Bittner, Moore appointed fire liaisons
Holyoke City Council members Gene Bittner and Steve Moore were appointed to a newly created committee at the council’s Nov. 20 meeting that will help hash out the details of the fire department’s new Denver Street station.
The committee was suggested by council member Scott Murray to Mayor Orville Tonsing as a way of streamlining talks between the department’s building committee and the City regarding the cost of the new facility.
“The fire department comes to us every meeting, but it always ends right there,” he said. “I think if you appoint a committee, we can relate to the fire department more easily.”
First Assistant Fire Chief Josh Young was present at the meeting and said that he will pass the building committee’s schedule along to the City committee.
Chamber expresses thanks
Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Director McKenna Heldenbrand and board president Tiffany Watson thanked the council for its monthly contribution to the chamber budget, which began in April, and broke down how the City funds have been disbursed so far.
The City has been listed as a corporate sponsor for all chamber events, including Ladies Night Out, Dandelion Daze, Country Christmas and the Chamber Gala. These events made use of $450 of City funds.
Other uses of City money included paying hours for Heldenbrand to make Welcome to Holyoke bags, hunter bags, harvest bags and community calendars, as well as manage the activity sign and the chamber’s social media presence and website.
Watson said the chamber looks forward to collaborating with the recreation department on events like Hot Dog Wednesday and adding the City to a border block advertisement on the 40th annual community calendar.
“We’re just so grateful to get the money so we can provide events for the city and community members,” she said.
Officials, rec director report
City Superintendent Mark Brown reported that City crews dealt with an outage in the 700 blocks of East Furry and Gordon streets. The outage was due to a broken cutout.
An outage at the east end of City Park that was mentioned at the previous council meeting was also resolved.
Water and sewer crews blew out sprinkler systems and worked on updating the City’s Hydra-Stop machine.
A load of jet fuel was also purchased for Holyoke Municipal Airport. Brown mentioned that the City’s contract with airport engineer and planner Armstrong Consultants Inc. is coming due and will necessitate a review by the City.
City Clerk Kathy Olofson mentioned that the City received a $17,528 check from the Colorado Employer Benefit Trust, constituting a dividend funded from unrestricted surplus that had grown in excess of the trust’s needs.
Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that his department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 251 calls for service from Nov. 1-14. They made one arrest, wrote eight citations and five reports, and gave out 12 warnings. Code enforcement handled seven animal complaints, five dogs at large and three ordinance violations.
Recreation Director Victoria Dunker reported that the Recreation Advisory Committee had met to discuss the year and reappoint members Tom Bennett and Luke Goldenstein to two-year terms. In February, another meeting is being planned to review the department’s second year of operation.
Other business
In other business at the Nov. 20 meeting, the council:
— Renewed a $4,900 contract with DBT Transportation Services, ending Dec. 20, 2019, for support and maintenance of the airport’s Automated Weather Observing System.
— Made a contribution of $2,500 to the Phillips County Victims Assistance Fund.
— Allowed notice for a 2 percent electric rate increase for usage in 2019.
— Approved a $100 holiday bonus for full-time City employees.
— Accepted a $1,948.99 purchase request for a laptop for officer cadet Jorge Salas.
— Approved a subdivision exemption request from James Krogmeier.
— Tabled a donation request from Colorado U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association pending a meeting with an association representative.
— Held a work session for the 2019 budget.