Briefs: Gunnison County

By Katherine Nettles

Commissioners deny property abatement petitions

During their regular meeting on July 16, Gunnison County commissioners heard five petitions for abatement or refunds of property taxes from 2021, 2022 and 2023; they denied each petition.  

Sales tax revenue up in April and May

County-wide sales tax revenue was up .37% in April and 7.9% in May after falling in March by 4.35%. 

Approving NOAA fire weather observatory

After hearing a presentation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding a fire weather observatory structure near the Gunnison Observatory, commissioners unanimously approved leasing part of the property to NOAA for a period from September 2024 through August 2034 to construct a facility on the site. NOAA will partner with other organizations to construct four fixed-boundary-layer observation facilities and two mobile units. The idea is to help better characterize the weather environment and conduct research on the factors that contribute to adverse fire conditions.

 In addition to Gunnison, other sites NOAA has identified for ideal potential observation sites are Reynolds Creek watershed in Idah; Blodgett Forest, California; and the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in Arizona. The resolution authorizes county manager Matthew Birnie to execute the necessary contracts with NOAA.

Almont Triangle winter closure gate to remain intact

Commissioners recently denied a private snowplow permit application for a long-time property owner along County Road 813 at Jack’s Cabin cutoff. The property owner is attempting to sell the property and wanted to secure better year-round access to their residence by moving a current winter closure gate and plowing an additional .6 miles beyond the end of the paved road that the county plows. The additional .6 miles of plowed road would still prevent winter traffic into the Almont Triangle.

The Allen family, long-time ranchers in the valley with adjacent property, opposed the permit. Craig Allen cited that the current barrier location has alleviated previous years of conflict with winter travelers who got stuck where the plowing ended, that plowing would likely ruin Allen ranch fences that are close to the road and that creating a large 20-40 foot turnaround would create the impression of a trailhead, which the US Forest Service (USFS) wants to avoid during the Almont Triangle area winter closure. Allen included a letter of objection in addition to his testimony and submitted a petition with more than 60 signatures opposing the change. After an in-depth public discussion, the commissioners denied the motion unanimously.

Commissioner chairperson Jonathan Houck said, “These crucial wildlife corridors in Gunnison County are some of the most important ones state-wide, especially for big game and elk. So this is less an issue for me around cattle,” he said, with due respect to the ranching operations. He said moving gates and plowing further moves people closer to the edges of public lands and erodes a sense of habitat for other species.