Commissioners Awaiting Reply on Visit Invite to Governor

County commissioners in Prowers and southeast Colorado are waiting to see if Governor Hickenlooper will reply to their request that he visit the drought stricken areas of the state and view firsthand the economic and environmental impact the drought has wrought in this region for the past several years.

On May 10, the governor issued a memorandum of Potential Drought Emergency pertaining to expanded Activation of the Colorado Drought Mitigation and Response Plan.  A task force, according to the memo, will “help facilitate and support response to conditions that impact the Municipal sector” and the entire state.   

The task force has been charged with several duties, including: to make an initial damage or impact assessment, both physical and economic; recommend opportunities for incident mitigation to minimize or limit potential impacts and lead agencies will be prepared to take action for drought response and to mitigate drought impacts as appropriate.  On June 25 the Prowers County Commissioners sent an updated letter to the governor, reminding him of their invitation to meet with their agricultural constituents regarding the D4 drought conditions and options and services which may be available to assist them.  As a follow up to an earlier meeting with landowners Jillane Hixson and Don Turner, the commissioners approved a similar letter to their commissioner counterparts in southeast Colorado as well as Colorado representatives and Tom Vilsak, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for their participation in a regional discussion regarding the drought impact. 

The Prowers County Commissioners gave approval to other action items on their June 25 meeting agenda, including:  a contract with the state Department of Health and Environment for House Commercial Swine Feeding Operations, a State of Colorado Law Grant Agreement with Prowers County on Peace Officer Standards and Training Board Funding, a memorandum of agreement for school health services with the Wiley School District, the grant agreement with GOCO and Alta Vista Charter School for playground equipment and improvements at the school.  Principal Talara Coen said the $100,000 grant has been approved, but additional documentation needed county approval.  The next Prowers County Commissioner meeting will be held July 11.

By Russ Baldwin