Boulder County Commissioners · Regular meeting
Business Meeting
August 18, 2026
Commissioners back an interim trail through the damaged Tucker Complex instead of closing it, and set two new ballot measures for November.
The board approved five appointments to the Emergency Services Grant Program Advisory Committee. It tabled a YMCA worthy-cause funding change for one week after Commissioner Levy raised unanswered questions. The board certified ballot language for three November 2026 measures: the county Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy, the Sombrero Ranch Public Improvement District, and the Summerlin Public Improvement District. The board approved the Griffith PUD sketch plan for a four-lot subdivision in Eldorado Springs. In afternoon work sessions, the board directed staff to focus zero-waste efforts on construction debris rather than a new county compost facility, and it backed an interim seasonal closure and one designated bike trail through the Tucker Complex, where illegal trail building grew from about one mile to about nine miles since 2022.
Agenda and votes
Call to Order
9:30 a.m. Morning Session
Business Meeting
Commissioners' Consent Items
- 4Commissioners' Consent ItemsThe board approved consent items 4A through 4L, including a technology advisory board appointment, a Longmont urban renewal tax agreement, human services grant items, procurement awards, and Parks and Public Works grant applications.passed 2-1to approve the Commissioners' Consent Agenda as a whole.Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminLoachamin: yesLevy: yesStolzmann: no
- 4.aCommissioners' Office - Appointment of Ben Pearlman to fill as the County Administrator position on the Technology Resources Advisory Committee.
- 4.bCounty Administrator's Office - Longmont Urban Renewal Authority Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Agreement
- 4.cHuman Services - 2026-27 Kin Connect Bid Waiver
- 4.dHuman Services - 2026-27 Core Plan and Core II Plan Funding Request
- 4.eHuman Services - 2026-2028 Nurturing Futures Direct Cash Assistance Program with AidKit
- 4.fOffice of Financial Management - BID-297-26 Award Recommendation
- 4.gOffice of Financial Management - RFP-287-26 Award Recommendation
- 4.hOffice of Financial Management - SOQ-289-26 Award Recommendation
- 4.iParks and Open Space - Sponsor Cal-Wood Education Center in a Great Outdoors Colorado / Colorado Youth Corp Association Grant Application
- 4.jParks and Open Space - Zweck Access Easement
- 4.kPublic Works - Federal Land Access Program Grant Application
- 4.lPublic Works - Producer Responsibility Program with Circular Action Alliance
Commissioners' Discussion Items
- 5.aCommissioners' Office - Appointments to the Emergency Services Grant Program Advisory Committeepassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
- 5.bCommunity Services - YMCA Worthy Cause Funding Agreement Amendment, Release and Termination of Restrictive Covenant, Release of Deed of Trust, and new Deed of Trustpassed 2-1to table Item No. 5.b to the business meeting on August 25, 2026.Moved by Marta Loachamin, seconded by Ashley StolzmannStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: no
- 5.cCounty Attorney's Office - Resolution 2026-053 - Amending and certifying the Boulder County Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase and Voter-Approved Revenue Change ballot title to the November 3, 2026 General Electionpassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
- 5.dCounty Attorney's Office - Resolution approving and certifying a ballot title for the November 3, 2026 general election regarding district formation, multiple-fiscal year obligation authorization, revenue change and ad valorem taxing power of the proposeMemo_re_PID_ballot_language_Sombrero_Ranch.pdf Resolution 2026-051 setting and certifying ballot title Sombrero Ranch.pdfpassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
- 5.eCounty Attorney's Office - Resolution approving and certifying a ballot title for the November 3, 2026 general election regarding district formation, multiple-fiscal year obligation authorization, revenue change and ad valorem taxing power of the proposepassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
Confirmation of Executive Session Topics
Authorizations for Executive Sessions
- 7.aAuthorization for Executive Sessionpassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
- 7.bAuthorization for Executive Sessionpassed 3-0Moved by Ashley Stolzmann, seconded by Marta LoachaminStolzmann: yesLoachamin: yesLevy: yes
Public Meeting on Head Start Division Monthly Report to the Commissioners
- 8Public Meeting on Head Start Division Monthly Report to the CommissionersHead Start Division Manager Akane Ogren gave the monthly report: 91 of 110 funded enrollment slots filled in August, a projected $20,000 surplus for the last grant year, and concerns about proposed federal Head Start standards changes.
Public Meeting on Griffith Planned Unit Development (PUD) Sketch Plan
- 9Public Meeting on Griffith Planned Unit Development (PUD) Sketch PlanThe board approved the Griffith PUD sketch plan (SD-24-001), a four-lot subdivision plus an outlot on 1.5 acres at 63 Baldwin in Eldorado Springs, after staff detailed the preliminary-plan requirements still ahead.passed 2-1to approve Docket SD-24-0001 and commitments of record by the applicant, as discussed and contained within the official record.Moved by Marta Loachamin, seconded by Claire LevyLoachamin: yesLevy: yesStolzmann: no
1:00 p.m. Afternoon Session
- 10.aWork Session
Public Works - Zero Waste Plan Update (fees and composting exploration)
- 1Public Works - Zero Waste Plan Update (fees and composting exploration)
Parks and Open Space: Interim Management Proposal for Tucker Complex
- 2Parks and Open Space: Interim Management Proposal for Tucker Complex
Other votes
Conversations by topic
November 2026 ballot
County Attorney staff presented Resolution 2026-053, which amends and certifies the ballot title for the Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase for the November 3, 2026 election. Levy asked why the amendment was not folded into one resolution; staff said only the ballot question wording changed, not the underlying program resolution.
Staff presented Resolution 2026-051, certifying ballot language to form the Sombrero Ranch Public Improvement District, covering taxing authority, formation, debt authorization, and a revenue change for the November 3, 2026 ballot. The board approved it without discussion.
Staff presented Resolution 2026-052, certifying similar ballot language to form the Summerlin Public Improvement District for the November 3, 2026 ballot. The board approved it without discussion.
Early childhood and child care
The board certified amended ballot title language for the county Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase measure going to the November 3, 2026 ballot. The change was limited to word choice in the ballot question, not the program itself.
County governance
The board authorized two executive sessions for August 19: one for legal advice on hiring a new County Administrator, and one for negotiator instructions on the collective bargaining agreement with the Boulder County employees union.
Housing and land use
Staff presented a supplemental memo on required preliminary-plan application materials for the Griffith PUD sketch plan: topographic maps, utility and drainage plans, a development report, water and sewer letters of intent, a transportation impact review, and a wildlife report. The applicant, Christian Griffith, said the project would create four middle-class homes on a manufactured-home-zoned lot in Eldorado Springs and that securing a water source is his top priority before moving to preliminary plat.
Head Start federal standards and funding
Head Start Division Manager Akane Ogren reported proposed federal changes that would shift oversight to states, allow larger class sizes, drop required health screenings, lower staff credential rules, and add English-only mandates. She said Boulder County's program spent three years fixing similar problems and will keep its current standards regardless of federal changes; commissioners directed her to include local data and family stories in the county's formal comments on the rulemaking.
Worthy Cause fund security interests
April Gatesman explained a request to move the county's worthy-cause security interest from the YMCA's Longmont property to its Mapleton property, because the YMCA is selling the Longmont site to the City of Longmont before a planned lease can be finalized. Levy asked why the interest would not simply transfer to Longmont or be recovered as cash for reinvestment, and the board tabled the item 2-1 for a staff memo answering those questions.
Zero waste plan, transfer fees, and composting
Public Works staff reported the county has not met its old goal of near-zero waste and presented a five-category 2024 Zero Waste Action Plan, with construction and demolition debris estimated at a 21 percent diversion opportunity. The board asked for clearer year-over-year progress tracking, supported a transfer-station fee increase not raised in over 10 years, and, after learning a county compost facility could not accept paper, cardboard, or compostable plastics, directed staff to prioritize construction-debris diversion over a new composting facility.
Tucker Complex interim trail management
Parks and Open Space staff reported unauthorized trail building at the 667-acre Tucker Complex near Nederland grew from about one mile in 2022 to about nine miles by 2026, damaging elk calving and moose rearing habitat, and triggered a temporary closure for a nesting northern goshawk through September 15. Staff recommended a seasonal closure of the property from March 1 to November 1 with one year-round designated multi-use trail to Caribou Road, plus at least one added enforcement ranger; commissioners debated the exact trail alignment and signage but gave general support, with Loachamin asking staff to confirm the elk-calving data before finalizing a seasonal closure over the meadow section.