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Staff outlines HB456 outdoor mitigation grant; Grand County may be eligible for roughly $1 million
Summary
Staff briefed the board on HB456 mitigation funding and rulemaking. The program has two buckets—emergency costs and visitor‑related safety costs—and staff estimated Grand County could qualify for about $1,000,000 to support search & rescue, EMS and road repairs tied to visitor safety.
Staff updated the Tourism Advisory Board on the state’s HB456 outdoor mitigation grant and the rulemaking process that will define eligible uses and application timing.
According to the staff presentation, HB456 allocates a portion of state collected transient room tax (TRT) funds to an outdoor mitigation grant program. Counties collecting less than $10 million in TRT are eligible to apply; staff estimated that Grand County could be eligible for about "$1,000,000" under current rules. The program separates funding into two priority buckets: emergency costs (search and rescue, EMS, emergency road fixes) and visitor‑related safety costs (road maintenance tied to visitor access, solid waste management, law enforcement costs driven by visitation).
Staff said allocation methodology and rule details are in rulemaking and that Grand County department heads are compiling cost data (for example, maintenance and search‑and‑rescue expenses on roads such as Onion Creek Road, Long Canyon, Schaffer, Sand Flats and Mineral Bottom). Staff emphasized that the county, not individual organizations, will apply and distribute funds to local entities as needed.
Board members asked whether road prioritization decisions are local; staff replied that prioritization will be done locally and that EMS leadership (an Andy referenced in the transcript) is helping identify roads where maintenance materially affects rescue times. Staff noted prioritization criteria favor smaller population counties and counties with high outdoor recreation use, which should position Grand County favorably for awards.
The board agreed to consider a special July meeting or workshop so members could review final rulemaking and prepare a recommendation to the county commission if and when the grant application opens.
