by Beecher Threatt
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A statewide non-profit organization has named Ouray County Commissioner Lynn Padgett as Commissioner of the Year. Colorado Counties, Inc., bestowed the award at its winter conference in Colorado Springs last week.
Colorado county commissioners may nominate a fellow commissioner for the annual award. The honoree is selected based on outstanding contributions of time and service to CCI that go above and beyond the county level, working for the good of all counties, according to Annie Olson, conference and communications coordinator for CCI.
The eight-member board of directors chooses the winner from among those nominated. Heidi Albritton, fellow commissioner and chair of the Ouray County Board of Commissioners, nominated Padgett for commissioner of the year.
"It was a complete surprise to me," Padgett said. She was talking to another county commissioner... at the convention when she heard the word 'Ouray' and realized she had been named. She did not know Albritton had nominated her.
"It's a huge honor," Padgett told the Plaindealer. "There are a lot of good commissioners who have received this award over the years. It's not all that often that small counties have the ability to participate as much as we have, and it's nice that Ouray County gets recognized by CCI."
CCI provides information, education and legislative representation to county commissioners and municipal officials and encourages local governments to work together on common issues. Padgett, commissioner for District 1, has been the Ouray County liaison to CCI for two years. Before she was elected to the Ouray County BOCC, the county did not have a strong presence with CCI.
Padgett said her husband, Jeff, is a big part of why she is commissioner of the year. He holds down the fort at home when she travels, and his job helps her get affordable flights and rental cars. Last year, Padgett said, she had 7,000 miles on her personal vehicle that was not reimbursed. She also attended her first National Association of Counties (NACo) convention without any reimbursement from the county.
Albritton said Padgett is the first commissioner from Ouray County to win the award. She nominated her due to her extensive participation in CCI and at the national level with NACo. At the CCI conference last week Padgett moderated an educational forum on mining.
"The award is voted on by the CCI board, which is made up of commissioners from all over the state, and so it is a pretty great honor for her to be recognized by our peers," Albritton said. "Driving to Denver all winter long to attend these meetings is not an easy commitment to make, and for the most part Lynn has done this on her own dime with very little financial assistance from the county. Lynn has been able to impact a number of issues that could have been very detrimental to Ouray County, had they been implemented at the state level, such as the regionalization of Social Services."
Some of the issues Padgett has tackled are: facilitating Ouray County's involvement in the governor's Bottom Up economic development initiative; creating the online community calendar for county businesses, governments and organizations; leading county educational sessions on hard rock mining, now a CCI initiative; regional broadband coordination; Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Secure Rural Schools funds from the federal government; advocating for legislation to facilitate abandoned mine cleanup; advocating for more thorough assessment of environmental impact of Air Force low altitude training; legislation allowing counties more flexibility using child protection funding for preventative services; research for proposed San Juan Wilderness bill; and, identified means to save the county thousands of dollars on telephone and Internet services.
Padgett is also a member of Public Lands Steering Committee for the National Association of Counties and a member of Bureau of Land Management Southwest Resource Advisory Committee. She also participated in REAL, an effort by Colorado county officials to make government Responsive, Efficient, Accountable and Locally Driven.