Town of Westcliffe Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
—February 21, 2023
Summary: Interviews Set for Vacant Trustee Spot, Town Light Experiment Results, Sheriff’s Report, and New Crosswalk Causes Problems
By Becky Olson
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Town of Westcliffe was held on February 21st, 2023, and convened as scheduled at 5:30 p.m. in the town hall conference room. A quorum of Trustees was present and proceedings commenced after recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and unanimous adoption of the consent agenda.
The first item of old business was a quick discussion about some updates to the training reimbursement policy for town employees. Trustees are working with town attorney Clay Buchner to add provisions stipulating what portion, if any, of training expenses must be reimbursed by employees who quit within a certain timeframe, or those who fail to successfully complete training courses. Discussions are ongoing and no action was taken at this time.
Next, the Trustees set a Special Meeting on March 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. to interview the two candidates who submitted letters of interest for the newly vacant position on the board of Trustees after former Trustee, Bess Cole, resigned at January’s meeting. If the Trustees do not appoint someone to a vacancy within 60 days of a board member’s resignation, an election is required to be held. Next was a discussion around the ongoing efforts to fill the Adams Boulevard pond, per the orders of the water division (the state water division, not the local Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District). Town Manager, Caleb Patterson, read portions of a letter submitted by citizen Naomi Yoder in which she states the pond may not have to be filled in if it can be formally designated as a bird habitat and viewing area. The decision to fill the pond came after the water division notified the town they were in violation of water rights and were required to remedy that by either purchasing augmentation or filling the pond. Mr. Patterson is going to work with Ms. Yoder to see if she’s willing to communicate with the water division on this matter. Meanwhile, the filling of the pond will continue per the town’s agreement with the water division.
A pre-bid conference for interested contractors to come learn about the requirements of the town’s Rosita parking lot paving project has been scheduled for March 6, 2023, at 10 a.m. Contractors then have 30 days to submit bids. Next was an update on the town’s ongoing efforts in response to many complaints from residents to mitigate the brightness and harshness of new street lights installed last year. The town recently conducted a test by installing several different types of bulbs at specific intersections and soliciting resident feedback. The light installed at the intersection of Second Street and Edwards received the most favorable feedback, with the one at Second Street and Powell receiving the second most votes. However, there still seems to be a consensus that all the lights are still too bright, so experiments with different lenses, dimmers, and better shrouding to decrease the size of the light cone are also being conducted. Ultimately, changing the lights will come at the town’s expense, with Black Hills Energy (BHE) performing the work. The Trustees decided to request price quotes from BHE as their next step in this process.
Moving on to new business – Sheriff Rich Smith was in attendance to share the Sheriff’s Office’s (SO’s) 2022 Q4 and Year End reports. Sheriff Smith provided highlights on both of what he referred to as “reactive” and “proactive” activities by his office. The former is anything in response to a call received, whereas the latter is not, and includes activities like foot and vehicle patrols, traffic control, supporting school activities, and so on. Twenty-eight percent of all calls received by the SO and one-third of tickets written were within the town. The mounted Posse is going to be re-established thanks to five local cattlewomen who have volunteered to undergo the required training. The total cost of the training for all five women will be $5,000, and the SO is currently seeking donations to cover this expense. The Trustees asked Sheriff Smith a few questions, including about what happens now when arrests are made in light of the jail being closed last month. The SO still has one Detention Deputy and the ability to temporarily detain people when necessary. If defendants qualify to immediately bond out, they are released, otherwise, a Deputy must then transport them to Fremont County for further detainment. Sheriff Smith described the positive impact the recently approved pay raise has had on hiring, and happily reports the SO will be fully staffed this summer once four new Cadets currently undergoing training complete those courses and become certified.
A lengthy discussion next ensued on the topic of a request to move the newly installed crosswalk on the west end of the school on Highway 96 (Main Street) near the dance studio. The gist of the issue relates to two matters in particular: the placement of the new crosswalk eliminated public parking in front of the dance studio, impairing the safety of the children who attend classes there and the accessibility of the business as a whole; and there is now an issue with water pooling and collecting on the end of the crosswalk in front of the dance studio, causing safety issues as pedestrians divert into Main Street to avoid that spot. Resident and business owner Russ Hartbauer owns the parcel the dance studio is on and was present to voice his concerns about the loss of the parking in front of the business. He believes the value of the commercial property has been impaired and he has requested county Assessor, JD Henrich, to reduce the assessed value of the property commensurately and therefore his associated property taxes. Mr. Henrich was also present to share that he agrees the value has been impaired. Quite a bit more discussion around this issue took place, and unfortunately there does not appear to be an easy or obvious solution that will make all stakeholders happy. Town Clerk Kathy Reis agreed to take the lead on continuing to gather additional information, and work with both the school board and CDOT to determine next steps. A Special Meeting will be scheduled in the near future to take this issue up in more detail.
Wrapping up the meeting – resident and representative of the Wet Mountain Community Fund, Donna Hood, received the Trustee board’s unanimous permission to host a scholarship fundraiser.
Trustees George Mowery and Randy Wilhelm were unanimously appointed to the Façade Improvement Grant review committee, and they will then select one non-Trustee citizen to join them. The Trustees voted unanimously to make no changes to the locations where meeting agendas and other public notices are posted; and also appointed members to a committee that will review the Town Clerk job description and develop an ad for that position. Next there was some brief discussion about the state of disrepair of Memorial Park and the need to repair quite a few of the stone pillars there. Town Manager Mr. Patterson will gather additional information about the cost of proposed repairs.
As the last item of business, the Trustees voted unanimously to approve ordinance 2-2023 to amend to the town’s Title X Land Use Code. (Those changes can be found here under Exhibit A https://townofwestcliffe.colorado.gov/press-release/public-notice.)
In Staff reports, Mr. Patterson reported he has finally received some bids for the lane striping project. In public comment, a representative of the local Farmer’s Market provided cost information he had taken it upon himself to obtain regarding the options proposed to mitigate the eroded grass in Jess Price Park. Trustees thanked him for having gathered this information and being willing to share it with them as they continue to determine the best solution to this problem. (It was determined in an earlier meeting that the Farmer’s Market should move to another location due to the wear/tear on the grass.) In the event it is not resolved by the time the market starts this summer, the Trustees generously offered the town’s assistance with helping to enhance the advertising and signage directing visitors to the market’s temporary location.
With no further discussion items or public comment, the meeting was adjourned.