Better ideas and innovation from our employees
Larimer County employees are always on the lookout for better, more innovative ways to serve our community.
Our most valuable asset is our employees, who bring their dedication, effort, creativity and ingenuity to improve how Larimer County delivers services every day. These innovations were recognized at the annual Larimer County 2025 Innovation Awards.
Grand Prize: Emergency Operations Mobile Call Center
Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, Kohl Parrot, Loren Barnes
During natural disasters, when activating a call center to support a Joint Information Center, tasks such as damage assessments or public inquiries required bulky laptops to be set up with limitations on where the equipment could be deployed, along with increased technical maintenance.
Two members of the OEM staff, Kohl Parrot and Loren Barnes, have devised a new, highly mobile solution. Instead of relying on traditional laptops, they acquired eight compact PC Sticks, about the size of a mobile phone, and eight slim monitors. A PC stick is a compact, pocket-sized computer that plugs directly into a monitor and contains all the components of a computer, making it ideal for temporary or mobile computing needs. A Pelican case was also donated so the equipment could be both stored and transported easily. Now emergency operations can be much more mobile and locate where they are needed the most. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_QxJkVDBhE
First Runner-Up: Jail Art Project
Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Clint Burkholder
A group of inmates gathered to draw, paint, and create artwork projects, offering a constructive avenue for self-expression and emotions. A benefit of these projects is that they promote positive mental health, a calming environment, and well-being while in jail, waiting to appear in court, and for other purposes.
The Jail Art Project has been highly successful in garnering public attention as a means to reshape the public's perception of our jail and its inmates in a more compassionate and humanizing light. Some of the artwork is so impressive that in 2024, it was on public display at the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures.
First Runner-Up: Text2Park
Natural Resources, Budget Office
Trevor Knight, George Bond, Korrie Johnston, Chris Fleming, John Thompson
Larimer County Natural Resources collects revenue from parking fees at many of its locations to help keep our parks beautiful. Sometimes payment systems would fail, causing inconvenience for patrons and county workers, including lost revenue.
Staff at LCDNR invented a better, more effective way to collect that revenue, electronically, called Text to Park, making it faster and more convenient to complete a parking fee transaction. Patrons can use their phones to pay by scanning a QR code posted at select parking lots and follow the prompts to purchase a day-use permit.
Customers can now pay for parking quickly and without failed attempts at paying for parking. The system has already exceeded expectations, collecting about $25,000 in parking fee revenue that would have been lost.
