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On time and on budget! The county’s largest public infrastructure project to date celebrated its
completion in the fall of 2017: the Weld County Road 49 Corridor. This corridor is now a
five-lane, concrete road stretching 20 miles from I-76 in the south to Highway 34 in the north and
provides a safe and efficient north-south route for travelers throughout the county.
While improvements to WCR 49 had been on the county’s project list for years, road closures
during the 2013 flood, which prevented traffic traveling north and south throughout the county,
spurred the accelerated timeline for improvements to 49. Working efficiently and with speed and
diligence, Weld County Government began the project—the county’s first design-build project—
two years ago. Now complete, travelers can enjoy a safe alternate corridor for
traveling throughout the county.
The next project, WCR 47, will allow travelers to drive the Corridor from I-76 north to State
Highway 392. That project will be complete by the end of 2018.
Nicknamed the “Jewel of the Plains” upon its completion in 1917, the Weld County Courthouse
celebrated its 100th Anniversary in June. The celebration included public tours of the building, a
series of Lunch and Learns and a proclamation. The celebration capped off with a public event,
which drew more than 200 people who joined in the official centennial celebration ceremony
complete with speakers, a barbershop quartet
and a 500-pound cake designed as a replica of the
majestic building.
The courthouse, which was likely Weld County
Government’s first debt-free project, was paid
for through a $5.25 tax on every $1,000 of
taxable property which covered the $414,000
expense of constructing the marble, granite and
limestone building.
Page 2 2017 SUMMARY
PAGE 2 2017 SUMMARY
In 2017, Weld County Government worked hard to continue informing the public in all aspects
of government. Communication with the public has always been a top priority, and
enhancements were made to ensure the public can continue to find information easily and in a
time-efficient manner:
• As part of a county web site redesign, www.weldgov.com now features a newsroom. All
press releases from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) from 2011-2017 are
stored in one convenient place. The newsroom is the place to visit to read about important
events going on in various departments throughout Weld County Government. News may
also cover information about retirements, awards won by Weld County employees or
upcoming projects.
• The BOCC made its calendar available to view on the commissioners page at
www.weldgov.com. There, you can see meetings the commissioners are attending as well as
the times for different work sessions and presentations.
• The BOCC also made notes from work sessions available, giving the public an opportunity to
see what was discussed in those sessions. In 2018, audio recordings of work sessions will
also be made available.
• To keep the public informed of the progress made with road construction on WCR 49, 54
and 29, newsletters were produced and distributed via email and on the county’s web site.
The newsletters featured project achievements, articles pertaining to safety precautions
when traveling through construction areas, and feature stories about Weld County
employees working on the various projects.
“Getting information out to the residents of Weld County is critical in accomplishing the goals we
have, and key to us understanding what issues are important to them,” Weld County Chair Julie
Cozad said. “I’m proud of the steps we've taken to consistently inform the public about Weld
County. We will continue to work hard to come up with new ways to distribute important
information to the public, so that everyone always has a voice and is always represented.”
WELD COUNTY RECEIVES
FRIENDLIEST TAXPAYER
COMMUNITY AWARD
In August, Weld County received
the first-ever Taxpayer Friendliest
Community Award from the
American City Council Exchange
(ACCE).
Weld County was selected for
the award by ACCE after it
conducted “research on counties
across the country that were doing
things right; that were cutting taxes,
eliminating debt, and bringing out
more governmental transparency,”
according to John Russell, National
Director of the ACCE.
The following factors contributed to
Weld County receiving the award:
Weld County has saved
taxpayers over $424,000,000
in property taxes not collected
due to mill levy reductions
from 2002-2017.
As of January 1, 2017, Weld
County’s retirement fund is
funded at more than 103%,
with over $255 million in
assets.
Weld County has no sales tax,
no debt, and pays for projects
in cash.
Weld County has more than
$100 million in an available
fund balance.
2017 SUMMARY
PAGE 3
In response to the tragic home explosion in Firestone last April, the Board of
Commissioners unanimously agreed to use general fund dollars to purchase and
make available to county residents explosive-gas monitors.
Commissioners hosted events distributing gas monitors to any resident who
wanted one. While demand outpaced initial supply, reorders were done, and
more events were held to ensure everyone had an opportunity to receive a
monitor. Additionally, residents could pick up a monitor from the Planning
Department if they couldn’t get one at an event.
Events were held in Firestone, Fort Lupton, Hudson, Milliken, Eaton and Erie.
The program concluded Oct. 31 with more than 850 units being distributed.
The population growth Weld County continued to experience in 2017 meant transportation issues continued to be high priority for
county officials. The Freedom Parkway (also known as Weld County Road 54, 37th St., Larimer County Road 18) Coalition held
public meetings over the summer to let residents know about work being done with regard to an Access Control Plan along that
route. Access Control Plans are put together with the primary goal of evaluating accesses on the roadway to ensure maximum safety
and efficiency.
Also over the summer, the commissioners signed the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) US Highway 85 Planning and
Environmental Linkage (PEL) study. The purpose of the study was to identify the safety and operational needs of US 85 and develop a
vision for the highway between I-76 and the town of Nunn, a 62-mile stretch. CDOT compared its findings to an Access Control
Plan conducted in 1999 and determined which areas of the plan needed to be refreshed (with locations in need of improvements
prioritized). CDOT will continue to update the US 85 Access Control Plan as funding for improvements becomes available.
Weld County proudly honored Vietnam veterans and their families at a
county–hosted Vietnam veteran Pinning Ceremony in May. Following |
the first ceremony in 2016, for which the board invited more than 20
Vietnam veterans to receive honorary pins and a proper “welcome
home,” the board decided to hold a second event in hopes of honoring
even more Vietnam veterans. The event drew hundreds of veterans and
numerous elected officials. The county’s office of Veterans Services
worked through a program offered by the federal government to make
sure veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans, received the recognition
and honor they earned but did not receive when they returned home
from the Vietnam War.
WELD COUNTY SERVICES FOCUS ON VETERANS
There are over 20 million veterans living in the United States, with 18 - 19,000 living in Weld County. The Weld County Veterans
Services Office assists 5,000 veterans annually, distributing between $107 - $110 million in assistance and services.
Employment Services of Weld County also proudly offers numerous assistance and job placement training programs to veterans and
their spouses on a priority basis. Offered year-round, veterans can attend workshops free of charge to receive help with resumé
writing and interview preparation. Workshops also focus on identifying the skills a veteran has and identifying how those skills
transfer to the job market.
Connect with us!
2017 SUMMARY PAGE 4
In early December, Text-to-911
Service went live in Weld County.
Promoted under the theme, “Call if You
Can, Text if You Can’t,” the service
allows people in Weld County to text
911 when calling isn't an option.
Text-to-911 can be beneficial in many
different scenarios, including assisting
those with hearing disabilities, allowing
contact with 911 when doing so might put
you or your family member in danger, or
when signal strength is too low to place a call.
Text-to-911 service is available to anyone who has a phone with text message capability and
is using a participating wireless provider. Currently, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon support
Text-to-911 service.
The county’s Public Safety Communications Department is responsible for implementing
the service, and staff has worked hard to ensure the service meets the emergency needs of
the public of Weld County.
“We are proud of the work our Public Safety Communications team has done to make this
service available to residents,” Weld County Chair Julie Cozad said. “It provides another
method for people to request help when it’s desperately needed.”
Throughout 2017, the Weld County Planning
Department held several open meetings with the
public to help review Weld County’s pipeline
regulations. Topics discussed included pipeline
mapping requirements, pipelines that carry
produced water, the size of pipelines and the hoop
stress for natural gas pipelines.
The meeting also focused on the consideration of
changes to section 23-1-90 of the Weld County Code, including the potential expanding of
the definitions to include flow lines and gathering lines.
Meetings were open to the general public, business owners, and industry representatives.
More meetings will be held in the future.
“The energy industry touches us all in Weld County in some form or another. We need to
make sure we continually work together to improve efficiencies and safety,” said Weld
County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, coordinator for the Planning Department.
Discussions regarding pipelines will continue into 2018 as the Weld County Board of
Commissioners and Planning Staff continue to work toward improving the county’s policies
and guidelines.
MANY WELD COUNTY
DEPARTMENTS WERE
RECOGNIZED IN 2017 FOR
OUTSTANDING WORK
Weld County employs almost 1,600
people, each of whom work hard
every day for the residents. Below is
just a short list of some of their
accomplishments in 2017:
Department of Human
Services: C-STAT Award from the
State of Colorado Dept. of Human
Services.
Department of Public Safety
Communications: NICE
Systems—Voice Recording/Data
Security Corporation, Jessica
Powers and Brett Phipps.
Department of Finance: GFOA
Distinguished Budget Presentation
Award.
Department of Justice Services:
Doug Erler (Director) reappointed
by Gov. Hickenlooper to the Justice
Assistance Grant Board and the
Community Corrections Advisory
Council.
Extension Department: First
Place Fair Book from the Colorado
Association of Fairs; Second Place
Fair Event Guide from the Rocky
Mountain Association of Fairs.
Sheriff’s Office: Excellence in
Service to Students Award, Deputies
Dan Heintz and Les Weimers.
District Attorney’s Office:
Who’s Next Excellence in Law
Award, Tony Perea.