On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Colorado Headwaters Land Trust Executive Director Jeremy Krones met with the Granby Board of Trustees to discuss and answer any questions on resolution 2024-10-08, which was passed by trustees.

The resolution approved a deed of conservation easement to Colorado Headwaters Land Trust, pending language approval from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

“Colorado Headwaters Land Trust is very thankful to all of the Granby Town Board members past and present who have supported this conservation project over the last five years, and especially for the unanimous vote of approval at last week’s meeting,” Krones said.

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Approximately 742 acres of town owned property north of Sun Communities on the north side of the Colorado River is included in the conservation easement, which also encompasses parts of the Colorado River.

“Conservation easements can take a long time to negotiate and the board and staff of the Town of Granby have worked so diligently with us to conserve over 740 acres of open space and 2 miles of the Colorado River in perpetuity, for the benefit of all residents and visitors to the area, as well as the wildlife who love healthy open spaces and free-flowing rivers as much as we do,” Krones said. “We are excited to celebrate the success of this easement soon.”

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Colorado Headwaters Land Trust raised a total of $1,959,383 —$466,633 more than the contracted amount — for this project.

There are two parts to this easement: 327 acres are closed year-round for habitat and range land protections for wildlife, while 415 acres have a winter closure area. The winter closure would begin early November and end in mid-May.

A management plan for the property will be developed for additional work needed on the easement including developing ditches, roads, riverbank stabilization, fences and weed control.

The town of Granby is planning on building out a trail system on portions of the easement that are available for public use. Language in the documents would allow for the town to build comfort stations and parking areas on the conservation easement.

Additionally, the town will be allowed to maintain the water infrastructure that is on the property in both zones.

The agenda’s memo on the item writes that funding for this project came from Grand County Open Lands Rivers and Trails, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Mountain Parks Electric, Gates Family Foundation, and a variety of other funding sources.

In other business:

• A contract with modular home builder company Vederra Modular was approved by trustees. The total cost for the design and engineering was $99,064 and was covered by the More Housing Now grant that the town received for the Nuche Village affordable workforce housing project.
• An invoice for $20,000 was approved by trustees to cover holiday light maintenance and expanding the lights to 12 more trees.
• Learning by Doing requested that the town forgive up to $3,000 in review costs for the floodplain permit for the organization’s restoration project in the Fraser River. The organization needs a floodplain development permit for restoration efforts along the Fraser River section near Kaibab Park. While the agency will complete the permit itself, the permit needs to be reviewed by town engineering and is estimated to cost approximately $3,0000. The item was tabled by trustees due to a lack of understanding why the organization requested this.
• An update was given by Granby Assistant Town Manager Nicole Schafer regarding the use and planned use of grants on the Nuche Village housing development. Town staff has begun to prepare for the next phase of horizontal infrastructure. No action was taken on the item.
• Town staff recommended retaining Pinnacol Assurance for the town’s worker’s compensation coverage and CIRSA for general liability, property/casualty, public officials and law enforcement coverage and auto coverage for 2025. Trustees approved the staff recommendation.
• Health benefits for town staff were expanded. The board of trustees approved retaining the current insurance carriers for medical, dental, life and disability coverage.