County, residents working toward new childcare facility

County, residents working toward new childcare facility By Don Ireland

They said they plan to have additional information on the effort before the com- missioners’ workshop meet- ing, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 20.

aware of our deadlines,” he noted.

• Acting as the county’s Board of Adjustments, the commissioners unanimously approved an extension of a tempo- rary housing permit for Amber Cusano of Con- estoga Road. The exten- sion will expire on Nov. 14, the same time as her permit to build a new home on the property. The nearly hour-long hearing was like one conducted in October – filled with conten- tious debate between neighbors and Cusano over allegations involv- ing disputes over vari- ous issues, ranging from unleashed dogs to trash, sanitation and com- plaint calls to the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office.

housing and potential changes to funding the county’s emergency dispatch center. Central currently pays Gilpin about $30,000 a year for dispatch services.

Senior Reporter

Added County Manager Ray Rears, “We consider it abandoned property.”

Nearly three months after the Eagles’ Nest Early Child- hood Center closed, Gilpin County leaders and residents continue searching for a new agency to launch a new childcare center.

Previously, Gilpin officials said the county provided $410,000 to the Eagles’ Nest since 2019, includ- ing $160,000 in 2023. The county leased the building for $1 annually to the non- profit organization.

Denton, who once had a child attend the previous daycare facility, said there are about six residents conducting work on the new operation. They are trying to determine staffing needs, pricing, by-laws and other aspects of the opera- tion. They will seek seven to nine residents who want to volunteer on the new orga- nization’s board of directors. She expressed optimism that the new group could have programs available early in the summer.

• Resident Kathleen Bal- four complained about potential rec-center fee increases, noting the county plans to spend $1.3 million for a new food pantry and another $100,000 to rehabilitate the East Portal Cabins.

Lyndsey Denton, the coun- ty’s commissioners’ clerk, has spearheaded a resident task force to help secure a new operator for the Eagles’ Nest building, which Gilpin County owns. She and resi- dents Kathleen Balfour and Amy Carr reported on their progress during the Gilpin Board of County Commis- sioner meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

In other business during the commissioners’ meeting:

• The BoCC approved ap- plying for a $200,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Commu- nity Affairs. The Strong Communities grant will help the county pay to revise its land-use code, conduct a housing needs and assessment study and create an infrastruc- ture needs implementa- tion program.

• Resident Roxy Goss reported more than 20 volunteers to help at the food pantry, including herself, who spends six or seven hours a week there. She noted others help raise produce at the nearby community garden and donate those items to help support needy families and individuals served by the pantry.

The three volunteers said they are working to create a new non-profit organiza- tion that would lease the Eagles’ Nest facility from the county. However, many details on the project remain unresolved since the group began meeting regularly in January. A survey conducted among residents in Decem- ber showed that most par- ents are looking for childcare Mondays through Thurs- days, the same days the neighboring Gilpin County School District building is operational.

Carr said she has oper- ated a childcare center in the Boulder County area but would like to work in Gilpin County, where she resides.

• The commissioners voted to advertise for a temporary maintenance worker but delayed a vote to hire temporary help for the public works department.

Gilpin County Attorney Brad Benning said some equipment was left behind in the Eagles’ Nest building. When the former operation closed, it owed money for a loan it had received from the Small Business Administra- tion. He said the SBA didn’t meet a Feb. 9 deadline to remove the property, so it remains within the county- owned building. “They were

• The BoCC accepted a $9,164 federal Food and Drug Administration grant. The Gilpin County Public Health Agency will use the money received annually to pro- vide inspections, annual licensing, education, and support for nearly 100 retail food outlets.

• Rears said the county can accommodate residents with mobility issues at BoCC meetings. He said the county will provide a ramp and an accessible parking space to residents who make such a request at least 24 hours before a meeting.

• Rears announced the county commission- ers would meet with Central City’s alder- men during a workshop session on March 19 at Central’s city hall. The two groups will discuss

County, residents working toward new childcare facility

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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