Gilpin Commissioners review contractor violations

January has unusual spike in child welfare referrals By Randy Beaudette The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners met on Wednesday February 5, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at the Historic Gilpin County Courthouse. Present were Commissioner Chair Linda Isenhart with Commissioners Ron Engels and Gail Watson. Also present were County Manager Abel Montoya, County Attorney Brad Benning, and Deputy Clerk to the Board Sharon Cate. Agenda Review Madam Chair Isenhart added the Human Services report to the agenda. There were no additional items. Ambulance Inspection Report Gilpin County Ambulance Authority Manager Brandon Daruna presented the 2019 Annual Inspection Report to the Commissioners. In the report, it is noted that all five of the six County ambulances were inspected by the Black Hawk Fire Department and all units were found to be in a mechanically safe operating condition. Mr. Daruna informed the Commissioners that Gilpin Ambulance Authority is currently in a transition period of trading in a 2009 unit towards the purchase of a new 2019 unit scheduled to arrive in two weeks and rather than spend the money to inspect the sixth vehicle that will only be in service another month, they decided to inspect the new unit upon arrival and press it into service as soon as the inspection is complete and has passed. The report states the ambulance staffing of the Gilpin County Ambulance Authority is adequate and in-line with the standards of the ambulance industry and the Advance Life Support designations. The criteria for ambulance inspection are the same used in some of the metro Counties. It also uses a combined format of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment Guidelines and the individual county licensing requirements. All active units are certified until December 31, 2019. Gilpin County Commissioners accepted the report unanimously. Public Trustees Report Gilpin County Treasurer and Public Trustee Mary Lorenz presented the Fourth Quarter Public Trustee corrected report and the 2018 Year-end Public Trustee corrected report. Both reports were actually prepared by outgoing Public Trustee Alynn Huffman before her departure. The only corrections requested for the Commissioners from the January 22 nd presentation were the dates which were incorrect. While Ms. Lorenz was reviewing the 2018 annual report, it was noted that the December 31, 2017 bank balance was $0.00 and should have been $17,636 which also was corrected. Gilpin County Commissioners reviewed the corrected report and accepted it with no additional items. Human Services Report Human Services Case Manager Supervisor Karen Erdman presented an informal Human Services report to the Commissioners. Ms. Erdman reported that January was a very busy month with the partial government shutdown and an unexplained increase of child welfare referrals. One staff member had to work a few hours on the weekend to get caught up with the heavy case load. Since Gilpin County recently switched over to the statewide 1-800 number in which child welfare referrals are reported, Ms. Erdman explained that this may be one possible cause of the increase in child welfare referrals. She explained that people may be more comfortable reporting on an anonymous 1-800 line rather than calling directly to Human Services due to Gilpin County being a small community. Ms. Erdman also reported on the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP). For some time Human Services suspected that CCCAP outlays may exceed the State allocated funds. A work session was held and it was decided that this was because Colorado Human Services went to the Qualistar rating system for providers. The higher the rating a provider obtains through the tier system, the more the provider is compensated. Gilpin County Human Services did not obtain allocations that were aligned with this tier system. Human Services are paying providers that have unexpectedly obtained the higher tier rating, more than in previous years. As a result, Human Services now has a projected CCCAP shortfall of nearly $40,000. To solve this issue the State suggested that Gilpin County create a wait list dependent on the applying family’s eligibility. The more severe cases will be addressed immediately, but the less severe cases will be put on the wait list. Another option is that Human Services can purchase CCCAP funds from other Colorado counties that have a surplus of allocations for a 90% discount. This option may shorten or eliminate the wait list. Gilpin County Human Services is anticipating a combination plan that will incorporate the wait list as soon as July and purchasing unused CCCAP allocation from other counties. The Commissioners along with the County Manager will investigate this matter further and suggest additional options including funding the shortfall through the County reserve funds. Legal Status Report County Attorney Brad Benning reports that there is a pending waste water violation case. A contractor has been operating in the county without a county license and representing to his customer that a permit had been obtained when in fact it hadn’t. A complaint will be filled today involving that case. No other litigations pending. County Manager’s Report County Manager Abel Montoya reported that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Quality of Life Survey has been released with the closing date approaching and a recommendation will be submitted to the Board on February 19 th that process will consume the spring and a portion of the summer with results to be shared in the July/August time frame. This will allow the County to align the 2020 budget and components with the County Strategic Plan. Notice of Public Meetings February 6 - Wednesday, 8:30 a.m., Senior Leadership Team DISC Training with Jeffrey Wein, Gilpin County Courthouse, 203 Eureka Street February 19 - Tuesday, 9:00 a.m., BoCC Regular Meeting, Gilpin County Courthouse, 203 Eureka Approval of Minutes Gilpin County Commissioners approved the meeting minutes from January 2, 2019 with some minor corrections. Public Comment Executive Director of Holistic Homestead, Arwen Ek asked the Commissioners about the final disposition of the current Public Health Trailer. County Manager responded that the trailer will be moved to the new Human Services location and will be transformed into the County Food Bank. Ms. Ek followed up with a question about the land that the trailer sits on. Mr. Montoya replied that it is a little premature to give an exact answer because the County has yet to have that discussion. There will be a meeting with Gilpin County Public Works on February 19 th that will address the facility master plan for the County. To be discussed will be the possibilities or layout of that property and you are welcome to attend that meeting and provide some input. Executive Session Gilpin County Commissioners made a motion to move into Executive Session per CRS 24-6-402(4)(b) Conferences with an attorney for the local public body for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions and per CRS 24-6-402(4)(e) Determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations; developing strategy for negotiations; and instructing negotiators. Adjournment Gilpin County Commissioners adjourned at 10:25 a.m. Next Meeting The next Gilpin County Commissioners regular meeting will be February 19, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at the Gilpin County Courthouse at 203 Eureka St. Central City, Colorado.

Gilpin Commissioners review contractor violations

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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