Chud’s Pizza Gets Liquor License, Round MountainWater District update and SO Quarterly Updates, Trustees Interview Candidates for Town Manager
by Becky Olson
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Town of Westcliffe convened as scheduled on Monday, October 17, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. in Patterson Hall. A quorum of Trustees was present and proceedings commenced after recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
After the consent agenda was unanimously approved, the Trustees proceeded to the only item of old business and voted unanimously to approve a liquor license for Chud’s Pizza on Second Street. Moving into new business, the Trustees unanimously voted to grant conditional approval for installation of a mailbox cluster for the town homes at 9 Granada Court, which is contingent upon a signed agreement stipulating responsibilities for maintenance of the mailboxes being delivered to Mayor Wenke for his signature by November 1st. Consideration of a request to waive the building permit fee for an addition to the Fire Department continues to be tabled until the department submits more information to the Trustees.
Director of the Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District (RMWSD), Dave Schneider, was up next with his quarterly update. Mr. Schneider reports substantial progress on all three of the district’s current big projects: Replacement of all meters has been completed and already resulted in “hundreds of thousands of gallons” of water being saved; the town’s new well has been drilled and will come online in January, doubling the current capacity; and finally, approval of the new water treatment plant by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is expected by next spring.
Once this approval is obtained, RMWSD can proceed with construction plans and break ground on the new facility, which is expected to occur sometime in the late summer or early fall 2023. The ongoing moratorium on applications for water taps can be lifted, Mr. Schneider reports, as soon as the “first shovel of dirt” is scooped on that construction. There are currently 30 open applications as a result of the “fire sale” of taps at the end of 2020. Originally, RMWSD required instal-lation of these taps within 12 months (which would have been December 31, 2021), but due to various ongoing challenges obtain-ing supplies for both the district itself as well as homeowners trying to build, Mr. Schneider conceded RMWSD has unofficially extended that deadline. He indicated the district will likely formalize that decision with a vote and officially extend the deadline to four years, which would be December 31, 2024. Mr. Schneider went on to report the Johnson Ranch was recently sold and the district is working with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District (UAWCD) on the new reservoir. The UAWCD will bear one third of the total cost of that project. The use of “good bugs” (ie. desirable bacteria) in the current treatment plant has resulted in a significant reduction in the highly unpleasant odor that has previously emanated from the holding ponds. Finally, Mr. Schneider closes with a reminder that the RMWSD unfortunately still faces significant unfunded state mandates and required upgrades to the entire district’s distribution system will have to be addressed and somehow funded in the not too distant future.
Next up before the Trustees were Sheriff Robert Hill, and Undersheriff Rich Smith, was with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office’s (CCSO) second and third quarter reports. Sheriff Hill reports the second quarter was “very busy” with a total of 1,500 calls for service, which only slightly declined to 1,300 calls in the third quarter. He further notes the high proportion of burglary calls within the Town of Westcliffe in the second quarter (12 calls total which was 50 percent of all burglary calls for the quarter), but that had dropped off significantly in the third quarter. He
noted the biggest category of crimes by far deputies are responding to at this time is fraud, and most of the
victims of these crimes are our senior citizens. An inmate in our jail attempted an escape, but was
unsuccessful. The CCSO is experiencing severe staff shortages at the moment, particularly on the patrol side where they are currently only at 50 percent after some recent resignations (Note: this serious understaffing issue was further exacer-bated the following day, October 18th, with the announcement from CCSO that a deputy had been terminated after an internal investigation revealed multiple violations of department policy and code of conduct).
Sheriff Hill took a moment to praise our all-volunteer Sheriff’s Posse for the ongoing amazing work they do, in addition to stepping up to fill the gaps caused by the current staff shortages. Sheriff Hill reports the Posse has donated 2,000 hours thus far this year, and he and Undersheriff Smith will continue to evaluate ways to further utilize this labor pool that is critical to the operations of the CCSO, even absent severe staffing shortages.
Finally, Sheriff Hill reports the “large number of fatalities” on our roads this year, most of which are related to excessive speeds.
He and Undersheriff Smith are working with CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) to try to lower some of the posted speed limits in particularly dangerous areas, most notably south of town on Highway 69, and they have also made efforts to step up enforcement of speed limits in these dangerous areas.
The Trustees next voted unanimously to move three Certificates of Deposit (COD’s) from Kirkpatrick bank to CSAFE, and also voted to form a committee to work with the Director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management, Adrian Washington, to review “Custer County’s Towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff Emergency Operations Plan”.
Mayor Wenke notes there is “a lot of money available from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)” for fire and flood mitigation activities. The Trustees’ next item of discussion was in response to a citizen complaint expressing concern about the chipped-up asphalt being used to fill a pond in
the Bluffs park, specifically that such material was “contaminated”. The Town had samples of the material tested and did not find evidence of “contamination”, which prompted a unanimous vote from the Trustees to authorize the work of filling the pond with this material (in addition to other fill material) proceeding.
In staff reports, Town Clerk Kathy Reis reported the Safe Routes to School project is nearly complete, and also resolution for the current issue of the excessive harshness and brightness of town street lights is ongoing. Mayor Wenke rewarded three town employees with bonuses for stepping up and taking on additional responsibilities in light of the Town Manager position vacancy. The Trustees then voted to move into Executive Session to interview candidates for the Town Manager position. Approximately one hour and fifteen minutes later, the Trustees re-convened in the public portion of the meeting, and with no further discussion items or public comment, the meeting was adjourned.