County manager reports: broadband fiber build, EV purchases and public-safety funding on staff agenda

San Miguel County officials reported progress Sept. 24 on several countywide initiatives: a private fiber-to-the-premises build beginning this month, CDOT rockfall mitigation bids planned for the coming winter and spring, the county's purchase of its first electric vehicle and grant activity to buy additional EVs, and emerging regional planning around the Four Seasons/Merrimack Ventures workforce impacts on the West End.

Deputy County Manager Jared Viggs told commissioners Clear Networks has received as-built plans and expects to begin construction this week on fiber from Ilium through Placerville, with a proposed construction timeline of about six weeks. He said the fiber project will use some pole attachments and will require easements and some digs in Salt Pit and Placerville. Viggs noted the grant that supported the private build was awarded more than two years earlier and that the new service will allow residents along the route to take private drop connections from nearby utility poles.

Viggs said he met with CDOT staff about rockfall-mitigation mapping for Keystone Hill and Norwood Hill. CDOT had previously planned to focus on Norwood Hill; after review of county aerial mapping the agency is re-evaluating whether to include portions of Keystone Hill in future work. CDOT expects to issue a plan for public review by October and go out to bid this winter, with construction likely beginning in spring and continuing over roughly two years. Viggs said the agency plans rock scaling, netting and rock barriers and acknowledged there will be traffic impacts during construction.

On county fleet electrification, staff reported an application for a grant to purchase two Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks (proposed locations: Road & Bridge and building department), with potential reallocation of an existing vehicle to maintenance. Viggs said the county also recently ordered a four-door Chevy Equinox EV via the enterprise leasing contract to capture incentives that are expiring at month-end; staff expects the county’s chargers will be installed this fall. Estimated net cost after federal incentives provided during the meeting put ownership at roughly $24,000 per vehicle for the Lightnings if grant funding is secured; staff said a roughly $9,000 per-vehicle incentive was expected.

Viggs reported a request from juvenile services for additional office space in the Fruhlin Building after a part-time position was funded to full time with grant dollars; he said staff would return with a proposal because other county uses compete for building space. He also described the county’s down-payment assistance program for employees: eligibility requires a minimum of two years of service and forgiveness accrues at $1,000 per year up to 10 years, with the assistance recorded as a second-position loan that must be repaid if an employee leaves before the forgiveness schedule completes.

Viggs and commissioners discussed a previously allocated $250,000 the county had set aside for a co-responder program; staff noted the funds were not spent and said the board should consider whether to roll the allocation into the 2026 budget or otherwise make seed funding available for a reconstituted program. Separately, representatives reported formation of a West End community-benefit coalition tied to the Four Seasons/Merrimack Ventures project; the coalition will include local mayors, regional commissioners and town and water authority representatives and will develop a community benefits agreement for workforce impacts.

Jared also said Telluride-area partners are preparing to comment on a regional strategic-growth report and that county staff will attend several upcoming regional meetings including the CCI legislative-priorities process. Commissioners agreed to authorize county representatives to update San Miguel County's positions at the CCI/CCAT meetings if additional information warrants a change in stance.