Gunnison County Colorado

"Gunnison County cherishes its sense of community and place. We strive to preserve and promote the well-being of the County's citizens, natural environment and rural character. We will deliver services and set standards that reflect our values and preserve our unique quality of life for present and future generations to enjoy."

-- Gunnison County Vision Statement

Find Us on Facebook and Twitter!

Check out Gunnison County on Facebook and Twitter for news alerts, agendas and more! Following Gunnison County on Facebook and Twitter, you will have access to up-to-the-minute news releases, road conditions, Board of County Commissioners meeting agendas, and more! For questions related to the County's presence on Facebook or Twitter, please contact County Administration.

Gunnison County Strategic Plan

Click here to download the Gunnison County Strategic Plan, as adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on May 20, 2008 and most recently revised on May 24, 2011.

Children's Influenza Vaccination Clinic - Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - CB Community School - 3:00 until 5:00 pm - For Children 6 Months through 18 Years

All vaccine used is mercury-free.  Injectable as well as FluMist is available.  FluMist is for healthy children 2-18 years who have no chronic medical conditions including asthma.

Flu Vaccination—It is NEVER TOO LATE to get the flu shot.  Peak flu activity is Jan-March.  It takes 2 weeks for flu vaccine to provide protection.  It is not too late for any missed 2nd dose for 6mos-8 year olds. FluMist or shot all count as a dose.

• For children 9 – 18 years old—one dose every year.

• For children 6 mos through 8 years

• For children 6 mos through 8 years for this first time getting flu vaccine:  they need 2 doses separated by at least 4 weeks. 

Immunization Screening Forms are available here.  You may complete prior to clinic and bring with you.

This is a walk-in clinic.  No appointment necessary.  All vaccines are $10 each.  No one will be turned away due to inability to pay.  Questions? Call toll-free:  1-888-217-1215 or Gunnison  Public Health at 641-0209.

*This clinic is being provided through a cooperative effort between Crested Butte Community School and Gunnison Public Health.*

PRESS RELEASE (11/30/2011): Gunnison County Manager Named "Administrator of the Year"; State-wide award given to County Manager Matthew Birnie

Gunnison County, Colorado - Last night Gunnison County Manager Matthew Birnie was awarded the “Colorado County Administrator of the Year Award” at the winter meeting for Colorado Counties, Inc. held in Colorado Springs. The recognition has been awarded annually since 1999 by the Colorado Association of County Administrators as a way to recognize strategic organizational leadership and effectiveness and productivity in local governing.

Birnie’s vision and leadership have also been noticed at both the state and national levels prior to this week’s award. He has been featured in Governing Magazine and was invited to Washington DC to share his expertise at “The Cost of Governing Summit” last year. He has also been featured at the Advancing Government Accountability Performance Management Conference and at a previous Colorado County Winter Conference. Additionally, last month Gunnison County was awarded the "Distinguished Budget Presentation Award" by the National Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). No other county in the state under 100,000 in population, let alone under 20,000 has received this honor and County Manager Birnie was part of the team that made that award a reality.

The nominating committee that submitted Birnie’s name for this award included Commissioner Paula Swenson, Human Resources Director Debbie Moore, Public Works Director Marlene Crosby, Director of Finance Linda Nienhueser, County Attorney David Baumgarten and Assistant to the County Manager Katherine Haase.

Some of the highlights from Birnie’s nomination submitted by his colleagues in Gunnison County government include:

• “Matthew came on board in early 2007 and Gunnison County has excelled in the past four years like no other organization I have seen both in the public sector and in private industry. Matthew has created a team that is unstoppable. He implemented the national governing model "Managing for Results" in Gunnison County which has created government transparency in a strategic, measurable, and performance-based manner that has allowed us to get a clear picture of what is important and how we can accomplish it.
  
  In Matthew’s time as Gunnison County Manager, major projects like a new detention facility and public works building both of which were extremely high priority projects in the County for over 20 years have become a reality, without an increase in our tax revenues. In the current economic downturn, the commissioners asked Matthew to ensure that our budget was as trim as possible while not cutting the services that our community needs. With a clear management and budgeting approach, he was able to deliver a proposed budget for 2012 that not only does not increase our local property taxes, but it decreases them,” Paula Swenson, Gunnison County Commissioner.
  
  
• “Effectiveness of County government can be measured in many ways, but the true test might be the relationship between the services provided to its citizens and the cost of those services while focusing the conversation on the needs and experiences of citizens. Matthew has truly lead Gunnison County from a culture of looking at the things we do to the results we produce for the citizens of Gunnison County.
  
  His vision for transparent government with strategic, measurable, performance-based management led him to propose using the Managing for Results (MFR) model for Gunnison County. In a short time period, Gunnison County is poised to be the only Colorado County of our size with a fully integrated MFR system,” Linda Nienhueser, Finance Director.
  
  
• “There is a saying that integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. Matthew’s behavior has integrity, is informed by ethics, and backed by knowledge and experience,” David Baumgarten, County Attorney.

When asked to list three additional attributes of a good administrator that Birnie has, the committee responded: is a visionary; is a team leader and does his job with humor. His colleagues feel he fits all of the attributes of a good leader and rightfully deserves this recognition as a statewide example of an exceptional leader. "Matthew Birnie is more than deserving of this honor,” says Commissioner Swenson.

PRESS RELEASE (10/17/2011): Administration Department Earns Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA)

Gunnison, CO – In August, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) announced that Gunnison County, Colorado’s Administration Department received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2011 budget.  The award is scheduled for formal presentation to the Administration Department during the Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners meeting on 10/18/2011 at 11:30 am.

The award represents a significant achievement by the Administration Department.  It reflects the commitment of the County and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.  In order to receive the award, the Administration Department had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.  These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as:

• A policy document.
• A financial plan.
• An operations guide.
• A communications device.

Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.

When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award. 

For budgets including fiscal period 2010, over 1,250 entities received the award.  Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Serving only 15,394 residents, Gunnison County is the least populated county in Colorado to win the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, with the next smallest being Mesa County (147,522 residents).  Among previous winners are Denver City and County (618,650 residents), Arapahoe County (571,598 residents) and Jefferson County (545,848 residents).  It is a testament to Gunnison County’s dedication to excellence that it has achieved this distinction without having the resources of these large jurisdictions to apply to the effort.

PRESS RELEASE (10/17/2011): Presentation of 2012 Staff Proposed Budget

Much thought and careful consideration has gone into this year’s budgeting process. In response to the current economic climate, instead of proposing the allowable revenue increase from property tax (5.5% plus new construction), the 2012 County Staff Proposed Budget includes a reduction in total property tax collections of 7.37% for all components of the County mill levy. This will result in an overall reduction from 2010 property tax collections of $622,889 as detailed below:

Property Tax Comparison - 2012

The full allowable increase in property tax revenue: $599,494

The decrease in property tax revenue proposed: $622,889

Savings to the property tax payers: $1,222,383

This could lower current taxpayers’ county property tax bills by as much as 8.8% depending on their property values.

While taking the taxpayers into consideration, the County Staff Proposed Budget also includes a 2% cost of living adjustment for County employees. Without this adjustment, 2012 would be the third year that almost one third of the full time employees have not received a raise, while the cost of living has increased approximately 7% and health insurance premiums will have increased 21% in the same period. Still, due mostly to attrition and job consolidation, the 2012 wages, for the entire County organization, will be almost $11,000 less that in the 2011 budget.

The County is a large organization and thus has a very complicated annual budget. The public is encouraged to attend the Public Hearing for the 2012 Budget on December 6th, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room in the County Courthouse. Let us answer your questions, explain our rationale, and hear your concerns.

- - Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners

PRESS RELEASE (10/14/2011): Gunnison County National Citizen Survey Results In - Many high marks from citizens, some areas to focus on in the future

On Tuesday, October 25th Gunnison County Commissioners will take a first look at the results of the National Citizen Survey which was sent to 1,200 County households this summer. The survey is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc., and the International City/County Management Association and has been administered by Gunnison County twice now (in 2009 and 2011). The return rate of the survey for 2011 was 35%. Having data from 2009 and now 2011 provides the Board of Commissioners and County staff with comparative data that will be used in long term planning for improved services and in reaching the goals of continuing to improve quality of life for Gunnison County residents.

Benchmarks

Gunnison County’s results have been weighted against approximately 100 jurisdictions in the Western region of the United States with populations less than 40,000. Looking at these areas where Gunnison County is above, similar or below benchmarks can help leaders determine areas that the County is successful and also areas that need improvements.

Gunnison County’s Above Benchmark Areas in 2011 were: Snow Removal, Bus/Transit Services, Recreation Programs, Recreation Facilities, Historic Sites, County Open Space, Preservation of Natural Areas, Drinking Water, Power Utility, Sewer Services and Storm Drainage.

Gunnison County’s Similar Benchmark Areas in 2011 were: Public Information, Animal Control, Street Repair, Traffic Enforcement, EMS, and Sheriff Services.

Gunnison County’s Below Benchmark Areas in 2011 were: Planning and Zoning, Code Enforcement, Economic Development, Library, Health Services, Fire Services and Recycling.

Overall Areas of Improvement

Gunnison County survey results also can show where residents have reported improvements. Some highlights of improvements in 2011 data as compared to 2009 data include:

• Snow Removal received an 80% excellent of good rating, up from 74% in 2009.
• 90% of residents say they feel safe in the County downtown areas after dark, up from 84%, and 95% say they feel safe from violent crime (e.g. rape, assault, robbery), up from 90%.
• Sheriff services were rated as excellent or good by 82% of residents up from 73%, and EMS services were similarly rated at 74% up from 61%.
  • Overall, each public safety question ranked above benchmarks as well.
• Preservation of natural spaces such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts received a positive rating of 81% as compared to 70%.
• 90% of residents said they recycled, up from 87% and 67% said recycling services are excellent or good- up from 61%.
• Availability of affordable housing received 23% positive, up from 17%. This is an area that the County will continue to work on as it is still below the benchmark, but has seen a 6% improvement from 2009.
• Mental health services were rated at 51% excellent or good, up from 38%, and drug and alcohol services were rated excellent or good by 46% of residents, up from 43%.
• 68% of residents said they had read the Gunnison County newsletter, up from 60% and 58% said they’ve visited the Gunnison County website, up from 52%.
• Gunnison County’s Public Information services were rated excellent or good by 64%, up from 55%.
• 67% of residents said they had contact with a Gunnison County employee in the last 12 months, and of those 81% said courtesy of the employee(s) was excellent or good, 78% rated knowledge excellent or good and 76% said responsiveness was excellent or good. All of these ratings are similar to the benchmark.
• The value of services for the taxes paid was rated as excellent or good by 58% of residents, up from 48%, which is similar to the benchmark.

The BoCC and County staff are encouraged by many these many improvements and similar or above benchmark ratings and will continue to work to find ways to improve in areas that had below benchmark ratings. Improving these rankings will also be pursued by utilizing the Managing for Results Strategic Business Plans of each County department. These plans provide increased transparency and accountability for citizens in understanding what specific results they are buying with the County’s revenues. By combining the Managing for Results departmental plans with the Citizen Survey results, the County will be able to further the goals of enhanced communications with the public, and overall increasing customer satisfaction in every County department.

For more details on the survey results please contact County Manager Matthew Birnie at 970-641-0248, mbirnie@gunnisoncounty.org.

Food Establishments’ Inspections Now Available On-Line

View inspections of food establishments here. The inspections have been done through an agreement with Gunnison and Montrose County Department of Health & Human Services Environment Health. This agreement was developed through a regional partnership (West Central Public Health Partnership) that was created by a 5 year grant from the Colorado Trust. Locally, the primary responsibility of the Gunnison County Environmental Health Office is to protect the public's health and the environment by preventing the contamination of ground and surface waters through inspections, monitoring, consultation on septic systems and by issuing permits for the proper construction and installation of septic systems.

In contrast, food establishment inspections are a part of Consumer Protection services. There have been no recent concerns regarding food establishments. These reports are going on-line now simply because we have the technology to do so. Food establishment inspections are public record. By making this available on-line, the records are more accessible. Montrose County has had this available for more than a year. You may access these reports by going to the Gunnison County website, then Health & Human Services and then under Public Health where a link will take you to that specific part of Montrose County website. Do not be confused, you are in the right place. There is a drop down to select Gunnison County. For a limited time, the link will run in the recurring calendar on the Gunnison County Home page.

This effort as well as food handlers’ food safety classes are part of Public Health’s mission to assure just that—“the public’s health”. For questions, please contact the Environmental Health office in Montrose at 252-5040.

FREE Workshops - 2009 Building Energy Codes

Free, half-day informative workshops in Gunnison and Crested Butte on the recently adopted 2009 Building Energy Codes hosted by the Colorado Energy Code Support Program provided by the DOLA Division of Housing and the Governor's Energy Office. Click here for more information.

7/26/2011 PRESS RELEASE: Oil & Gas Regulations

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is committed to ensure that our Oil & Gas Regulations protect the public health and safety of our community. Additionally, we are also committed to work with the State of Colorado to find collective solutions for regulatory overlaps and preemptive issues. Currently, the BOCC (represented by Commissioner Paula Swenson, County Manager Matthew Birnie and County Attorney David Baumgarten) has been engaged in discussions with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (represented by Director David Neslin) to attempt to clarify, coordinate, and harmonize the application of the respective State and County regulatory programs to oil and gas development within Gunnison County. We have met in person in Gunnison and Denver, and also by telephone. We have been joined by Mike King, Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and his staff, and representatives of Colorado Counties, Inc.

The discussions to date have focused on three areas: Improvements to use of the state “local government designee” process; Improvements to the Gunnison County regulatory process; and Improved inspections. We have deliberately and respectfully made these our initial focus rather than disagreements over “preemption” or “who should regulate what.”

Gunnison County is very hopeful with the discussions and believes that we can reach common ground with the State which will further benefit our process as well as theirs. Because of the continuing conversations and the efforts to work together; the BOCC intends to not act on the current amendments to the Oil & Gas Regulations at the public hearing set for August 2, 2011. We intend to continue the public hearing to a date in early 2012 to give adequate time to foster the continued discussion with the State. This will also keep in effect the current regulations, which includes a 500’ set back from waterbodies.

Additionally, during the scheduled time of the public hearing on August 2nd, a report will be presented to the commissioners regarding the conversations with the State. The public is welcome to sit in and comment on the issues.

- - Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners

6/24/2011 PRESS RELEASE: Facilities for the 21st Century: Public Safety Center & Public Works Maintenance Facility Project Rapidly Taking Shape

Today the Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners saw progress being quickly made toward completion of both a new Public Safety Center (which will include the County Detention Center, County Sheriff’s Office and County Emergency Operations Center), and a new Public Works Maintenance Facility. The tour was given by the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) - GE Johnson Construction Company. Construction of both developments began in late 2010 after funding by the sale of Certificates of Participation (COP’s) which enabled the projects to proceed without any new taxes. During the tour, Chairperson Hap Channell summarized both the necessity for and the planned longevity of the structures by saying, “These projects satisfy a desperate need and they will take care of us for a long time.”

Public Safety Center

Seen here are Commissioner Paula Swenson, County
Manager Matthew Birnie and Gunnison Times Editor Will
Shoemaker touring the facility on 6/24/11.

ON TIME: From an early construction start, and after the establishment of the project Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of slightly less than $15 million budgeted for construction, the work on both jobsites has progressed to the point where the County Commissioners on Friday viewed both facilities that are close to completion. The Public Works facility is on track to be completed in early August 2011, and the Public Safety Center is on track to be completed early December 2011.

Completion of the exterior façade on the north and east sides of the new building by the time of the 2011 Cattlemen’s Days celebration this July was a particularly important deadline and will be met. “The GE Johnson team very worked hard to get the building looking less like a construction site and more like a finished office building in time for the carnival which will, as in years past, soon be setting up for Cattlemen’s Days. This was a high-priority, interim goal for the project” said Mike Mismash of Project One Integrated Services, the Owner’s Representative who is assisting the County in the overall planning and management of the development of the capital improvements.

ON BUDGET: Due to the fact that the projects are developing within budget and the GMP the development team led by County Manager Matthew Birnie were able to trigger additional construction of certain highly desired but potentially budget exceeding “add alternates” that are projected to be completed entirely within the original budget. In the case of the Public Works Maintenance facility, the fully enclosed Vehicle Wash Bay, located on the south end of the building is now nearly complete. At the Public Safety Center, nearly the entire second floor of the facility will house the new Sheriff’s Department and an Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Public Works Maintenance Facility

Seen here are Commissioners Paula Swenson and Hap

Channell touring the facility on 6/24/11.

SUSTAINABLE AND ENERGY EFFICIENT: The development team has also been committed to making sure the buildings have high efficiency and sustainability features. Energy saving factors include use of integrated daylight and passive solar gain, native plant and low water usage plants used in landscape, roof insulation that is significantly higher than required to lower heating energy, use of low-emitting materials for interior finishes and insulation, condensed boilers to lower natural gas consumption and energy use and use of energy efficient lighting and electrical. Both buildings were targeted for achievement of what would be a LEED designation but no formal certification process will be undertaken because of the relatively high cost involved. Still, the County was able to have the designs and specifications of both facilities reviewed by a green building consultant in conjunction with a grant from the Governor’s Energy Office which set forth specific potential recommendations, many of which were incorporated into the work and will continue to be incorporated into the future. “We felt that instead of spending the thousands of dollars needed to gain LEED certification we would instead invest those dollars in reaching the sustainability and efficiency goals provided to us by the Governor’s Energy Office,” said Matthew Birnie, County Manager.

DOLLARS SPENT LOCALLY: Another important goal for the project, particularly driven by current economic conditions, was to optimize local participation of subcontractor and vendor firms on a competitive bidding basis while keeping with the overall goals of the project which include an on-time completion of both separate buildings, staying within the overall intended project cost and GMP, gaining the intended level of finish quality, and maintaining a safe jobsite. In fact, given the relative complexities of the types of commercial/industrial facilities involved, vs. the relatively residential construction orientation of the majority of local construction concerns, a good amount was spent on local and regional subcontractors with 19% bid to local subcontractors and an additional 37% bid to regional western slope subcontractors. Additionally, approximately $700,000 was spent locally on hotels and restaurants by the out-of-town contractors. “This project represents by far the best local results that we have ever achieved on a mountain project of this magnitude and complexity of type. I would say Gunnison County’s rate of local subcontractor bids is the best I have seen in a mountain project,” GE Johnson’s Project Executive, Todd Seawell explains.

For more details on either project please contact County Manager Matthew Birnie at 641-0248, mbirnie@gunnisoncounty.org. For additional photos or site plans please contact Molly Mugglestone at molly@mdmpublicaffairs.com or 970-275-8909.

Gunnison County Carbon Policy Task Force Final Report and Recommendations

Click here to view the Gunnison County Carbon Policy Task Force Final Report and Recommendations document that was presented to the Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners on 2/8/2011. Gunnison County encourages citizen input regarding this document. Please submit all comments via email to bocc@gunnisoncounty.org or via mail to 200 E. Virginia, Gunnison, CO 81230.

Capital Projects Information

Visit the Public Works and Jail capital projects website to view information relative to the Public Works and Jail capital projects.

Traducir al Español/Translate into Spanish

Usted puede convertir esta página al español haciendo click en el botón que así lo indica. La traducción está hecha por una computadora y por lo tanto no es sensible al contexto y tal vez no convierta el texto al significado deseado. El Condado de Gunnison no puede garantizar la exactitud del texto traducido. Si la información que usted busca no es clara, por favor contacte la Oficina Multicultural del Condado de Gunnison para obtener la información correcta. Muchas gracias.

Clicking on the link below calls a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any computer translation, conversion is not context-sensitive and may not convert text into its intended meaning. Gunnison County does not guarantee the accuracy of the converted text. If the information you are seeking is not clear please contact the Gunnison County Multicultural Resource Office for the correct information. Please note that some applications and or services may not work as expected when translated. Thank You.