Park County commissioners approve hazard‑mitigation contract, confirm aging‑services appointments and hear resident complaints about plowing and grading

Park County Board of Commissioners Chairman Dave Whistle and two fellow commissioners voted to amend the meeting agenda, approve the consent agenda including vouchers, and award a contract for a county hazard‑mitigation plan, then heard a resident urge changes to winter plowing and summer grading programs.

The board met in March 2025. Chairman Dave Whistle opened the meeting and noted, “last week's meeting, we did not get the recording on the record,” saying the missed recording was human error by staff training a new hire. The board amended the published agenda to remove a resolution to allocate lodging‑tax revenue because it was “not ready for prime time,” then proceeded to routine business and public comment.

The amendments and votes mattered procedurally because they removed an item from consideration and put several items on the consent calendar. The consent agenda included approval of minutes and vouchers; commissioners discussed the weekly spending level and the fund distribution before approving the package.

The board approved a professional‑services contract to prepare a county Hazard Mitigation Plan. The contract followed a January 8, 2025 RFP with a February 8, 2025 deadline and a single bidder; staff said the bidder was registered in the System for Award Management and had incorporated legal counsel’s requested contract changes. The board voted 3‑0 to authorize execution of the contract.

Commissioners also approved two county appointments to regional aging bodies that distribute federal Older Americans Act funds: Penny Everest as Park County’s representative to the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) Commission on Aging, and Sheila Williams as Park County’s appointee to the PPACG Regional Advisory Council (RAC). Commissioner Mitchell described how the PPACG channels federal Older Americans Act dollars from the state to area projects and said the advisory bodies help decide local grants and programs such as in‑home safety modifications and frozen‑meal distribution at community centers.

During public comment, Sandra (Sandy) Horrocks, a resident, told the board she had repeatedly been told her cul‑de‑sac was not on the county’s plow map and that she has had to pay privately for plowing. “I keep being told by road and bridge that I am my little cul de sac is not on the plow map,” Horrocks said. She also urged more training for graders and a regular grading schedule for problem roads, citing persistent washboard conditions and delayed summer grading in her area, Ranch of the Rockies.

Horrocks raised a separate concern about possible losses of state and federal funding, citing the Alma sewage‑plant upgrade as an example of a grant that had been lost; she urged the county to hold town halls to update residents once the county has clearer information. Commissioners and staff offered to follow up with Horrocks by email and to provide contacts for road and bridge staff.

Votes at a glance

- Amend agenda to remove lodging‑tax resolution: motion (mover and seconder on record as a motion and second), outcome: approved, vote 3‑0. - Approve consent agenda (minutes and vouchers): motion and second, outcome: approved, vote 3‑0. County staff noted approximately $350,000 in total spending that week with the largest portion to the general fund; ARPA and several smaller funds were also listed on the vouchers. - Approve contract for professional services (Hazard Mitigation Plan) with the sole RFP bidder (listed in the meeting variously as “Choleta/Clowida/Cloweta” in the transcript): motion and second, outcome: approved, vote 3‑0. - Appoint Penny Everest to PPACG Commission on Aging and Sheila Williams to PPACG Regional Advisory Council: motion and second, outcome: approved, vote 3‑0.

The board closed public comment and adjourned at 11:20 a.m., then held a short administrative work session on pending legislative items for an upcoming Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI) legislative meeting in Denver.

Several procedural and informational details remain to be followed up by staff: confirming the contractor’s exact legal name and contract exhibits for the Hazard Mitigation Plan, updating the county plow map and scheduling follow‑up with the resident who complained about plowing, and communicating any confirmed changes to expected state or federal grant awards to affected communities.