On time and on budget! The county’s largest public infrastructure project to date celebrated its

completion in the fall of 2017: the Weld County Road 49 Corridor. This corridor is now a

five-lane, concrete road stretching 20 miles from I-76 in the south to Highway 34 in the north and

provides a safe and efficient north-south route for travelers throughout the county.

While improvements to WCR 49 had been on the county’s project list for years, road closures

during the 2013 flood, which prevented traffic traveling north and south throughout the county,

spurred the accelerated timeline for improvements to 49. Working efficiently and with speed and

diligence, Weld County Government began the project—the county’s first design-build project—

two years ago. Now complete, travelers can enjoy a safe alternate corridor for

traveling throughout the county.

The next project, WCR 47, will allow travelers to drive the Corridor from I-76 north to State

Highway 392. That project will be complete by the end of 2018.

Nicknamed the “Jewel of the Plains” upon its completion in 1917, the Weld County Courthouse

celebrated its 100th Anniversary in June. The celebration included public tours of the building, a

series of Lunch and Learns and a proclamation. The celebration capped off with a public event,

which drew more than 200 people who joined in the official centennial celebration ceremony

complete with speakers, a barbershop quartet

and a 500-pound cake designed as a replica of the

majestic building.

The courthouse, which was likely Weld County

Government’s first debt-free project, was paid

for through a $5.25 tax on every $1,000 of

taxable property which covered the $414,000

expense of constructing the marble, granite and

limestone building.

Page 2 2017 SUMMARY

PAGE 2 2017 SUMMARY

In 2017, Weld County Government worked hard to continue informing the public in all aspects

of government. Communication with the public has always been a top priority, and

enhancements were made to ensure the public can continue to find information easily and in a

time-efficient manner:

• As part of a county web site redesign, www.weldgov.com now features a newsroom. All

press releases from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) from 2011-2017 are

stored in one convenient place. The newsroom is the place to visit to read about important

events going on in various departments throughout Weld County Government. News may

also cover information about retirements, awards won by Weld County employees or

upcoming projects.

• The BOCC made its calendar available to view on the commissioners page at

www.weldgov.com. There, you can see meetings the commissioners are attending as well as

the times for different work sessions and presentations.

• The BOCC also made notes from work sessions available, giving the public an opportunity to

see what was discussed in those sessions. In 2018, audio recordings of work sessions will

also be made available.

• To keep the public informed of the progress made with road construction on WCR 49, 54

and 29, newsletters were produced and distributed via email and on the county’s web site.

The newsletters featured project achievements, articles pertaining to safety precautions

when traveling through construction areas, and feature stories about Weld County

employees working on the various projects.

“Getting information out to the residents of Weld County is critical in accomplishing the goals we

have, and key to us understanding what issues are important to them,” Weld County Chair Julie

Cozad said. “I’m proud of the steps we've taken to consistently inform the public about Weld

County. We will continue to work hard to come up with new ways to distribute important

information to the public, so that everyone always has a voice and is always represented.”

WELD COUNTY RECEIVES

FRIENDLIEST TAXPAYER

COMMUNITY AWARD

In August, Weld County received

the first-ever Taxpayer Friendliest

Community Award from the

American City Council Exchange

(ACCE).

Weld County was selected for

the award by ACCE after it

conducted “research on counties

across the country that were doing

things right; that were cutting taxes,

eliminating debt, and bringing out

more governmental transparency,”

according to John Russell, National

Director of the ACCE.

The following factors contributed to

Weld County receiving the award:

Weld County has saved

taxpayers over $424,000,000

in property taxes not collected

due to mill levy reductions

from 2002-2017.

As of January 1, 2017, Weld

County’s retirement fund is

funded at more than 103%,

with over $255 million in

assets.

Weld County has no sales tax,

no debt, and pays for projects

in cash.

Weld County has more than

$100 million in an available

fund balance.

2017 SUMMARY

PAGE 3

In response to the tragic home explosion in Firestone last April, the Board of

Commissioners unanimously agreed to use general fund dollars to purchase and

make available to county residents explosive-gas monitors.

Commissioners hosted events distributing gas monitors to any resident who

wanted one. While demand outpaced initial supply, reorders were done, and

more events were held to ensure everyone had an opportunity to receive a

monitor. Additionally, residents could pick up a monitor from the Planning

Department if they couldn’t get one at an event.

Events were held in Firestone, Fort Lupton, Hudson, Milliken, Eaton and Erie.

The program concluded Oct. 31 with more than 850 units being distributed.

The population growth Weld County continued to experience in 2017 meant transportation issues continued to be high priority for

county officials. The Freedom Parkway (also known as Weld County Road 54, 37th St., Larimer County Road 18) Coalition held

public meetings over the summer to let residents know about work being done with regard to an Access Control Plan along that

route. Access Control Plans are put together with the primary goal of evaluating accesses on the roadway to ensure maximum safety

and efficiency.

Also over the summer, the commissioners signed the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) US Highway 85 Planning and

Environmental Linkage (PEL) study. The purpose of the study was to identify the safety and operational needs of US 85 and develop a

vision for the highway between I-76 and the town of Nunn, a 62-mile stretch. CDOT compared its findings to an Access Control

Plan conducted in 1999 and determined which areas of the plan needed to be refreshed (with locations in need of improvements

prioritized). CDOT will continue to update the US 85 Access Control Plan as funding for improvements becomes available.

Weld County proudly honored Vietnam veterans and their families at a

county–hosted Vietnam veteran Pinning Ceremony in May. Following |

the first ceremony in 2016, for which the board invited more than 20

Vietnam veterans to receive honorary pins and a proper “welcome

home,” the board decided to hold a second event in hopes of honoring

even more Vietnam veterans. The event drew hundreds of veterans and

numerous elected officials. The county’s office of Veterans Services

worked through a program offered by the federal government to make

sure veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans, received the recognition

and honor they earned but did not receive when they returned home

from the Vietnam War.

WELD COUNTY SERVICES FOCUS ON VETERANS

There are over 20 million veterans living in the United States, with 18 - 19,000 living in Weld County. The Weld County Veterans

Services Office assists 5,000 veterans annually, distributing between $107 - $110 million in assistance and services.

Employment Services of Weld County also proudly offers numerous assistance and job placement training programs to veterans and

their spouses on a priority basis. Offered year-round, veterans can attend workshops free of charge to receive help with resumé

writing and interview preparation. Workshops also focus on identifying the skills a veteran has and identifying how those skills

transfer to the job market.

Connect with us!

2017 SUMMARY PAGE 4

In early December, Text-to-911

Service went live in Weld County.

Promoted under the theme, “Call if You

Can, Text if You Can’t,” the service

allows people in Weld County to text

911 when calling isn't an option.

Text-to-911 can be beneficial in many

different scenarios, including assisting

those with hearing disabilities, allowing

contact with 911 when doing so might put

you or your family member in danger, or

when signal strength is too low to place a call.

Text-to-911 service is available to anyone who has a phone with text message capability and

is using a participating wireless provider. Currently, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon support

Text-to-911 service.

The county’s Public Safety Communications Department is responsible for implementing

the service, and staff has worked hard to ensure the service meets the emergency needs of

the public of Weld County.

“We are proud of the work our Public Safety Communications team has done to make this

service available to residents,” Weld County Chair Julie Cozad said. “It provides another

method for people to request help when it’s desperately needed.”

Throughout 2017, the Weld County Planning

Department held several open meetings with the

public to help review Weld County’s pipeline

regulations. Topics discussed included pipeline

mapping requirements, pipelines that carry

produced water, the size of pipelines and the hoop

stress for natural gas pipelines.

The meeting also focused on the consideration of

changes to section 23-1-90 of the Weld County Code, including the potential expanding of

the definitions to include flow lines and gathering lines.

Meetings were open to the general public, business owners, and industry representatives.

More meetings will be held in the future.

“The energy industry touches us all in Weld County in some form or another. We need to

make sure we continually work together to improve efficiencies and safety,” said Weld

County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, coordinator for the Planning Department.

Discussions regarding pipelines will continue into 2018 as the Weld County Board of

Commissioners and Planning Staff continue to work toward improving the county’s policies

and guidelines.

MANY WELD COUNTY

DEPARTMENTS WERE

RECOGNIZED IN 2017 FOR

OUTSTANDING WORK

Weld County employs almost 1,600

people, each of whom work hard

every day for the residents. Below is

just a short list of some of their

accomplishments in 2017:

Department of Human

Services: C-STAT Award from the

State of Colorado Dept. of Human

Services.

Department of Public Safety

Communications: NICE

Systems—Voice Recording/Data

Security Corporation, Jessica

Powers and Brett Phipps.

Department of Finance: GFOA

Distinguished Budget Presentation

Award.

Department of Justice Services:

Doug Erler (Director) reappointed

by Gov. Hickenlooper to the Justice

Assistance Grant Board and the

Community Corrections Advisory

Council.

Extension Department: First

Place Fair Book from the Colorado

Association of Fairs; Second Place

Fair Event Guide from the Rocky

Mountain Association of Fairs.

Sheriff’s Office: Excellence in

Service to Students Award, Deputies

Dan Heintz and Les Weimers.

District Attorney’s Office:

Who’s Next Excellence in Law

Award, Tony Perea.