HomeMy WebLinkAbout20141282.tiff RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
MINUTES
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
APRIL 23, 2014
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
Administration Building, Greeley, Colorado, April 23, 2014, at the hour of 9:00 a.m.
El 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 Douglas Rademacher, Chair
Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, Pro-Tem
Commissioner Sean P. Conway
Commissioner Mike Freeman
Commissioner William F. Garcia
Also present:
County Attorney, Bruce T. Barker
Acting Clerk to the Board, Susan Brown
Controller, Barbara Connolly
MINUTES: Commissioner Garcia moved to approve the minutes of the Board of County
Commissioners meeting of April 21, 2014, as printed. Commissioner Conway seconded the motion,
and it carried unanimously.
ID AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA: Commissioner Conway moved to add Item #13) under the
CONSENT AGENDA: Agreement for Construction Services on Bridges 3/42A, 13/44B, 27.5/48A,
17/50A, 54/13A Flood Repairs (Emergency Bid #B1400084) — Walsh Construction. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Garcia and it carried unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Kirkmeyer moved to approve the Consent Agenda as
amended. Commissioner Conway seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
PROCLAMATIONS:
E 1) SOIL AND WATER STEWARDSHIP WEEK - APRIL 27 - MAY 4, 2014: Chair Rademacher
read the certificate into the record. Joyce Wallace accepted the proclamation on behalf of the West
Greeley Soil Conservation District.
PRESENTATIONS:
El 1) RECOGNITION OF SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS - CHARLES LEE:
Chair Rademacher read the certificate into the record. Jay McDonald, Director of the Department of
Public Works, accepted on behalf of Mr. Lee, who was a station operator in the most remote areas of
the County for 14.5 years, and said he will be missed. The Board thanked him for taking his job
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seriously and the said County consistently received compliments from residents in the Keota/Grover
area on his work.
F 2) RECOGNITION OF SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS — DAVID BAUER:
Chair Rademacher read the certificate into the record. Commissioner Garcia said Mr. Bauer was a fine
employee, and a great help during the flood event, a time when his leadership was needed and he
stepped up and took that responsibility; he will be greatly missed. Chair Rademacher and
Commissioner Conway concurred, and said Mr. Bauer's long hours and dedication were appreciated;
he is a great engineer and served Weld County citizens for almost a decade. They noted Mr. Bauer is
spending time with his family, who are in the Board's thoughts and prayers.
F PUBLIC INPUT: No public input was given.
F COMMISSIONER COORDINATOR REPORTS: Commissioner Conway reported that water bill
1332 is being heard now by the House Appropriations Committee. He noted the efforts of
Representatives Buck and Seine are appreciated. He noted there was a Monday informational meeting
on the high water table in the Gilcrest/LaSalle area; although the bill has beenpared down to a study
on how the aquifer works, hopefully will advance today and provide needed information. Secondly, he
noted that house bill 1375, which he will testify on today, ensures that Counties have a seat at the table
when an urban renewal area (URA) is formed. He commended Representative DelGrosso, from
Loveland, for his leadership re arding transparency, and he urged the public to express support for the
bill to Representative Seine. Pi Commissioner Kirkmeyer said Weld County works very well with its
municipalities in regard to urban renewal. She went to a well-attended Windsor Chamber of Commerce
meeting last night. F Commissioner Rademacher reported that some members of the Groundwater
Coalition are upset that this is just a study and they are not yet able to use this water, but they need to
understand that "you eat an elephant one bite at a time." This will be a top Ellority of the South Platte
RoundTable starting this fall, because it is causing people real problems. Commissioner Garcia
said last Wednesday the Board had a lunch meeting with the City of Greeley after a year hiatus, and a
lot of issues were discussed. He said he hopes these meetings will resume on a somewhat regular
schedule, and he noted he spoke to the Mayor regarding the Library District. He also attended the
Government Agencies Breakfast. He thanked Jay McDonald for being available to explain the roads in
rough condition on the west side of Greeley are not in Weld County's jurisdiction. He said there was
also a meeting with the Pretrial Services Advisory Board where they expressed concern about the
bottleneck of processing over the weekend, and so some alternative solutions to that problem were
discussed. Fourth, on Friday there was a long-range conference on the plan for the Weld
County-Greeley Airport; a lot of changes have happened since the last study; there will be public
meetings to receive comments. F Commissioner Conway also referred to a community meeting in
Berthoud on the Little Thompson River; they are dealing with some huge issues in regard to flood
debris. He also went to PDC's public meeting in Kersey with the mayor and the fire district last night.
There were a lot of questions, and PDC announced their intention to come to an agreement with the
landowner and move the project farther south, farther from the school bus route and generally a safer
location. They presented their five-year plan. He again thanked Mr. McDonald for helping those
residents with information regarding flood issues.
NEW BUSINESS:
la 1) CONSIDER PETITION FOR ABATEMENT OR REFUND OF TAXES — BILL BARRETT
CORPORATION: Christopher Woodruff, Weld County Assessor, explained this is for years 2011 and
2012, for oil and gas production in the Sand Hills Metropolitan District, which certified levies via the
Board. He explained the basis of this request for abatement is pending before the Weld County
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District Court. In his opinion as Assessor, based on the fact a lot of these issues are beyond his scope,
he recommends denial pending a court decision as to whether the district's levy was Ilegal or
erroneous. F Kirk Mueller, attorney representing both Bill Barrett and Bonanza Creek, said while he
appreciates Weld County's position, he needed to explain the historical and legal basis for their petition,
which he did in some detail. Chair Rademacher concurred as to the legality of this as taxation without
representation. Commissioner Garcia asked Mr. Barker if the Board has any authority to give the relief
being requested under a petition for abatement. Mr. Barker replied in the negative, saying he looks to
this case decision to bring that information to light. Commissioner Garcia moved to deny said petition
per staffs recommendation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Conway, and it carried
unanimously. Commissioner Kirkmeyer clarified this is in regard to abatement of taxes and does not
pertain to the other issues. She said Special Districts, and notification to subsurface owners, has been
a topic of discussion by this Board for some time. Commissioner Conway concurred, and said that
within the last year several Special Districts have come before the Board and this issue was extensively
discussed.
F 2) CONSIDER PETITION FOR ABATEMENT OR REFUND OF TAXES - BONANZA CREEK
ENERGY, INC.: Mr. Woodruff stated this is virtually identical to the previous item of business; they have
been paying taxes to the district since 2009, when the district moved to the production area and then
began to tax production. Mr. Woodruff said that the statute of limitations prevents taxpayers from going
beyond two years, in response to Mr. Mueller's assertion the two companies have paid millions of
dollars in taxes to this district. Commissioner Conway moved to deny said petition, per staffs
recommendation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Freeman, and it carried unanimously.
F 3) CONSIDER AGREEMENT FOR PURCHASE OF TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION
EASEMENT FOR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO CR 61 AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN -
KEVIN AND JULIE OCHSNER: Mike Bedell, Department of Public Works, explained this agreement is
necessary for flood repairs adjacent to the landowner's property. He reviewed the location, the scope of
work, and determination of compensation (the minimum amount), and noted there will more like this
one before the Board over the coming month. Commissioner Freeman moved to approve said
agreement and authorize the Chair to sign. Commissioner Kirkmeyer seconded the motion and it
carried unanimously.
F 4) CONSIDER NONEXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THE UPGRADE AND
MAINTENANCE OF CR 72 SECTION LINE ACCESS AT CR 83 AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN -
BILL BARRETT CORPORATION: Rich Hastings, Department of Public Works, explained this and the
next two items are related. He reviewed the location and scope of work; this one is to build a one-mile
road and use 30 feet of the section line access. Commissioner Garcia moved to approve said
agreement and authorize the Chair to sign. Commissioner Kirkmeyer seconded the motion and it
carried unanimously.
El 5) CONSIDER NONEXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THE UPGRADE AND
MAINTENANCE OF CR 56 SECTION LINE ACCESS AT CR 89 AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN —
BILL BARRETT CORPORATION: Mr. Hastings said this item is similar to the previous; however, in this
case there is an existing oil and gas road, which has been properly maintained. Commissioner
Freeman moved to approve said agreement and authorize the Chair to sign. Commissioner Conway
seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Minutes, April 23, 2014 2014-1282
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El 6) CONSIDER NONEXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THE UPGRADE AND
MAINTENANCE OF CR 62 SECTION LINE ACCESS AT CR 89 AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN —
BILL BARRETT CORPORATION: Mr. Hastings said this item is similar to the previous two; there is also
an existing oil and gas road in this case, which has been properly maintained. Commissioner Garcia
moved to approve said agreement and authorize the Chair to sign. Commissioner Conway seconded
the motion and it carried unanimously.
RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES: The resolutions were presented and signed as listed on the
Consent Agenda. No Ordinances were approved.
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 9:55 a.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
_ ,,,, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: t f!Jelte:�'—� 91 sRade acher, Chair
Weld County Clerk to the Boar.� i�L ��
<coz CUSED DATE OF APPROVAL
' •, =� bara Kirkmeyer, Pro-Tem
BY. ►� .. 1 !�I. � l. t�n._ t _n,� � ��
De. �, Clerk to the Boar. '•.iu� �,-
r�� Iva" an P. Conway
Mike Fr a rr
William F. Garcia
Minutes, April 23, 2014 2014-1282
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