City discusses taking stance on controversial ballot measure

    Holyoke City Council voiced concerns over a proposed 2018 ballot measure that would expand property owners’ right to sue local governments during its Sept. 18 meeting and discussed passing a resolution opposing the measure at a future meeting.
    Amendment 74 would allow individuals to sue for reimbursement if a law or regulation lowers the market value of their property. It will be one of 13 statewide ballot measures on the November 2018 Colorado ballot.
    Supporters say the measure would protect the rights of farmers and ranchers to develop oil and gas on their land. Opponents say the measure is vaguely worded and would expose all levels of government to a deluge of potential lawsuits.
    Among the opposition leaders is the Colorado Municipal League. At the Sept. 18 meeting, City Attorney Al Wall distributed CML information that was critical of Amendment 74.
    Wall said a similar measure in Oregon was repealed after the government lost millions of dollars in resulting legal actions.
    “Some of this stuff has clearly gotten out of hand,” Mayor Orville Tonsing said. “There’s a chance for us to take a stand on some of these measures, and I think we need to do it here.”
    Tonsing suggested that the council review the CML information before the next meeting and consider passing a resolution opposing Amendment 74.
    
City to keep CIRSA insurance
    Council members also voted to continue the City’s workers’ compensation and property/casualty insurance policies through CIRSA and declined to wait for a bid from HUB International on the former.
    CIRSA provided quotes of $72,129 and $79,367 for the respective premiums on the workers’ compensation and property/casualty policies. This represented a slight increase from 2018 — workers’ compensation increased $352 from $71,777, and property/casualty, $77 from $79,290.
    Although the City had been in contact with HUB International regarding their workers’ compensation policy, company representative Keith Pocock told the council that his company would need additional documentation before submitting a bid.
    The delay would have required the council to call a special meeting before a re-enrollment deadline of Oct. 1. Pocock said that HUB International’s bid was competitive at that time but that it would not be final until he had received the last pieces of information from the City.
    The council ultimately approved a motion by member Kevin Scott to accept CIRSA’s bid and conclude the bidding on the workers’ compensation policy.

Herman reflects on year of networking, development
    Trisha Herman reported to the council at its Sept. 18 meeting on the progress made during her first year as Phillips County Economic Development executive director, and about the organization’s three focus areas of housing, diverse industry and youth/workforce development.
    Networking has been a central concern for Herman during her time with the organization. She stressed the importance of collaborating with other municipalities and state officials, and participating in policy discussions with officials like Rep. Ken Buck and Sen. Cory Gardner.
    “It’s really important that we always have someone from Phillips County representing us at those discussions,” she said. “Sometimes it’s not all about what you know but who you know.”
    Herman mentioned being part of the talks surrounding Proposition 110, which would provide additional transportation funding through a 0.62 percent sales tax hike.
    She also spoke about her involvement in Pro 15 and the Northeast Colorado Manufacturing Partnership and said she plans to attend a NECOM training in Golden next month.
    Concerning housing, Herman said she met with the USDA’s state director for rural development, Sallie Clark, and has been soliciting bids for a housing assessment, which would quantify Holyoke’s housing shortage.
    As part of Herman’s efforts to promote a diversity of businesses in Holyoke, she began work as a consultant for the East Colorado Small Business Development Center in June. Herman is a small-business owner herself, having opened Holyoke Fitness Club a few years ago.
    PCED’s youth/workforce development efforts have included the Ogallala Commons summer internship in 2018, which placed local high schoolers Josie Herman and Tanley Andersen with organizations in Holyoke and Haxtun.
    The group also gave away FBLA and individual scholarships in Holyoke and four individual scholarships in Haxtun.
    Herman said PCED hopes to create additional internships in Holyoke and continue its partnerships with the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative, Chamber of Commerce and Holyoke Parks and Recreation.
    The organization proposed a budget of $52,650 for 2019, which is an increase of $3,300 from 2018. A meeting of PCED members and local officials is planned for Oct. 22 at Paoli Town Hall.
    
Library discusses sprinkler issues, librarian opening
    Heginbotham Library board members Briar Bergner, Sandy Triplette and Mary Austin expressed their gratitude at the council’s Sept. 18 meeting for the recent installation of sod around the water garden.
    “The sod looks really good, and we’ve had a lot of great comments on that,” Triplette said.
    Austin mentioned that the garden’s sprinkler system is missing a corner of grass and spraying the walls around the garden, discoloring and potentially damaging the brick. City Superintendent Mark Brown said that he would look into the issue but warned that changing the configuration of sprinklers may result in more dry spots.
    Three bids were received for lawn care at the library, though none of the offers included snow removal.
    Bergner said the library has received two inquiries for the librarian position that opened following the departure of Laura Roth on Sept. 11. She also mentioned that the storytime program has seen record attendance, with more than 20 children participating.
    
Officials, rec director report
    Recreation Director Victoria Dunker told the council that she is looking into acquiring grant funds for the completion of projects related to the baseball field.
    She also said that she had been communicating with Brian Biesemeier about promoting the next round of cattledog trials and exploring the possibility of including classes in the next event.
    City Superintendent Mark Brown reported that water and sewer crews had worked on the alfalfa sprinkler system and performed state testing during the week of Sept. 10. Crews also replaced a small chemical pump in the basement of the municipal pool.
    Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that the department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 246 calls for service from Aug. 30-Sept. 12. They made four arrests, wrote nine citations and five reports, and gave out 13 warnings. Code enforcement handled eight animal complaints, three dogs at large and two ordinance violations.
    
Other business
    In other business at the Sept. 18 meeting, the council:
    — Renewed the liquor license for Holyoke Veterans Club Inc.
    — Approved a $175.50 budget for City Clerk Kathy Olofson’s trip to the Employment Law Forum in Fort Collins.
    — Heard a report from Olofson on the $4,808.85 received from Colorado’s Conservation Trust Fund.
    — Appointed Olofson to receive confidential information from the Colorado Department of Revenue concerning local sales taxes collected and administered by the department on behalf of the City.