Early sketches released for Denver Street fire station

    Members of the public were given their first glimpse of Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department’s proposed Denver Street station at Holyoke City Council’s Nov. 6 meeting.
    First Assistant Fire Chief Josh Young presented sketches, prepared by Hielscher Drafting and Design, of what the department hopes will be a purpose-built, up-to-date home for local firefighting and rescue operations.
    “It’s basic, but I think it’s what we’re looking for,” he said.
    The proposed station would incorporate rooms for storage, meetings, training, exercise, communications and recreation, and would also include a bay capable of holding seven trucks. An auxiliary bay would house the department’s and antique and hose trucks.
    Firefighter Lance Murray later said the move represents nearly a decade of planning and will coordinate the department’s meeting room and truck shed, which are currently two separate structures in different parts of town.
    “It’s kind of hectic when we have to leave the meeting room to go to the shed,” he said. “We’re just looking for a bigger building to proudly serve our community.”
    The City of Holyoke agreed to purchase the property in the 300 block of West Denver Street from PC Telcom in July, after the company discontinued its cable TV operations. A corner lot contiguous with the PC Telcom property was also purchased in August.
    Murray said there is no schedule yet for construction and that the designs presented at the meeting are still preliminary, pending input from the city.
    
Library announces new director
    Starting Monday, Nov. 19, Kathy (Oliver) Bornhoft will be assuming the role of library director, Heginbotham Library board member Sandy Triplette announced at the Nov. 6 council meeting.
    Bornhoft was chosen from a pool of 15 candidates and was one of four interviewed. Most recently, she served as director of Wellington Public Library for five years, prior to which she was assistant director for four years.
    “We’re really excited,” Triplette said. “She’s excited to get moved back to the northeast Colorado plains and get started.”
    Board member Briar Bergner also announced the Library Extravaganza, which will take place Sunday, Dec. 9, from 1-3 p.m.
    
Officials, rec director report
    City Superintendent Mark Brown informed the council that City crews were in the process of setting up lights for Holyoke’s annual Christmas display.
    The lights will be hung on Interocean Avenue from the courthouse to the Burge Hotel and on Denver Street from CHS Grainland to the municipal building.
    Brown also said electrical crews were fixing two sections of bad underground wire that had caused an outage on the east end of City Park. Other crews worked on fencing at the sewer lagoons and around transformers, replaced a faulty pump that caused flooding in the basement of Holyoke Swimming Pool and picked up leaves.
    Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that his department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 423 calls for service from Oct. 11-31. They made no arrests, wrote eight citations and nine reports, and gave out 27 warnings. Code enforcement handled three animal complaints, three dogs at large and 12 ordinance violations.
    Bergstrom also mentioned that HPD — along with Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI — participated in an Oct. 17 operation to arrest a first-degree murder suspect in the 500 block of South Sherman Avenue. The suspect has since been extradited to El Paso County.
    Body armor obtained through Shield 616 has also been received by police and will be presented officially at an upcoming event.
    City Attorney Al Wall said a work session concerning Holyoke’s upcoming recodification is planned after the Nov. 20 council meeting.
    Recreation Director Victoria Dunker said the top three winners of Holyoke’s volleyball program had been announced and that she is considering a co-ed program for next year. Sixty-five women participated in the program, split across seven teams.
    “If there’s enough need, I think it would be fun for girls and guys to both play volleyball,” she said.
    Dunker also said that a three-on-three basketball tournament for area children is planned for Presidents Day with the help of Dragon Booster Club and that her department is setting up a Santa plate decorating class at the end of December.
    
Other business
    In other business at the Nov. 6 meeting, the council:
    — Permitted Mayor Orville Tonsing to sign a letter of support for the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium.
    — Renewed the Volunteer Accident Medical Plan and Community Service Worker’s Accident Medical Plan with CIRSA for 2019.
    — Accepted a renewal quote of $1,071 for equipment breakdown (boiler) insurance from Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency.
    — Appointed Trampas Hutches and Derek Roberts to the Holyoke Planning Commission. Their seats will expire June 2021 and June 2024, respectively.
    — Renewed the liquor license for K S Plus, Inc., Kwik Stop.
    — Appointed Dale O’Neal to another three-year term on the Holyoke Cemetery Board.
    — Held a work session for the 2019 budget.