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Steamboat Springs — For the second year in a row, the Routt County Board of Commissioners will take its show on the road and host a series of public forums throughout Routt County to discuss any issue on the minds of county residents.

The first of the evening public comment sessions is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday in the Commissioners Hearing Room in the historic Routt County Courthouse. Similar meetings in Oak Creek, Hayden and North Routt will be held in future weeks.

"It's a time, unlike in the winter, when travel is a little easier for people. It's an open conversation for anything," said County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush, who noted that the commissioners entertain public comment every week but that it is during the workday in Steamboat when many residents cannot find time to attend. "I think this provides a more comfortable format, and they can say anything they want. : I think people are interested in government, and they want to know what we're doing. Plus, they have good ideas."

County Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said one positive outcome from last year's meeting was the feedback the commissioners received in Hayden about slides on the Cog Road north of Hayden.

"That allowed citizens to come and interact with us directly about a large concern to them," Stahoviak said. Stahoviak said the commissioners knew about the roadway slipping off Routt County Road 76 but that the public forum brought home how serious of a concern it was to local residents.

As a result, the county applied for an energy impact grant to fix the road and learned this week that it won nearly $600,000 to fix the slide and another road, C.R. 86.

Road repairs also dominated the commissioners' discussion last year with South Routt County residents, who also were concerned about increasing transportation costs.

Stahoviak said she isn't sure what the hot topics will be this year.

"We never have any idea," she said. "We just say we're here, and we're willing to listen to whatever you have to say."