Development and Transportation Director Jeanie Rossillon and her staff shared the latest news and updates on various projects with the commissioners at staff briefings. Below are some highlights from the report.
Planning and Zoning
First up was Planning and Zoning, which has continued to update several community plans including the Indian Hills, North Mountains and Central Mountains. Community plans give area-specific guidance to the county and citizens when developing in these areas. Updates to park and school fees, floodplain regulations and accessory dwelling units are in the works and will be presented at future BCC meetings.
Planning and Zoning also touched on recently passed regulations. The division has issued eight bee-keeping permits, 19 chicken-keeping permits and three short-term rental permits.
Road and Bridge
Road and Bridge has a new GPS vehicle tracking program. It is expected to save money by reducing idle times and help create more efficient routes for snow plows and other county vehicles.
The division is working on a pavement conditions study, which looked at all paved roads in District two. The study inventories roads and rates conditions. This allows for better budgeting and road conditions throughout the county. Road and Bridge is also in the process of obtaining a lease for property near C-470 and Quincy to store and process asphalt rotomillings.
Transportation and Engineering
T & E has taken on a very large project of identifying and geographically locating every Jeffco traffic control and street name sign. This creates a more accurate inventory and assists staff in locating and knowing which kind of signs need to be replaced. So far the department has inventoried 40,897 signs and the project is 90 percent complete.
The division is also working on updating the county's traffic signal system, completing the NEAT trail in Evergreen, improvements to Chatfield Avenue from Ken Caryl Avenue to Garrison Street, and preparing for improvements to Quincy Avenue from Kipling Parkway to Wadsworth Boulevard.
Airport
Fuel flowage is down 10 percent and operations are down three percent compared to 2012 for the first six months of 2013 at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. There are two major Airport Improvement Projects progressing on schedule and within budget. Projects include construction of the State Highway 128/ Interlocken intersection and runway safety area improvements.
In May 2013, one of the Airport's primary tenants, Pilatus Aircraft, unveiled the concept PC-24 Versatile Jet at the European Business Aviation Conference, and it is scheduled for production in Stans, Switzerland by 2017. The aircraft will then be sent to the Airport for completions for most orders in North and South America. The Airport will also be the site of the upcoming annual Rocky Mountain Air Show, Aug. 16-18.
Building Safety
The Building Safety Division has been working with changes and new regulations concerning the state plumbing board. The county has 12 months to update its plumbing codes when changes are made by this board. There also is a new requirement that all inspection staff be certified in residential and commercial plumbing. Fortunately, staff is already certified in residential, and nine are certified in commercial plumbing with six in the process of becoming certified.