The Fremont County Board of Commissioners voted 2 to 1 Tuesday to vacate a county road next to the County Road Shop at Cotopaxi after a property owner argued that the road was on private property and should have never been designated as a county road perhaps some 50 years ago. The Board of Commissioners voted to vacate County Road 50 which Gerald Mullins has claimed for years that the road sits on his property. Mullins said the road was probably established decades ago so a local rancher could reach BLM land. He said from then on neighbors and others started using the dirt path. Mullins said he figures at some point the county commissioners attached a road number to the path when it was popular to put a number of roads on the county inventory.
A couple of neighbors expressed concern about vacating the road at a Planning Commission meeting two weeks ago but no one appeared before the Board of Commissioners Tuesday to protest the roadway vacation. Mullins said he has already provided easements to a number of residents who have used the road over the years to access the rear portion of their lots. Easements for the county’s Cotopaxi Road Shop and the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Shop are also in place. Mullins noted that even if the road was not vacated those residents would still need an easement from him because their property does not abut the road. District 2 Commissioner Debbie Bell said that point is what convinced her that the county should vacate the road. She said the fact that those property owners would still need an easement to cross Mullins’ private property means the county has no reason to continue to claim CR 50 as a county road. Commissioner Mike Stiehl voted against the vacation of the road saying he saw no compelling reason to vacate it adding that there have been unintended consequences in the past when the county would vacate a county roadway.
Commission Chairman Ed Norden said vacating CR 50 was just a small part of a much bigger boundary issue he has been working to resolve for several years. Norden said the county’s acquisition of a small triangular piece of property from Mullins at the west edge of the county shop property is contingent upon vacating CR 50. He said a Deer Mountain Fire Department structure next to the county shop actually encroaches onto Mullins property. Norden said all of the issues are tied together to solve these long standing problems.
The commissioners on Tuesday voted to appoint Thomas Schilf of Cañon City to a vacant seat on the Fremont County Airport Advisory Committee. Schilf was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Tom Ledbetter which expires October 1, 2013. Ledbetter resigned in November just days after the commissioners made appointments to fill three other seats on the committee. Schilf is part owner of a hangar at the airport where he is currently working on a home built plane.
In other business Tuesday the commissioners:
- Awarded a bid of $147,890 to Cover Solutions of Grand Junction to construct a cantilevered metal roof over the bleachers at the Pathfinder Park arena. Commissioner Norden said after the bleachers were completed last year it quickly became apparent that they would get limited use for events in the hot summer sun without some shade;
- Reappointed Marie Adams, Kathy Kunselman, Michelle Marriott, Bob Masse, Patsy Michaud, and Robyn Miller to the Fremont County Fair Board and newly appointed Tami Ratkovich and Linda Valdez;
- Appointed Betsy Denney, Bob Masse, Linda Valdez, and Ralph Kunselman to the Fremont County Fairs and Shows Committee;
- Approved a one year extension of a contract with ACS Services for Fremont County’s hardware and software computer services in the Assessor’s Office, Treasurer’s Office, and Finance Office;
- Approved the renewal of a liquor license for Penrose VFW Post #2788.