Custer County commissioners approve routine payments, clerk fee schedule, conservation grant support and sale of four Golden Arrow Valley lots

The Custer County Board of Commissioners on June 25 approved several routine and programmatic items including accounts payable, the clerk and recorder fee schedule, a letter of support for a conservation easement grant, the monthly veteran service officer report, the sale of four county-owned Golden Arrow Valley lots by sealed bid, and the ratification of a new West Custer County Library District trustee.

The board took the following formal actions (votes are as recorded in the meeting):

Votes at a glance

- Accounts payable: approved as presented. The clerk read several line items above $5,000 including CenturyLink phone/fiber $5,182.34; Caldwell Family Concrete (airport gate aprons) $12,616.37; Fremont County Sheriff inmate holding $17,545; Skyline Steel culverts $6,250.80; and Ascent Aviation Group (airport fuel) $17,190.78. The motion to approve accounts payable carried; commissioners voted "aye." The total approved was recorded variably in the discussion and is not specified here beyond the listed line items.

- County Veteran Service Officer monthly report (form CVA-26): approved. The board moved and seconded approval; commissioners voted "aye." The board certified hours worked as part of the report per the statute referenced in the meeting.

- Request for letter of support for a conservation easement (Russ conservation grant / Colorado Water Plan grant application): approved, with the board asking staff to correct a spelling error and consolidate signatures onto one page before final signing. Motion carried; commissioners voted "aye." The letter supports placing the property surrounding Beckwith Ranch (the physical ranch property and ponds, not the subdivision) into a conservation easement and supporting the grant application.

- Resolution 25-31, adopting fees for the Custer County Clerk and Recorder's office: adopted. Clerk Kelly Camper presented a revised fee schedule effective July 1 that changes recording fees from a per-page charge to flat fees for recording (examples cited in the discussion: a flat $43 recording fee for many items; death certificates exempted). Commissioner discussion noted most fees are set by state statute. Motion carried; commissioners voted "aye." (Resolution number as read in the meeting: 25-31.)

- Sale of county-owned lots in Golden Arrow Valley (Block 1 Lot 11, Block 1 Lot 13, Block 2 Lot 1, Block 9 Lot 1B): the board authorized offering these lots for sale by sealed bid, accepting individual-lot bids and allowing bids on multiple lots. The board set a minimum bid of $2,000 per lot. Motion carried; commissioners voted "aye." Staff noted lots are small (roughly 50 by 100 feet) and historically intended for short-term campground/RV use; successful sales would put the land back on the tax rolls.

- Ratification of West Custer County Library District trustee: the board ratified Laurie Yeager to replace Missus Tobin (motion seconded and approved). The library representative described a mobile outreach grant to support rural service and mentioned plans for small “little free library” boxes; commissioners expressed support.

Context and details

Accounts payable discussion highlighted the difficulty of budgeting jail boarding costs; staff said Fremont County had been asked to bill monthly rather than intermittently. Commissioners also heard that a newly purchased county roller was out for warranty repair and that a new road-surface bonding mix — not magnesium chloride — was being trialed on local county roads.

On the clerk and recorder fee schedule, Clerk Kelly Camper said the county would shift to a flat fee for recording documents regardless of page count; death certificate fees were removed. County Attorney Dan Slater noted most fees are set by state statute.

On the conservation easement support, staff described the property around Beckwith Ranch (the ranch property and suppression ponds) as the subject of the easement rather than the subdivision. Commissioners asked staff to correct a misspelled owner name and to present a single-page signature block for Commissioner signatures.

On the Golden Arrow Valley lots, staff explained the lots are very small with limited septic/well potential; the board set sealed bids with a minimum of $2,000 per lot and left open whether a bidder could submit on multiple lots. Commissioners said selling the lots would at least permit taxation on the parcels and remove county-held unused parcels from its inventory.

Formal motions and outcomes (recorded items)

Actions recorded during the meeting include approvals for accounts payable; approval of the VSO monthly report (CVA-26); approval to issue an RFP for VoIP (covered separately); approval of the conservation easement letter of support for the Russ Colorado Water Plan grant application (with spelling/signature corrections); adoption of Resolution 25-31 setting Clerk & Recorder fees effective July 1; authorization to accept sealed bids for four Golden Arrow Valley lots with a $2,000 per-lot minimum; and ratification of Laurie Yeager as a library district trustee.

What the board did not decide

No contract awards were finalized during the meeting. The VoIP item authorized only an RFP; the board will review vendor proposals at a future workshop. The conservation easement letter is a letter of support and does not itself create easement interest; the clerk and county attorney will finalize corrected text prior to signature.

Next meeting

Commissioners noted there is no meeting the week of July 4; the board will meet next on Wednesday, July 9. A budget review session and workshops on IT contract services were discussed for late July.