Council tables livestock ordinance
Holyoke City Council tabled an ordinance Sept. 15 that would prohibit the keeping of livestock within the corporate limits of the city.
Exceptions would be the confines of the Phillips County Fairgrounds, a duly licensed livestock sales ring, sale barn or veterinarian’s office.
The ordinance specifies potentially affected animals as cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, swine, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or other fowl. If passed, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
“I agree with some of this; some of it I don’t,” council member Kevin Scott said. “We have kids in 4-H raising chickens, turkeys, ducks. I have no problem with that.”
Council member Brian Akey expressed concerns about animals getting into other people’s yards.
Council member Steve Moore questioned how they could go about policing the ordinance without blanket enforcement across the board.
City Attorney Al Wall said they could look into going the licensed route for exceptions to the rule, but it would require more enforcement.
Police Chief Doug Bergstrom said most of the complaints Holyoke Police Department receives about livestock are about roosters crowing in the morning.
The topic will be discussed again at the Oct. 6 meeting.
Airport asphalt receives fog seal application
Julie Thiessen of Armstrong Consultants reported that the airport will be closed up to eight days from Sept.16-23 for a fog sealing application to the asphalt.
The areas 50 feet in front of all private hangars were not eligible for the fog seal application, as they are not owned by the city.
To ensure that those areas extending 50 feet in front of private hangars receive the fog seal application, council members unanimously approved a bid from American Road Maintenance to complete the process at the cost of $7,173.75.
Council changes workers’ compensation provider
Council members reviewed workers’ compensation quotes from CIRSA and HUB International, unanimously accepting HUB’s quote of $46,439, with coverage to go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
The quote from CIRSA had decreased $3,970 from the previous year to $69,244.
Council members also reviewed the property and casualty insurance renewal premium quote from CIRSA, which increased by $4,696.81 over last year’s premium to $78,162.31. The renewal was unanimously accepted.
Subdivision exemption approved
The council unanimously approved a subdivision exemption for John Baranway, owner of the Holyoke Mobile Home Park.
In the legal sense, the park and the farmland on its east and west sides were considered one parcel of land. The subdivision exemption splits it into three parcels, which allows Baranway to sell just the park itself.
Lodging tax extension on ballot Nov. 3
After no comments were made during the public hearing at last week’s meeting, council members unanimously approved the public lodging tax extension on its second reading. The issue will now be on the ballot Nov. 3.
The public lodging tax is used for the expenditures of Holyoke recreation programs.
Council hears reports
City Superintendent Mark Brown reported that crews replaced a 30-amp fuse with a 40-amp fuse to combat a Sept. 6 power outage in the 100-600 blocks of South Morlan and Phelan avenues. He noted that there have been no power issues in that area since then.
Brown told council members that electric crews have started replacing the current streetlight bulbs with LED bulbs.
Water and sewer crews began the process of testing the quality of the water emitted by the alfalfa sprinkler system east of the cemetery.
Crews were scheduled to transport the water samples to Fort Morgan Thursday, Sept. 17, to be tested against state compliance standards by a certified lab technician.
Brown advised the council that the city’s smallest dump truck, which was involved in a Sept. 2 accident, was totaled but will be repaired.
He reported that IWAPI, the company that built the hardware and software used to deliver data from the automated weather observation system to the National Weather Service, is shutting their system down at the end of September.
The state is in the process of trying to get IWAPI to extend its data delivery through the end of the year, which would allow the city time to find a new company.
Brown also reported that council members have gotten new laptops, and he noted that the housing committee was scheduled to meet Sept. 16 for the first time in about six months.
City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson reported that the city had received $1,474.35 from the state in severance tax and $381.84 in mineral lease distribution.
Bergstrom reported that Holyoke Police Department handled or generated 88 calls for service from Aug. 27-Sept. 9, including code enforcement.
Recreation director Victoria Dunker reported that the first flag football game with Haxtun was canceled, but she felt they should be back on schedule.
She also said she is waiting to hear back from the school regarding potential gym usage for three-on-three basketball.
Other business
In other business at the Sept. 15 meeting, council members:
— Set wages for Monserrato Conde III, a new hire in the refuse department, starting Sept. 21.
— Allowed Mayor Tonsing to sign the DOLA Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund grant application for the new fire shed. The application is due by Oct. 1 and is for $200,000.
— Opened and accepted sealed bids for two walk-behind snow blowers, selling the John Deere 1032 to Jason Redman for $151 and the Toro 1028 to Bergstrom for $150.