1041 Water Regulations
The board adopted Resolution 2026-21, repealing the Park County 1041 Regulations for Water Projects dated December 18, 1997, and replacing them with the Park County Regulations for Domestic Water and Sewage Treatment Systems and Municipal and Industrial Water Projects. The county clerk confirmed the resolution number at the meeting.
Outside legal counsel Tori Jarvis, joining by Zoom from her car en route to advise another county on its own 1041 regulations, told the board the new rules apply to site selection and construction of major new domestic water and sewage treatment systems, major extensions of those systems, and the efficient utilization of municipal and industrial water projects and their major extensions. The April 22 draft before the board—labeled Attachment A—incorporated three revisions from the prior version, all requested at the previous public hearing.
The first revision required applicants to describe the purpose and need for their project in addition to other elements such as schedule and phasing. Jarvis said that information would help the board evaluate an applicant’s alternatives analysis. The second revision changed housing displacement language from “increased cost of housing” to “increased housing demand,” reflecting that demand increases before costs rise. The third clarified that traffic impact analysis apply county-wide rather than only within a defined impact area. Jarvis said no outstanding revisions remained.
A commissioner said she had reviewed the documents the previous day and found all requested changes addressed, thanking Jarvis for her work on the final draft.
Chair Wissel said the county has had very few 1041 applications historically. He cited the Spinney Mountain reservoir project, which came online around 1982, saying commissioners at the time secured the paving of County Roads 53 and 23 as mitigation but that the intervening decades revealed missed opportunities. The original 1997 regulations, he said, were drafted specifically in response to the South Park Conjunctive Use Program. He said the new regulations would establish a framework for evaluating outside projects and accounting for their impacts on Park County, and expressed full support for the draft.
No public comment was received on the 1041 item. The board had closed the public comment period at a prior hearing.
Non-Disclosure Agreement Cover Page
The board voted 3-0 to approve an optional NDA cover page for use by county departments and offices. County Manager Lucas Meyer explained the document protects sensitive security information—specifically the locations and types of locks used to secure sensitive county storage areas—while preserving whistleblower protections and meeting requirements for interagency and intra-agency communications.
Commissioner Mitchell said the cover page effectively clarified the NDA’s purpose, noting the public, department heads, and elected officials would appreciate the explanation.
Truman Esmond, the only member of the public to comment, raised concerns about conflicting language between the original NDA and the new cover sheet. He said the conflicts appeared to benefit only the legal team defending the documents and questioned whether the combined documents would hold up legally if both were signed by staff. Meyer responded that the NDA was written entirely by legal counsel, and that counsel was also consulted on the cover sheet, advising on specific areas and language to include.
Agenda and Adjournment
The board amended the posted agenda at the outset to add a general public comment period, which Chair Wissel said had been inadvertently omitted. That amendment passed 3-0. No public comments were received during the general comment period. The board adjourned at 11:21 a.m.
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