March 4, 2010—The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) would like to encourage landowners to apply for emergency supplemental grant funds. The intent of these grant funds are to reduce the risk of damaging wildfire and enhance the health and productivity of Colorado’s private forest lands.


"This is a great opportunity for landowners to improve their forest’s health, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and receive some financial assistance in doing so," said Jodi Rist, Montrose District Forester. "We encourage landowners to combine efforts in order to increase overall treatment size. Working collaboratively with your neighbors will increase your chances of receiving funds. Our district’s foresters will be happy to assist in coordinating land owners who are interested and have project ideas," concluded Rist.


Grant Criteria:
--There is a maximum reimbursement rate of $470/acre. Total project costs should be calculated based on activities/treatments per acre and may exceed $470/acre. However, landowners will be required to pay for all project costs beyond the $470/acre.
--All proposed projects are for non-federal lands only.
--Priority project areas are within or west of the I-25 corridor.
--Projects with full or partial wood utilization will be favored over non-utilization.
--Priority will be given to projects with an emphasis on fuel reduction; however, all forest management projects with a fuel reduction component are eligible for consideration. Priority will be given to areas that add to existing projects and/or that affect larger social units and land units, such as homeowner associations and watershed or projects that also provide protection to adjacent landowners and/or have landscape scale impacts.
--"Pass through" applications are preferred. This requires the landowner to cover funding for the entire project up front, followed by reimbursement from the Colorado State Forest Service at project completion. CSFS is available to provide project design, layout, and project administration via a service agreement and small fee per treated acre.
-- Although Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP’s) are not required, projects with CWPP’s may be prioritized over projects not covered by a CWPP.
--Although there is not a funding match requirement, all attempts should be made to leverage Emergency Supplemental Funds with state, community, private and/or local funds. A 50/50 cost-share is preferred.


Application Process:
Interested parties must complete the simple three-page Emergency Supplemental Application that can be obtained by calling the CSFS - Montrose District office at: (970) 249-9051. Applications are due on April 2, 2010 by 4:00 p.m. and should be e-mailed to: austin.shelby@colostate.edu. Applicants will be notified about award results via e-mail by mid April 2010.


Questions should be directed to either Austin Shelby (Forester) or Jodi Rist (District Forester): (970) 249-9051.


Contact: Kristin Scuderi, kscuderi@montrosecounty.net
Public Information Officer, (970) 252-4505


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March 2, 2010—Montrose County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously in their Board meeting on March 1st to hold a mail ballot for the August 10, 2010 primary election.


"The mail ballot is far less expensive than holding a polling place election," said Fran Long, Montrose County Clerk and Recorder. "It will save the County and in turn the taxpayers more than $28,000," concluded Long.


Primary elections historically have a low turnout and a large percentage of Montrose County voters choose to vote by mail in ballot. In the 2008 primary election 87.92% chose to vote by mail in ballot and 61% of the Active Registered voters in Montrose County choose to vote by mail on a permanent basis.


Postcards will be sent to unaffiliated voters in the first part of July to let them know their voting options. The card will have a returnable portion that allows them to affiliate and receive a mail ballot without having to take additional action. Postcards are also sent to inactive voters in the middle of May to allow them the opportunity to update their records.


Service centers will be available in the Montrose and Nucla Clerk’s office to allow voters to vote on an electronic machine if they prefer by simply surrendering their paper ballot.


Ballots can be received in the Clerk’s office until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, August 10, 2010.


Questions, comments and concerns may be directed to the Montrose County Elections Office.
(970) 249-3362 (Extension 3) or by e-mailing elections@montrosecounty.net

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February 24, 2010—Montrose County has named Cindy Bennet as its new Finance Director. Cindy has worked for the County for 7 years.


“Cindy is well qualified for this position. She started working for the County in 2003 as an accountant and did such a phenomenal job she was promoted to senior accountant, then to accounting supervisor and now to Director of the Finance Department,” said Jesse Smith, County Manager. “She has extensive knowledge of the County’s financial history. Her experience will serve Montrose County and its citizen’s well,” concluded Smith.


Prior to working for the County, Bennet worked as the Office Manager for TUFF Coat and as an accountant for McGuire & Associates, Groskopf & Groskopf and Kennedy & Coe all accounting firms in Montrose. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a minor in Business Administration from Mesa State College.


Bennet lives in Montrose and has two teenage sons, one is a sophomore at Montrose High School and the other is a freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder.


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February 23, 2010—Last week the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the 2010 County Health Rankings, a collection of 50 reports that reflect the overall health of counties in every state across the nation. The report provides a broad snapshot of Montrose County’s health by comparing its overall health with other Colorado counties.


“This report is important because it allows us to see what areas we’re doing well in and where we need to improve. It also helps us identify factors that make it difficult for our residents to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Peg Mewes, Director of Health and Human Services for Montrose County. “I think it’s important to remember that everyone has a stake in their community’s health and every individual must work together to improve Montrose County’s overall health.”


Here’s a brief glimpse of where Montrose County ranks in comparison to the rest of the state:


Clinical Care
This category included: uninsured adults, primary care provider rate, preventable hospital stays, diabetic screening and hospice use.
Montrose County ranked well in clinical care at 19 out of 56 counties.


Health Behaviors

This category included: adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking, motor vehicle crash death rate, Chlamydia rate, and teen birth rate
Montrose County ranked 23 out of 56 counties.


Physical Environment

This category included: air pollution-particle matter days and ozone days, access to healthy foods and liquor store density
Montrose County ranked 25 out of 56 counties.


Social & Economic Factors

This category included: high school graduation, college degrees, unemployment, child poverty, income inequality, inadequate social support, single-parent households.
Montrose County has room for improvement in this area ranking 40 out of 56 counties.


Mortality

This category represented length of life, based on how many people die before their 75th birthday.
Montrose County ranked 20 out of 56 counties.


Morbidity

This category included: self-reported poor or fair health, poor physical health days, poor mental health days and the percent of births with low birthweight.
Montrose County ranked 23 out of 56 counties.


To view the report and detailed statistics visit: www.countyhealthrankings.org/colorado

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December 30, 2009 – With the appointment of Jesse Smith as the new Montrose County Manager, the Board of County Commissioners encourages the community to meet Mr. Smith at a welcome reception Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 3:30 p.m. The reception will be held at the Montrose County Administration Board Room, located at 161 South Townsend Avenue, Montrose.

Following an extensive and comprehensive interview process, the BOCC officially appointed Jesse Smith as County Manager at the BOCC meeting on Monday, December 21. The County Manager is an appointed position reporting to the BOCC. Mr. Smith will officially begin his duties as County Manager on Monday, January 4, 2010.

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December 16, 2009 – Following an extensive and comprehensive interview process, the Montrose Board of County Commissioners is anticipated to appoint Jesse Smith as County Manager at the BOCC meeting on Monday, December 21.

Mr. Smith brings both private and public sector professional experience in addition to a diverse and highly-qualified skill set for local government management to the county. He recently relocated to Montrose from Garfield County where he served as the Assistant County Manager for eight years. During his tenure with Garfield County, Mr. Smith was highly involved in the development of the oil and gas industry within the County. He has direct oversight experience with several county operation programs and departments in addition to an elaborate educational and management history. His background includes professional credentials in higher education, local government, and the private sector. Mr. Smith has a both a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in Management and a PhD ABD in Education and Management.

Nearly sixty applicants initially applied to become the next Montrose County Manager. The Board of County Commissioners and an internal hiring committee selected Jesse Smith through a comprehensive and detailed process including in-person interviews with the hiring committee and the BOCC, an in-person meeting with county staff and elected officials and a public reception.

“We are excited to welcome Jesse to Montrose County,” said County Commissioner Gary Ellis. “In addition to several years of government management experience and the ability to represent a broad cross-section of organizational leadership, Mr. Smith demonstrates the ability to openly interact and communicate with different facets of the community to promote an open and cohesive approach to county management.” Mr. Smith is anticipated to start his new position as County Manger January 4, 2010. The County Manager is an appointed position reporting to the Board of County Commissioners.

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