The Lake County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to table a proposed agreement with a Leadville nonprofit over a county-owned yurt that has sat in storage since 2024, after commissioners raised questions about the location, community input, and the county’s broader relationship with the organization. The board also approved updates to the county’s building codes, a water lease with Climax Molybdenum Company, and a heritage tourism designation along a historic stage and rail corridor at its May 19 regular meeting.
The proposed memorandum of understanding with Cloud City Conservation Center, a Leadville environmental nonprofit known as C4, would have authorized the organization to fund construction and operate the county’s 30-foot yurt on Lake County School District property for outdoor education programming. Commissioner Andy Lee said community members had pushed back on the farm location, arguing it effectively cut out cross-country skiers who were among the originally envisioned users of the $43,430 structure. Lee also said the volume of county contracts and grant awards flowing to C4 had drawn concern. Commissioner Elsa Tharp said she needed all stakeholders at the table — including Colorado Mountain College and the Dutch Henry recreation area — before reaching a decision, and that key partners had not been consulted before the item came to the board.
C4’s education director told the board the organization had been working with the Parks and Recreation Department on the project since August 2025 and had raised roughly $60,000 toward construction. She said the yurt would serve hundreds of students in summer camps, school programs, and community groups who currently have no indoor shelter at the farm during bad weather. C4 also offered to formally lease the yurt rather than borrow it, compensating the county for the taxpayer investment. The board voted unanimously to table the item to the June 2 regular meeting.
The board approved adoption of the 2024 International Code Series, updating building, fire, energy, and related codes the county has operated under in their 2018 form. Colorado law requires local jurisdictions to adopt the 2021 energy code or a more stringent version by July 1, 2026. Community Planning and Development Director Anne Schneider said the 2024 edition — recommended by the county’s Board of Review after four months of weekly meetings — offers more achievable insulation requirements, cleaner pathways to energy compliance, and expanded protections for existing historic structures in Leadville. A public hearing conducted jointly with Leadville City Council drew no opposition testimony, and the board voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2026-20.
The board unanimously approved a one-year augmentation water lease with Climax Molybdenum Company for 20 acre-feet of firm county water yield. Water + Natural Resources Director Bryce Ehrlich explained the county is not leasing that water to the Mount Massive Golf Course in 2026, making it available for other use. Climax needs an alternate supply to offset Arkansas River depletions tied to a mine drinking water well that faces potential call-out due to historically low snowpack. Under the agreement, Climax must independently pursue a Substitute Water Supply Plan with the state Division of Water Resources without relying on county legal or engineering support. Ehrlich said the lease partially offsets a budget shortfall in his department caused by the golf course’s decision to draw from a different source this year.
The board unanimously approved Resolution 2026-16, designating existing county roads and trail segments as part of the Stage to Rails Historic Route. The route commemorates the old stage and rail corridor between Cañon City and Leadville and has been two decades in development. County Attorney Matt Hobbs and a representative of the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association led the presentation, with GARNA Executive Director Jessica Downing in attendance. The designation covers portions of the Mineral Belt Trail, County Road 4, and County Road 5, carries no funding obligation, and does not change ownership or maintenance responsibility for any road or trail. A western segment was excluded because the county lacks authority to designate trails on land it does not own and has not yet secured landowner permission.
During public comment, a Leadville resident asked the board to look into widening the bike rack trays on public transit buses, saying the current trays are too narrow for roughly 40 percent of fat-tire and e-bikes. A second commenter raised three concerns she had emailed to all three commissioners on May 1 with no response — spending on a county accounting consultant despite continued audit findings, severance pay to a former county attorney approved in executive session, and the status of an $8 million courthouse remodel tied to certificates of participation bonds. Commissioner Matt Bullock acknowledged her email had landed in his junk folder and committed to respond.
County Attorney Hobbs reported the county is preparing to file three additional land use enforcement cases, with two of three previously filed cases resolved. The county manager reported a new emergency management director started Monday and is working to bring county plans into federal compliance; she also flagged that aging E911 infrastructure will be a significant budget conversation later in 2026. The board entered executive session to receive legal advice on a potential intergovernmental agreement with the City of Aurora regarding water rights and returned with no decisions made. The board then unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included a payment rate agreement with Peak Health Alliance for immunizations, a letter of support for a violence prevention grant application, payroll, and accounts payable packets. The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
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