The Fremont County Board of Commissioners went on record at their September 11th regular meeting in opposition to Amendment 64 on the Colorado General Election ballot which would legalize marijuana use in Colorado. The commissioners approved a resolution stating their opposition to the amendment citing various potential negative impacts to the state and Colorado citizens.
District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said a number of county sheriffs around the state have voiced opposition to the amendment including Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker along with at least seven other boards of commissioners from around the state. Norden said there is a concern among law enforcement officials and prosecutors that legalization of marijuana in Colorado would attract people from surrounding states to travel to Colorado to get their marijuana and that drug cartels would legally set up shop in Colorado to distribute the drug on a large scale from within the U.S. Commissioner Mike Stiehl said he believes the amendment is poorly written and will place undue burdens on local jurisdictions to try to regulate marijuana within their own communities. Commission Chairman Debbie Bell concurred saying legalization of marijuana would complicate things even further since the amendment would conflict with enforcement of federal laws.
Following a public hearing, at which no public comment was presented, the Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to the county’s subdivision regulations. The amended changes deal primarily with definitions and minor language changes. However, Commissioner Bell noted that the latest amendment reflects an ongoing effort to put into county regulations the changes sought by a Fremont Economic Development Corporation ad hoc committee. The committee is seeking to ease the burden on developers who deal with county subdivision requirements. Bell pointed out that the regulations now require the planning staff to meet with the applicant prior to submittal of an application and to meet with the applicant again to review any deficiencies once an application is made. The commissioners unanimously approved the changes in the amendment.
In other business at the September 11th meeting the commissioners:
- Approved a temporary use permit for the Deer Mountain Community Organization to conduct fundraising flea markets at the corner of Copper Gulch Road and Road Gulch;
- Approved the 2013 Fremont County holiday observance calendar for both eight hour a day employees and ten hour daily employees;
- Scheduled a public hearing on October 9th on a proposed amendment to county subdivision regulations regarding sketch plan requirements and exemptions;
- Approved a professional services agreement with Armstrong Consultants of Grand Junction for engineering services for a full length parallel taxiway at the Fremont County Airport upon a recommendation from the Fremont County Airport Advisory Committee;
- Approved a bid award to Taylor Fencing of Pueblo in the amount of $38,512 for additional perimeter fencing around the west side of the airport property.