News
Elbert Co 10-2-2013
Elbert County
October 3, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourelbertcountynews.com
Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 118, Issue 36
Debate persists over oil, gas rules New community development director feeling the pressure By George Lurie
glurie@ourcoloradonews.com
An artist’s rendering depicts what Elbert’s new school will look like once it’s operating. Courtesy image
New school under construction Town of Elbert will see facility open for 2014-15 school year By George Lurie
glurie@ourcoloradonews.com
Construction is well underway in Elbert at the site of the town’s new school. Photos by George Lurie
Elbert’s existing school was built in the 1930s. POSTAL ADDRESS
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Construction work is well underway on a new $20.6 million school in the town of Elbert and school district officials confirmed last week that the new facility remains on track to open in the fall of 2014. “Workers are putting up the pre-cast walls around the gym,” said the district’s business manager, Bev McGuire. “With the recent rain, they are a few days behind schedule but there are areas where they can catch up.” The 73,000-square-foot construction project will include a separate 3,000-square-foot maintenance facility and “bus shed,” said McGuire. There will be a total of 21 preschoolthrough-12th-grade classrooms in the new school as well as a cafeteria, library, gymnasium and auxiliary gym. “The auxiliary gym will be used for things like graduations,” said McGuire. “That’s where the stage will be.” The project was financed, in part, by a $17.3 million state BEST grant. “The grant does not allow us to build for growth,” said McGuire. “But the classrooms in the new facility will be a little bigger than the ones in the old school.” The school district qualified for the grant when voters in 2012 approved a $2.8 million bond issue, which passed by a relatively slim 52 percent to 48 percent margin. Two earlier attempts to pass a school bond in Elbert were unsuccessful. Elbert’s current school, home to some 200 students, was built in the 1930s and has been added on to seven times over the years, said McGuire. Elbert’s new school will be the county’s second new public school to open in the past two years: the Big Sandy Schools, a new preschool-through-12th-grade facility in Simla, opened at the beginning of the 2013 school year. In 2012, Elbert was one of 14 districts across the state to pass local funding mechanisms to qualify for a Building Excellent Schools Today, or BEST grant, which were offered through the Colorado Department of Education.
Updating zoning regulations that will guide future oil and gas exploration in Elbert County is proving to be a major challenge for new community and development services director Kyle Fenner. On the job less than four months, Fenner stirred up a hornet’s nest Sept. 17 after calling off a meeting of the county’s so-called citizen “editing” committee, which had been helping officials craft updated regulations for future oil and gas exploration in a county that is still relatively untapped for fossil fuels. The editing committee, made up of eight county residents, had been scheduled to meet the evening of Sept. 17. Fenner showed up at the county courthouse a little after 6 p.m. to make sure people were told that the meeting was not going to take place. She says she was met by “a number of angry people waiting outside” who accused her of canceling the meeting at the last minute — and without explanation. At the regular Board of County Commissioners meeting on Sept. 25, Fenner asked commissioners whether a scheduled Sept. 26 meeting of the editing committee should still take place. “I have been trying to follow the direction of the board and respect the historic process in Elbert County while also trying to adhere to Colorado state statute,” Fenner told commissioners. “I would ask that I have a sheriff’s deputy there if the (Sept. 26) meeting occurs. My gut tells me that it’s going to be uncomfortable and I’ll be outnumbered.” “I am being pulled in a number of directions,” Fenner added, not trying to mask her obvious frustration. “I will speak my mind and stand up for things I believe in. One of the things I will not do is stick my neck out only to have it chopped off.” Oil continues on Page 7
Community and Development Services Director Kyle Fenner pauses to collect her materials following the Sept. 25 BOCC meeting. Photo by George Lurie