News
ELBERT 1/31/13
Elbert County
January 31, 2013
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourelbertcountynews.com
Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 118, Issue 1
Clerk to offer online services Move by DMV may ease crunch By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
A contender at the National Western Stock Show Stick Horse Rodeo gets some royal encouragement from Elizabeth Stampede Queen Caroline Ginn. The annual children’s event attracted more than 60 kids and their stick horse companions.
KIDS AND CRITTERS PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY
A pair of goats, apparently not happy with their score from the last round, eat their score card right off the side of their cage. The goats were part of many livestock on display at the National Western Stock Show on Jan. 26.
The National Western Stock Show on Jan. 27 concluded its 107th year. It is always one of the biggest events for ranchers from across the country. Kids and critters make the show in Denver fun and always unpredictable. A quick look around found a variety of barnyard favorites as well as a few new exotic breeds making their way into the mainstream. Kids worked, played and gave it their best shot in the annual stick rodeo.
County unveils oil-gas documents Workshop in Kiowa examines how issues may be handled By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews. com Elbert County residents got another look at how the county hopes to handle oil and gas development. Planning officials and residents gathered Jan. 24 in Kiowa for a workshop that put a close eye to two key documents — the Elbert County oil and gas
regulations and a template for a memorandum of understanding. In the works since April 2012, the documents, once finalized, will become the foundation for governing future oil and gas exploration. “Specifically, the Elbert County oil and gas regulations will apply to any well in the county,” said Carolyn Parkinson, county planner. “Every well in the county must secure an oil and gas special use permit. There will never be a time when we don’t do a permit on a well.”
POSTAL ADDRESS
While the county’s regulations cannot exceed those established by state law, counties can negotiate specific terms with applicants through a memorandum of understanding or MOU. “The MOU is a contract between the operator and the county,” Parkinson explained. “It is negotiable within certain criteria.” For Elbert County, the proposed 10-point MOU establishes a set of best management practices outlining setbacks, water quality testing, traffic management, dust mitigation and reclamation efforts. While the Elbert County MOU proposes a minimum setback of 1,320 feet between the wellhead and any residential structure or domestic well, the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission delayed a vote to hear updates that favor a statewide buffer of 500 feet. According to Parkinson, the only thing the proposed MOU exempts the applicant from is
public hearings and community meetings, which are the most “time-consuming for the applicant.” “It’s a carrot,” she told the crowd of about 60. “It essentially says, `if you help us ensure the safety of our citizens well make it go quickly for you.’” Every well within the county will have application and permit, but not every well will have a MOU. The planning commission will accept additional comments from residents through Feb 7. Copies of the proposed documents may be viewed online at www.elbertcounty-co.gov. Select “meetings” from the side menu and then click on “planning commission meeting.” The Elbert County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a well permit on Nov. 28 for Houston-based Southwestern Energy to begin exploratory oil and gas drilling near Agate, the county’s first in more than 12 years.
After more than two years of waiting and prodding the state, Elbert County Clerk and Recorder Diana Hartsough says the Department of Motor Vehicles will be available to offer some online services as early as March. “We’ve been pushing the state Department of Motor Vehicles to help, and we were notified in late December that they would be building out a system for Elbert County,” said Hartsough. “The system, once complete, will enable county residents to handle limited transactions, such as renewals, online and pay for them with a credit card.” The news couldn’t come at a better time, says Norm Happel. “On Wednesday, the line at motor vehicles was wrapped around the hall and out the door,” he said. “There were 22 people in line.” Hartsough, who butted heads last October with the Board of County Commissioners over filling a vacancy created by an employee transfer, said while the forthcoming electronic services will not solve all the problems her office has, it will help. “As staffed, we’re still not able to handle the volume of work that is coming though the doors and through the mail,” she said. “However, I see hope.” After the former BOCC refused to authorize funding for an additional employee, Hartsough and her staff of two still struggle to keep up with growing volumes of work. “We can barely keep up with services for walk-in customers, much less the bags of mail in registrations we’ve had,” she said. Hartsough estimates that at one time, there may have been as much as $100,000 in unprocessed registrations locked in the county vault. Late last year, Hartsough made the decision to close the department’s doors to walk-in customers two days a week in an effort to catch up on unprocessed work. Efforts to cross-train employees from other departments within the Clerk and Recorder’s Office create additional shortages, particularly in the event of illness. “Closing the doors has helped, but again, we’re nowhere close to the staffing we need to handle the amount of work we have,” she explained. Angered by the situation, Happel scolded the current BOCC at a Jan. 23 meeting. “We must act quickly,” he said. “Our citizens have suffered enough.” Hartsough said she feels the new commissioners are listening and working with her to remedy the department’s woes. Happel said he’s hopeful, too. “However, if the BOCC doesn’t act quick, I’ll personally be reporting the matter directly to the state,” he said.
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.