City receives another round of COVID-19 relief

After allotting $70,000 in COVID-19 relief to the Phillips County small-business relief fund at their Dec. 1 meeting, Holyoke City Council members voted at their Dec. 15 meeting to transfer any unspent money of a new round of COVID-19 relief to the small-business relief fund.

City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson reported that approximately $92,702 has been appropriated to the city. She said they are reviewing the possibility of using some of the funds to build a portable division wall constructed of panels at the city office that would allow for controlled access using a buzzer entry system.

She also informed the council that the city did not receive the Department of Local Affairs Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund grant for the new fire station project. She said the letter informing them of the decision pointed to intense competition and more requests than available funds as the reasons.

The council committed $267,991 to the new fire station and voted to retain the old fire station building at their Oct. 20 meeting. At the time, they also accepted a bid for the project at the cost of $672,991 in the event they did not receive the grant.

Chamber of commerce receives $6,000 contribution for 2021

Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Holly Ferguson asked the council to consider increasing the chamber of commerce stipend from $3,000 to $6,000 for 2021, which council members approved.

Ferguson reviewed the work the chamber has done in 2020. President of the chamber board Elizabeth Hutches also attended the meeting in support of the increase.

Ferguson said one of her biggest goals this past year was to show what the chamber can do for the community, businesses and the city in general.

“I want the chamber to be doing more. I want to be doing more,” Ferguson said, adding that the increase will help bolster the budget so there can be more programs and events in the community.

She highlighted programs that helped the community and businesses in the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as Holyoke Eats, which provided free food delivery while restaurants were shut down and their capacities were limited.

She also spoke of the Help Holyoke Fund, which raised money to support businesses affected by the shutdowns in March.

Ferguson also pointed to events that helped raise the community’s spirits, such as the two cruise nights, the trick-or-treat the town event for Halloween, Country Christmas, and the toy and food drive.

She said she spends a lot of time thinking about how the chamber should be operating in the community and what her vision is for the organization moving forward.

In terms of potential changes, she said that she wants to change the chamber from a 501(c)(6) to a 501(c)(3), which she said will make more grant opportunities available, and that she also wants to increase the accounting budget next year.

$15,000 pledged to Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative

Council members pledged $15,000 to Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative over three years at $5,000 per year.

Olofson told the council that the board of Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative is trying to secure pledges so they can move forward with grants next year. She said the DOLA grant being pursued requires 25% of the project’s total cost to be secured.

When the building is constructed, the city will own it for the first 10 years. Olofson said all the expenses used for the building in that time will be reimbursed by the child care facility.

Council hears reports

City Superintendent Mark Brown reported no power outages since the last meeting. He said water and sewer crews are working to get equipment ready in preparation for changing city wells from chlorine gas disinfection to a liquid chlorine disinfectant solution after the first of the year.

Brown reported that street crews have hauled grass from the bin on the west side of town to the airport for spreading as weather permits.

Brown informed council members that the Engineered Controls team was scheduled to begin work on changing Holyoke Swimming Pool’s control system Wednesday morning, Dec. 16.

Brown also said he had received the first draft of the airport master plan from Armstrong Consultants. He said he made minor corrections to the draft, and Armstrong Consultants will send out another draft for comments.

At their Oct. 20 meeting, council members approved having the firetruck that was purchased at the Sept. 21 special meeting freighted to Holyoke from Monte Vista at the cost of $1,500.

Brown said they are looking for a trailer that can hold the firetruck, and they are discussing alternative options for getting the truck to Holyoke, such as getting a crew together to travel to Monte Vista and drive it back.

Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that Holyoke Police Department handled or generated 78 calls for service from Nov. 25-Dec. 10, including five animal complaints and one municipal code violation under code enforcement.

Olofson said the fourth-quarter Conservation Trust Fund lottery proceeds in the amount of $5,998.50 have been received. Total proceeds from the Conservation Trust Fund in 2020 amounted to $23,081.12, which was a decrease of $1,824.51 from last year.

She also told the council that the city office will be closed at noon Thursday, Dec. 24, until Monday, Dec. 28, as well as all day Friday, Jan. 1.

City Attorney Al Wall reported that he received the deed for annexation of the property on the west side of Holyoke at Walsh Avenue and Johnson Street and should have an ordinance ready by the next meeting.

Recreation director Victoria Dunker reported that she has been meeting with Ripley Design team members through Zoom regarding the creation of potential upgrade plans for recreation areas in Holyoke. She said she and the Ripley Design team are trying to get a date set in January for them to visit Holyoke and meet with community members.

Dunker also said she is in the very early stages of planning and putting together a steer and heifer show in January at Bank of Colorado Pavilion.

Other business

In other business at the Dec. 15 meeting, council members:

— Wrote off bad debts for 2020 utility bills in the amount of $2,303.45 and for 2020 accounts receivable in the amount of $220.

— Approved a donation to Phillips County Museum for 2021 utilities in the amount of $1,400.