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Sept. 11 & 18, 2012
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Grant Awarded for Crisis Prevention Services
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October Proclaimed Wildfire Awareness Month

The Board of County Commissioners, at its Sept. 11 hearing, proclaimed October 2012 as Wildfire Awareness Month.

 

More than 70 percent of Jefferson County is above 6,400 foot elevation, heavily forested and at high risk for wildfires. The forests are home to our watersheds, water infrastructure, valuable natural resources, wildlife, historical and cultural resources, and recreational opportunities.

 

  

Past wildfires have had a dramatic effect on Jefferson County, including the 1996 Buffalo Creek Fire that burned 10,000 acres and destroyed 18 homes; the 2002 Hayman Fire that burned 42,000 acres in Jefferson County; the 2011 Indian Gulch fire that burned 1,500 acres; and the Lower North Fork Fire that killed three people and destroyed 23 homes and 2,000 acres of private property last March.

 

The purpose of Wildfire Awareness Month is to educate the public and promote action to reduce the frequency and severity of future wildfires in Jefferson County.

 

All residents are encouraged to understand their role in preventing and preparing for future wildfires. Specifically, residents who live in the wildland urban interface should take the following measures to help protect their homes and communities: 

  • Create and maintain a defensible space around their home and outbuildings.
  • Use ignition-resistant building materials.
  • Have an evacuation plan coordinated with family and neighbors.
  • Review insurance policies to make sure homes are fully insured.
  • Support the creation of community fuelbreaks and forest restoration.
  • Become aware of the role healthy forests play in reducing the negative impact of wildfire.
  • Protect water resources, recreation opportunities and air quality.
 

Green Gables Metropolitan Districts OK'd

The BCC, at its Sept. 11 hearing, approved two metropolitan districts for the Green Gables Development. One will be for the residential portion on the east side of the property and the other will be for the commercial and the multifamily resident section on the west of the development. The development is located at the southeast corner of South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Jewell Avenue.

 

The purpose of metropolitan districts is to finance improvements and provide post construction services for the development. Some improvements may include the construction and potential maintenance of streets, open space, parks, trail systems, stormwater drainage systems, landscaping, and water and sewer improvements.

 

The mill, which will be determined at a future date, will be levied on all taxable parcels within the development boundaries in order to fund the metro district.

 

Grant Awarded for Crisis Prevention Services

The BCC at its Sept. 18 hearing approved a $234,272 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. This is a collaborative grant with Metro Crisis Services Inc. (MCS), which supports a metro-wide crisis phone service staffed 24/7 with professional counseling staff.

 

MCS provides informational training to law enforcement and receives approximately 30,000 crisis calls annually. In 2011, MCS intervened in 95 cases involving child abuse, 35 elder abuses, 241 cases of domestic violence and 2,000 cases of suicide prevention. The full amount of the grant will be provided to MCS so it can continue to provide these support services to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Sheriff's Office Victim Services Unit.

Airport Receives Grant for Runway Project

Plane landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan AirportThe BCC at its Sept. 18 hearing approved a $6,837,461 grant for the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. The grant is from the Federal Aviation Administration and will be used for phase II, which is construction, of the Runway 11L Safety Area Enhancement Project.

 

The grant will cover 90 percent and the remaining will be matched from state and local funds. Five percent will come from the Colorado Department of Transportation - Division of Aeronautics and five percent from the county.

 

The current Runway 11L Safety Area does not meet the criteria outlined for airports certified under Federal Aviation Regulations. The intersection at Interlocken Loop and Highway 128 needs to be relocated to the north and slightly west to accommodate the full 1,000 feet required for the runway safety area.

More Concrete Work

The county's Road and Bridge Division has a list of damaged concrete on roads that are scheduled for asphalt overlay. Due to favorable prices of asphalt and concrete, the division has the opportunity to reduce a backlog of projects.

 

To assist with this endeavor, the BCC at its Sept. 18 hearing approved an amendment with Concrete Express, Inc. for $500,000. The original contract for 2012 was for $1,000,000. The additional $500,000 won't all be used this year. Some will be for 2013 but will need to be approved in that year's budget.

View BCC Meetings Online!   

Did you know Jefferson County records each County Commissioners Hearing for rebroadcast on its website? You can also find recordings of other county meetings, videos of events and Jeffco's video program, Jefferson County Insights.  To learn more, visit the Jeffco Media-on-Demand site.