County administrative fee proposal could raise SFRA charges; committee seeks review

Andrea Brand, director of Sand Flats Recreation Area, told the Stewardship Committee the park’s 2025 finances show “current income is 1.5 % above 2024” and the Combined Cash fund balance is $623,061. Brand said some line items—vehicle maintenance, contract toilets, and printing—ran over budget but that reimbursements and sales would offset some costs.

Discussion focused on a proposed county methodology to allocate administrative costs across departments. Grand County representative Melodie McCandless described the approach as charging $8.18 per employee hour across central services and said the same methodology could yield a range of estimates: “In pen you can see that SFRA is equivalent to 6.25 full time employees or 13,000 hours times $8.18 is $106,390,” McCandless said, noting commissioners have debated lower per-hour figures. Committee members said a $52,000 number would be preferable this year and asked how fees would adjust if positions remain vacant.

Members pressed for clarity on the methodology’s components and the timing of any changes. Molly Taylor questioned whether attorney time should be included in the allocation; McCandless and others noted that departments differently rely on services like IT, HR and legal. Brand said she had been told allocations would be based on actual hours; McCandless said the figure will “ebb and flow depending on number of employees and hours.”

Next steps: committee members agreed a subcommittee will review the methodology and recommend a phased approach to any increases before the next budget cycle.