Custer County commissioners approve $372,875 in payments, adopt policies and records-retention resolution; deeded small parcel to Silver Cliff

Custer County commissioners on April 9 approved a $372,875.45 accounts-payable run, adopted a package of state-required Department of Human Services policies, approved a records-retention resolution and authorized a quitclaim deed transferring two small lots and a triangular parcel to the Town of Silver Cliff. The board also proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and heard a presentation from Family Crisis Services.

The most immediate action was approval of the accounts-payable batch. Commissioners were presented a line-by-line summary that included: $6,814 for legal services to County Attorney Dan Slater; $29,209 for the county clerk to digitize land records (funded by clerk fees); $5,195 for CenturyLink communications; $123,750 for road and bridge recycled-concrete grinding for road base; a $40,000 donation recorded for Round Mountain Water and Sanitation sludge work; $5,100 for a cooling system at a UHF tower; $10,492 remaining balance on the airport gate contract; and $98,500 for an emergency-services chipper. A motion to approve the accounts-payable run carried.

Why it matters: the accounts-payable approval covers multiple public services and a county donation to a local sanitation district; the approvals formalize how those expenditures will be recorded and paid.

The board accepted eight Department of Human Services items the state requires counties to have on file, including a TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) memorandum of understanding and related operational policies. County staff said the policies are effective as of March 1, 2022, and that the state approved them but did not have evidence of signatures from the county commissioners at that time. The board approved the policies and the associated MOU as a package.

Commissioners also adopted Custer County Resolution No. 2529, establishing a county records-retention policy. County staff described the document as a “living” policy that standardizes retention periods across departments, aligns with state archivist recommendations and requires department heads to implement internal controls and workflows for recordkeeping. The policy will be distributed to departments after adoption, and staff said filing the policy with the state archives is a planned next step.

On property matters, the board authorized a quitclaim deed transferring two lots and the small triangular parcel used as a trailhead point of interest to the Town of Silver Cliff. The town’s mayor described the parcel as part of an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2008 intended to serve as a trailhead and tourism-information site for the Zeb Pike Trail; the town said it has maintained the site and asked the county to convey the property to remove long-standing leases from county records. The board voted to quitclaim the parcels to the town.

At the start of the meeting, Sarah Fisher of Family Crisis Services read a proclamation designating April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Custer County and presented the group’s 2024 service statistics: 274 clients served, 1,427 shelter nights provided, and 1,070 crisis-line calls responded to from the local hotline. The board moved to adopt the proclamation.

Votes at a glance

- Accounts payable: Motion to approve $372,875.45; motion moved by county official; seconded; outcome: approved. - Department of Human Services policies and TANF MOU: Motion to accept the eight policies and MOU as presented; outcome: approved. - Resolution No. 2529 (records-retention policy): Motion to adopt resolution; outcome: approved. - Quitclaim deed to Town of Silver Cliff (Block 20, Lots 9 and 10 and adjoining triangle): Motion to authorize deed and direct county attorney to prepare language; outcome: approved. - Proclamation: Motion to declare April Sexual Assault Awareness Month; outcome: approved.

Discussion vs. formal action

The board’s approvals were formal motions followed by votes. Several items prompted short public-explanatory remarks — for example, staff explained the origin of specific line items in the accounts-payable run and county staff described why the DHS policies were being approved now (state had approved them in 2022 but county signatures were not on file). Those explanations were presented as context; the board’s actions were the formal votes recorded at the meeting.

What remains to follow up

- County staff said they will file the records-retention policy with the state archives and distribute the policy to department heads for implementation. Staff also said the county will continue to refine internal controls and monitoring procedures for records retention. - The county attorney was asked to draft plain-deed language for the quitclaim to the Town of Silver Cliff. No additional conditions were specified by the board at the meeting.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report include Sarah Fisher, Family Crisis Services; Dan Slater, Custer County Attorney; Vernon Roth, Custer County finance director; Bob Smith, county human resources; Vicki (Department of Human Services staff); and the mayor of Silver Cliff (presenter).