Gibson reflects on eight years as commissioner

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Glenn Gibson, retiring Larimer County Commissioner, leaves office concerned that voters will not approve another tax to support county jail operations.

Gibson sees plenty of challenges ahead for Larimer County, most particularly in meeting budget needs. A sales tax that pays for operation of the detention center will expire in 2014, and Gibson said that if that is not replaced by another tax, county services and employees will suffer. The sales tax supports 200 county jobs, he noted. Voters would have to approve a 2-mill property tax increase or a 2 percent sales tax hike just to maintain current jail facilities, according to Gibson.

"I don't think the voters will give us either one," he added.

Roads and bridges in the county are most in need of additional revenue, Gibson said. "We'll have to ask people for an increase in sales or property taxes, or look at tolls," he said.

Owl Canyon Road would be a perfect place to try a tolling system for drivers who do not live in the area, he said. "We need to come up with new ideas" he added.

Another budgeting challenge lies with The Ranch (Larimer County Fairgrounds), Gibson noted, since the facility does not pay for itself. It currently costs the county about a quarter-million dollars each year, and that sum will soon rise to a half-million, he said.

Despite those budget concerns, Gibson sums up his eight years of service as follows: "It's been a fun time. I've enjoyed coming to work and serving the community."

Gibson turns 69 on Jan. 6 and leaves his post on Jan. 13, when Tom Donnelly takes over. Donnelly, a Republican like Gibson, was elected in November after Gibson failed to win the nomination from the Larimer County Republican Party.

This will be Gibson's second time to retire. When he left Hewlett-Packard, he wasn't ready to quit working, so the county commissioner job was "a perfect segue between Hewlett-Packard and real retirement," he said.

His wife, Pat, just retired in December as a nurse at Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies, and the two have plenty of plans for their new supply of free time.

"I've got two tennis tournaments scheduled in California," Gibson said, "and we have a trip planned to Hawaii in March. Then, there's another tournament in Las Vegas in April." He also plans to return to volunteer work in the community.

Gibson has something else up his sleeve as well. An idea for an invention has been incubating in his mind for several years, and he's now cleaning up his shop to get to work on a prototype. The idea involves an instant rechargeable energy source, but beyond that the inventor is staying mum.

Gibson is proud of several accomplishments of the county commissioners during his two terms. He lists construction of The Ranch and purchase of additional open spaces such as Red Mountain, Chimney Hollow and Hermit Park as among the chief successes.

Many new trails have also been added to the county system, Gibson noted, including the one that stretches from Devil's Backbone west of Loveland to Horsetooth Mountain Park. One of Gibson's concerns, however, is the county's ability to pay for maintenance on all its open-space properties.

"We need to sit back and figure out if we can we maintain what we already have" before more open space is purchased, he said.

He is particularly proud of the county employees and their strong work ethic. County staff have "gone out of their way to educate me so I can make better decisions," he said.

Gibson said the thing he has most enjoyed about his job as county commissioner has been "serving people and trying to meet their needs and concerns." Now, with the county job behind him and numerous tennis tourneys ahead, he will have to practice a different type of service.