage Plans and signed drainage easements to the Department of Public Works,and indicated
the signed easement would be recorded by October 31, 2008. She further stated staff inspected the site
again on October 31, 2008, and discovered that no construction work had begun on the site. She clarified
the representatives have provided the mylar plat to be recorded; however, it cannot be recorded at this
time since there are Conditions of Approval which have not yet been completed. Ms. Hatch displayed
photographs of the site, and in response to Chair Jerke, she indicated the photographs depict damage to
a surrounding property resulting from the un-contained storm runoff which originated on the Copart site.
She clarified the plans for the drainage facilities must be approved by the Department of Public Works,and
upon approval, representatives will be able to record the mylar plat. She read Condition of Approval #4
into the record, indicating the plat was to be recorded within thirty (30)days from the date of the Board's
Resolution, and indicated a late recording fee of$400.00 will be assessed. She indicated the Department
of Planning Services recommends a Show Cause hearing be set for December 31, 2008.
In response to Chair Jerke,Clay Kimme, Department of Public Works, indicated the inspections completed
at the site were in response to the complaints provided to the Department by the Cottonwood Ski Club, an
adjacent property owner, and he confirmed there were significant drainage concerns on the site during the
inspections which had the potential to damage surrounding properties.
In response to Mr. Barker, Mr. Kimme clarified he met with representatives of Copart on several occasions
to discuss the schedule of the construction activities to occur on the site. He confirmed construction has
now begun on the site, and 200 feet of storm sewer pipe has been installed. He indicated according to
the construction schedule provided, and weather permitting, the construction activities on the site should
be completed by the middle of December, 2008. Further responding to Mr. Barker, Mr. Kimme confirmed
the representatives have provided the construction plans to the Department; however, one minor change
needs to be enacted. He clarified the plans include construction of a stormsewer line through a
neighboring property, and into the right-of-way drainage easement along U.S. Highway 85, controlled by
the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), as well as the construction of a drainage pond and
side swales along three sides of the property. In response to Mr. Barker, Mr. Kimme indicated the
drainage pond will contain a concrete wall, which will be poured over the current corrugated metal pipe,
to prevent future drainage from coming into contact with the property owned by the ski club, and the
current schedule indicates the construction will be completed by the week of December 19, 2008.
In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Kimme reiterated the stormwater will cross over private property through
approved drainage easements and will flow into the drainage ditch along U.S. Highway 85, which is
controlled by CDOT. He further stated the flows will be released at the five-year historic rate, and by law,
CDOT must accept the drainage since it is the natural historic flow. Mr. Kimme indicated the placement
of the drainage easements and the proposed pond on the map provided, and stated the current drainage
ditch will be terminated since the company will not be developing the adjacent southern parcel within the
near future. Responding to Commissioner Rademacher, Mr. Kimme indicated he is unsure if the original
detention pond was inspected upon completion; however, he confirmed the original detention pond was
not constructed to the specified size. Mr. Barker indicated he has been working with Glen Droegemueller,
Attorney, and other representatives of Copart, and he confirmed he has been provided with everything he
has requested of them; however, there have been some construction delays due to the hurricane in
Houston, Texas, which wiped out the residence of the company's President. He indicated he is satisfied
the company will complete all construction activities within the timeframe proposed, and he recommended
the matter be continued to a date in Spring, 2009. He indicated staff would like to make sure that the
improvements are adequate before the season of rainstorms which produce runoff.
Mr. Droegemueller indicated he represents Copart, Inc., and stated the company recognizes the two large
storm events this past summer were bigger than anticipated. He indicated there have been issues
regarding construction, specifically the size of the detention pond, which have been discussed with staff,
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and he confirmed the original pond was not constructed immediately following the approval of the permit.
He clarified Copart believes it is imperative that no stormwater flow onto the property of the ski club, and
the site has been re-designed in order to allow the water to flow across Mr. Brennan's property instead.
He further indicated adjustments were necessary due to the gas line located on the property, and an
easement was obtained from Mr. Brennan, as well as an easement to cross the corner of the property
owned by the ski club. He confirmed both of the easements have been finalized and recorded, and
Mr. Barker has a copy of the easements. He indicated it was not proper for Copart to commence
construction activities until the easements were recorded. Mr. Droegemueller indicated construction
activities are now underway, and the contractor has indicated that if the warm weather continues, the
construction may be completed before December 19, 2008. He requested that the Probable Cause
hearing be continued to sometime after the end of the year, in order to allow a progress report to be made
at that time. He reiterated the contractor is working as quickly as possible to complete the proposed
stormwater line and detention pond, as approved by Public Works staff.
Mr. Droegemueller indicated the southern parcel, approximately seven aces in size, will not be developed
at this time due to the uncertainty within the economy. He indicated Copart would like to fence the
perimeter of the site, for security purposes, and the fence can be constructed within the next three weeks.
He confirmed the interior fencing at the site will remain in place, so that there is no access to the southern
parcel. He further stated Copart is willing to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding which indicates
no development or use of the southern property will occur until the necessary improvements are completed
on the site. He stated the existing site is being designed to direct the drainage to a swale along the
western edge of the property in order to flow into the detention pond. He further stated a berm will be
constructed along the southern parcel so that stormwater runoff will not flow from the site improperly. He
confirmed the site contains a large amount of sandy soil right below the surface, and the berming on the
site will prevent water from reaching the property of the ski club. He indicated Mr. Kimme has requested
that the company give 30 days notice prior to construction of the improvements, at which time Copart, Inc.
is willing to provide a bond as collateral for the Improvements Agreement. He reiterated his request for
the Probable Cause hearing to be continued, and for the provision of a Memorandum of Understanding
to address the specifics of the deferred development of the southern parcel.
Responding to Commissioner Masden, Mr. Droegemueller indicated CDOT has been contacted, and has
been on-site to review the plans to be constructed. He indicated due to the historic flow on the site caused
runoff to naturally flow to the right-of-way controlled by CDOT, and he confirmed the release of the
stormwater drainage will not exceed the historic rate. In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Droegemueller
indicated Chris Strong is the engineer for the project, and he confirmed the original engineering firm is no
longer involved with Copart. Responding to Commissioner Rademacher, Mr. Kimme confirmed the
stormwater plans are adequate for the site,with the lines carrying 4.5 cubic feet of water per second, and
the detention pond is approximately four acres in size. In response to Chair Jerke, Mr. Kimme indicated
the water on the site will be detained, which will prevent the formation of a gulley on the site. No public
testimony was provided regarding the matter.
Ms. Hatch clarified staff recommends the required collateral be held until the improvements on the
southern site are completed. Responding to Chair Jerke, Mr. Barker indicated the collateral may be
addressed within a Memorandum of Agreement. He indicated several USR permits currently have
outstanding work to be completed because the permit holders have cut back on construction activities due
to the current economy. He stated he does not believe it is fair to require the company to provide collateral
for an empty property. He clarified collateral is usually collected when construction activities begin on the
site, therefore, an agreement can be worked out with Copart. Chair Jerke indicated a request has been
made to continue the matter until Spring, 2009; however, he believes a hearing will need to be held fairly
early in the Spring so that staff may ensure all the necessary improvements have been completed before
the rainy season begins. Upon conferring with the Acting Clerk to the Board, Commissioner Garcia moved
Minutes, November 17, 2008 2008-3064
Page 6 BC0016
continue the matter to March 30, 2009,at 9:00 a.m. Seconded by Commissioner Rademacher,the motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES: The resolutions were presented and signed as listed on the
Consent Agenda. Ordinance #2008-16 was approved on second reading.
Let the minutes reflect that the above and foregoing actions were attested to and respectfully submitted
by the Acting Clerk to the Board.
There being no further business, this meeting was adjourned at 10:05 a.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: Mid) j 4 %
' iam H. Jerke, Chair
Weld County Clerk to the Board 361 "Ct , iai
/Th. `4F `� � -- kf
\ , C obert D. Ma de , Pro-Tem
Depu Clerk o the Board i I
Willi F. Garcia
David E. Long
Douglas ademacher
Minutes, November 17, 2008 2008-3064
Page 7 BC0016
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