Capital improvement program outlined for municipal airport
At the Sept. 17 meeting of the Holyoke City Council, members received an update on plans to improve the municipal airport over the next five years. Dennis Corsi, John Rostas and Julie Thiessen of Armstrong Consultants reviewed previous work, the current capital improvement program, needs and the proposed CIP for 2020-2025.
Unchanged from the current CIP, 2020 is slated to have an airport master plan and pavement funding, both federally funded. Additionally, two major instances of electrical issues within the last six months have made it clear that the problem needs addressed. 2020 will also include a federally funded runway electrical improvements design.
In 2021, the electrical improvements construction is set to take place. It will be 90% funded by the state and 10% locally.
In many cases, runway rehabilitation has to be moved up to an earlier date than scheduled. In Holyoke’s case, however, the 2024 timeline is still looking good because of the meticulous and proactive care of the runway by City Superintendent Mark Brown and his crews. An aeronautical survey will also be completed in 2024. Both projects will be federally funded.
At this point, 2025 is scheduled to have federally funded terminal area and wildlife fencing projects. In the meantime, Armstrong Consultants will be looking for ways to fund the wildlife fence sooner.
Decision on worker’s compensation tabled
Also at last Tuesday’s meeting, council members accepted a property/casualty renewal from CIRSA at a projected cost of $73,124.73. That cost is down over $6,000 from this year’s premium. The decision on workers’ compensation, on the other hand, was tabled until the Oct. 1 meeting.
The two options the council is looking at are renewing with CIRSA and switching to HUB International. Keith Pocock attended the Sept. 17 meeting to provide a quote from HUB International, and a representative from CIRSA is expected to be at the Oct. 1 meeting to answer any questions about its renewal quote.
Officials report
Brown reported that the electric department had handled one power outage since the last city council meeting. It was caused by a lightning strike Sept. 9. Aside from that, the electric department continues to trim trees on power lines in alleys and help out the street department, which cleaned up storm drains and tree branches and has been working on the concrete project at Southwest Interocean Drive.
The water and sewer department handled a Sept. 10 water main break in the 200 block of South Sherman Avenue. Brown noted that there have been several breaks in that area over the last 20 years and warned council members that it will likely be time to replace that water main in the near future.
Trouble continues at the sewer lagoons as well. Pumps are plugging, and aerators are breaking down. The cause, he said, is that people are still flushing wipes down their toilets. When it comes time to do the budget, Brown recommends planning to put in a bar screen to remove such items before they get to the lagoon.
DBT Transportation, which has the service contract for the Automated Weather Observing System at the airport, will be out to do annual maintenance and the inspection for the State.
Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that Sept. 17 was Officer Jorge Salas’ last day with Holyoke Police Department. Decisions about how the department will proceed are in the works.
Bergstrom also noted that the department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 234 calls for service from Aug. 28-Sept. 11. HPD made two arrests, wrote seven citations and three reports, and gave out 29 warnings. Code enforcement handled three animal complaints, one dog at large and 10 ordinance violations.
City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson reported that the City received payments from the State of Colorado for the 2019 severance tax in the amount of $4,401.51. It also received the 2019 mineral lease distribution of $1,955.69. Overall, those are an increase of nearly $3,000 from last year.
The City also received the third-quarter conservation trust fund money in the amount of $5,618.15.
Other business
In other business at the Sept. 17 meeting, council members:
— Held an eight-minute executive session for a conference with City Attorney Al Wall.
— Approved a memorandum of understanding for control of confidential data with the Colorado Department of Revenue naming Olofson the appointee.
— Received an update on Holyoke Chamber of Commerce by its director, Jody Maupin.
— Amended personnel policy No. 4 to allow nonessential City employees to reside beyond the 15-minute response time to city hall previously required.
— Set wages at $15 per hour for a new hire in the refuse department with a six-month probation in which a commercial driver’s license must be obtained. Wages will be increased to $15.50 per hour once the CDL is obtained.