Citywide cleanup, April 21 meeting canceled

At the request of City superintendent Mark Brown at the April 7 Holyoke City Council meeting, council members canceled this year’s citywide cleanup. The risk to employees during the COVID-19 outbreak is simply too great.  

Several other items of business were related to the coronavirus at last Tuesday’s meeting as well.

Given that Holyoke’s charter only requires one meeting each month, council members elected to cancel the meeting scheduled for April 21. They also opted to move forward with a resolution that would allow electronic voting by council members at future meetings should they need to be held remotely.

On April 2, Mayor Orville Tonsing signed Resolution 3-2020 declaring a local disaster emergency for seven days. Council members voted to extend it indefinitely.

In keeping with Gov. Jared Polis’ executive order to limit public utility disconnections, the City of Holyoke now has an application for residents to delay payment of their utility bills. Those who do not qualify will still be responsible for on-time payment. If the bill is not paid, electricity will be turned off, but other utilities will remain active.

Also at the April 7 meeting, council member Brian Akey volunteered to serve as a representative on Emergency Support Function No. 14 for Phillips County’s coronavirus recovery.

Police commander accepts job offer

Following a 17-minute executive session to discuss personnel, council members reconvened and voted to offer a job to a candidate to replace Sgt. Mark Werts who recently resigned from Holyoke Police Department. The salary offered was $48,688.29, and the title is commander rather than sergeant.

Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported this week that the candidate has since accepted the offer and is slated to start at the end of the month.

In response to the excess workload faced by Bergstrom and officer Mary Winterrowd while HPD is understaffed, council members opted to extend the caps on their vacation hours by 50.

Officials report

Brown reported that tornado sirens will be tested Friday, April 17, at 10 a.m., weather permitting. He also noted that the electric department has been assisting the other departments. In water and sewer, crews are working on quarterly testing, the alfalfa sprinkler system, the swimming pool and the cemetery sprinkler system. At the pool, the main chemical controller died, and a replacement has been ordered.

Street crews are crack-filling in preparation for the sealcoat project and running the street sweeper when weather allows. At the cemetery, crews trimmed trees.

Brown also provided council members with a letter from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. CWCB initiated a floodplain mapping study in Phillips County as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Risk MAP program.

Bergstrom reported that Holyoke Police Department handled or generated 377 calls for service March 13-April 1. There were three animal complaints and four municipal code violations.

He relayed a request from Phillips County Sheriff’s Office to use an HPD vehicle to transport a prisoner for court. Council members approved the request, pending confirmation that it would be covered under the insurance policy.

Other business

In other business at the April 7 meeting, city council members:

— Voted to disburse the $30,000 budgeted for the Holyoke Golf Club.

— Donated $1,500 to Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department for education and training.

 — Allowed Tonsing to sign a letter of support for a 2020 BUILD grant proposal targeting US 385: Improving Road Safety and Efficiency on Colorado’s Plains.

— Donated $100 to Baby Bear Hugs for expenses for its fundraiser.

— Voted to keep health and dental insurance through the Colorado Employer Benefit Trust with a specific plan to be selected at a later meeting.