Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gilpin County formalizes Forest Service lease for Dakota Hill communications tower
Summary
The board approved a long-term communications use lease with the U.S. Forest Service for the Dakota Hill tower site and authorized the county manager to execute the agreement, consolidating prior access steps and preparing to update tenant leases.
The Gilpin County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve Resolution 25-086, authorizing the county manager to execute a communications use lease with the U.S. Forest Service for the Dakota Hill communications tower site.
County Manager Ray Reers and staff presented the lease as a step that follows an earlier access agreement; the lease formalizes land use on U.S. Forest Service property where the county—s Dakota Hill tower stands. "This is to formalize the lease of US Forest Service property for the Dakota Hill Communications Tower, which is obviously, very important, infrastructure for the county and the region for communications, including, emergency communications," Reers said.
The lease clarifies that the county owns the tower improvements while the Forest Service retains land ownership. The Forest Service requires prior written approval for land alterations (for example, weed mitigation or ground disturbance) and requires a new application when the lease term expires, staff said. Legal review recommended a small change so the resolution explicitly authorizes the county manager to execute the lease; county counsel also reviewed the document.
The lease is mostly administrative for governmental users because public agencies typically are not charged land-use fees; however, staff noted one commercial tower tenant—a company identified in the record as Pano AI—is subject to an annual fee the Forest Service charges commercial users. Reers said the annual commercial fee is under $150 and the county will collect and remit that fee from the commercial tenant.
Commissioners and counsel discussed the lease term and renewal process. The lease does not automatically renew; Forest Service processing often requires months to approve a new application, and the Forest Service typically issues long initial terms to minimize administrative repetition. The county will also update leases with co-tenants on the tower (the State of Colorado, United Power, and Pano AI) to align them with the new site management plan and the communications use lease. Staff said those tenant lease updates will return to the board for signature under the county—s contract policy.
The resolution passed 3-0. Staff said the county still must ensure all tower tenants update their lease documents to align with the Forest Service site plan and the county—s new lease language, and those lease updates will come back to the board for approval.
