GRAND LAKE —  Grand Lake trustees approved a state agreement Monday tied to a $2.135 million Local IMPACT Accelerator grant and reduced a permit fee for a cancer fundraiser that helps Grand County patients pay for treatment-related travel and lodging. Mayor Christina Bergquist and Trustee Jim Schoenherr were absent.

Town Manager Steve Kudron said the Colorado Energy Office awarded the town $2.135 million in May through an Environmental Protection Agency-funded program. The town then issued a request for proposals, and Antero Group was selected to provide grant and implementation services. The agreement approved Sept. 14 governs the town’s relationship with the state and must be finalized after the Colorado Energy Office reviews changes requested by the town attorney.

Antero has worked with Grand Lake since 2024 on planning, housing and implementation projects. Sky-Hi News reported in August that CEO Eric Neagu and Project Manager Molly Delaney presented housing and development concepts to the board. Kudron said the Local IMPACT statement of work was developed with the state over nearly two months to meet EPA criteria and required outcomes.

Town Attorney Daniel P. Harvey said the grant will operate through reimbursement as the town completes eligible work. The state agreement also allows the Colorado Energy Office to monitor performance. Harvey sought language requiring consultation with the town and recommended that future amendments be made in writing and returned to the board rather than taking effect automatically through an updated award letter.

“As the town completes work, it’s basically a reimbursement,” Harvey said. He also warned that subcontractors must comply with federal requirements. Kudron said Antero’s general contract includes those conditions.

Trustees approved the agreement with the understanding that the state would review the town’s revisions before the mayor signed it through DocuSign. The vote authorized participation in a state-administered grant program with performance, documentation and reporting requirements; it did not place the award into the town’s operating revenue.

Marti Lund, representing Taking Steps for Cancer, told trustees that the all-volunteer organization was supporting 63 cancer patients in Grand County. Because patients must travel for treatment, she said, the organization helps cover expenses including fuel and lodging and can provide up to $6,000 per patient each year.

Lund said Taking Steps had organized four fundraisers this year and that every dollar saved on fees could be directed toward patient assistance. She said the organization would pay the required damage deposit and had not damaged town streets during years of Taking Steps events or the earlier Race for the Cure. The event requires a permit because participants use town streets. Trustees approved a $50 special-event permit.

A letter from Martin Zieff was read into the record because he did not speak. Zieff alleged that amplified music from White Buffalo sometimes continued past 1 a.m. on weekend nights and disrupted nearby residents and workers. He said he had contacted the business and sheriff’s dispatch without obtaining a lasting reduction in volume and planned to close his business for several years. The board made no factual finding on the allegations during the meeting.

Gothard Lane also asked the town to trim vegetation obscuring a sign along U.S. Highway 34 and requested more detailed public reporting on town finances. Kudron agreed to provide a budget presentation at a future meeting.

Earlier in the day, trustees held a 4:30 p.m. workshop on Planning Commission and zoning board duties, regional board service and outside appointments. They identified economic development, transportation and Colorado Municipal League policies as priorities for future assignments, with delegates expected to report back to the board.

Trustee Greg Finch cited the Leatherwood project as an example of the uncertainty. He said the Planning Commission had denied a variance, but the applicant appeared before trustees the following Monday seeking the same relief. A 2025 Sky-Hi News report on the Leatherwood project describes the earlier Planning Commission recommendation against the Lakeside development’s height-variance request.

Finch questioned whether that process made the Planning Commission ineffective and whether trustees were overriding it. Kudron said trustees need to understand whether they are hearing an application anew, reviewing a commission recommendation or confirming that procedures and criteria were satisfied. No structural change was adopted; trustees identified training and code clarification as next steps.

In other business, trustees approved a Phase 1 stormwater contract with B2 Excavating, subject to final attorney review. The work is intended to improve drainage from Woodpecker Hill through Perry Street, Portal Road and Shadow Mountain Drive toward Lake Avenue, the Grand Lake Center and the marina. The project includes ditch cleaning, settling ponds and rock gardens designed to capture sediment before water reaches Shadow Mountain Lake and Grand Lake.

Kudron described the project as 90% grant-funded and said some administrative planning costs are reimbursable, leaving the town’s investment at slightly less than 10%. Harvey recommended default and termination language if work does not begin within the required period or the contractor breaches the agreement. Trustees also reviewed July sales-tax information and electric-vehicle charging station activity