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Plastic Recycling Day

The Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments hosts another Plastic Recycling Day on Saturday, May 13th, next to the Canon City Public Works building. Fremont County residents are urged to get involved in the monthly plastic recycling. Any plastic container that displays a number inside the triangle of three arrows on the bottom can be recycled. You do not have to separate the plastic by numbers. Simply empty and rinse out your plastic containers and place them all in the same bag. Oil, antifreeze, and pesticide plastic containers cannot be accepted.

April 25th Commissioners' Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners conducted a second and final public hearing at their regular meeting focusing on the 23rd Amendment to the Fremont County Zoning Resolution. The issue that attracted the most attention at the initial public hearing March 28th dealt with permitting orchards and vineyards in the Agricultural Suburban and Agricultural Estates zone districts with a 4 ½ acre limit.

Fremont County Fire Ban

The Fremont County Commissioners adopted a countywide fire ban at the Board's regular meeting April 25th at the request of Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker. The Commissioners approved a resolution immediately imposing the fire ban. Extremely dry conditions and recent strong winds led to the decision. It was noted that southeastern Colorado has seen at least a dozen red flag fire danger warnings in recent weeks which is unprecedented for this early in the spring season.
The fire ban includes these prohibitions:

Zoning Amendment Changes

A public hearing that raised concerns over zoning restrictions on small acreages in Fremont County is scheduled to resume at next Tuesday's regular board meeting. The County Commissioners continued the March 28th public hearing on the 23rd Amendment to the Zoning Resolution until April 25th. The Commissioners say minor changes made to the amendment after listening to the public's desire to protect historical agricultural uses should satisfy those concerns.

Phantom Canyon Road Closure

The Fremont County Road and Bridge Department has announced that Phantom Canyon Road (County Road 67) will be closed to all through traffic into Teller County starting Monday, April 24th as work begins on a bridge reconstruction. Reynolds Construction of Cañon City is slated to begin work on a new timber deck for the bridge located just south of the Fremont-Teller County line. Under the $23,967 contract, crews will remove the old bridge decking and install new timbers. Reynolds will have 60 days to complete the work with the road expected to reopen to traffic by late June.

April 11th Commissioners' Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners approved a Special Review Use Permit for a controversial fire station and community center in the Upper Beaver Creek area near Penrose, but the approval came with a stipulation. The Commissioners gave approval for the Upper Beaver Creek Rural Fire Protection Association to build the fire station at the intersection of County Road #132 and Rimrock Terrace. Several neighbors and members of the Red Rocks homeowners association had written letters and petitions protesting the community center portion of the project.

Phantom Canyon Bridge Bid Award

The Fremont County Commissioners awarded a bid for a bridge repair project on the Phantom Canyon Road during a special meeting on Thursday, April 6th. The Commissioners received three bids for the project when bids were opened on March 30th. After a review of the bid package, County Engineer Jack Effinger recommended that the bid be awarded to Reynolds Construction of Canon City which submitted the low bid on the project. Reynolds' bid totaled $23,967. The other two bids exceeded $27,000.

March 28th Commissioners’ Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners took sixty minutes of public comment Tuesday on a series of changes proposed as part of a 23rd amendment to the Fremont County Zoning Resolution. Most of the comments focused on concerns to protect many of the historical agricultural uses in the Canon City and Lincoln Park areas. Those comments were made in relation to proposed language changes in the Agricultural Estates and Agricultural Suburban zone districts. The change is intended to permit orchards and vineyards in those two zone districts if the property contains at least 4 1/2 acres.

Contract Award for Floodwater Dam Repairs

The Fremont County Commissioners have awarded a bid for the reconstruction of the C-4 stormwater control dam southwest of Canon City. The dam is located about a quarter mile east of Oak Creek Grade Road just below the Shadow Hills golf course. In 2004 the State Engineer ordered the dam repaired or breeched because of subsidence of soil indicated by holes in the top of the dam. Since then Fremont County has been working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to make preparations for repairing the dam.