Craig Daily Press / Community group plans for 2010 census

Archive for Wednesday, July 1, 2009

July 1, 2009

At its Tuesday meeting, the Moffat County Commission:

• Approved, 2-0, contributing an additional $4,500 to the Craig/Moffat County Airport to put a new asphalt overlay on its front parking lot. Commissioner Tom Mathers said the project was a good way to partner with the city to accomplish something for the community. The Craig City Council approved the same contribution at its meeting June 23.

• Approved, 2-0, three bids for the road and bridge department. All were the lowest bids submitted.

First was a $29,100 bid from Idaho-based Intermountain Machine & Fabrication for two packer/rollers.

The commission also approved spending $7,507.53 with Craig-based MJK Sales and Hardware for 750 feet of fencing for the Moffat County Landfill. MJK's was the only bid the county received on time.

Finally, the commission approved contracting with Steamboat Springs-based Northwest Colorado Consultants to test the asphalt materials used to put an overlay on County Road 7. The bid doesn't have a set total, because the county will use the firm as needed.

• Approved, 2-0, departmental budget changes for June. However, none required any additional dollars, and the county's contingency fund of $200,000 and emergency reserve account of $900,502 were unchanged.

• Commissioner Tom Gray was absent.

The newly formed Craig-Moffat Complete Count Committee won't actively count anyone during the 2010 census.

Instead, the 12-member group made up of city, county, health care, media, education and community leaders will be tasked with somehow getting as many residents as they can to participate in the national population study.

Audrey Danner, committee member and Moffat County commissioner, said the group met for its first meeting Monday. The priority was to identify which parts of the community may be hard for census counters to reach, whether there be a lack of interest, language barrier or resistance to speaking with the government.

The group plans to target youths ages 18 and older, non-native residents who speak English as a second language and rural areas, which may be hard to reach because of their isolation from news sources.

"There's a large amount of the population that understands the value of the census and will fill it out," Danner said. "Some, however, may not know the impact this has, the help it provides to the community."

State and federal governments use census data often and for varied purposes, not the least of which is when they distribute money to local communities based on population formulas, Danner added.

She cited transportation, health care and human services as examples of this.

Census data also plays an important role in shaping the country's political landscape. State and federal legislative and congressional districts are partly based on population numbers.

Unfortunately, communities often are shortchanged in the census because people aren't counted, including Moffat County, Danner said.

"We end up underrepresented, and that affects the money we get for services," she said. "It's as simple as that."

The group plans to meet again at noon July 20 at an undetermined location to discuss how to best encourage residents to take part.

Danner said she thinks her message will be fairly straightforward.

"It's easy, it's quick and it's important to the community," she said. "It's 10 questions, and then you're done."

Census counters expect to be in Moffat County in April 2010. However, some U.S. Census Bureau officials already are working in the area to verify addresses.

Collin Smith can be reached at 875-1794 or cesmith@craigdailypress.com.