New fire station bid accepted

Although much was removed from the original plans for the new fire station, Holyoke City Council at its July 6 meeting accepted a bid from Rockwell Construction for $794,532 to move the project forward. The unanimous vote did not include council members Gene Bittner and Brian Akey, who were absent.

Mayor Orville Tonsing told council members he wanted to see a motion to let him sign the initial building contract and proceed.

“It just gives them a bare building, but at least it gets all the equipment in one place,” he said.

The accepted bid was $150,699 less than Rockwell Construction’s initial bid of $945,231.

Differences from the original bid include the removal of:

— All the wood framing, sheetrock and painting for the interior finished space except the bathrooms.

— All interior doors except the two bathroom doors.

— The rubber base from the interior except the bathrooms.

— The handrail from the upper deck as well as the set of stairs.

— The HVAC from the finished space, but the tube heaters for the truck bay are still part of the bid.

— Suspended ceilings.

— Lights and outlets in the finished space, but 10 LED lights were added back since the space will now be open.

“It’s not what I had envisioned,” Tonsing said, “but we certainly need to get something moving here.”

COVID-19 funds used for business relief

Council members voted 5-0 to give the city’s remaining $41,156 in COVID-19 relief funds to local business grants.

City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson reported that the Department of Local Affairs said the new air conditioner for city hall that was approved for purchase at the June 15 meeting is eligible for reimbursement.

She said deducting the $10,187.75 for the air conditioner from the city’s COVID-19 relief fund amount would leave $30,968.25 to be used for local business grants if the council chose.

Tonsing said they’d just as well put the money toward the business grants since there may be another round of relief coming. Olofson said these funds will likely be for infrastructure and could have different guidelines for use.

Council member Steve Moore said he thought the cost of the air conditioner shouldn’t be reimbursed. He said he felt the city’s remaining COVID-19 relief funds in the amount of $41,156 should be put toward local business grants, which is what the council ultimately elected to do.

Council hears comments from visitors

Residents again were in attendance to talk about street maintenance, which has been a point of discussion in the past three council meetings.

Steve Brown said good progress has been made, but there are still items he would like to see addressed.

He said he would like to see paving on the streets that don’t have it, the older good streets reshaped, and either a plan to permanently fix the streets with major damage or a good maintenance plan for them.

He added that he hopes the council will consider a pavement condition index evaluation for the city’s streets and the establishment of a community group to participate in street maintenance discussions. He said he would also like to see a five-year plan for street maintenance so the community knows the schedule for repairs.

Gary Herr emphasized the importance of a five-year plan and asked the council if they’re working toward having one.

Larry York said he would like to have a deadline regarding when the unpaved part of South Belford Avenue will be paved.

Tonsing said it’s going to be a matter of whether they have the money for it or not.

Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department Chief Stacy Rueter told council members he received a call from the director of Haxtun Corn Festival asking if HVFD’s ladder truck could be used to hold a flag for the national anthem at the event.

Tonsing said council members will need to start thinking about whether or not they’re going to allow the truck to be driven out of town.

Sherman Avenue to be surveyed

Council members approved City Superintendent Mark Brown to have South Sherman Avenue from Johnson Street to Kunkel Street surveyed for the installation of a storm sewer.

Regarding the size of the storm sewer, Mark Brown asked the council if it is best to explore the possibility of development in the future or to just focus on the street alone.

The consensus of the council was to have it surveyed with an eye toward potential future development.

Utility/all-terrain vehicles discussed

Council members discussed adding the use of utility terrain vehicles and all-terrain vehicles to municipal code.

Police Chief Doug Bergstrom said he has checked with Yuma, Haxtun and Wray, all of which have ordinances that allow the use of the vehicles.

Council member John Schneider asked Bergstrom to get together with City Attorney Al Wall to present a potential ordinance to the council at the July 20 meeting.

Council hears reports

Mark Brown reported on a power outage that occurred June 16 that was caused by a burnt connection on the mainline in the alley of the 300 blocks of Sheridan and Wynona avenues. The issue was quickly repaired.

He told council members that seal coating is going to begin Tuesday, July 20, and crews have been busy trimming trees to make room for the trucks.

Water and sewer crews have sent copper and lead samples to the state for testing. They have also been working on the cemetery expansion project, and the sprinkler system is in place and working.

Street personnel have been patching potholes and mowing at the airport and city-owned lots.

He reported that there were about 50 participants in the July 2 swim meet in Holyoke. He also noted that the new diving board that was purchased two years ago has been installed.

Bergstrom reported that Holyoke Police Department handled or generated 90 calls for service from June 11-30, including nine animal complaints and two municipal code violations under code enforcement. He also noted that there were no big incidents over the Fourth of July weekend.

Olofson reported that she received a letter from Phillips County Clerk and Recorder Beth Zilla noting that if the city is going to put something on the ballot in November, the city needs to reply by July 23.

Olofson also reported that the division wall at the city office is almost complete.

Wall told council members that Bergstrom filed an extreme risk protection order against an individual who lost their firearms on a felony charge. Wall said that Bergstrom thought the individual hadn’t turned in all of the weapons.

Bergstrom had a search warrant but was refused entry to the house. The extreme risk protection order was sustained, the defendant was appointed an attorney, and the matter is now with the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Recreation director Victoria Dunker reported that an art camp is scheduled for Monday-Tuesday, July 19-20, at Homesteaders Park for kindergarten through sixth graders. She pointed out that the kids will be able to enter their art projects into the competitions at Phillips County Fair.

Dunker said she has a meeting scheduled with the Recreation Advisory Committee to discuss potential new designs for the park master plan from Ripley Design. She said she expects to have a report on those designs at the July 20 council meeting.

Other business

In other business at the July 6 meeting, council members:

— Repealed resolution No. 3-2020, which declared a local disaster emergency.

— Allowed Tonsing to sign the notice of award for the airport electrical improvements.

— Appointed Jay Dean Krueger to serve another five-year term on the Holyoke Housing Authority Board.