TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES PUBLIC MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on January 28, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center, 381 Minter Avenue, De Beque, Colorado. Present were the following: Mayor: Shanelle Hansen Trustees: Cindy Farris, Sarah Hambrick, Walter Wood, Vern Bruse, and John Giffin Absent: Staff Present: Town Manager Care' McInnis, Town Clerk Lisa Rogers, Marshal Bob Dalley, Deputy Marshal JeffMeyer Also Present: Lisa Lippoldt, NJ Fulmer, Diane Sandelin, Dan Savoca, Jeanette Refior, James Fosnaught, Rachel Sigman, and Dawn Palmer CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Shanelle Hansen. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present. DELETIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA: Ms. McInnis stated that depending how item V goes, item VI may be pulled from the agenda. PRESENTATION - Gratitude for service to the Board of' Trustees - Lisa Lippoldt: Mayor Hansen presented Ms. Lippoldt with a gift of an engraved cutting board as a thank you for her years of service on the Board ofTrustees. Mayor Hansen stated that the Board appreciated her service and that she would be missed. DISCUSSION AND ACTION REGARDING RESOLUTION 2025-1: A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPOINTMENT OF TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Ms. McInnis stated that letters of interest were in the packets. She also stated that if the Board did not appoint someone tonight that it would need to go to a special election. Trustee Farris stated that the Board should appoint someone. Trustee Giffin stated that he would like to see the election process. Trustee Wood stated that he would like to see an election sO that there is no negativity due to an TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 PAGE 2 appointment. Trustee Hambrick stated that since they have letters of interest, the Board should appoint someone. Mayor Hansen stated there is not great turnout to elections and the opportunity was posted. In previous elections, the elections ended up being cançelled as there have been just enough candidates for the open positions if that. NJ Fulmer spoke regarding her interest in serving on the Board of Trustees. She stated that she was working until about 3 years ago. She takes care ofher special needs son. Ms. Fulmer stated that she has an entrepreneurial spirit and has worked in financial security. Mayor Hansen asked why she would like to serve on the Board of Trustees. Ms. Fulmer stated that she has always been involved in decision making in all her endeavors. She has been on Planning Boards in the past and that her experience makes her a good fit for the Board. Trustee Hambrick asked how long Ms. Fulmer has been in De Beque. Ms. Fulmer responded about 15 years. Motion: Trustee Farris motioned to approve Resolution 2025-01 nominating NJ Fulmer to the Board of Trustees. Trustee Hambrick seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0. Mayor Hansen administered the oath to Norma Jean (NJ) Fulmer. Trustee Fulmer took her seat with the Board. DISCUSSION AND ACTION REGARDING RESOLUTION 2025-XX: A RESOLUTION ORDERING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL THE VACANCY ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Item pulled from the agenda due to the appointment of Trustee NJ Fulmer. ITEMS FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATING IN CONFERENCE: Diane Sandelin stated that the fireworks were awesome. Mayor Hansen seconded that opinion. BOARD COMMENTS: Trustee Wood expressed concern over the fiber project. He was worried that the permit would expire in March before the project could be completed. Ms. McInnis stated that Sturgeon seems to be on top of the project, but she will double-check regarding the permit. Mayor Hansen stated that she liked the new screen and thinks that it will be very well received by the public. It was already used by members oft the community for a funeral. Ms. McInnis stated that it was a last second ask in December and she was pleased that it had been able to be completed on the short timeline. TOWN MANAGER REPORT: Ms. McInnis stated that the Angel Tree was a great success again. It was a nice collaboration between the Town, Fire District, and the generous community. TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 PAGE: 3 The Fireworks were a hit. The Town has worked with the same company for the past number of years, and it has always been good. However, this year. Ms. McInnis was still negotiating the contract on the Friday and Saturday before they were to arrive on Tuesday. Ironiçally, the debate was over whether the Town would be protected from acts ofGod. Ifthe Town Manager or Mayor had to cancel the show. It turned out that when the vendor got to Town, the vendor did not have all the necessary supplies and had to get them from Delta or over the passes asap. Once they got here, their truck was t-boned. It all ended up well, and the show was a success. Ms. McInnis stated that she did not feel negotiations would be as difficult next year. Mayor Hansen stated that the vendor was very nice and had bought the public works team breakfast for their help. Art class at the Community Center was a big success. There were 19 participants.. all ages women and men. Jeanette Refior stated that it was lots of fun. Ms. McInnis stated that she has been collaborating with the Mesa County Commissioners to bring them to De Beque to engage with the community. The March 25th Board of Trustees will be a joint meeting with the three commissioners. Right now, it is stated as a "Town Hall" Q & A between the commissioners and the community. After that, we will move on with Town business. Ms. McInnis stated that there is a picture of the new Town smooth drum roller on the desks. She gave thanks to the Town of Silt for generous collaboration efforts. The Town now owns the roller at a cost of $1.00. 2025 Budget Books are on the desks. They include a letter from the Town Manager. The Budget Books contain a lot of great information including all the recent grant awards. The 2024 audit is coming up. The auditors will be on-site in early March. The audit keeps staff and especially Katherine hopping. In the packets is an engagement letter from the firm of Karp, Neu, and Hanlon. The firm has submitted aj proposal to handle the Town's municipal prosecution which is on the agenda tonight. Ms. McInnis asked the Board to be thinking about ideas for beautification around the community. $20,000 has been set aside for projects in 2025. The issue will be on the agenda in February. The community is welcome to submit ideas as well. This has been very successful in the past. Perhaps the Town can knock off some low-hanging fruit with suggestions and Board direction. Our CIRSA on-site audit is coming up next month. It involves all departments and facilities. Ms. McInnis stated that she will be attending the annual Blue Stone Ditch meeting on January 30th at 6:30 p.m. to represent the Town. Ms. McInnis stated that everyone has probably noticed the new. jumbo-tron. Thanks to the AGNC and quick work by admin and grant writer Steph. The Town was awarded the revised grant around December 10th, and it had to be purchased and installed by December 31St to get the grant. It was a lastminute opportunity because another community could not get their project going in time to get the $5,000. Hopefully soon the Town will be able to live-stream court and comply with statute. TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 PAGE 4 Ms. McInnis stated that the Town had a water violation but had done nothing wrong. The Town continues to make great water. During last quarter, the Town submitted 10 water samples to the lab as required. The Town received a notice of violation for not submitting any water samples. Then CDPHE revised the violation for only submitting 9. The 10th sample is the most important as it is from the one designated area that we must sample. As soon as we got the notice, we sent the lab results that we received from the lab indicating that all 10 samples were good. As it turns out, the regional lab did not submit the results for the 10th sample to CDPHE as required. Despite everyone knowing what happened and that the sample itself was just fine, the Town will have a violation noted on its annual report. Late last week, Katherine received some confusing correspondence from the regional lab indicating that they were informing everyone that effective immediately, they must suspend sending monthly CSV compliance report to CDPHE for an unspecified period of time. They are experiencing issues with CDPHE regarding the accuracy ofthe data in the reports they send. It was also interesting that neither Jim Taylor nor Ms. McInnis received the correspondence. Ms. McInnis stated that there are pictures on the desk of the De Beque iceberg which has developed in the Colorado River and under the bridge. Ms. McInnis stated that it was being watched closely over the weekend. It caused flooding on our RiverFront property. The bigger concern is the bridge, sewer, and communications conduits under the bridge. Staff put the Fire District on notice with an emphasis that we did not want anyone to panic, but they needed to be aware. Thankfully, the river has created a channel now; and hopefully, the warmer temperatures will aid in breaking down the buildup of snow and ice. Ms. McInnis also spoke of water rates for the school. The school essentially has two meters at the same location (high/low). At some point in the past, the Board determined there would be a flat rate on one and a usage rate on the other. The meters failed in December and needed to be replaced. There were no meter readings during that time. There are two choices: the Town can replace the antiquated meter for $3,700 and get them in July or we can order a more modern combined flow meter for $3,364 that can be delivered in a week or two. It is kind of a no-brainer from staff perspective, but the reason to bring it to the Board's attention is the change in how staff assesses the rate: flat fee to usage. Ms. McInnis reassured that she is not proposing any increase in the adopted rates. Ms. McInnis stated that she and Audra Lane had discussed it, and itjust seems fair to charge for usage. Ms. McInnis stated that unless she gets different direction from the Board, she will address it administratively and make the change. Mayor Hansen stated that she would like the matter to be researched a little more. Ms. McInnis stated that she would get the data for the Board. Movin on to the Broadband project, Ms. McInnis stated that Sturgeon is mobilized and that the project is moving along as expected. The cold snap impacted the work a bit. There was a hiccup regarding our DOLA grant and the transitions in Collbran. Based on unforeseen circumstances in Collbran, De Beque will need to build our own vault which still fits within the Town's projected budget. Staff was able to finalize the contract with Rick Engineering who was awarded the comp plan project. The project will hopefully kick off within a month or two. It is a huge opportunity for community involvement. Finally, scholarship season will be kicking off soon. Itis a chance for De Beque High School seniors to move forward with their continued education with a little help from the Town. Ms. McInnis stated that TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 PAGE5 she needed two volunteers. Trustee Hambrick stated that she would like to as she has been involved the last several years. CONSENT AGENDA: a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 11/26/24, 12/12/24, and 12/17/24 b. BILLS AND EXPENDITURES: November 2024 and December 2024 C. DISCUSSION AND ACTION REGARDING RESOLUTION 2025-02: A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE 2025 MEETING DATES AS WAS APPROVED IN RESOLUTION 2024-33 d. DISCUSSION AND ACTION REGARDING RESOLUTION 2025-03: A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE TOWN OF DE BEQUE MANAGEMENT'S DECISION TO CHANGE THE CURRENT HEALTH, LIFE, VISION, AND DENTAL INSURANCE CARRIER AND APPROVAL OF THE ADOPTION OF THE NEW SHORT AND LONG-TERM DISABILITY BENEFITS Discussion Before Motioning on the Consent Agenda: Mayor Hansen asked if there were any questions. There were none. Motion: Trustee Hambrick motioned to approve all items on the consent agenda. Trustee Giffin seconded the motion. Trustee Fulmer abstained. Motion carried 6-0 with one abstaining. REMAINING BILLS AND EXPENDITURES: Expenditures related to the Country Store Mayor Hansen explained that the expenses were to her Country Store and that the Board attempts to be transparent with such transactions. She asked if there were any questions. There were none. Motion: Trustee Farris motioned to approve expenditures related to the Country Store. Trustee Hambrick seconded the motion. Mayor Hansen abstained. Motion carried 6-0 with one abstaining. DISCUSSION AND ACTION REGARDING RESOLUTION 2025-04: A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPOINTMENT OF THE LAW FIRM OF KARP, NEU, AND HANLON, P.C. TO PERFORM MUNICIPAL PROSECUTION FUNCTIONS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A CONTRACT IN CONNECTION WITH THAT APPOINTMENT: Ms. McInnis stated that she was pleased to announce that there had been a proposal submitted by Karp, Neu, and Hanlon for the position of Town Prosecutor. She stated that James Fosnaught and Rachel Sigman were on-site to answer any questions that the Board might have. Ms. McInnis stated that the firm has extensive municipal experience and that the team's resumes were in the packets. Ms. McInnis TOWN OF DE BEQUE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 28, 2025 PAGE 6 stated that she and Marshal Dalley had met with Jeff Conklin, James Fosnaught, and Rachel Sigman and were impressed with their experience. James Fosnaught stated that the firm currently represents a number of small communities including Parachute, Basalt, and Collbran. He also stated that they were pleased to have the opportunity to represent De Beque. Motion: Trustee Farris motioned to approve Resolution 2025-04. Trustee Wood seconded the motion. Motion carried 7-0. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hansen asked if there was a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion: Trustee Hambrick motioned to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Farris seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 6:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Approved by the Board of Trustees Sinm-Bogn lndu fannio Lisa M. Rogers, Town Clerk Cindy Fafris, Mayor Pro Tem - SEAL 1 CIORALP