Los Parra’s gets local approval for liquor license
At the beginning of the June 19 meeting of Holyoke City Council, a public hearing was held to discuss a new liquor license application submitted by Los Parra’s, the Mexican restaurant on North Interocean Avenue that opened last August.
Restaurant owner Jaime Parra and manager Karely Amaya were in attendance at the public hearing, which resulted in local approval of the application. Now all that’s left for them to do is wait for state approval.
Parra thanked the council, adding, “We are happy to come to Holyoke and be a part of the community.”
2017 audit presented, accepted
Also at last Tuesday’s meeting was Scott Szabo of Lauer, Szabo & Associates, PC. He reviewed the 2017 audit with the council members, who then accepted it as presented. Szabo said that overall, the audit went very well. Holyoke is in a “good, healthy position” across the board.
The general fund balance for the end of the year was $1,579,330, which represents a little over 10 months in reserve.
Among the nine special revenue funds, the interest earned on most was transferred to the general fund. The Conservation Trust Fund and the Firemen’s Pension Fund were the only two that had additional expenditures.
A total of $457,000 was transferred from the utility fund to the general fund, but the utility fund still saw a $562,194 increase from the beginning of the year. The utility fund balance of $9,881,755 at the end of 2017 includes assets and infrastructure, but Szabo pointed out that it includes just under $2 million cash.
Officials report
City Superintendent Mark Brown reported that the electric department responded to a call for mutual aid in Julesburg to help fix power lines after a recent storm. The water department finished putting together the letter to residents about flushing wet wipes. A total of 874 letters were to be mailed at a cost of $410.78.
In the refuse department, the backup truck went out of service. The street department has been mowing, dragging roads, cleaning up after storms and getting ready for July sealcoat. The parks department has been mowing and working on repairs of the sprinkler system at the library.
Bergstrom reported that Holyoke Police Department held its dog clinic June 9, selling 14 dog licenses.
From May 31-June 13, HPD, including code enforcement, handled or generated 291 calls for service. They wrote 11 citations and three reports and gave out 36 warnings.
Code enforcement handled three animal complaints, one curfew violation, four dogs at large and 24 ordinance violations. Bergstrom noted that there is one property for which HPD hasn’t been able to contact the owner, so the department will be mowing it. Council member Gene Bittner asked about the status of the properties addressed in Erin LeBlanc’s previous letter to the City. Bergstrom said that they’re following up on it.
At Bergstrom’s request, the council approved the $627.10 purchase of hats, awareness bracelets, stickers and other such items for HPD to hand out at the Aug. 7 National Night Out event, which is meant to give the community an opportunity to meet the police.
City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson reported that the second-quarter Conservation Trust Fund deposit came in at $6,425.33.
City Attorney Al Wall reported that he, Brown and Olofson have an upcoming meeting about codification and that he will report back at the next city council meeting. He also intends to bring information before the council about changes in the law about large contracts ($150,000 or more) with cities.
Other business
In other business at the June 19 meeting, Holyoke City Council:
— Transferred the City’s $150,000 of airport capital improvement funds for 2018 to Limon Municipal Airport.
— Renewed the annual lease agreement with Holyoke Golf Club.
— Renewed the lease for the driving range at the golf course with Gwendolyn and Robert Keefauver until June 1, 2023, at $500 per year.
— Approved a purchase request for a ballistic vest for officer cadet Jorge Salas from Blue Star Police Supply at $1,100. The council also decided to give Salas a $200 per month stipend to help with gas and meals for the five months he’s enrolled at the police academy.
— Donated $2,500 to Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department for 4th of July fireworks.
— Agreed to continue paying the liability insurance for the 2009 Chevy Tahoe sold to HVFD.
— Hired Lance Talich in the refuse department, starting at $15 per hour.
— Allowed partial payment, $8,265, to Newman Construction for work completed on the new fence installation at the wastewater plant.
— Approved Rylee Schneller as a new lifeguard at $10.20 per hour. Effective June 4, lifeguards Keegan Shaw, Traeli Hutches, Jackie Valenzuela, Drew Stewart, Emily Jelden and Citlali Marquez had their wages increased to $10.95 per hour because they earned water safety instructor certification.