Board of County Commissioners Business Meeting - Regular Meeting

All right, it is Tuesday, June 23rd at 1.37 p.m., and we will call this meeting to order. Jason Vanderveer is here to start us off with the invocation.

Let's pray. Father, we come before you this afternoon, and we just thank you. We know that all blessings flow from you, and we thank you that you haven't just created us, but Lord, that you guide your creation. And so may we walk with you, may we know you, may we glorify you. Lord, we thank you that you not only created us, but that you think of us, Lord. And that is unimaginable for us. And we are created in your image. And so we pray that we may honor you in all that we do and all that we say. We pray that that would include here today. We pray for wisdom for our leaders, for all who serve you. Blessing upon all people. And, Lord, we just pray that you would be working in this county, in this state, in our nation, around the world, Lord, to end conflict and to draw all men everywhere to you. We pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Jason. If you're able, stand and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, thank you. Mr. Garcia, Mr. Attorney, is there certification of the agenda? Yes, sir, the county attorney's officer reviewed all items on the agenda.

The board has appropriate jurisdiction over these matters.

Okay, and is there any commissioner disclosures for this agenda? No, Mr. Chair, none for me. None for me either. That takes us right into the number two of our agenda. Oh, and I should say right off the top, George Commissioner Teal will not be joining us today. He is dealing, I believe, with some family issues and just taking care of some business, as many of us do here over the summertime with him and his family, so... Commissioner Layton and I will carry on in his stead. So number two, we start our ceremonies and proclamations section with the resolution proclaiming June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Julie Patel, our protections program manager, and Michelle Kane, our adult protection supervisor, presenting from Human Services.

Hello, good afternoon. We're here to read the proclamation for declaring June Elder Abuse Awareness Month for our county.

Fantastic.

Hello. Whereas Douglas County older adults deserve to be treated with respect and dignity to enable them to serve as leaders, mentors, volunteers, and vital participating members of our communities. Elder abuse and exploitation affect every segment of our community, and preventing the maltreatment of our most vulnerable adults requires awareness, collaboration, and action from individuals and organizations across Douglas County. And whereas Douglas County Human Services received 1,117 reports to its Adult Protection Hotline in 2025, whereas the National Center on Elder Abuse in Douglas County recognize the importance of taking action to raise awareness, prevent and address elder abuse, and whereas our population lives longer, we are presented with an opportunity to think about our collective needs and future as a county, and whereas ageism and social isolations are major causes of elder abuse in the United States, and whereas recognizing that it is up to all of us to ensure that proper social structures exist so people can retain community, societal connections, reducing the likelihood of abuse, and whereas preventing abuse of older adults through maintaining and improving social supports like senior centers, human services, and transportation will allow everyone in the community to live as independently as possible and contribute to the life and vibrancies of our communities. and whereas community members play a critical role in protecting vulnerable adults by reporting suspected abuse, mistreatment, or exploitation to 303-663-6270 or 1-844-264-5437, whereas join us in our engaging and empowering movement in putting an end to abuse.

Thank you so much. Is there anything else you'd like to add on top of the reading of the resolution?

Not at this time, thank you.

Okay, well, that takes us to the board for comments and questions. Commissioner Layton.

Thank you so much, and thanks to both of you, and let me make sure my, you can actually hear me.

Oh, turn back on. Oh, and then it went back off, okay.

never great at it um thank you so much for your amazing comments certainly appreciate both of you being here and really want to extend our gratitude on behalf of the county to every professional out there working with older adults this is a really critical and important and vital population and i know for The three of us ensuring that we are honoring older adults, ensuring that they have the opportunity to share their lived in experience with us and have very active and robust lives long into their later years is really important. This is a tough issue. And I think one question I would ask of you and maybe for the benefit of those who might be listening in, do you have examples of what elder abuse looks like specifically in our county And I heard in the resolution the call to action, right? We will do proclamations. I'm not a huge fan of them because I always want to make sure there's an action element associated with that. So remind us what the call to action would be if anyone experiences or is suspicious of elder abuse.

So we always ask that people report. The issues that we have in Douglas County is obviously it's a wealthier county. Financial exploitation is one of the largest issues that we do have, but also I would say that the secondary aspect of that would be self-neglect. Everybody wants to age independently at home, which is amazing, and we support However, it has to be done with all the supports that that person might need. And that's where Adult Protection comes in, is that we try to provide those supports, helping people age in place. It's never our job to take anybody out of their homes, which is, I think, why people don't call. When in job, our whole job is to support and to respect people's wishes so they can live how they choose. One of the big sides to that is that advanced planning is key and everybody wants to know what you would like when you can no longer speak for yourself. And while we're there to advocate for you when you can no longer speak for yourself, it would be wonderful if we knew what your wishes were so we can help in any way that we possibly can. So our goal as Human Services is to support our population in any way that we can moving forward.

Well, that's just excellent. And I harken back to a previous career as a real estate and estate planning attorney. And it's wild that 75% of people die intestate, meaning they die without any sort of planning, any sort of will. And that's really difficult for the survivors, right? To try to guess and hope and wonder what the wishes might have been in the absence of that person being there. So I know really sound estate planning is critically important. Just thinking through a hypothetical using the neighbor test which we often do here You know that that person five doors down that maybe isn't paying attention to county government But maybe they have a mother or a grandmother that you know is clicking links on her computer saying hey you need to pay this amount to such-and-such tax agency or Social Security and suddenly her credit card gets linked and And maybe there's suspicion that mom or grandma is no longer mentally capable of making some of those decisions on her own, but desperately wants to live in that house. What is that, so just walking through a hypothetical like that, what would you advise that regular citizen to do?

So when it comes to scams, one person said, and I won't quote them because I don't remember who said it, but it's like opening a window or a door to your home, having a computer. or a laptop or a Kindle or any kind of device, right? So what we try to do and how I go out into the public and educate along with DCSO and all of the law enforcement, Castle Rock PD, they all provide education to the seniors. We have several officers that go out to senior centers and other communities just like I do to educate, to at least call. there's also a system in place where if they do call us, we can tell them step-by-step everything that they need to do to stop the process where it is. And most importantly, we tell them to just hang up. If you don't know who's calling, there are certain apps that you can put on your phone where it lights up in red and and says spam right on the front. So that's the first step that we encourage people to load on their phones. We will take the time to do it for them as caseworkers, my team. We do all those things for them when we go out if that's part of the nature of the event. And then we also walk families through what it looks like to stop accounts, change phone numbers, change email addresses. even if it's only adding a number, just those basic things. We're not like the font of all knowledge, but we do have so much extensive knowledge. Our biggest challenge, I believe, is getting it out there because we know a lot about these processes and we just want to share the information, but we'll help the families and whoever asks for it to educate them.

Yeah. Well, Commissioner, I mean, I know we have an amazing communications department with the best comms professionals populating that department. They can reach 200,000 people in about a minute and a half. And we have a lot of initiatives, whether it's homelessness or wildfires, that they really are able to reach a lot of people quickly. And I know Caroline, the director, is here. I wonder if that's something that we could think about doing in terms of just elevating the voices of seniors.

Thank you for that question, Commissioner.

Actually, the timing is really great because this issue of the Douglas County neighbor that hit mailboxes over the weekend has this article on their work in Adult Protective Services. So very thankful for the team for working with us on that story. And it should reach 155,000 addresses any day now, but happy to do more and talk about what more we could do to get the word out.

Caroline, just like most staff at Douglas County, I ask a question and usually they already have the answer and things are accomplished. That's just how they operate. Thank you for that. Maybe just one more time for the public if you can state that number for people to call.

Absolutely. Well, there's two numbers.

Okay.

So it's 303-663-6270. and you would have to request the APS, because it's for APS and child protection.

And then the... And APS is Adult Protective Services.

Adult protection, yes. And then the 1-844-264-2800. 5 4 3 7 is the national number.

That's the national number. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Commissioner. And I know we have a, we do have a heavy agenda today with school resource officers in the house and lots of parks folks in the house. So it's awesome to see you all here, but there is a motion associated with proclaiming a month something. And so we'd like to ask if there's any public testimony that would like to be offered from any person here today. Okay, seeing none, public testimony is closed. That brings it back to the board for action. Mr. Commissioner.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If it pleases the board, I will make a motion to approve a resolution proclaiming June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month for Douglas County.

Okay, and I will second the motion and speak to it. I think this is just so important that we take time out at the beginning of our meeting for this subject matter. We spend a lot of time protecting the most vulnerable, and we have school resource officers here today who protect our schools and our youth who are vulnerable and need that assurance and need that security and protection. And just like that, we also want to focus on all members of our society that might just need a little extra help. And proclaiming this as Elder Abuse Awareness Month, I hope does that, I hope it spreads word and makes some more people even more aware. And that's one of the great things about the magazine that went out to the citizens of Douglas County is hopefully they read that and it might be able to help some folks. in their daily lives and help them avoid something particularly painful in the future, financial crimes or otherwise. But it's also about supporting and championing and celebrating our human services, celebrating you too. Thank you so much for your tireless work. Please take back to your whole department and all the folks that you work with our deep gratitude and the gratitude of all of Douglas County for everything you do to protect people on a daily basis and respond. Because a lot of times, it's something scary that's happening, there's a moment of panic and it's like, I don't even know who to call, I don't even know where to start. And so that's when you probably meet a lot of these folks and can really help them in that situation, let them sleep peacefully at night. And then finally, certainly a call to action for more awareness in our community. So I'm happy to second the motion. Anything else, Mr. Commissioner?

well said chair i couldn't agree more i would just add for our colleague that is not here commissioner teal he has led a older adults initiative for many years and so thankful for the calls to action particularly around transportation that i know this board has worked really hard on but wanted to just acknowledge his exceptional work addressing the needs of seniors as well

Certainly, I'm glad you mentioned that, so thank you. Okay, any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of, oh wait, has there been a motion? Yes, there has been a motion, it was seconded. All in favor of the motion passing, say aye. Aye. And I vote aye as well, that motion passes. That takes us to our second proclamation for the month of July. Let's see, a resolution proclaiming July as Parks and Recreation Month. Steve Schultz is here, our Parks Director from the Parks and Rec Department.

Thank you, Chair and Commissioners. It's a pleasure to be here today to introduce this resolution to you on kind of an annual basis here. But since 1985 in the United States, July has been designated Parks and Recreation Month to celebrate the power of parks, recreation, and the positive impact that they have on citizens' lives. With over 3 million visits annually, then that's through parks and open spaces in Douglas County, the spirit is alive and well. Douglas County citizens engage in all forms of recreation from trail use to competitive sports to horseback riding, biking, hiking, fishing, and bird watching, just to name a few. Parks, trails, and open space provide a break, a chance to compete, to exercise, and to recharge. In this spirit, It's in that spirit that the board and citizens alike supported the extension of the parks, trails, open space and historic resources sales tax to fund recreation facilities and which led to the board's vision and a historic investment in the parks and recreation throughout the entire county. With us today are many of the employees, the champions, the volunteers, obviously you board with your vision for the future, who have shown the dedication and collectively contributed and continue to contribute to the success of parks and recreation in Douglas County. And it's these efforts as a part of a lot of really good things that the county does that, in my opinion, contributes to making Douglas County the best county. So with that, Chair, I have the Chair of the Parks Advisory Board here with other members of the community to provide some feedback. But the resolution, if it is the will of the board, could be read by the Chair of the Parks Advisory Board. So with that, I turn it over to you.

Okay, yes, let's please proceed.

So with that, I'd like to welcome Amanda Badimlia, the chair to the Parks Advisory Board.

Amanda, it's so good to see you. Thank you for being here today, please.

Good to see you too, commissioners. Well, it's my honor today to also be joined by board members Carissa Smuldone and Christy Thomas here. They're out of Commissioner Layton's district, as well as, like Steve said, the Parks Department and staff, who really I just get to be the face, and they're letting me read this, so thank you. This resolution is a resolution proclaiming July 26th as Parks and Recreation Month. Whereas parks and recreation is an integral part of communities throughout this county and country, including Douglas County and Colorado, and whereas parks and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks, And whereas parks and recreation promote time spent in nature, which positively impact mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being and alleviating illness such as depression, attention deficit disorders, and Alzheimer's. And whereas parks and recreation encourages physical activities by providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities, designed to promote active lifestyles. And whereas parks and recreation is a leading provider of healthy meals, nutritional services, and education, and whereas parks and recreation increases a community's economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of local tax base, and increased tourism, the attraction and retention of businesses, and crime reduction. And whereas parks and recreation is essential and adaptable infrastructure that makes our community resilient in the face of natural disasters. And whereas parks and natural recreation areas are ensuring the ecological beauty of our community and what it provides a place for children and adults to connect with nature and recreate outdoors. And whereas the US House of Representatives has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month, And whereas Douglas County, Colorado recognizes the benefit derived from parks and recreation resources, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Douglas State of Colorado, hereby proclaiming July 26 shall be commemorated as Parks and Recreation Month. Thank you so much, Commissioners.

Thank you. Steve, is there anyone else you'd like to speak before we open up for board questions?

Yeah, I'd like to open it up. We've got some volunteers. We've got some members of the advisory board. So I think a handful of them would probably be welcomed if it's the will of the board.

Yes, I think this is a proper time. Please invite them up. And then we'll also have a more generic general public comment after questions. But please.

Okay, thank you. I'm Christy Thomas. I am also on the Parks Advisory Board. However, today I'd like to speak on behalf of a historical user. I am the administrator for Parker Youth Sports, the Parker Hawks. We are probably the largest renter of all of the fields that Douglas County does service for us. So I'd like to speak on behalf of that. So when you watch a child play baseball or football, you can see the exercise in motion, but as parents and community members, we know that the real impact goes a lot farther. Sports do not only build stronger muscles, but they build stronger individuals. On the field, the kids learn that making mistakes is just a natural part of growing up, whether it's bouncing back from a tough loss or learning to push through their physical fatigue. Sports teach children how to handle adversity. They learn that hard work and perseverance pay off, turning their disappointments into powerful learning moments. Sports provides an invaluable opportunity for children to learn how to cooperate with others. Kids learn about responsibility, they celebrate their teammates' success, and they support each other during difficult times. This deepens their confidence and teaches them how to communicate effectively, skills that are necessary for the rest of their lives. We of course can't overlook the obvious. Sports keep our kids moving. They establish healthy habits that can last a lifetime. But the physical benefit are matched by the mental ones. Exercise is proven to clear the mind, reduce anxiety, and improve their overall mood. Perhaps the greatest impact that sports has is the community that it actually creates. Teammates often become a second family. The friendships built while sharing their water breaks, attending practices and games, and pre-game huddles can last a lifetime and give children a strong sense of belonging. With that said, I just want to say that I am in total support of the resolution proclaiming July as Parks and Rec Month. Thank you.

Thank you.

And with that, another very important part to recreation here in the county is obviously our open space counterparts. So the chair to the COSAC is available. Jay, do you wanna come up and say something? He's also a very, very, very dedicated volunteer. He'll come out and help parks. He's just, he's all over the place, so.

He certainly is. Jay, please.

Good afternoon, Commissioners, Mr. County Manager, Mr. County Attorney. For the past 14 seasons, I've had the pleasure of being the lacrosse announcer for the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles. And the Parks Department builds strong character of our athletes. I saw that evident not twice when we won the state championship, but when we lost the state championship. And as I was trying to collect myself and didn't know what to do, I saw those boys who fell to the field after losing and their dreams crushed. In a matter of moments, they all stood up, they went to the other team with their shoulders high, shoulders straight, thanked them, came over to the stands, thanked their parents for what they've done. In a matter of moments, you saw young boys become young men facing adversity. And it's such a pleasure to be associated with Parks Department and see that. Now, I do have a dream one time. I know both of you have young boys, and I don't know if they play lacrosse, but if we get them to Mountain Vista High School, I'd love to say one day, goal, Leighton, assist Van Winkle. Or maybe I could go goal, Van Winkle, assist Leighton, but either way, I think it has a nice ring, so thank you.

Thank you, Jay. I did not know that about you. I think my boys played every sport. Lacrosse is probably on the list in the future.

So with that, I think we have some other folks, but I think we'll hold those off till public comment, if that pleases the board.

Yes, and Steve, if you could just stay right there for a moment. Any quick commissioner comments, commissioner Layton, or questions?

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and it's such an honor to be before all of you. Thank you for taking your valuable time to just be in our hearing room and chat with the Board of County Commissioners briefly because it is an exciting time, it is an exciting year. Right now in 2026, this county, with your help and your leadership, is delivering the highest amount of park and recreational resources in our history. So it is a really exciting moment for all of us, particularly young people that have been actively looking for space. And I just wanted to highlight the great work of Steve, Morgan, Nick, Steven, really all of our amazing chairs, Amanda, Jay, the awesome staff that make our parks look so. I was thinking about this even last week, Steve. We were at the Highland Heritage Park And we went to the concert on Thursday night. Does anybody go to those concerts? You know, we've been going to those since my oldest was like five years old and she's now a junior in college. And every year it is just so, it's Americana. I mean, it is so beautiful and pristine and perfect and well cared for. And that's why citizens like to go to that park and all of our parks. I think of the great work that you all did preserving Sweetwater as well as Tepfer Park for the citizens of this community. And I wanna highlight the work of Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch in that effort. uh... but this board several years ago to your point made the decision to put forth that measure to preserve parks open space and historic resources and because of our citizens uh... and eighty seven percent approval we now have three hundred and thirty million dollars for parks open space and historic resources through the life of that measure so i want to thank our citizens for the willingness uh... to do that and you know i often think about you know the challenges associated with parks and You know, there's a really important park in the United States as we think about our 250th anniversary. It's called Central Park, right? And there was a very active individual, a lawyer, a reformer, an activist named Andrew Haswell Green, uh that was sort of the godfather the the founder and the the thought leader around central park and people were furious boy there were landowners people in that area that were like this you can't possibly put a park in the middle of new york And we forget about that, right? Because we look at that particular area in America and are very thankful that that amazing natural resource is there. So we know that new ideas don't always come without challenge, but we are so excited to be moving forward on, again, these amazing projects that will greatly serve our communities. So again, I just wanted to thank everyone for being here. We're celebrating this today because of you. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Okay, with that, I'll open up for a public comment. If there's anyone that would like to comment on declaring June, or sorry, July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month, please step forward now. And please just introduce yourself, tell us where you're from. And proceed. It should pick you up. There you go.

Hello, my name is Natalie and I'm 12 years old. I am really happy to be here to recognize the amazing work done by Douglas County Department of Parks and Recreation. Without Parks and Rec, I wouldn't be able to do many of my favorite things. Just in the past few months, I've used Paintbrush Park for soccer practices and games, walked from my house to Redtail Park to explore the trails, and cooled off in the fountains at Civic Green Park. Over the years, I've also enjoyed fishing at Flyin' Bee Park, riding my bike on trails, participating in nature adventure programs, and taking classes like horseback riding, tennis, skateboarding, and lacrosse. And for as long as I can remember, I've loved visiting the Highlands Ranch in Blanchard for special events like the father-daughter dance. My mom and sisters also love the human pretzel program Parks and Rec runs at Civic Green Park on Saturdays. I think they call it yoga. I did have one scary park experience when I was younger. I was playing at Big Dry Creek Park while my sister was at soccer practice when I discovered lots of baby snakes in the sand. It turns out I had accidentally found a snake den. Thankfully, my mom called the ranger, and by the next practice, the area was safe again. So thank you for not only maintaining our parks, but for handling the hard and dangerous stuff. As I've gotten older, I've realized that beautiful parks and trails don't magically take care of themselves. I'm grateful not only for the work Parks and Recreation does to keep our community clean, safe and beautiful, but also for the opportunities you give us to help as well. I especially want to thank Mr. Luke Thornton, for organizing countless volunteer opportunities that I've participated in, such as planting flowers and trees in spring and winterizing those trees in preparation for winter. I even had the pleasure of planting a tree in 2024 with Commissioner Layden at Bayou Gulch Regional Park. Parks are more than just places to play. They're places where people make memories, spend time with family and friends, learn new skills, volunteer, connect with nature. So thank you for everything you do. You make Highlands Ranch an amazing place to live. Thank you.

Natalie, don't go far. Actually, you know, here's the deal. I'm done in January and I need somebody to run for my seat and maybe be up here. Why don't you come up here? Come up here real quick. You can come right up here. How about we give Natalie a big round of applause? One of these days I need you to be here. You want to bang the gavel one time? Okay, you can do that. All right, good job.

Well, good luck beating that, but... Thank you, Natalie. Thank you so much for your wise remarks today. We will continue with public comment. And I should have mentioned prior to Natalie, we do limit it to two minutes. So just if you get to that two minute mark, just wrap up as the screen starts blinking at you. So please tell us your name, where you come from.

How do I follow that?

Yeah. I don't know.

What a beautiful, eloquent discussion. Thanks again, young lady. Good job. I'm Demetri Georges, spelled G-E-O-R-G-E-S, a resident of Highland Ranch, and I'm here to speak in favor of the resolutions and especially the staff's efforts, which I'll follow up on. I'm a retired landscape architect and arborist. I worked for 30 years in the design and construction of parks and open space, and I can tell you flat out that living in this county and seeing the careful design and management and also maintenance of these parks, which is just as important as the design, has been a very important part of my development in wanting me to volunteer at the parks. And so I've spent a lot of time with both parks and open space, just having a great time planting trees and interacting with staff. And I can tell you that whenever I go to one of these projects, staff are well-prepared. They're dedicated to the excellence of that particular specific project. And they're professional and personable and patient with us as volunteers, showing us how to do a variety of things that need to be done that day. And they provide some really tasty donuts, too. That's been really good. So I'm honored to be working with staff and with your park system and have enjoyed it tremendously. I look forward to future volunteer work and thank you for your support of the resolution.

Thank you. Okay, any other takers for public comment on declaring the month, please? Tell us your name, where you come from, and please proceed.

Hey, good afternoon. My name's Joe McNabb and I'm a Castle Rock resident. I'm also the Regional Technical Director in Castle Rock for Colorado Storm Youth Soccer Club, formerly Colorado Rapids. What we've come to appreciate over the years is that parks and recreation are so much more than fields and facilities. They're where young athletes fall in love with sports, the outdoors, and where friendships are formed, families gather on the sidelines, and where lasting memories are created. These spaces become part of our journey and our community. On behalf of Colorado Storm Soccer Club, I want to express our sincere gratitude for the vital role parks and recreation and open spaces play throughout Douglas County. We're proud to partner with Douglas County Parks and Recreation and grateful for the continued commitment in enhancing the quality of life of the residents and visitors alike. Together we are helping build a stronger, healthier, and more connected community. Thank you for all that you do.

Thank you. Okay, any further comment? Okay, Luke, Thorin, you got called out there. Is there anything you'd like to add? He's a Douglas County native and now helps run our park department. So, Luke. Thank you, Commissioner.

Didn't he go to elementary school with, like, a really important person in the county?

I went to elementary school with someone very important, so yes.

So did I. Commissioner Van Winkle and I have grown up together and known each other for a very long time. Thank you for... asking me up here, Commissioner. It's just, it's such a pleasure to work with our volunteers that, she mentioned me, that wouldn't happen if they don't come out. And they're the reason that makes my job so enjoyable. And being able to work with them and have the community give back makes it so meaningful for me. And to give back to the community, it makes it feel like my job is also giving back to the community where I grew up. And so I can't do it without them. And they're more important than I am. So that's all I have to say.

Well, Luke, don't go too far. I was gonna make this comment during my motion, but I was saving you for last. What you have accomplished through Dougnad, which is our spring and fall community-wide volunteer event, is just tremendous. And if any of you haven't been out, I mean, literally kids are naming trees that they get to plant in these different parks. They're cleaning up areas that maybe older adults can't quite clean themselves. But you have spearheaded this effort, and I just wanted to personally thank you for just leading this in such a fantastic way. Let's give Luke a big round of applause.

Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, Luke. Well, with that, we will close public testimony and bring it to the board for a motion.

Mr. Chair, if it pleases the board, I'll make a motion to approve a resolution proclaiming July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month.

I'll thank you, Mr. Commissioner. I'll second the motion and speak to it because this is, I can't speak and I kind of share the same heart as Luke, I think, of just thanking the citizens because becoming a commissioner at this point in my life after growing up here, there was a long, long span of many years where Douglas County did not build any parks. Highlands Ranch Heritage is, I remember being there when I was growing up and it was kind of one of the last real big projects we did. as a county, and that's been many, many years ago. So to come in with such a strong mandate from the voters, passing the ballot measure with over choosing to tax themselves, which is very rare in Douglas County. Douglas County residents usually don't like to raise their own taxes, but close to 90% said, yes, we wanna raise our taxes. and we want more parks we want more recreation and then we're hearing from the teams like the soccer here today from swimmers from lacrosse from every sport from hockey saying we turn families away we turn kids away because we don't have enough space and so to become a commissioner on the big wave of such a strong mandate from the voters to and to build, and specifically in the parks and open space area has been such a blessing. And I think, at least in my short time here, we've delivered in a large part. There was the Highlands Ranch Wildcat Regional Park, which is 352 acres of preserved open space. It'll be great bike paths, it'll be great walking paths. It'll be amazing. That was an area that was slated for pretty intensive construction and development that is now gonna be preserved open space. Same thing with Topher Park, and that was actually voted on prior to me becoming a commissioner, but to be here to see the ribbon cutting, to be there for it, which it was supposed to be an elementary school, and within what was, well, it's not gonna be an elementary school. Is it gonna be developed into offices or shopping centers or anything? And now it's a preserved park. And on top of it, of course, us putting the money back into our community parker, Salisbury Park, Lone Tree, Hino Park, Castle Rock, with Gold Crown and their amazing facility just across the highway here, that building, and Zebulon. Zebulon was a vision that was kind of coming together in loose parts. Started even before I came a County Commissioner with partially kind of the idea for what Wildcat was, but that was the right idea, just wrong location. And now that will be about 100 acres of recreation, like parks, traditional parks, hopefully swimming pools. Thanks to USA Olympics for really stepping up and paying the bill for it. But along with that 100 acres of development is 400 more acres of just preserved open space and wildlife corridors. So we're getting there. Lost Canyon is another one, that's another 600 acres of just preserved open space for future, biking and hiking and things like that so tremendously thankful for the folks that really make it happen because they're you're out there every day you're cleaning up you're apparently you're finding is it snakes nests is it snakes yeah you're finding snakes and you're getting rid of them sorry kids can play soccer safely not be scared so Thank you so much for all you do to keep our wildlife and open space preserved and safe. Thanks for all you do to keep our parks open on a daily basis. And Amanda, please send our deep gratitude as a county to you and your whole board. And Jay, you, the exact same. Thank you for both you do and leading to such fundamental and important boards that really guide us as Commissioners and is guiding us to a whole new historic future for Douglas County Commissioner Layton

Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Dan Duritz, too, our director of open space, who we're talking a lot about parks today, but they really go hand in hand oftentimes with open space. And we often call Dan the answer, and he continues to be that in any role that he's in here. For the listening public and for many folks throughout our state, I get the question all the time, how is Douglas County so prosperous? How is it so successful? How does it have the money to do all these things? And I invite all of you to share the commissioner hat that I have and think about how county government works, right? We get paid on sales tax and property tax. We always say Douglas County is a place where quality of life comes first. When we invest in things like parks and open space, it increases the value and the perception of homes in our community. So people want to come here. They want to spend money in the area. They want to play here. They want to recreate here. Your home values go up. we get part of those property taxes, we get part of those sales taxes that people spend, and then we reinvest that back into the community. So it just continues to self-benefit and self-replicate so we can do more good things. to the point where we're returning $37 million back to the citizens on almost an annual basis because we don't need more of your money. But it's just one of those places that people wanna be because of the great work of our citizens. So just wanted to share that. That's one way county government can work well.

Well, there is a motion to declare and proclaim July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month. Any further comments? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well, that motion passes. Okay, let's, yeah, we have so many great volunteers and folks here, let's get a picture. Everyone, parks open space, please. And Natalie too.

How far? Only down to here.

Down here? Yeah.

Just to make space.

Don't forget the smile, please.

Amen.

Thank you.

Okay, well we do have one more ceremony proclamation here and it actually dubs perfectly on the tale of declaring July as Parks and Rec Month. We have a Parks employee recognition to recognize someone very special presented by Morgan Morehart, our Parks Operations Manager.

Chris.

Good afternoon, Commissioners. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be here today and recognize and appreciate the outstanding actions of two parks employees who assisted a community member in distress at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. On April 23rd, I received a phone call from Mr. Wicks Howard describing the incident and showing his appreciation for park maintenance technicians Andrew Blazer and Nikolai Graf. Mr. Howard followed up later with an email which I'll read to you now. Morgan, I am partially disabled and was walking our three rescue dogs with my wife. We were in the field next to the large main admin and event building at the Douglas County Fairgrounds where a lot of youngsters play soccer. I fainted and fell to the ground. My wife rushed our three dogs back to the car and retrieved my wheeled walker to help me. When she got the walker back to me, I was unable to raise myself off of the ground. My wife was not able to lift me up. We were stuck. My wife waved for help to two employees who were in a utility unit and working in the area. They came to our rescue. These young, strong men picked me up and got me back to the car. I was standing while they put my wheeled walker in the car and I started to fall and called out, help me. They both grabbed me and saved me from a bad backward fall onto my head. That would have been really bad. I am grateful for the care and concern that the two park employees extended to me in a time of need. We have talked frequently to Chris Williams, the person that is largely responsible for the fairgrounds area where we walk. Many times he has asked us to let him know if we see anything that needs his attention. We are happy that some of our tax payments provide such a facility that can be enjoyed by so many. Commissioners, Mr. Howard and his wife, Kay, are here with us today and would also like to share a few words. With that, I'll turn it back over to the board.

Well, thank you, Morgan, and I think it would be an appropriate time to hear from Mr. Howard and his wife, if you'd like. And Nicola and Andrew, of course, you are being honored, so if you'd like to say anything, of course you can. I'm glad to see you guys.

My name is Wicks Howard. I'm the unfortunate focal point of the story that you just heard. It's really embarrassing for many, many reasons. My whole life I've been very active, and now I'm inactive. in the Colorado School of Mines Football Hall of Fame. I was a weekend ski instructor for 12 years. I fought tournament karate, played tournament tennis with my wife, Kay. We won a lot, not because of me, but she was the number one in the state. So I chose a good partner. Anyway, what happened during this event, my doctor kept telling me, you've got to get rid of that. Well, not get rid of it, but don't be so dependent on that four-wheel monster that I have to go around with. And he says, you need to let it sit and then go walk a little bit and then come back to it. Well, I found that there was a place that really worked well in Parks and Recreation, and that's the big field right next to the auditorium where all the kids, little kids play soccer. And during the week, that's open, and so I would take that down, and my wife would take our three dogs out, and I'd kind of trot along behind them, drag myself along behind them. And my pacemaker had given my orthopedic surgeon an alert, and so they put me on a medicine. I went out and didn't realize it, but that medicine is known to make you dizzy and weak. I was already weak, so I couldn't tell how much weaker it was. Anyway, I got out in the middle of the field and I just fell down and I couldn't get up. My wife ran back, got my wheelie, came back. I'm so weak, I couldn't pull myself up on my wheelie. She was about to call 911 when she saw these wonderful young men, and they came running over and grabbed ahold of me, got me up, took me out to the car. One of the things my wife and I talked about, what happened to me was about five years ago, I finally gave up on my body because I abused it so bad. I got two artificial knees, I got rods in my back this long, and my hip was finally given out on me. And so I went in to get a hip replaced, and I did. And the hip replacement surgery was wonderful and successful, but two days later, after they let me out of the hospital, I got septic staph infection, and I almost died. And they had me in there for two weeks, and then two weeks in a nursing home, and we had a live-in home provider, caregiver, come in and take care of me. And so one of the things that came to my wife and my mind, we were both servants of God. And I'm part of Chuck Colson's prison ministry. I had done ministry at Arapahoe Detention Center one hour a week for 34 years. And then I came down to Douglas County also in addition to that for five years about once a week And I always wish to tell the the detainees I said, you know God said in In song and in Isaiah. He said I will I will protect you. I will hold you up in my right hand I will be with you when the things are bad and in in In Psalms it said I will counsel my, and provide my angels to stand by you when you have problems to protect you. I kept thinking about that when these guys came over and picked me up and took me over to the car. And I said, this is wonderful. And so I was standing at the back of the car, and they were putting the monster machine in there. And all of a sudden, I started going like this. I said, help me, help me. And they grabbed me. It was like four steel Things came up under me and grabbed me. And you know what? My wife and I had talked about this. We have had five of our good friends and part of our own family die because they fell on the concrete backwards like that or on asphalt. One of them came out and got out of bed and and hit his head on the back of his head on a dresser. So that was going through my mind, and I was going like this. I said, it's all over, and I'm going to hit my head, and I'm going to die. I mean, that just flashed in my mind until these guys picked it up and picked me up And it reminded me of the scripture that I tell the guys in prison, you know, that he will send his angels and he will guard you. I had two angels. And now your friends don't consider you angels, maybe. And maybe your parents don't. But I do. So something I would tell you. You and God saved my life. You really saved my life, and I'm grateful for it. And my wife has an award for you here.

Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

Little monster there. Well, Nikolai, Andrew, would you like to say? You don't have to, but you've earned it. Nikolai, I'm just glad you're doing okay. Okay, Commissioner Layton. Well, you both are.

Ask him again how you can continue to allow him to help other people in your life.

Oh, we will, thank you.

That's awesome. And I know I can tell you guys are humble and you probably don't feel like what you did is as significant as what you just heard, but it truly is and was. And it's so representative of all of the staff in Douglas County. You all are good people that just You know, you just step in when you need to you do the right thing consistently You didn't have to be there and go the extra mile, but you did So again, thank you for that and and sir to you and your wife No doubt with all of that athletic prowess and excellence throughout your life I I have no question that you would have done the same thing For a senior in your position in your day and you probably did help out in ways that we didn't hear about today So it's nice to see that generational support and assistance and wish you all the best.

Well, there's no motion, but let me just personally add my thanks and gratitude to you, Nikolai and Andrew. We have great organization. We have great parks. We have great amenities. We are an amazing county, but none of it's possible without the people that make it. I see many still stuck with us here in the audience today, but it's truly an honor to take a moment and just say thank you to you two. keep up the great work, and we have a bit of a recognition here to hand to you, and if you're okay with it, we'd love to get a picture with you. And sir, thank you. 34 years of prison ministry, a lifetime of service. If you're not careful, you're going to get yourself stuck in the Douglas County Hall of Fame yourself. So thank you so much for being here. It'd be easy not to say something, but you did, and we appreciate it.

Well, why don't you let me come up?

Thank you.

Thank you

Okay, that brings us to the next item on our agenda, which is a consent agenda, which has a plethora of items, including approval of minutes from past meetings and things like that. I have asked to remove item P from the agenda. So with that, Mr. Commissioner Layton.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. And as a point of personal privilege, I don't know that the public realizes that so much of the special opportunities we had to recognize citizens as a result of your initiative and your work to do that. So as a son of Douglas County, I think it's really cool that you're paying it forward and recognizing all of these great... We didn't used to do that. This is really a new thing due to your leadership. So appreciate you.

I kept meeting big heroes in our community and it's a great opportunity to honor them.

If it does please the board, I will make a motion to approve the request in items A through O and Q through AA of the consent agenda. Consistent with your comment, item P is moved to the regular agenda items.

I will second that motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. And I vote aye as well. That motion passes. That takes us to our regular agenda. And we have first on the regular agenda today, Item A, which is a construction contract and purchase order for the Douglas County Regional Joint Public Safety Training Complex, hella tackaner, that's a lot, to TCC Corporation for a total contract in the amount of $420 million roughly. Tim Hallmark is here. I see Tim from our Facilities and Fleet Department. Tim is another one of those great heroes that quietly go about their job every day. Tim, please.

Good afternoon, commissioners. We have before you today is phase one of our regional joint public safety training complex. Phase one being our helitack hangar. The need... Wildfire is the county's primary natural resource threat, natural hazard threat. 331 HELTAC missions since 2018. $17 billion in values protected. That will give you an overview of the regional joint public safety training complex. This first phase, we're looking for an award of a contract to TCC Corp. for the development and construction of our Hell Attack hangar. Total contract amount of $4,221,302. We have a few renderings of what this facility is going to look like. That's the exterior landing pad view, which is kind of looking at the facility from to the west out of the east. That's the kind of front main entry from the front parking lot. And then just a general overview of the site. Facilities solicited bids from six pre-qualified general contractors under RFQ 01425. Bids were opened on May 14 with four responsive bids received. TCC Corporation submitted the lowest responsive and responsible bid and satisfied all contract requirements. The contract costs breakdown. The hangar construction itself is $2,971,524. Alternate number two, which is wet utilities that will be coming from the north and bringing in water and sewer to the site, is an add to the contract of $699,173. And then a construction contingency of $550,605. bringing us to that total project cost of $4,221,302, which is actually well within our identified budget that was approved earlier this year. Our current timeline, if the board approves this contract today, we'll have about approximately 60 days to get to a final design on the pre-engineered metal building. That should put us about 90 days from a groundbreaking with the construction contractor. with a potential opening spring of 2027. Things go well. Mike Alexander, good news. We're thinking that's probably early spring of 2027, so maybe just in time for our season. Our recommended actions is for the approval of the purchase order and contract with TCC Corp for the $4,221,302 for our Hell Attack hangar. Funding has been identified and will be provided out of Fund 240, BU 870055. Now this is the best part. Myself and the Director of Office of Emergency Management are here to answer any questions you have either about the project or about the great resources it's gonna provide for the HELTAC program in Douglas County.

Okay, and before that, Mr. Alexander, would you like to say a few words as Director of the Office?

Thank you, Commissioners. I appreciate the opportunity. Mike Alexander, I have the honor of serving as your Director of Emergency Management. Within that responsibility includes operational administrative oversight of the Douglas County Health Attack Program, which, again, is the only locally operated and controlled hell attack program for wildland fire suppression in the state of Colorado. We are achieving amazing things here in Douglas County in public safety and protection of our citizens and their property with your support. So a little bit of breakdown on the stats of what we've accomplished. We're currently in the ninth year of hell attack and helicopter operations contracting here in Douglas County with exclusive use contracting capability. In that time, we've completed safely 331 helicopter flight missions. How that breaks down is 112 wildland fire missions, including 81 of those fires being within Douglas County and 31 outside, which are fully reimbursed by our state and federal partners. We've responded to 27 smoke reports throughout the county, responded to 13 all hazard incidents, which are things that include search and rescue missions, downed aircraft, and other. We've also completed numerous trainings, 179 training missions, which allow us the opportunity to ensure that when the bell rings, the call comes in for wildland fire, we are fully prepared, ready, and capable of meeting that mission. You saw a statistic up there related to our value protected. Here in Douglas County, the average square mile across all of 844 square miles in Douglas County is valued at around $150 million on average for a square mile. Given that we've responded to 112 wildland fires in the last nine years, we estimate that we have protected around $17 billion worth of property value via those 112 wildland fire responses, threatening on average around a square mile per fire. Pretty significant value in protection considering that we have spent over those nine years around $8 million. So $8 million spent, $17 billion protected, which has nothing to say for the lives and quality of life that we've protected here in Douglas County. I'm proud to work here as your Director of Emergency Management. Happy to answer any questions and support this investment in long-term public safety for Douglas County and our residents. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Alexander.

Any questions from the board for these two? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have any questions, but again, this is such a... It's an amazing moment, really, it is. The journey that I've been on for eight years with you both, this amazing emergency management team, the HELITAC team, law enforcement, There is probably nothing more profound that this board will ever do than address the number one potential threat facing our county, which is the threat of wildfires. And you all have heard me say this many, many times, but any time we go to D.C. and see the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service maps, it always has California and Colorado, specifically right here, as the hottest, reddest, and brightest in the nation. What is fascinating to me, you know, in this role, and I think just as a regular citizen, is this perception that local fire departments somehow have aerial support. They do not. They do not. And it's just amazing that we are the only county out of 64 counties that has its own owned and controlled and operated hell attack team. As chairman of the metro area county commissioners, I would love to see the other metro area counties, with their huge budgets like ours, consider this sort of program. I mean, $17 billion, billion with a B in property values protected. I often say this is the good news that people will never hear about. The homes that didn't burn down, the people that did not die, the pets that were not lost, memories that they still get to keep because this government was serious about public safety. Again, it goes back to the comment that I made with parks. We are an amazing county because we invest in the things that matter most, and public safety matters most. I know when I first came on board, it was actually the fire chiefs and the emergency management who asked the Board of County Commissioners to have a meeting on the second floor, and they were showing visuals of the fire hawk. and saying, hey, we need to have some kind of helicopter for this densely wooded, we're 50% open space, we need to have a helicopter. And the board I was a part of at that time, which did not include Commissioner Van Winkle or Commissioner Teal said, no, no, it's not necessary, not something we're gonna prioritize at this time. And then there was a school shooting and then there was COVID and then there were other things. But I'm really glad we got back to it. I'm so glad we have a Wildfire Action Collaborative. I'm so glad we have a phenomenal sheriff that recognizes the value of this Hell Attack team. And really, I don't think there's any better emergency manager in the state than Mike Alexander, and his reputation goes far and wide. And of course, Tim, I think we keep your plate full at all times, especially now this time of year. With all of the facilities that you manage for the county, it really is remarkable. But I'm pleased, I'm really, I'm looking forward to hearing public comment on this before I render my vote, but you might guess how supportive I am of what I've heard so far. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. And I do have a question, actually two questions for you, Mike. One, you said, and help me, because there are several different numbers. There's 331 missions. You said 81 fires put out or attacked here in the county. Was it 20? 31 out, or was it 81 total, and of that, 31 was out? And then second, and I'll just ask you both, and you can answer both at the same time, have there been times where we did call upon, and in my previous role as a state senator, I worked very hard to get the state a fire hawk, and a second one prior to leaving, but have there been times where we as a county have called upon the state, and they were just unable to respond, or respond in a timely manner where that fire would get incredibly dangerous?

So the first question was a total 112 fires over the last nine years, including 81 within Douglas County that we responded to, 31 were outside the county. So those were assists, were contributors, contributors to the interagency wildland fire system. And so we help out our neighboring counties, state and federal jurisdictions throughout their front range when we're able to assist them and they have the need. We do that whenever possible. We did that this year. We went down to Pueblo County and assisted them with a wildland fire that had potential to threaten residents down there. Those costs are fully covered by the state and federal partners that request them. So no cost to Douglas County citizens. On the other side, as contributors to that interagency system, we do rely upon state and federal partners for large fire response. There have been several instances here in Douglas County, such as the Chatridge fires, where our helicopter would be first on scene and we've received additional support from state helicopters, state helitack crews, federal helicopters and air tankers, and all of us working together to solve the common good. There have been times that other resources were not available when we've requested them due to their inability to fly in a certain mission or they were already engaged on wildfires in other areas, which is exactly why we invest in this resource here for Douglas County, because that ensures that it's always available here when we need it and that we can pull it back. If we're loaning it to our neighbors, we always have the ability to pull it right back here to Douglas County and support the hometown.

Well, that is huge because knowing the state that we live in, unfortunately, many of the wildfires, especially in the summer seasons or months, are on the west side of the continental divide. And if the state helicopter is over there, the front range is largely... really dependent upon Douglas County in many respects. And it is great to know that we get reimbursed. It sounds like, I think you said 31 out of 81 in county, 31 out of county. So about a little more than one in four missions are outside the county that we get reimbursed for as a county to help pay for projects just like this one, so thank you, Mike. With that, I do wanna open it up for public comment. No one signed up on here, but if you failed to sign up but want to comment anyway, please come forward now. Well, I don't see any movement in the room, and so I will close public comment. That brings us back to the commissioners for a potential motion and further discussion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I want to be specific about what we're doing today. So we have had the opportunity to have a helicopter during what we consider really those hot, dangerous months. But again, what we always say is fire season is January 1st through December 31st. And the Marshall Fire was late December. So having a helicopter and a helitack team ready to go locally close to where we're at every second counts. What the board has been discussing for years is a climate-controlled hangar that can house that helicopter during months when it is snowing or raining and you just can't have a helicopter outside. We have not had a climate-controlled hangar in the county to be able to do that. This $4,221,000 helps accomplish that. Am I stating that right, Tim?

That's correct. Yes, sir.

Yeah, so it's significant. I think not only will we be able to really address fires immediately when they occur during those hot months, but now literally the entire year once the establishment of this hangar, it's constructed and up. I can't imagine what that response, I mean, maybe for the benefit of the public, Mike, how much does that improve response time for us?

Well, it's tremendous. And I'll give you an example that's relevant to today. So right now our helicopter is out exposed to the elements 24-7 while it's on exclusive use contract with some severe weather potential this afternoon. And that potential brings hail. And any amount of hail damage to the helicopter could take it fully out of commission and be unavailable for wildland fire response. So right now, Tom Kenney, who's in the corner over here, is my Deputy Director of Emergency Services. He's a phenomenal aviation wildland fire suppression expert. He's working with our helitack crew and our public works teams, because we have a phenomenal relationship with them, to see if we can hide the helicopter under a salt sand shed. so that it's protected from the elements. And that is actually, we're able to provide that protection, but it does slow down our response time. That'll slow us down 15 minutes in being able to get off the ground, whereas if we have a hanger, we're able to just roll it out and go to work whenever needed. So it is truly an investment in safety and ensuring that that critical firefighting resource is available and ready to go any day, any month of any year.

Yeah, thank you for that. And a not so exciting topic that is actually really important is insurance. And a lot of people in our county can't get insurance, both citizens and businesses, because of the threat. One of the things the board is working on is piloting a program with the insurance commissioner so that we have the opportunity to lower some of those premiums based upon actuarial standards and underwriting associated with the programs we have here. Our county is different. We can protect citizens and businesses here like no other place in the state. So you all should be paying lower premiums for your insurance. But stay tuned for that, but that is an important component as well.

Okay.

Is there a motion?

Mr. Chair, if it pleases the board, I'll make a motion to approve a construction contract and purchase order for the Douglas County Regional Joint Public Safety Training Complex Hell Attack Hangar to TCC Corporation for a total contract amount of $4,221,302.

Okay, and I second the motion. It seems to me is a clear direct investment in protecting our homes, protecting the open spaces that we were just championing and talking about, and protecting all of our residents from catastrophic events, and really minimizing that response time. We live in a dangerous climate, a dangerous region of our country when it comes to wildfire. And we also have the pine beetle coming down to lower altitudes that we hadn't seen previously. So I think the timing is right. We are ahead of the curve. It doesn't always feel like it because it's one of those things that keeps us up at night is wildfire. And we know there's good people like Mike and your team out there all the time protecting us. So deeply grateful for that. But also if I lived in Jefferson County, I would take I would be thankful for Douglas County for being able to provide the helicopter so often as we do. But I also, I don't know, I'd be a little worried. So I'm glad that we're taking the lead, glad that we're providing the service, not just for Douglas County, but for all others. So I'm proud to second the motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well. That motion passes. Thank you, commissioners. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Mike. That takes us to item B of the regular agenda, the 2026-27 public contract for service to share costs for the school resource officer program in Douglas County. I see our fantastic sheriff approaching. Mr. Sheriff, thank you for your patience with us this afternoon. Of course.

After all that fire talk, we gotta give these guys just as much opportunity to speak as necessary, right?

There you go. Good afternoon, Commissioners, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I am here to respectfully request your approval of the 2026-2027 School Resource Officer Cost Share Budget. We are proud that Douglas County has the largest and most successful school resource officer program in the state of Colorado. To give you a snapshot of our current operations, our SRO team proudly supports 57 schools across Douglas County. This massive responsibility is carried out by our dedicated crew of 37 deputy sheriffs, one commander, three sergeants, two corporals, and our very popular therapy dog. We are also in the process of adding two more therapy dogs to our ranks. I want to highlight that American Academy Charter School is fully funding their own therapy dog that will be added to the cadre. The demand of our services remains incredibly high in Douglas County. In 2025 alone, our SROs handled 4,497 calls for service within our school district. And if we had not had those SROs in the schools, that would pull a district car off the street from their normal responsibilities. And while we're still waiting for our final numbers, our safe to tell tips average about 2,500 per year. And those safe to tell tips come in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we respond to all of those. Which tells you how much our and how much our parents rely on that system. The proposed budget before you maintains these critical staffing levels. It ensures that our team has the essential training, equipment, and community engagement funds necessary to run vital programs like our youth academies and our bicycle safety education program. The Douglas County School District's mission is to provide an educational foundation that allows each student to reach their individual potential. Our SOs directly advance that mission. We help foster safe, supportive, and learning environments for students where students can learn, staff can teach without fear of violence or disruption on those campuses. We are incredibly proud of the strong partnership that we have built with the Douglas County School District. Our SROs serve not just as law enforcement officers, but as mentors, advocates, and protectors of those kids. Thank you for your continued support of the Sheriff's Office, and thank you for contributing to the safety of our children in Douglas County. You are contributing to safer schools, stronger communities, and better outcomes for kids across Douglas County. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Okay, any questions?

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have any questions, but, you know, I'm glad the fire folks are gone because I need to tell you all something. We talked about the number one threat being wildfires and how dangerous that is to our community, but nothing is more precious to our county than our kids. And you think about the thousands of calls that you all have responded to. This began after the STEM shooting when this board said, we want to partner and we want to make sure we have the highest number of SROs and that every school gets covered. And that was met with a lot of resistance at the time. I actually testified in front of Kevin when he was a senator. And, you know, we were getting a lot of pushback from now commissioner colleague in Arapahoe County that this is a pipeline to prison and that, you know, we need to have SROs be softer and wear, you know, pink T-shirts to make people feel okay. And at the end of the day, I said, why don't we protect kids like we protect you all politicians in this building? I had to go through security just to even get to this committee floor. Why aren't we protecting kids in the same way? And I am so thankful that this county, this board stepped up and said, yes, the offer we made to the Board of Education was half. We will match whatever you do. And they stepped up. They followed through. The previous board followed through on their commitment with the superintendent and we got more SROs. I know we have that shared goal of having more therapy dogs too, not just because they're cute and cuddly, but we know the NASRO statistics indicate that when an animal is involved, kids are more likely to engage. But I said that there is news that people will never hear about and we will never know all of the kids, all of the lives, that maybe one out of those 5,000 calls might have been another STEM, maybe more than just one. So you all are truly heroes in my book, and I am so, so thankful for the work that you do every day. It's an honor to be before you.

And I will also say, I'll say ditto because I'll have comments of my own later on. Is there anyone else that wishes to speak, Mr. Sheriff? I see Guster there just being his cool self. It is Guster, right? Yes, sir. From Crest Hill Middle School?

Would you like to say anything?

Thank you, Commissioners. Thank you, Sheriff. I just want to emphasize the good work that these people do behind me. Without them, we couldn't be successful. There's no quantifiable metric that says how many lives that we have touched in a positive way or what difference we have made because those are not stats that are kept. Those are not things that are easily quantifiable on a pivot table or a chart. But every day, they do make a difference. And every day, they brighten somebody's life and showing them a good mentor or showing them how to be a proper young individual in this world. So we're not successful without the efforts of these people behind me. So I'd like to give them just a quick round of applause. Absolutely. Thank you.

Thank you, and from the bottom of my heart, sincerely, I can't thank you enough. When I drop my kids off for school every day, I know Deputy Walker is there. He is one of my favorites, of course. I'm a little biased, though, because I get to see him all the time. But thank you to each and every one of you. You're such important mentors to the youth of our community, such important just in so many ways to keeping our kids and communities safe. But even more than that, like, truly, we did make a video about with several of you and I think it did show, it showed I think in a very small way how you are just mentors to the kids and friends to the kids as well. So Caroline, do we have that or have we outdated ourselves with it?

We actually have it.

Well, let's see it and then we'll open up for public comment and then return it to the board.

I know how I would approach this. How do you guys approach this?

Really impressive to see. Every time you walk in the classroom, the entire classroom lights up.

Nineteen. Nineteen. That's easy. Oh, I get a star. Nice. The kids are coming up to you. They're showing you their footwear selection of the day.

And then you talk to them, and they talk to you like friends.

It's pretty obvious that you have a great relationship with the kids here. That's the goal. I think that's the ultimate goal.

Be yourself and be there for the kids. Show up as yourself. Exactly. Do you want this pressure? Are you sure? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Stop reading my mind. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Playing rock, paper, scissors with the kids or doing football. Bo Nix ain't got nothing on me. You allow the kids to be comfortable with you. And then when they're comfortable, they're allowed to tell you things that they normally wouldn't. Exactly.

That relationship is critically important. They truly make a difference in these kids' lives. They truly make a difference in the safety of each campus. Our SROs are handpicked by the sheriff's office and the school district just to ensure that we've got a good fit. Bottom line is that SRO is there to save lives. God forbid that they're needed in that role.

Has there been a particular moment that really stands out to you?

A hard time in my life was when we had the incident at STEM school. I was actually over at Valor when that happened.

So much of what we're doing today with school resource officers is upon reflection of what occurred and trying to invest so that a tragedy like that doesn't happen again.

You have that one moment, that one thing that occurs The main one that really stands out is one of our students was feeling suicidal. She went up to the rock up here in Castle Rock and was texting a friend that she was going to jump off.

A few years ago, I had a student that was in crisis. She was self-harming.

There's been many times that I've talked to kids and just really just let them know that I'm there for them, no matter what it is.

But ever since then, she hangs out with me all the time. Oh, wow.

She's actually doing really well. That's fantastic. She graduated and everything's going great.

That gives me goosebumps because you'll never know all of the lives that you have impacted by your presence in this building.

Not in this house, Daniel.

This is the best police officer ever.

No matter how upset your parents get at you, trust me, I know this, your parents will still love and respect you.

On behalf of the county, I just want to thank you so much.

It's not just us that are behind you guys. It's all 400,000 people that live here.

Oh, boy. Thank you, guys. That's great, guys.

Well, thank you so much. Thanks, Caroline, and thank you so much for being here. That brings us to public comment. If you guys could take a seat, probably. Guster, you too. We need more Gusters. That's great. It's worked so well. We're boring Gus. Guster's taking a nap. He's just so chill. Kids love him. Okay, well, no one has signed up to testify on this issue, but if there's anyone in the room that forgot to sign up, please come forward now. Okay, well I see no one, so I will close public comment and bring it back to the board for a motion.

Mr. Chair, if it pleases the board, I'll make a motion to approve a 2026-2027 public contract for services to share costs for the school resource officer program.

Now I'll second the motion. This is a very small cost when it comes to the safety and lives of our kids for generations, really, because it's building those lifelong relationships and trust with law enforcement. It's mental health, not just for the kids, of course, but also for us parents when we drop our kids off every morning. So I'm proud to second the motion. Any further discussion?

Well, since you're here, I'll just make the comment. There are places in the state of Colorado we know well where law enforcement is not welcome, and you're vilified, and you're treated as the bad guy. This is not one of those places. I am so proud that Douglas County is a county where we lift up law enforcement. We're thankful for public safety. We hope that you all feel the thanks and appreciation for not only your government, but from your citizens.

I concur. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well. That motion passes unanimously. Thank you so much. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And I see Drew, which means we get a photo with you, terrific gentleman.

Thank you.

All right. Count three. One, two, three.

That's awesome. Thank you.

Okay, one last, well actually two more items on our agenda. That takes us to public contract for service with RS&H Inc. for the Colorado Boulevard Bike Ped Bridge over C470 project. Brolin Bundy, P.E., Capital Improvements Project Manager from our Departments of Public Works Engineering Department presenting. Please take it away.

Good afternoon, Commissioners. As you said, Brolin Bundy with Public Works Engineering. Here to talk about a public contract for services with RS&H for the Colorado Boulevard Bike Ped Bridge over C470. A little screenshot of project area and kind of where the project limits are. A little background on the project. The objective of this project is to design and ultimately construct a separate bike ped bridge over C470. The proposed project will improve safety by allowing bikes and pedestrians the opportunity to cross C470 away from vehicular traffic and reduce the possibility for conflict and crashes between bikes and PEDs and cars. There is existing sidewalk on the roadway bridge, but it is very narrow and is located only on one side. This bike PED bridge will also provide better access to the C470 regional trail and David A. Lorenz Regional Park. The picture on the right is from RS&H's proposal of a kind of high-level concept that they'd put together and could potentially look like that in the future. So our consultant selection process. RS&H was selected by Douglas County staff through a competitive consultant selection process. A request for proposal was advertised on the Rocky Mountain ePurchasing System website on January 29, 2026. Seven proposals were received and evaluated by three Douglas County staff. And rankings are shown below. So funding for this project, Douglas County, it is set aside in fund 235, business unit 861605, and is not to exceed $980,925.50. Additionally, the county was selected to receive federal funding for the design phase of this project through the Dr. Cogg TIP program in the amount of $550,000. The county will be reimbursed up to that amount and will be responsible for the remaining funding. It puts the split between federal funding and Douglas County at 56% for federal funding and 44% for Douglas County. And the IGA with CDOT for that federal funding was approved by the board on August 1 of 2025. Just a quick schedule timeline. So the anticipated timeline for completing design is late 2027 or early 2028. And then pending construction funding, the anticipated construction bid advertisement would be in 2029. For the construction phase, the county, we will look at local, state, and federal partners to help fund this regional project, which has an estimated cost of $6 million. So our recommendation is to approve the public contract for services with RS&H for the Colorado Boulevard Bike Ped Bridge project over C-470 project. Happy to answer any questions or take any comments. Thank you.

TODD BANDUCCI- Any questions?

No, Mr. Chair, Roland, great presentation. Really, I think an amazing and significant project for particularly Commissioner Van Winkle's district. That's a critical corridor, and I think it would certainly benefit from this sort of construction.

And I concur. And so, you know, Douglas County, especially that part of Douglas County, huge biking community, huge running, walking, outdoors community, also an incredibly busy community where we say it's like a Broncos game getting out every morning and coming. Same thing in the evening. of just that many cars coming and going through Highlands Ranch. I know C470 there, that's one of the older bridges, the Colorado Boulevard one, and it is very tight there. And so we have had for several years now, the Board of County Commissioners in the county, a goal of separating pedestrians, those bikers from the cars. And I know like at University, the same path just down the road a little bit here, we've completely separated, so you don't have those bikes stopping and trying to cross lanes of traffic. So is this part of, a bigger mission that Douglas County has, would you say? And also speak to the funding of it because it's like, you know, Link on Demand, Zebulon, many things. We can't do it alone. We can't pay for a loan, but there's partners there for us.

Absolutely. I know it has been a topic for Dr. Cogg as well in terms of funding these type of projects for pedestrians and cyclists and providing safe access to C four 70 trail and other facilities throughout, throughout the region. Um, so there certainly is that. And yeah, absolutely. We couldn't, we couldn't do this as, as well as we do without funding partnerships with, with CDA, other local agencies. So that's why we, you know, for, for the design phase, we haven't, I don't think done a lot for the design phase. So that's where we have it on this one. But certainly when we go to construction, we will continue to look for other partners to help with this, um, regional regional project.

Well, thank you. That's the only question I had, so let's open up for public comment. No one has filled up, but if someone forgot to sign up on the proper form, but would like to testify anyway, please make your way to the podium. And no one is moving, and so I will close public comment. That brings it back to the board for any questions, comments, or a motion.

mr chair if it pleases the board i'll make a motion to approve a public contract for services with rs and h incorporated for the colorado boulevard bike pad bridge over c470 project for a total amount of 980 925 dollars and 50 cents douglas county project number ci 2024-021

Okay, and I will second the motion. It seems to make total sense to me separating a potentially dangerous situation where you could have bikes and pedestrians too close. This separates them, keeps them safe, and it's funded largely. The majority of funding will be coming from outside Douglas County to help us out here. So I second the motion and support. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. And I vote aye as well. That passes unanimously. Thank you. Now to our final item on the regular agenda. It was item P, found previously in the agenda item. It's a contract with Manor Resource Center for temporary assistance to needy families in the amount of $60,000. Aaron Johnson, the Assistant Director of Human Services is here to present. And my thanks for sticking around. I did want to pull this off the consent agenda for further discussion.

No worries, last but not least. I am Erin Johnson with Human Services and I have had the honor of administering the Temporary Assistance to Needed Families program for the last 16 years for the county. The Temporary Assistance to Needed Families program does a couple different things. It allows us to provide financial assistance to some of the lowest income families in our communities and then partners that with case management services and some other services to help people kind of get back on their feet and go off and be able to do successful things with their lives. But it also has flexibility in the funding that allows us to meet the needs of our community and so we're able to partner with community partners and meet people where they're at in the community and be able to provide services that way using the same funding. So with kind of different parameters around it. which is one of the best things about the program. So for years, we've worked with different agencies within our community. One of them is the MANA Resource Center. We began working with MANA back in 2018, and MANA's gone through many iterations over the years, but the MANA Resource Center and the executive director of MANA Resource Center, Aaron White, is with us also today to speak a little bit. But our contract with TANF through the Department of Human Services, provides some case management services to individuals in the community that might show up at the door of Manna Resource Center and need some help and not want to show up at Human Services. So we're able to provide some similar case management, some mental health services, some supports in getting connected to resources within the community through their organization as opposed to walking through the door of Human Services. And so we have had this similar contract with MANA for the last many years. This particular contract is for next state fiscal year to continue the same sort of programming and services. And we also, through the department, utilize some other funding through the child welfare side of the house as well so that we can also do some kind of proactive strengths-based services with those families as well through the MANA case managers and staff that Erin has on staff. So I think that's really all I had and I'll invite Erin White up here if that's okay with you guys to speak a little bit more.

Yeah, I think the time is right. Manna and Aaron White are such great partners with the county. We'd love to hear from you and feel free to take a moment to brag about the terrific work you do in our community.

Thank you. Thank you, commissioners, and thank you, Erin, for the opportunity to speak with you guys this afternoon. Manor Resource Center is honored to serve our community as our local family resource center or resource hub to help our neighbors gain resources and the opportunity to experience transformative change in their lives. Our partnership with the Department of Human Services and with Douglas County allows us to expand that reach into the community and provides Manor Resource Center with resources and tools to meet those TANF goals of providing assistance to needy families so their children may be cared for in their homes or the homes of relatives, and also the TANF goal of to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job training, work, and marriage. Manna Resource Center's vision has four pillars, and I'll just walk us through them really quickly. The first is cycles broken. We don't just work with individuals, we work with the whole family to find out what their goals are to strengthen their family. We like to see lives transformed. In 2025, we provided services to 1,013 individuals from 500 families in our community. These are our neighbors that received resource navigation, coaching, mental health, education, and community engagement services through Manna Resource Center. Our third pillar is that strengthening of families. These families accomplished more than 2,130 outcomes towards the measurable goals that they established with their coach. And many of those goals were still being worked on at the end of 2025. But even then, with those goals still in progress, our families completed over 60% of the goals that they established with their coaches. And then the last pillar is communities impacted. We could not exist in our community without collaborative partnerships and We can speak to the data, but I love to tell the stories. So if you'll indulge me for just a moment, I wanna tell a quick story. We had a family that came to us last summer. It's a mama with two teenagers in her home and she was experiencing homelessness. The mom was quickly brought in for an initial assessment and paired with a coach. Within a very short period of time, she was able to take advantage of another Douglas County partnership and go to the goals program for shelter. During her time at Goals, she worked tirelessly to increase her income, and she looked for stable housing. And she was really excited to find permanent housing in a pretty short period of time. But that housing wasn't in Douglas County, and it wasn't home. And so she's continued to work with her coach and is now living in an apartment in Castle Rock. At her graduation from Manor Resource Center in May, she said these words. What brought me to Manna Resource Center was honestly a combination of survival and hope. I needed support, guidance, and community during one of the hardest seasons of my life. I think people would be surprised at how many hardworking, loving, capable people are silently struggling. What I found at MANA was a space where people could be seen as humans first. During my time here, I'm most proud of the way that I chose to build community even during uncertainty. I realized quickly how isolating homelessness can be. Fear makes people withdraw, shame keeps them quiet, but healing happens in connection. So instead of isolated, I started connecting with other parents and families. We shared meals, resources, encouragement, parenting advice, laughter, and sometimes a place to cry. Little by little, people started opening up. I'm also proud that my family stabilized into permanent housing and she recently accepted a position as a full-time housing navigator. What she said in closing was, if there's one thing I want to take away from this journey, it's that people experiencing homelessness do not need judgment. What they need most is dignity, opportunity, and community. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for someone is to simply remind them that they are not alone. This was not just a program for me. It was part of my family's rebuilding story, and we're really honored to be part of that dignity, opportunity, and community for this family and for many families in Douglas County. Thank you for considering this contract and for learning a little bit more about Manna Resource Center.

Thank you, Erin. Thank you for everything you do and for the public awareness brought today to the thousands listening online, I'm sure, and those in the room. Mr. Christian, any questions for Ms. White or Johnson?

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a question or two and obviously go way back with Aaron and really the whole team. Obviously, the great work that you're doing with TANF is a big deal. We've had those discussions too. So thank you for the 16 years that you've been doing that for the county. That's a lot. Obviously Cherry Hills, I see it as a lighthouse in Douglas County. It's that beacon where people can go and receive all kinds of care for their basic needs. And I remember when I first started attending there, gosh, almost 15, 20 years ago, you know, the name Cherry Hills is kind of intimidating, right? In Colorado, that has a, not a stigma, but maybe a thought associated with it that, you know, this is a pretty prosperous community. And it is. But I learned very quickly that it is not a museum of perfect people. It's a hospital. It is truly a place where you can go and be cared for. You know, one thing that is important to me is, and I want to make sure that I have the hat on of government and of the people I represent, and I'm sure the question might be the affiliation with the faith-based community. We do have a faith-based roundtable and initiative that we've had for many years. love and appreciate the great work of the faith-based community. But when we think about that zone of shared services that we provide, I know, I'll just speak for myself, it's really important that anybody we're working with works with everyone, right? And so I wanna make sure that I ask the question, and the hypothetical, Aaron, if there is anybody that is, regardless of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, age, Is anybody excluded from services if they walk through your doors?

Not at all, and I appreciate the question. You may not know this, but when the MANA logo was created, the beams in between the wedges on our logo were meant to represent a lighthouse. So your analogy of referring to the church that is our parent organization as a lighthouse is spot on. We will serve anybody in the community and meet them where they are, regardless of their circumstances, background, and make them feel safe, comfortable, seen, and heard. We are a Christian organization, but there is no spiritual programming that is part of the services that we provide, unless somebody would choose for that to happen. One of the things that I'm really excited about and I think shows the heart behind Cherry Hill's desire to serve the community is the fact that they're building a new building on the campus of the church that will house Manna Resource Center and the MannaCare food pantry to reduce any barriers people might have to not only coming onto a church campus, but to coming onto a giant church campus like Cherry Hill's. So hopefully by this fall or at least by the end of this year, we will occupy that space and really reduce any further barriers to people receiving services through Manna Resource Center and the MannaCare Food Bank that's part of the church.

Well, that's awesome. And I often think that God put me in this position because I'm a bit of a bridge, right? I'm a Christian. I'm also Latino. I'm also LGBTQ. I think for me, it's important to ensure I'm representing all people in my community and to know that if I went to MANA, I would not be excluded based upon any of my affiliations. That's great. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, and I believe that will now take us to public testimony. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to testify on the contract with Manor Resource Center? Seeing none, public testimony is closed. Thank you so much for both being here and presenting and bragging a little bit about the great work you've done. I know for a fact, if we as the government tried to duplicate what you do or try to take the place of it, it would cost a tremendous amount more in taxpayer resources. So to me, this makes sense, $60,000 to help support you and your mission. that supports so many people from our community on a daily basis makes sense to me. So with that, I'll bring it back to the board for any further comments, questions, or a motion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If it pleases the board, I will make a motion to approve a contract with Manna Resource Center for temporary assistance to needy families in the amount of $60,000.

I second the motion. And Ms. White, please take my gratitude back to your whole team and all of Douglas County's gratitude back to your whole team. Thank you so much, Ms. Johnson, Ms. White. I second the motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. I vote aye as well. That motion passes. Thank you. That brings us to the end of our regular agenda. Let's see here. That brings us to commissioner comments. Commissioner Layton, any general comments for us today? None for me, thank you. All right. You've heard enough from me today. There's just always so much going on. We could talk about our upcoming fair and rodeo. We could talk about so much more than we did today. But in the interest of time, I will move on to the next item, which is Mr. County Manager, do you have a report for us today? Okay, nothing report, but it is filed. It is very detailed, so if you'd like to check it out, the County Manager Report is always available online every other week, I believe. That brings us to our adjournment. The next business meeting will be held Tuesday, July 14th, 2026 at 1.30 p.m. This meeting is adjourned. And we will take a moment to flip the room over, maybe refill our drinks, use the restrooms, and be back here, I say, in five minutes for the land use hearing.