The Rico Fire Protection District will hold their meeting on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Rico Courthouse, 2 N. Commercial Street

The Rico Town Board will hold their regular meeting on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Rico Courthouse. On the agenda under old business is EPA Update regarding St. Louis Tunnel Clean-Up/Steve Way. SCAN Project/Rick Smith. Under new business is Discuss Grant Application for Town Shop/Wayne Brown and Shirley Dennison. Executive Session, Determination of Positions Relative to Matters That May Be Subject to Negotiations.

At the regular Rico Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 30, under new business regarding Amendments to the Rico Land Use Code to Accommodate the Rico Soils VCUP and Institutional Controls Programs, Town Attorney Susan Baker continued with her report that the map also depicts areas referred to as the "Environmental Remediation Overlay Zone District" or "EROZ". The EROZ defines properties within Town boundaries that was subject to prior VCUP programs and received a "No Action Determination Approval" from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) or that were otherwise remediated under the oversight of the Department. According to the ICs/ERRs Ordinance, these properties include the following: Columbia Tailings Site, Grand View Smelter Site, Santa Cruz Mine Site, Iron Clad Mine Site, Rico Boy Mine Site, Silver Swan Waste Rock Site, West Overbank, East Shamrock and the Atlantic Cable. As currently written, the ICs/ERRs program only covers those sites located within the Town's municipal boundary.

Regarding VCUP/Amendments to Master Plan, Town Attorney Susan Baker would like the Board to again consider master planning for the River Corridor. This master planning is essential to establish future uses of the Town-owned properties. In addition, the Planning Commission should consider necessary access to River Corridor parcels. Such planning will help facilitate closure of the VCUP because the Town now needs to adequately define the extent of future development in order to secure the necessary funds for future remediation of its River Corridor properties.

For example, the Town owns Tract 8, currently this Tract contains a small town shop. If the town wishes to expand this use in the future or to add other public uses, this lot should be "costed" appropriately for extensive excavation and development. If the town does not foresee future development of this lot, it could merely be "costed" for paving or capping. Ms. Baker would also like the Planning Commission to consider future potential uses for Tract 5A, as well as Tract 5C. The Planning Commission should consider potential uses such as fish hatcheries, an ice rink or a playground, as well as possible location of such development.