Board of County Commissioners Business Meeting - Regular Meeting

Yeah.

All right, let us all come to order please. Welcome everyone to the May 26th, 2026 business meeting of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners. We will begin today for the purpose of an invocation hearing from Pastor Jason Vanderveer. Pastor, please.

Heavenly Father, we just come before you this afternoon and we ask that you would just bring your peace upon this place. We pray for wisdom and a sense of unity and direction. But we pray that you would bless our leaders. Lord, just direct them for the benefit of all. We thank you for all of the blessings we enjoy, especially those of us who live in this great nation, who live in this state, this county. Lord, you have truly caused our cups to run over. And Lord, we know that out of that abundance comes responsibility. And so, Lord, we pray that we would use all that we have for your glory. We pray that many, all, would come to the knowledge of your son. We pray that you would guide and direct these proceedings this afternoon, that you would bless all those involved. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Reverend, once again for giving us words of wisdom and grace to begin our proceedings. Let's go ahead, and if everyone will please stand and join me in 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, turning to the county attorney for certification of the agenda. Yes, sir.

The county attorney's office has reviewed all items on the agenda and the board has appropriate jurisdiction over these matters.

Thank you, counselor. Commissioners, any disclosures for items on this agenda today? I have none, Mr. Chair. Thank you. None for me either. Thank you, gentlemen. I have none either. We'll start off today with ceremonies and proclamations. Our first one is recognition of the communities that identified zero unsheltered homelessness during the 2026 point in time count. Tiffany Marcito presenting for staff.

Thank you, commissioners. Good afternoon. Tiffany Marcito, representing community services. The Homeless Engagement Assistance and Resource Team, HART, is Douglas County's frontline response team for individuals experiencing homelessness. Formed in 2022, HART is a co-responder program pairing civilian navigators with local law enforcement to provide outreach, support, and resources to those who are unhoused. HART navigators are experts in housing, behavioral health, case management, and meet people where they are with empathy to help them connect to services. The point in time count is a federally mandated census conducted annually by local continuums of care. occurs on a single night in late January and captures both sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness. It provides a snapshot of homelessness, including demographics and subpopulation data. It helps the US Department of Housing and Urban Development allocate funding and monitor long-term trends while supporting local communities in measuring progress and identifying gaps within the homeless response system. Since the HEART launched in 2022, Douglas County has conducted the point-in-time count twice per year in partnership with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, local municipal law enforcement agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Conducting the count across different seasons provides us with a deeper insight into changing community needs and year-round trends. Ongoing collaboration between HART, law enforcement, and service partners strengthens the countywide response to homelessness and helps ensure individuals experiencing homelessness are identified, engaged, and connected to housing resources and supportive services. Project Zero established a benchmark to honor those communities which achieved this distinction of identifying zero unhoused people during the 2026 winter point in time count that was conducted on the night of January 26, 2026. The communities are as follows. City of Castle Pines, Franktown, Highlands Ranch, Larkspur, City of Lone Tree, Meridian Village, Pinery, Roxboro, Sedalia, Sterling Ranch, and Stone Gate. The request before you today is to recognize the communities within Douglas County that achieved the Project Zero benchmark during our winter point in time count that was conducted on the night of January 26, 2026. And I would like to invite Chief McIntosh from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to come up to say a few words about our partnership.

Thanks, Tiffany. Board, the sheriff wanted to be here, but he could not make it today. So I'm standing before you. And first of all, just really want to thank you for your continued commitment to this issue. As was stated, this partnership began in 2022. And we have made some very meaningful progress in addressing homelessness in Douglas County. As you can imagine, public safety remains our top priority. Our residents and our business owners expect safe, well-maintained public spaces, and we support that through proactive policing and community outreach. Through our HEART program, we get to focus on the root causes of homelessness. When we partner our deputies and our navigators to work side by side, They identify emergency needs early. They keep our neighborhoods safe, and they keep our neighborhoods stable. The Heart Team Co-Responder Model enables us to manage complex situations on-site, and I think that that's the key to this program, is we get to do that on-site. And this gives us an opportunity to redirect non-violent individuals away from emergency rooms or jails where they would have gone before. Our team's efforts also include offering food and hygiene items and compassionate support with a goal of connecting people to long-term sustainable resources. By pairing law enforcement with that dedicated outreach, we've linked hundreds of people to critical services including mental health care, substance use treatment, housing, and employment resources. This approach is making a meaningful difference in our community and in the lives of the people that we serve. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. We have several representatives from the areas of Douglas County that achieved this milestone of zero unsheltered homelessness, including Renee Anderson from the Highlands Ranch Metro District, Jeff Blue from the City of Castle Pines, Mayor Mindy Kazurova from Town of Larkspur, Jessica Gottschalk from Sterling Ranch. So I'd like to invite each one of you up to say a few words and what this designation means for your community. So Renee, if. You have a few moments?

Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm Renee Anderson from Highlands Ranch Metro District. On behalf of Highlands Ranch Metro District, I'd like to thank Douglas County for the work they've done to address the issue of homelessness in our communities. The HEART Team is a good example of a resource that provides an innovative and compassionate response to unhoused people in our communities. This is a complex and challenging issue. We appreciate this approach that gives law enforcement, local governments, and citizens the opportunity to help those who are struggling. Metro District Park Rangers have collaborated with HART, the HART team, to respond to individuals in our parks and open space in Highlands Ranch. In fact, I think even just this morning. And to help provide resources to those in need. This partnership helps to keep our parks and public spaces safe while offering a helping hand to those who are experiencing homelessness. Thank you.

Next, Jeff Blue with the City of Castle Pines. Mayor Mindy from Town of Larkspur.

It's a little complicated. My name is Mindy. I'm the mayor of Larkspur. Last name is Kozorva. I'm the owner and operator of the spur of the moment down in Larkspur and I've seen firsthand the need for after-hours assistance in our community. Due to the lack of businesses that open and operate late, oftentimes my establishment is the only place for stranded travelers to come through. We always offer assistance and I have contacted HEART on multiple occasions and every response was consistently effective. It's been successful in providing help to support individuals in need and their services have been an important resource for our community and those who otherwise would have had nowhere to turn. Thank you very much.

Lastly, Jessica Gottschalk from Sterling Ranch.

Thank you, Tiffany, and thank you, Commissioners. Jessica Gottschalk, I'm the Director of Community Experience and Resident Support at Sterling Ranch here on behalf of our community and our residents. Sterling Ranch sits at the northwest corner of the county with access from Wadsworth and Santa Fe. As a gateway to Douglas County, you can imagine we've had our fair share of incidents and homeless people coming through. This milestone reflects an importance of strong, compassionate leadership. Achieving zero unsheltered homelessness speaks to the value of proactive partnerships, shared responsibility, and a community-wide commitment to connecting people with the help that they need. We are grateful to the leadership of the Board of County Commissioners, the support of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office who is always just a call away, and of course the dedication of the HEART team in making this possible. We, our entire community, thank you for everything that you all do for the county.

Then I'll turn it back over to our board for any questions or comments.

All right, thank you very much, Tiffany. To the board, comments, gentlemen.

You know, this is a really meaningful moment. For those of you who have been on this journey for multiple years, it is incredibly exciting to see that list that Tiffany just displayed. To see not just functional zero, which was our commitment when we signed the bill for zero pledge, but actual zero. Very few communities of our size in the entire United States can claim that distinction. And we do it as a team. with each and every one of you, all of our partners, law enforcement, the amazing Tiffany Marcito and the HART team, what you all do on the ground, in your vehicles, directly working with individuals on a daily basis. As a county, we cannot thank you enough. It has truly been tremendous. Let's give a big round of applause to our HART team. You know, many years ago, we were starting to see the impact of homelessness in Douglas County. And I remember distinctly with a trash can in hand and dirty clothes, it was middle of COVID and I'm out with my son, we're doing a cleanup of Lone Tree where I'm from in District 1. And my son encountered a homeless encampment right at the Target at Lincoln and Yosemite. And he'd never seen that before. That's a little bit different. I mean, working as an attorney in downtown Denver, I did see that quite a bit. On 16th Street Mall, you can't go a single block without some really challenging circumstances. But my son was pretty shocked and surprised by that and discovered, you know, empty liquor bottles and drug paraphernalia. And I just I did what any citizen would do. I called up my local city council member. I called up Jay Carpenter, who I think many of you know. And he said, well, Commissioner, I'm doing the same cleanup and I'm seeing the exact same thing right behind the Chili's, which is near Lincoln and I-25. So, you know, we went back to the county with this notion of let's start a Douglas County homeless initiative. And I have to really acknowledge and thank my board because if I had come back and they said what they thought, which is you're crazy, we don't need that, don't do that, that's silly. We probably wouldn't be here today, but it's because of their leadership and particularly George, who he'll tell you. might not have been the biggest fan of this initiative at the beginning and had good reason not to be, trusted me and supported me in this initiative. And really, I have to thank the Mental Health Initiative because their notion of co-response was the author of our idea of heart. We thought, well, if CRT can work in the mental health space, why can't we do that? in this very complex and challenging space of homelessness. And there was a little bit of resistance to that. It's hard to believe now, Tiffany, looking back, that there was resistance, but there was. And sometimes new ideas are met with a little bit of challenge. But the municipalities, the areas of interest said, okay, we're gonna try this. We're gonna pilot pairing law enforcement with a navigator. and you guys have just absolutely crushed it. And I hope that citizens know when they see those numbers, it's not because we don't have homelessness or people that are struggling in our community, we do. We always said from the beginning, we want to lead with the four Cs, lead with compassion, then code enforcement, community services and communication, but compassion was the beginning. Everybody deserves the dignity of hearing their name and being acknowledged as a human. And that's what our heart team does so well. It is heart filled what you do. But having the safety of law enforcement there when things do get hairy, it's late at night and you don't know what could happen, it's really important and we're thankful for law enforcement being there. I also want to recognize the work of the homeless initiative on the handouts don't help campaign because it really, the credit goes to our citizens. What we have asked citizens to do is when you have that compassionate desire at an intersection to give money out of your car window, We love that heart, we love that compassion, but it's not safe for you. It's also not safe for that person in the intersection. And that's hard. My daughter who's now a sophomore, well, she's gonna be a junior now in college, just got through her sophomore year. She used to make care packages and hand them out of her window of her car when she was 16. huge heart love that but as dad I didn't you know probably not the safest thing to do especially late at night but what's so nice about this work we have 70 signs throughout the county that say handouts don't help give but give to our local nonprofits where the money will go directly to those in need and so I think it addresses that conflict we all feel of like if somebody's holding a sign if they're a veteran or they're a single mom how do we help them Well, now you can not only call, but you can text heart. People don't always like to call. But everyone pretty much can pick up their phone and just hit that text message. And the texting has been incredibly successful. And citizens like to just send that message. And to your credit, Tiffany, you are so responsive. Your team, that text goes out and it's read. And sometimes it's me. I'll send that text message. So you get right back, but I know you get right back to everybody and you're usually out there within moments to address these issues. So going back to the fact that you're getting hundreds of referrals every month, it exists, but you're navigating people in crisis to care. So it's just really encouraging and more than anything, the takeaway is a thank you to our citizens and to thank you to everyone who spoke, our communities of interest that have really committed to this Project Zero concept. Thank you.

Further from the board.

Well, I think that a lot of the things, of course, to our local communities, but to you too, because this is a project that started well before my time on the board. It was at a time when all across the Denver metro area, and I was working downtown at the time, it was horrendous, the massive increase. in homelessness, and I had my serious doubts when I heard that Douglas County was gonna take it up because my assumption, which was misplaced, is that our government would do what all governments have always done, which usually when they get involved, it makes the problem actually much worse and delays the problem. and ends up being difficult on the entire community. But this innovative solution, and it almost reminds me a little bit of our conversation with Link on Demand, which has just been so incredible over the last year. And this has been so incredible. It's because we as a government, we can't do what's always been done. We have to think innovative. innovatively and combining law enforcement with a clinician, getting people help where they need it, finding out what the problem is, how can help be provided because there's so many programs out there that want to help, so many avenues to get help. no matter what the issue is that's caused that person to be in such a difficult part of their life. We have very caring, very smart, very dedicated people willing to go out there and help and it's safe because our Douglas County Sheriff's deputies are involved and the clinician really can have that heart-to-heart communication with the citizen in need and get them the help they need. I think it's altogether proper that we're taking a moment to start our meeting on this very topic just to say thank you to the communities, thank you to the HEART team, thank you to the vision that made it possible and it's been one of those things that now that I am a county commissioner and I understand it from the inside and I've met our HEART team and the dedicated members, it's one of those things that I always want to talk to other governments about. And I'm always, I'm almost shocked that like more governments have not taken up this model because it's been so incredibly effective. Zero, it's not just a statistic, it's a, It's proof of concept, proof of the hard work that you all do day in and day out when you respond to someone in really dire need. Proof of the compassion and that the local solutions truly are the key to making Douglas County a better place to live and raise a family. Really, just from the bottom of my heart, thank you to each of you that do all the hard work every day, that respond to those text messages so quickly and so effectively. And just keep up the great work. Let us know how we can help you. We're here for you. And Douglas County owes you a great debt of gratitude.

I did think you were crazy. And I'm glad, and I thought, I thought, Commissioner, just like you, this would be, quite frankly, this is bigger than a county, this is a bigger problem than a county solution could deliver. That's what I thought, and I'm glad I was wrong. And I'm glad that we were able to work together and work up something that could work. But that's the Douglas-Kenney way. That's how we do things here. And so I'm really happy to see those results. Tiffany, you and the team, great job. Obviously, we could make our plans and talk all we want, but without people on the ground to do that work, Those are just empty words. So well done, but thank you to the communities who partnered with the county, worked on this with us, and let's hand out some plaques of recognition here. I think if everybody, Tiffany, if you could help direct a little bit here, call up our speakers. And we'll go ahead and get some pictures right after a couple more words from the board.

Thank you, Chair. I want to specifically highlight these communities. It's Castle Pines, Franktown, Highlands Ranch, Larkspur, Lone Tree, who already got its award pretty early on, Meridian Village, Pinery, Roxboro, Sedalia, Sterling Ranch, and Stone Gate. Huge parts of Douglas County that have achieved actual zero. Let's give them a big round of applause. And I want to really, I don't want to leave out Castle Rock and Parker because even though they're not at actual zero, those are the big dogs in Douglas County. Those are huge municipalities. They did see a really significant reduction in homelessness this year, which is good. They're not at zero, but they did see a reduction. And what you're still seeing is car camping. And we know that's part of the issue. They have a lot of Walmarts, King Soopers, Planet Fitnesses where the car camping does exist. But the total in terms of unsheltered homeless is at four for a county of 400,000. So let's give Parker and Castle Rock a big round of applause as well.

All right, well, let's take some photos. Renee, mayors, come on up.

We'll get a few people, maybe on this side.

Team effort.

All right, our next one, recognition of the Core 21 system launch success. Cody Winslow, nevermind, I see it's going to be our clerk and recorder, Sherry Davis.

Good afternoon, commissioners. While they're getting the slides ready, I'll go ahead and get started. Thank you for this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the successful upgrade of the Colorado Motor Vehicle Operating System this year. So this critical upgrade was years in the making. And I'd like to share some important highlights with you, then acknowledge some special guests that we have here from both county and state. Thank you. The upgrade of the Colorado's DMV operating system was necessary to provide a simpler, faster, and more secure DMV experience and was completed in February this year. The upgrade system features online tools that are intuitive and faster to use on any device and a new and secure customer portal where drivers can easily manage vehicle registrations and driver's license information. So partnership, planning, and collaboration between the Colorado Department of Revenue's Division of Motor Vehicles and County Motor Vehicle Offices led to the successful outcomes. Douglas County Motor Vehicles' participation in requirements gathering, training, testing, and providing feedback helped to create a positive statewide impact, which is one of my top priorities as clerk and recorder. Our motor vehicle team brought our concerns to the state early. on regarding the challenges experience we had the last time the state updated the system. Our state partners listened, acted on the information, and as a result, we got a better product, a better outcome, and every stakeholder involved. As I like to say, when you're not at the table, you might be on the menu. So we were at all the tables. The state DMV and county motor vehicle offices have been working on this system upgrade for two years, and our Douglas County Motor Vehicle team has been involved every step of the way, making sure we had stakeholders at every meeting. Douglas County Motor Vehicle Team members also completed almost 900 hours of testing before the February 2026 launch, provided valuable feedback on state training materials, and to date have completed more than 140 hours of post-launch meetings. We know that even with the highest level of preparation and planning, major IT projects like this encounter some issues. But since the upgrade in February, counties and the state have worked together to detect, report, address, and solve technical issues to ensure continuous improvement. We continue to collaborate to make the DMV better, and not just for Douglas County, but for the state of Colorado. One of the most important successes to highlight is that we were able to accomplish this major DMV system upgrade with minimal impact on our public or service disruptions. Douglas County Motor V continued to provide full service while integrating six weeks of staff preparation and training time before the upgrade by hiring temporary staff to serve our citizens. We also want to thank our commissioners for your support for a half-day office closure on launch day, which ensured a clean cutover to the new system, providing a streamlined and supportive environment for staff and citizens. I'd like to conclude by recognizing our Office of Clerk and Recorder staff members that are here today whose hard work and support were critical to the success of this project. As I say your names, please stand if you would. Douglas County Deputy Director of Motor Vehicle, Emily Wren. Douglas County Motor Vehicle Projects and Compliance Manager, Carissa Sanders. Douglas County Services Manager, Tom Peace. Douglas County Motor Vehicle Trainers, Leslie Irvin and Austin Higginbotham, Douglas County Deputy Director of Business Strategy and Finance, JJ Haley, and Chief Deputy Clerk and Recorder, Cody Winslow. I would also like to acknowledge our key partners here from the State of Colorado's Department of Revenue, Colorado DMV's Director, Vehicle Director Benjamin Whittier and Senior Director Electra Bussell. Electra, would you like to join me now and say a few words?

Thank you so much. I'm Electra Bussell, Senior Director for the Division of Motor Vehicles within the Department of Revenue. It is really an honor to be here today and really share the success with Sherry, the team, and the clerks across the state. Sherry was not kidding when she talked about this being a culmination of years of diligent work. We started planning in July of 2023. The state had skipped a major upgrade you can imagine on your iPhone. Skipping upgrades don't normally happen, but they did skip one. So we went from an end of life system to the newest system. And really, if you look at it, Douglas County did nearly 10% of the testing statewide. It took 53,000 hours of development, a huge project, 11,000 tests. and we had over 200 active testers from across the state. And this was both motor vehicle and driver's license system upgrade. Our success highlights the strong collaboration between the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles and our county clerk and recorder motor vehicle offices throughout the state. And in particular, here in Douglas County, I happen to be a resident here at Sterling Ranch. I may be proud today to see them on the zero list. In particular, Sherry and the Douglas County Motor Vehicle Team were essential partners and leaders in this effort. Their contributions span the entire project life cycle from initial planning and requirements gathering to pre-rollout testing, the continued testing as Sherry mentioned. And Sherry served on the steering committee as well, which helped drive the success of the project. And she's right. They had a voice at the table, and that very much contributed to our success. I also want to recognize our vehicle services program director, Ben Whittier, who's here with me, and our program manager who really ran the entire project, Claire Stewart, who was not able to make it today, and the entire DMV staff for their unwavering dedication to this project's success. Our success proves that we are truly better together. And again, thank you for having me here and sharing this great recognition. Thank you so much.

Thank you to Electra, Ben, and our exceptional Douglas County Motor Vehicle and Clerk and Recorder team members and our commissioners for taking the time to celebrate this important accomplishment with us today. Thank you.

Thank you, Clerk. Very much appreciated. Board, any comments?

I just have a couple. In my time, it's so interesting because citizens will talk to me about what it's like to go to our DMV in Douglas County. And I don't think nationally DMVs have a reputation for the places where people want to normally stay and spend time. Honestly, the feedback I get is shock, surprise, disbelief at how efficient, how easy, how friendly, how kind the staff at Douglas County always are. I often say that you're the vice president of first impressions for our county. People meet you first when they come here. and you leave such a beautiful and amazing impression. I didn't think you could get more efficient than you already are, and you somehow found a way. So to you and our state partners and all of the amazing members of staff that have contributed to this distinction, congratulations.

Further comments from the board?

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Sherry, you and your whole team. This is a tremendous moment of pride for me that Douglas County and you and your team were able to play kind of a leading role in the rollout of, in the development of the Core 21 system. At the Capitol, my previous job, it was a very well-known headache I think for the state of Colorado, the old drive system that we had that was outdated and it had issues, it had security flaws, just difficulties that I think made everyone's life working in the DMV a little more difficult. So to hear about this new system that is innovative, it's forward-looking, it's ready for the 21st century, it's secure, and knowing that Douglas County played a central role in it is a tremendous moment of pride. Thank you, Sherri, thank you, Cody, thank you, the whole team. Delivering this huge upgrade for our community, our citizens will, they may not know it by name exactly when they visit or when they interact with our Department of Revenue or with Douglas County, but I think they'll see the results and be very grateful. as we move our county and our state into the 21st century and a whole new world of technology. It's exactly the kind of efficiency that we on this board talk about every day, cutting red tape and being more innovative and being just better for our customers, our residents and our taxpayers. So thank you so much and congratulations. It's a big win for the citizens of Colorado and Douglas County.

Well, Sherry, thank you for bringing this to us to capture the moment of the success. As my colleague said, everybody has to go to the DMV. When I talk to our residents, it starts with the typical, oh, I had to go to the DMV, but it generally ends with, but you know what? It wasn't that bad. And I think that's high praise for such a essential government service that we offer here because, yeah, no, I still have friends around the state and they never ever say about their county's DMVs. It wasn't bad. They never even say that. So I think it's great. I think, once again, a real mark of your impact here in this county and the great job you do every day for the people of Douglas County and the great job your people do every day for the people of Douglas County. And thank you, our friends from the state, for joining us and lending your kind words of the accomplishments of our community Great clerk and her great team. So Drew says he wants to take another picture. So if I can have all you guys, everybody who stood up there, come on down and let's capture the moment.

Oh, the important people.

Besides sharing, I saw that look on your face.

Not bad, that's pretty good. 98%, come on. Yeah, come on. It's pretty good. All right, count three, one, two. We're not just not that bad, we're that great.

All right, moving along. Our next resolution is a resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Older Americans Month in Douglas County. Jennifer D'Ambrosio presenting for staff.

Thank you, Commissioner. The request before you today is approval of a resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Older Americans Month. Established in 1963, Older Americans Month is celebrated every May to recognize and honor the knowledge, resilience, and experience of older adults in our communities. Recognizing Older Americans Month provides an opportunity for Douglas County to applaud the many contributions of our older residents and to highlight the county's commitment to empowering older adults to make informed, proactive decisions about their health, independence, and overall well-being. This resolution is brought forward by the Douglas County Older Adult Initiative. The Older Adult Initiative Executive Committee is made up of a diverse group of local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community members, all of whom are committed to supporting older adults in Douglas County. Would any members of the Older Adult Initiative Executive Committee here today please stand? Staff recommends approval of the resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Older Americans Month. We are delighted to welcome Kelsey Thiessen of Aging Resources of Douglas County, who has graciously agreed to read the resolution for us today. KELSEY THIESSEN.

Thank you, Kelsey. Please begin when you're ready.

Good afternoon. A resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Older Americans Month. Whereas Older Americans Month, established in 1963 and led nationally by the Administration for Community Living, is celebrated each May as a time to recognize the contributions of older Americans, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm our commitment to supporting older adults in our communities. And whereas the 2026 theme, Champion Your Health, emphasizes prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as essential components of healthy aging, encouraging older adults to take an active role in their well-being by accessing preventative care, making informed choices, advocating for their needs, and engaging in activities that support lifelong independence. and whereas Douglas County Older Adult Initiative reflects and advances the county's commitment to helping older residents age on their own terms by coordinating supports that enhance housing safety, improve access to in-home assistance, ensure reliable transportation to medical and community activities, and expand awareness of local resources, empowering older adults to make proactive decisions about how they wish to age, maintain their health, stay connected, and preserve the independence and dignity they value. Whereas Douglas County accomplishes this work in close coordination with its valued community organizations and partner providers whose collaboration ensures that older adults have the tools, services, and supports they need to champion your health throughout every stage of aging. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County, Colorado hereby proclaims May 2026 as Older Americans Month, and encourages all residents to recognize, support, and celebrate older adults by promoting programs, actions, and community efforts that strengthen health, independence, and well-being. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Kelsey. Commissioners, questions or comments about this resolution?

Well, I need to say it because I know you won't. We are here talking about this because of your leadership, Commissioner Thiel, in the Older Adults Initiative. You started that initiative and wore out a lot of shoe leather, running around to different neighborhood groups, different communities, engaging directly with seniors and hearing directly from them. I know how much you like to keep your shoes in good working order. So that was probably a lot of extra shoe polish. But congrats on this and congrats on the work of the entire team. I'd be remiss if I really didn't highlight the work of Jen Eby, who is there in the row there kind of crouching down and never wants to take... Credit, I mean, just in my mind, we have so many great staff and Jen Eby facilitates and leads. I mean, we just facilitates the homeless initiative, our community, our Douglas County Foundation, the Older Adults Initiative, all these community organizations that are so critically important to our county. Well, that's Jen's work and that's Jen's team that does such a great job. I could not do my job without you, Jen. So thank you for your great work.

All right, any further questions or comments?

No questions for me, but again, this is, I think, a huge congratulations to the many who participate in the Older Adults Initiative. I think we had it on the screen for a moment, looking like two dozen different organizations and groups that participate to represent the older adults of Douglas County. Older adults of Douglas County are what built the Douglas County we live in today, and so deserve a tremendous amount of gratitude and thanks to the Douglas County that we call home today. And really our older adults remain such a vital active part of our county on a daily basis that really it's hard to go an hour on this job or a couple hours on this job or day without really thinking about the impacts of older adults when it comes to us trying to fight crime. with our sheriff's office and our partners there, or Link on Demand. We heard from seniors all across that, you know, RTD with the big old buses on the main streets really weren't serving the senior population in places like Parker and Hunts Ranch Well. Link on Demand, I know our senior communities are huge advocates of it, huge users of it, and was one of the things on my mind when we passed those measures to make that a reality. So I guess we are on our minds every day, the older adults of Douglas County, anything we can do to be better servants of you. We, the commissioners, are very happy to do it, and we have a tremendous team of folks. I wish we could put that... the montage on the screen again of all the people that just day in and day out are serving specifically the seniors of our county. Because you have my heartfelt thanks because you're the ones that make the service happen and make our seniors feel at home, no matter their age or situation, whether aging in place or moved to a community like Windcrest or V. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you do for our senior citizens and thank you to the seniors for calling Douglas County home and making it what it is today.

All right. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner, you give me way too much credit for this resolution today. After all, Older Americans Month has been around since before my birth in 1968. I am proud of the work we've done with the Older Adults Initiative here in the county. I will also say, I think Jen and Allison over there, they have done the lion's share of the work. They just occasionally ask me what I think and and you always gotta be careful and never you ask me what I think. But they put up with me and they've done phenomenal things. And of course, we have members of the executive committee here who have done great work, continuing the great work they're doing every day out among the older adults of our community. You know, The genesis of the older adults initiative was one of our residents, a nice young lady who may be older than when the older Americans month was first begun by our country in 1963. But she took me up on something I always said that particularly running for this office out on the campaign trail of if there's something the county could be doing or should be doing. I want to know. and she kinda let me know in no uncertain terms that we probably need to be doing a little bit more for our older adults. And I don't think she was saying that the work we were doing was not good. but we could be doing more. There was more we could be doing. We couldn't think that what had worked for a prior generation of older adults was going to work for our current generation or future generations. And so that's where my idea came from. You thought it was smart, though. You didn't think it was crazy. So there's that. But no, I'm glad we do it. I think there's... A lot of benefits that are landing on the people of Douglas County for really not a lot of cost. And we're doing the right work at the right places. Of course, then there's tomorrow. And sure enough, there will be an older adult who's going to stop me in King Soopers in the Milk Isle and let me know, no, there's more work that needs to be done. And that's okay, because we're still here to do that work. So let's, Jennifer, let's gather the troops and of all that were acknowledged, please join us up front and let's capture a picture.

Actually, we can't do that because this is a resolution.

Board, this is a resolution we actually need to pass. How would the board like to take action on this proposed resolution?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to adopt the resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Older Americans Month here in Douglas County. And I'll second that motion.

All right, there is a motion and a second. Any further comments? Any discussion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. And the resolution is adopted. Now let's come and take a picture.

Thanks for coming by. Appreciate it. You know, Marie is my favorite Navy veteran. Thank you, everyone.

All right, moving through the agenda. Our next item up is the consent agenda. The consent agenda, all items on the consent agenda will be considered under one vote. Any board member that wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda for further discussion and separate vote may do so with a simple request. Board, how would we like to take action on the consent agenda?

Mr. Chair, if it pleases the board, I'll make a motion to approve the request in items A through AC of the consent agenda.

Second the motion.

There is a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Consent agenda is adopted. Moving to our regular agenda for today. Our first item is the 6912 Rainbow Creek Road Fee Waiver Request. In the amount of $1,456.54, Tim Pendleton, Deputy Chief Building Official.

Good afternoon, commissioners. Tim Pendleton representing the building division. The item before you is a request to waive the building permit fees for residential room addition located at 6912 Rainbow Creek Road. The applicant for this request is Shea Holmes, and they have representatives here today. So the waiver request is for the building permit fee of $882.75 and the plan review fee of $573.79 with a total amount of $1,456.54. A few waivers are granted at the board's discretion. A little bit about the project. The building division did receive an application for an issue to permit for the construction of an addition to an existing residence. The addition is designed with features to assist with the mobility limitations of a young girl who's being raised by her grandparents. Here is a plan in the center of the screen there that shows the existing residence with the addition, which is indicated in red. The existing residence is multi-level and has smaller doors, rooms, and spaces, which limits the maneuverability of a wheelchair. The addition is 801 square feet, and it's designed with an accessible bedroom, bathroom, closet, and entrance with a ramp to accommodate a wheelchair. The project provides a much needed safe space for this young girl's family to care for her. And staff does recommend approval of this request. That concludes my presentation. I will try to answer any questions you may have. As I mentioned earlier, Shea Holmes is here and can answer any questions you may have as well.

All right, questions from the board?

I have no questions.

I have none either. Nor do I, Tim, but we'd be happy to hear from Shea Holmes. Gentlemen, if one of y'all would like to come forward and tell us a little bit about how this came to be before us. Come right to the podium. And please do give us your name and what you do for the company.

Good afternoon. My name is Scott Zarnick. I'm a construction manager with Shea. I've been with Shea for 22 years now. I'm on the board for the Home Builders Foundation. This is my fourth year on that board. So we approached Shea from the HBF with this project. Autumn's a 12-year-old little girl. She has a list of issues, but mainly she's non-verbal, non-mobile, and completely relies on her grandparents who had to adopt her from her parents. Yeah, so the HBF came to us with the project, and we graciously, Cheddar and Shay took it on. We had 25 trade partners, roughly, that partnered with us. Everybody donated their time and material to get this done. We had three, four of my staff help build it. It was great to work with Tim, Matt, Anthony, and Douglas County. It was great.

All right, very good. Board, any questions for Shea Holmes?

Well, I don't have any questions, but I think you both know that I tend to brag about Shea when you're not here. So it's nice that you are here. And I can tell you, just as one commissioner, that what you have done for the communities of Douglas County, it's inexpressible. I mean, we have such beautiful, aesthetic, amazing places to live. tens of thousands of people beyond that because of your work and your leadership in our community and shay is to truly be commended for that i think today's story and autumn story is just yet another example of ways in which you didn't have to step up but you did and you just uh like the citizens of our county and like so many of our staff just doing the right thing at the right time so thank you for that any other questions for shay

No question, just a big thank you for everything you do. Appreciate it.

Well, like Abe, I never tried to brag about Shea, particularly in front of Cheddar. But, you know, I would say ever since I saw Shea Stadium first built in Highlands Ranch, which I thought was very amusing having just gotten done working for a Long Island company not far outside of Queens, I've always been very impressed with the dedication that the company has had. Here in Douglas County, obviously, the market was right for Shea to be here in the county, but many other corporate entities, they would see the opportunity, take the opportunity, and move along. but that's not what we've seen with Shea. So we, I think we might very well grant this waiver, but after we do that, we actually do have a little something for you guys to take back to the office.

Great, thank you.

All right, thank you, sir. Board, okay, we do have a fee waiver request before us. How would we like to take action on this?

Mr. Chair, since it's a regular agenda item, would you like to do public comment?

No, I wanted to end on an up note, but yes, very well then. Thank you very much for reminding me, Commissioners. I do not have anyone signed up for public comment on this matter. Is there anyone who would like to step forward for public comment? And seeing none.

All right, Mr. Chair, well, I don't wanna speak for the board, but I think approving this fee waiver is a perfect example of government, you know, exercising compassion, and frankly, just common sense. When our residents, like the story that we've heard today, face unique challenges like autumn, we can't just let the bureaucratic red tape, the structure of how government says it's going to work on paper stand in the way of a family. So sometimes the most impactful thing we can do is just simply get out of the way and not charge some basic fees, cut a little red tape and remove that financial hurdle that can be in the way of a family of moving forward so mr chair i move that we approve the 6912 rainbow creek road fee waiver request in the amount of one thousand four hundred fifty six dollars and fifty four cents and i'll second that motion all right there's a motion in second discussion

You know, a cynic would say, how in the world are we ever going to pay our $600 million budget if we just keep giving waivers of $1,000 here and there? But I figure these are good people doing good work for our own residents. I figure we can find a way around the math. There is a motion and a second. If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. And the fee waiver is approved. And please, gentlemen, please step forward because we're going to take a picture. We got something for you.

So here's the deal. You guys gotta hold it up. Awesome, thank you, Jeff.

Okay, our next item is Children's Hospital Colorado public contract for services regarding the development of a mental health emergency unit at Highlands Ranch South Campus in the amount of $3,400,000, excuse me, $3,400,000, Ruby Richards, Deputy Director, that's, you are not Ruby Richards. Laura Ciccone.

Switching it up today.

That's fine, everybody does it. Why should you guys be any different? Laura Ciccone, Human Services.

Good afternoon, everyone. Laura Ciccone presenting this afternoon, Department of Human Services. The Douglas County Opioid Council approved a drawdown of $3.4 million of the region's opioid settlement fund for the expansion of mental health crisis stabilization services for children and youth. Following this approval, the county issued a competitive request for a proposal, or an RFP. Douglas County Opioid Council voting members reviewed the submitted proposals and selected Children's Hospital of Colorado. The contract scope of services outlines children's commitment to engage in qualified professionals for architectural, engineering, construction, and related work needed to renovate space at the South Campus located in Highlands Ranch. And we have some representatives joining us today from Children's Hospital who will share more details on the planned space and services. So today we have Katie Dunman, Vice President of Mental Health, Ellen Stern, Director of Government Affairs, and Felicia Walton, Senior Project Manager.

Katie Denman, Vice President for Pediatric Mental Health Institute. I want to just start with reminding ourselves that a lot of our work in the crisis space really started after we declared a pediatric mental health state of emergency in 2021. Since that time, we've been working on a crisis services strategic plan that will bring together best of breed across our industry, looking nationally at models across the United States to really think about what will serve our communities best. So our aim is to transform patient care by designing and implementing a new crisis services program at all four of our children's hospitals, including the South Campus at 1811 Plaza Drive in Highlands Branch. We hope to provide patients and families with timely, effective care during a mental health crisis. And this is something that we have seen, uh, growing across our communities, uh, in the prevailing years. The scope of this project, um, is a renovation that will first take the space, um, and the top yellow box and move what is currently a radiology and staff break room so that we can have space adjacent to our emergency room. We know that patients, um, really see a refuge in our balloon boy and their ability to come for all crises including those with substance use disorders will be seen in the space and we'll be able to host four rooms that can be used for low acuity or high acuity emergency services as well as what we call behavioral health observation or that crisis stabilization of 48 to 72 hours. And so this will be right in our community, able to support stabilizing these patients and then working on the care coordination for them as they move into either crisis clinic spaces or other mental health supports. So with that, I think...

I'm going to wrap our presentation with a statement that was written by a Douglas County family. So I have their story as well as their thoughts on what a mental health emergency unit could have meant for their family at the time they were in crisis. So this is from Jen Kay and her son's name is Jack. I'm a single parent of a young adult with autism. Jack is generally well-liked, and for most of his life, we've managed his needs with a combination of services, structure, and a lot of persistence. We'd been connected with supports in the past, but over time, because things were relatively stable and because of gaps in follow through, his services eventually lapsed. Then in a very short period, Jack experienced several significant losses. His mental health declined quickly and severely. We began having frequent police contact as his meltdowns became more intense and harder to manage. During this time, his psychiatrist dismissed him from the practice after recommending hospitalization, yet no mental health facility would admit him because he didn't have the cognitive ability to participate in their programs. We were left in an impossible situation. He needed help urgently, but there was nowhere appropriate for him to go. One of the few things that kept us afloat was living in Douglas County, where CRT responded to most of our crisis calls. Their presence was a godsend. They approached Jack with gentleness and patience and they were able to deescalate situations that could have easily turned dangerous. Even with their support, I lived in constant fear that we would be evicted because of the noise and intensity of his meltdowns. I worried I would lose my job from the amount of time I had to take off from trying to work while managing crisis after crisis. CRT eventually connected us with the Youth Care Compact and that changed everything. Almost overnight, Jack had a small, efficient team of professionals dedicated to helping us stabilize. They connected us with services he was eligible for, helped me navigate the complicated process of reapplying for waivers, provided emergency support, deescalated when needed, and walked us through one of the darkest periods of our lives. The Youth Care Compact made an immeasurable impact on one of the lowest points I've ever experienced. A specialized mental health emergency unit in our local community would have made those early crises safer, less chaotic, and far less traumatic for Jack, for me, and for the responders who were doing their best with the limited options they had. Families like mine need a place where our kids can be assessed, supported, and stabilized close to home. This kind of resource would change lives. With that, any comments or questions from the board?

Thank you, Laura. Questions from the board?

Well, another really important and amazing moment for Douglas County. Early on in the year, we talked a little bit about landing the plane. Got a lot of passengers on the Douglas County plane and trying to get that vehicle to touch ground on the tarmac. This is one huge piece of that puzzle. And the hypothetical that really came to mind many years ago would be an individual that's hallucinating from coming off of a benzodiazepine, an antidepressant, maybe has suicidal ideation, dual diagnosis, and cuts themselves or hurts themselves in a way that they need immediate healthcare. When that individual is transported to an emergency room and that laceration is addressed, appropriately what happens to the underlying mental health issues and substance use issues that might be co-occurring with the health care needs. And what we heard from law enforcement and from a lot of our local leaders was, you know, our hospitals are doing an amazing job. You're handling this already. But what happens when these individuals are discharged into the middle of the night and they're not getting care for their mental health needs or their substance use disorder? Okay, their cut is bandaged up, but What if they kill themselves? What if they hurt their family? What if they do something that is so difficult for the community to bear that we end up with another incident like STEM or something else? So I can't overstate how important it is to be having this conversation around crisis stabilization. And Ruby Richards and Laura Cinconi, I mean, you two have just been such champions. Laura Cinconi in particular with CRT, which we talked about earlier as really the kind of the thought behind what we're doing with heart, we really believe in co-response. But how do we navigate people in crisis to that care that they need? And I like to call this the goosebump moment because I think as staff and as elected officials, you know, I was working in homeless initiative and opioid youth initiative, healthy families, few others talking about how can we get crisis stabilization off the ground? And we got really great feedback from our area hospitals. You guys are competimates that all, or frenemies, whatever phrase you want to choose, but you do coordinate really well with one another. And we got to develop a relationship during COVID. We had to. And because of that great working relationship, we started talking about this. And all of the hospitals said, yes, we need crisis stabilization. We need more behavioral health. But Real estate is at a premium in Douglas County How do you you know change a facility that's meant for surgeries that generate a ton of? Income or revenue and other things for a hospital and make that behavioral health particularly for kids So we had a lot of conversations One hospital said hey, maybe if you lease space across the street, that's a stone's throw away it's not co-located but it's maybe close and And then we had this amazing conversation with Children's Hospital. And you all do so much in the state of Colorado. And I know you're nationally, internationally recognized for the work that you do. But we are so proud that you're right here in Douglas County. And I won't forget the moment when you all opened up your renderings and you're like, Commissioner, we have this ready to go in our facility, co-located with, I mean, you saw the engineering, the architectural renderings. I mean, the space is there right in the hospital. And so I did get goosebumps. I think we all did. And we felt like, wow, what a great opportunity. And of course, as chair of the Opioid Council, we're seeing about $25 million come through that organization through all the pharmaceutical settlements. And that group really needs a lot of the credit for listening to this concept and saying, yes, we wanna allocate this funding. So we're here today because the Opioid Council approved that $3.4 million, and we're having the conversation as colleagues around whether or not that decision makes the most sense. I hope my colleagues feel like this is a good use of those opioid dollars. It is Region 12, Douglas County, so this will serve Douglas County residents, but the vision is let's pilot this with youth. And one of my favorite comments was, oh, children's, yeah, so like down in Anschutz, and you're like, no, no, no, right off of Kendrick Castillo Boulevard. So it's here, it's gonna be here. I can't wait to go to the ribbon cutting or at least the groundbreaking for all of this, but serving local Douglas County youth is awesome. And I would be remiss if I didn't plant the seed of a vision for crisis stabilization for adults. If this works well for youth, long after I'm gone, I hope a future board takes this and says, look, we can replicate this model. Maybe it's at Common Spirit, which is just coming online. Maybe it's at another hospital where we can provide more of that critical behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment for people in need. So all that to say, huge thanks to Children's for being such a wonderful, wonderful partner.

Any other questions?

No questions, but I will comment a little bit on Commissioner Layton's statement about the use of the funds, the opioid funds. And my sincere thanks to the opioid, the board that did all the hard work, that did the leadership to direct it to this. In my opinion, directing those opioid settlement funds towards mental health emergency unit is exactly how the dollars should be utilized. It's a tragedy that's impacted so many lives in a very negative way, but we have the funds, the settlement funds, and we can put it towards a proactive life-saving measure to really do some good. I remember when the declaration of emergency for youth mental health was made. At the time, I was at the Capitol and very deep into school safety as my key topic. And oftentimes at the Capitol, I felt very alone. I had a friend on the other side of the aisle, Representative Daphne Michelson-Genet, who's gone on to other things. But a lot of times it felt like it was her and I and there were 98 other legislators and governor and others that really were just hoping to brush off the subject matter. We were dedicated, we were very heavily involved in it. But at the time when that declaration of emergency was made and even before that, this would have been just like a far away dream that I don't even think I could imagine to be even a possibility. We were able to develop the I Matter program and provide free mental health to every school age kid. But to have a crisis stabilization unit here in Douglas County and at Children's Hospital of all places where the atmosphere there, nobody wants, to go through that part of their life. No one wants to have to visit a crisis stabilization unit, but Children's Hospital has such a way, a welcoming, a brightness, a friendliness. It's okay, I don't know how to describe it. There's like a feeling when you visit Children's Hospital, you know, everything's gonna be okay. And to have a dedicated here is I think a relief for our community, a relief for our families and our youth. So having a top tier immediate care right here in our backyard when facing these difficult circumstances I think is a tremendous use of these opioid settlement funds. And kudos to the opioid board that made it possible and of course to Children's Hospital that's gonna do the work day in and day out to make our community a safer, better place.

I have no questions. So we'll go ahead and open up for public comment. No one signed up to speak on this matter in public comment. Is there anyone who'd like to speak? Seeing none, let's bring it back to the board for action on this contract.

Oh, well, thanks, guys. I'd be honored to move to approve that the Children's Hospital of Colorado public contract for services regarding the development of a mental health emergency unit at Highlands Ranch South Campus be approved in the amount of $3,400,000.

I'm very proud to second the motion, especially that motion, especially as the state's trying to pare back its supports of even the most needy Coloradans. I'm very proud that Douglas County is stepping up, Children's Hospital is stepping up to fill the void and to do even more good.

Well, this is one we've been chasing for a while. I think this was maybe the third or fourth week that I came on the board back in 21 that we started talking about this and finding a way to bring this to fruition. And we had a couple of starts and stops and definitely more stops than starts. And I almost couldn't believe it when we heard that Children's Hospital is stepping up to partner with us on this. And again, I can't tell you, when it comes to mental health, it seems like it's the part of our healthcare system that is always broken. And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to slam the profession or anything like that. I mean, I go and I slip on the steps out here, we're gonna call an ambulance. And that ambulance is gonna take me to an emergency room. And after the emergency room sends me home, I'm gonna go to my physician later next month, and physician's gonna ask how are things going, and if there's something still going on, I'm gonna go back to the hospital to get that leg fixed. But when it comes to mental health maladies, injuries, You know, there's no real ambulance for that, is there? And up until now, there actually hasn't been a real emergency room for that. You're going into an emergency room and I've spoken to our emergency room staff here in Castle Rock. Listen, that's the thing that they don't feel equipped to do, to deal with. Well, looks like we're about to get that done. Now, I talked about starts and stops, right? So no more stops, right? We're going right to from start to finish, right? Okay, because I asked Ruby that too. And I asked Laura that last week. And they said, yeah, we're going all the way. So this is great. Thank you so much, Children's Hospital for partnering with us. Laura, excellent work once again, ma'am. Well done. Ruby, you can pay her at the end of the month, please. And board, I think we are unanimous in support of the motion. Is there further discussion?

Mr. Chair, I'll just, you know, you raised a thought in my mind and I really appreciate you saying that because this does alleviate pressure on healthcare professionals in the ER who are already seeing a lot of folks that have mental health issues and substance use disorders. So people with significant healthcare needs will hopefully have their wait times reduced through the future of this pilot. I think for my board, this is something that you guys are both so great at, and I'm still continuing to learn, but the secret power of a commissioner is the power to convene. And it doesn't sound like the most sparkling thing in the world, but it really is sometimes special when we can create those linkages and connect those puzzle pieces. And in my mind, the next frontier is exactly what you're talking about, Commissioner. It is getting people that community referral to substance use disorder and mental health needs. Just like we have in, like he said, healthcare needs for our homeless initiative, We've been talking for a long time, Laura, right, about CRT, about 988. Is there a linkage there so that that 988 service can connect our community for families like Jack's? Because I look at that face, And for me, there are a lot of kids like that out there. And Douglas County is an interesting place. I think a lot of parents want to keep things under wraps and private. And they don't want people showing up with flashing lights in front of their driveway. They don't want to call 911. But we have 988. We have CRT. is there a way that we can better connect the average citizen like Jack's parents to community referral? So when their child has suicidal ideation at three in the morning, they can call a number and somehow connect them to the service. Yeah, do you have a?

Absolutely. Oh, good. Are you gonna give me good news? More goosebumps? That was part of our intention. Yes, no, and I think really partnering very closely with Laura and Ruby, but so many of the other community partners that you have convened us with and we're learning every day, even pending the outcome of this decision. And that is our intention to have Our team trained and have specialized peer support specialists, health navigators, and care coordinators that really understand the local geography and resources and can help connect those families so that there is continuity of care leaving, whether it's the emergency room, our observation care, or the crisis clinic. We want to make sure that the family feels fully supported on whatever their next steps will be.

That is so great for the board's benefit. This is the task of the Healthy Families Initiative. The Newer Healthy Families Initiative, which is really human services, mental health initiative, opioid council, youth initiative, all great. If you're ever having a bad day, go to that meeting and your heart will be like 10 times bigger, but they have taken this on, gentlemen, as their big task of community referral. So thank you for that update, you guys.

All right, further discussion. Gentlemen, there is a motion and a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. And the contract is approved. Thanks, guys. Remember, no more stops. Our next item is an agreement between BNSF Railway Company and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Douglas, State of Colorado for the financial contributions concerning construction design costs for the Clay Street Railroad Crossing Design Project. For the amount of $209,980, Amy Strothalopo, you're not Amy, Dan, you're Dan Roberts.

We can pronounce Dan.

I know. Department of Public Works. Dan, please begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Commissioners. So Dan Roberts, Public Works, presenting for Amy Strathopoulos. Amy is at a bid opening for one of the dozen projects she's handling this year. So I thought I'd back her up. So I want to just briefly talk about this project. This is the fourth of our railroad crossing improvement projects. BNSF staff reached out to us in 2024, specifically Rafer Nichols. And I want to acknowledge Rafer for doing that. He's the manager of public projects, too, over Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It's not often we get a chance to partner with the railroad, so we're pretty excited about the work that we've been doing. So we've got three projects that are underway or completed. that have already been funded. To date, the county has expended a total on the three projects of $206,000. The work includes surface of the crossing and the adjacent track. So for those that may not know, we don't work in that right of way of the railroad. It takes special crews to work in there with special training. And so fortunately, the railroad has agreed to take on this duty. Really, all we do is contribute financially. Today's project, the Clay Street in Sedalia project, will be the fourth project that we'll be doing. The county share is funded by our road and bridge mill levy fund. And that was just a picture of the Perry Park Avenue crossing. And you can see how much better that roadway surface is through there. So these are the locations of the projects that we're working on or have completed. Number one at the bottom is Perry Park Avenue at Great Crossing. Second, Tomah Road Crossing, that one. is funded, the work has not been done yet. The Utka Hills Road project, I believe the railroad has started on that, has not completed it yet. And then fourth is Clay Street, which is up in Sedalia. So I want to show a picture of that. And you can see in the picture that that crossing has got a really weird X configuration. So this funding request will pay for the redesign of the crossing to improve safety. We're going to get rid of the X and make it a straight road crossing, which will be a lot safer. Our share of the projects is $104,990. And once the design is complete, then construction will be scheduled. So that concludes the presentation. Our request is the board approve the resolution approving this agreement with the BNSF railroad.

All right. Thank you, Dan. Questions from the board? I have none.

None for me either.

I've driven through this intersection several times, Dan, and yeah, it's interesting in that X configuration, so I have no questions, because this is certainly a long time coming, so I think it's gonna be great. Let's go ahead and open up for public comment. I do not have anyone assigned. I do not have anyone signed up for public comment today. Is there anyone who'd like to make public comment about this project?

Jason.

Seeing none, Reverend Vanderveer.

We're amazing pastors, so patiently listening to the entire hearing. You get extra credit today.

Reverend, if you have any questions, it's fine. No, okay, no questions from the, we do not have any public comment. So bringing back to the board for action on this agreement between the county and the BNSF.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it's a pretty straightforward infrastructure project that I think is altogether fitting that we fund our portion of it to make for safer crossings for our residents. I also applaud the teamwork between the county and BNSF. I know we do wanna work in the future, and it's a separate subject matter from this, but on the crossing of the Highland Canal, with BNSF and also Union Pacific I think should be part of that conversation as well. So I hope that this conversation leads to more conversations and better teamwork so we can accomplish that task as well. But in the meantime, today I move to approve an agreement between BNSF Railroad Company and the Board of County Commissioners for the County of Douglas, State of Colorado for a financial contribution concerning the construction and design costs for the Clay Street Railroad Crossing Design Project in the amount of $209,980.00. Well, I'll second that motion and I wish to speak in favor of it.

Very good. There is a motion and a second. Commissioner Layton. Thank you, Mr.

Chair. I'll be brief. I just wanted to echo my colleague's sentiments. So pleased, Dan, with your great work and the relationship that you have with the railroads. He kind of read my mind. I'm really forecasting that moment when you're back here talking about Highline Canal and that railroad crossing. I know it's not the easiest project in the world, but hopefully something like this is in our future. So... It's just that tiny little piece. We want to keep people safe and let them use the Highline Canal all the way to Waterton if they can.

All right, gentlemen, for the discussion. There is a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. And the agreement passes. Thank you, Dan. All right, moving through the agenda, Commissioner's comments. Commissioners.

Oh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. We did have a, actually, we've had a couple great town halls lately. We had one specifically for our Roxborough community dealing with wildfire and evacuations just for that community. But then we had a big county-wide town hall on fire safety, evacuations, wildfire preparations for everyone from the big communities like Highlands Ranch down to the rural parts. a great town hall it's online and available for anyone to watch we also have great experts here in douglas county that we're able to kind of show off a little bit that do things like evacuation routes on a daily basis so that town hall is there it's live on and we did it last week so it's already available for viewing for anyone that wants but importantly we have our thursday town hall in Highlands Ranch at the Senior Center has been opened up to us. So that'll be broader, just kind of more generic items. We'll go through everything the county does from top to bottom, including the Metro District and other partners like Highlands Ranch Water will be there to join us. So I hope the community can join us. We do these town halls all the time. And so our next one will be next Thursday. No, this Thursday. This Thursday, Senior Center in Highlands Ranch.

I always mess that up, this and next. I'm like, well, it is the next. I think you had that right. I would echo that. I would like to ask our citizens to please sign up for DougCoAlert.com. We really need, and anybody that was on Code Red before, that is the older emergency alert system. It is now defunct. We're using DougCoAlert.com. We really need all of our citizens to sign up for that. So please do that if you would. I'll just be brief and say, you know, Getting the CSU done today and the Project Zero is momentous. It's good commissioner work. It's good county work. And I know we couldn't do it without all of our citizens supporting us and the great work of our department heads, our staff, and the people that are just so passionate, our private sector partners. So it's a good day in Douglas County.

That it is.

Thanks, everybody, for coming out to Memorial Day festivities yesterday. We had a good turnout here in town at the Cedar Hill Cemetery and then over at the Bear Creek Cemetery by St. Philip the Field Church in Sedalia. Thank you to the American Legion for putting that on, and thank you to the Veterans and Foreign Wars chapter here in Castle Rock for helping out with that. you know uh we sometimes uh as americans think we got two times in the year where we think about the veterans memorial day and veterans day do please do reach out to veterans that you know be they friends or family, and just give them a call if you, you know, ask, you know, talk about the lamentable state of Colorado basketball, and maybe, hopefully, is there still hope left for the Avalanche?

There is.

There is still hope left for the avalanche. And then there's always Bronco season. So but figure out a reason. Reach out to those veterans that you know and take a little bit of time. The biggest killer of veterans in America is not the battlefield. It is loneliness sometimes. With that, let's move to other business. Gentlemen, do we have any other business to present today? All right, moving on to the County Manager's Report. Deputy County Manager Dan Avery. All right, thank you, Dan. And with that said, that is the end of our agenda today. Our next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 1.30 p.m. We are adjourned.