The Granby Board of Trustees met Tuesday, March 26, at Granby Town Hall. The Grand County Board of County Commissioners began the meeting with a presentation to the town board.

County commissioners Richard Cimino, Merrit Linke and Randy George were all in attendance at the meeting. The commissioners had been meeting with the towns in Grand County to discuss potentially having the county submit a federal mineral estate withdrawal.

They explained to the town board that the withdrawal would basically mean that outlined public lands cannot be offered for federal mineral leases. Cimino explained that in 2017 the county was generally opposed to offering mineral rights, but that there was some hesitancy because the commissioners thought “there was some areas in Grand County that could be very productive for oil extraction.”

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Exploratory wells that were installed in the ’70s and ’80s were not financially viable, according to Cimino. However, he did add with current technology, including fracking, that could change.

The mineral rights would be effectively “taken away” from the areas in blue on the Grand County map.

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A letter from the board of commissioners writes that this decision was made to preserve Grand County’s economy which is dependent on outdoor recreation, tourism and agriculture. Cimino clarified that this is not an “anti-oil and gas move.”

The commissioners then said that if there is not overwhelming negative feedback from the towns, the county would begin work on the withdrawal process. The Granby Board of Trustees had no immediate feedback on the proposal.

In other business:

• Jessica Rahn with the Grand County Wildfire Council gave an update to the board regarding its work over the course of 2023. The full presentation is available in the agenda and more information is available on BeWildfireReady.org.
• The board approved a request for proposals that includes an update to the parks master plan, a feasibility study on a recreation center and the design of a trails system.
• The board approved signing the town onto a letter of support from Grand Beginnings, a child care provider in Grand County. The letter supports the passage of House Bill 24-1223, which aims to improve access to the Child Care Assistance Program. The bill would help improve access and streamline the program. Resident Daniela Gosselova spoke during the public comment period and said that this bill did not have much support from the Republicans. Gosselova also said that she was wary of the funding source of the bill. The board passed 4-3, with Mayor Joshua Hardy and trustees Michael Mahoney and Rebecca Quesada voting no.
• The board discussed the timeline for Town Clerk Deb Hess’ retirement. The hiring process for her replacement will be conducted in-house, and the employee will have time to train with Hess later in the year before her official retirement.
• The board unanimously approved an agreement with Rocky Mountain Workforce Housing to purchase work product from the developer, including engineering work. This agreement will hopefully allow the town to accept bids on the U.S. Highway 40 workforce housing project soon, with the goal of creating infrastructure this building season. This will allow the town to take advantage of a $3.6 million grant from the state, according to Granby Town Manager Ted Cherry.
• Representatives from Sun Communities spoke in front of the board in continued discussions for how to lower water rates in the West Service Area. No action was taken during this item.