Farmer’s Market to be Relocated This Year,
New Crosswalk to Remain  In Current Location,
Sheriff’s Office & Water District Reports

Town of Westcliffe Board
of Trustees Monthly Meeting
—April 18, 2023

By Becky Olson
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Town of Westcliffe was held on April 18th, 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 the ongoing discussion of repairs needed to address the eroded grass in Jess Price Park and the possibility of moving the Farmer’s Market for this year. An option of re-seeding the grass, closing the park for three to four months, and installing a fence around the perimeter was originally proposed, but cooler heads prevailed when Trustee Cathy Snow asked if the park was being preserved at the expense of the public. Quite a bit of discussion ensued, with a representative from the Farmer’s Market again reiterating the detrimental impact of relocation on the market’s micro merchants, as well as other businesses on Main Street which enjoy a “spillover” effect from the market.
Discussion headed toward pursuing the option of moving the Farmer’s Market to the parking lot directly to the north of Jess Price Park, but no decisions were made and a workshop was scheduled to determine a solution.
Next the Trustees approved a minor change to the location of the new Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in the Rosita parking lot from the south side to the northwest corner of that lot due to proximity to electrical hook ups. The Trustees then moved into discussion of whether to move the new crosswalk in front of the school on the west end either back to its original location to the east, or further west on Main Street. Detailed discussion, including a comment from Sheriff Smith that the new crosswalk is in the location where children were most frequently crossing Main Street anyhow, led to the decision to keep the crosswalk in its current (new) location.
Moving on in old business, the Trustees asked town attorney,
Clay Buchner, to draft a policy outlining a standard process to be followed for the sale of town property; and they also made a decision to require Peregrine Coffee to apply for a permit for the space they are currently using for outdoor seating (which will also now apply to any other business in the future wishing to use outdoor space in such a manner). There was also some discussion about how certain older ordinances pertaining to signage and other minor items either need to be enforced or removed from the town’s municipal code.
Up first in new business was Sheriff Smith with some highlights from his Q1 report. He reports that year-over-year crime numbers are down in the town and that most of the proactive activities his Deputies and the Posse engage in are within the town (which includes the school). He went on to talk about his efforts to get more residents signed up for the Everbridge emergency alert system and issued a reminder that as of the date of this particular meeting, the county is still in a Stage 1 Fire Ban (which has subsequently been lifted).
Finally, Sheriff Smith reported the Ladies Mounted Posse will be in action for this summer’s activities.
Next was Dave Schneider with the Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District’s (RMWSD) Q1 report highlights. Mr. Schneider reports the reservoir project is in the final design phase and is approximately 80 percent funded. The back ordered pipe needed to complete the work to bring on the town’s new well is finally back in stock, and the well should be operational in about two months. The new meters have been working very well, but a recent outage revealed the need for new computer chips, which will all have to be replaced. Overall, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is pleased with the district’s “experimental” wastewater treatment technology (electrocoagulation), but they are still imposing draconian or nonsensical requirements that keep introducing uncertainty in the plans and therefore extending the timeline for when the new plant will be operational. Mr. Schneider expressed uncertainty when asked if he thought this would all get resolved by the end of 2023.
Next in new business, the Trustees voted unanimously to pass resolution 2-2023 adopting the new county hazard mitigation plan; new Trustee, Loree Lund, was appointed to the Custer County recycling organization as a representative for the town; and a job description and proposed timeline for hiring a Deputy Town Clerk with the intention of training that person to fill the Town Clerk position upon Kathy Reis’s retirement at the end of 2024 was unanimously approved. Finally, the Trustees voted unanimously to expand the use of any remaining Façade Grant funds to include other minor improvements and signage for the town’s existing businesses, which will also include assistance for signage for the Farmer’s Market.
In staff reports, Mrs. Reis provided updates on several administrative items, and added an item to May’s Trustee meeting agenda to revisit the topic of possibly charging restaurants for the use of parking spaces for outdoor seating in the summer season. Town Manager, Caleb Patterson, reported on the work he had done to streamline permit applications, improve communication with contractors, and enhance the process for issuing notices of noncompliance. The possibility of pushing the paving of the Rosita parking lot to 2024 was discussed, and he also mentioned the new lane striping will occur in the near future. Mayor Wenke reported he has attended some recent meetings on the topic of broadband internet for the town, and that funds are in fact available for the town to hire a Public Relations consultant to market the town’s attractions to tourists. After a couple of minor items in public comment the meeting was adjourned.