Hotchkiss Begins Million Dollar’s Worth of Sewer Work in Early September – You Can Help Brighten Up Bridge Street in the Off-Season

Hotchkiss Mayor- Pro-Tem, Carrie Wingfield (left) runs the August 13 meeting.  Also shown Deputy Town Clerk – Ginger Redden, Larry Jakubiak and Dustyn Foster.   – Tom Wills Photo.

Hotchkiss Begins Million Dollar’s Worth of Sewer Work in Early September

Help Brighten Up Bridge Street in the Off-Season

By Thomas Wills

Hotchkiss Town Council

August 13, 2015

 Present:Mayor pro-tem – Carrie Wingfield, Dustyn Foster, , Larry Jakubiak, Tom Wills (this reporter),

And Jim Roberts.  Absent: Mayor Wendell Koontz and Lindee Cantrell.

Sewer Line Replacement Project to Move Ahead

                Town engineer Joanne Fagan asked for a signature on the contract allowing Williams Construction to move ahead on the sewer line replacement project for an amount of $1,024,657.73.  The project should begin shortly after Labor Day contingent upon the loan portion of the funding being finalized. The project involves replacing many very old, deteriorating  clay lines in the alleys of the older, lower portion of the town.

In a separate, but related project, details are still being working out with the State Health Department regarding the placing of an effluent line from the sewer plant to the river, replacing the current open channel.

Downtown Improvement Looks at Enhanced Winter Flower Project

                Trustee Tom Wills (this reporter), who also serves on the Chamber’s Downtown Improvement/Downtown Merchant’s Committee  reported that the fourth season of the Downtown Improvement and flower planter project has been the best yet in terms of the flowers being well cared for.  He credited businesses, volunteers and the unusual amount of rain.

Last spring the Hotchkiss K-8 art and shop classes produced several dozen wooden to augment several privately made ones that were placed in the downtown planters, and Wills said that the committee would like to see the wooden flower project grow by leaps and bounds this fall and winter to brighten up the town during the off season . The school and other private volunteers will be encouraged to make additional colorful decorative flowers for the project.

Besides the flowers the  Chamber, as part of the 2015 effort,  with the Town’s collaboration, installed two decorative bicycle racks near the First and Bridge intersection.

Other Actions and Discussion: 

The Council agreed to have Tom Wills (this reporter) become the Town’s representative on the Leroux Creek Area Planning Committee, replacing Carrie Wingfield. The committee is a County board that pre-reviews land use proposals and sends recommendations to the Delta County Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners.

A special meeting was set for Thursday, August 27 at 6 p.m. to consider a resolution to support DMEA plans to eventually provide direct true broad band internet services to homes and businesses.  The Council will also consider the ballot title for Hotchkiss’s part of the coordinanted November vote to opt out of Senate Bill 05-152, which requires such a vote if the Town were to provide Internet services or to partner in providing such services with a private company like DMEA. (See related article)

Discussion of a complaint filed by Dr. Susan Raymond, who has taken care of stray animals picked up in Hotchkiss for the past two plus decades, was deferred until Raymond meets with Marshal Miller and the Town Attorney.  The complaint was a personel issue dealing with the actions of a specific police officer and procedures followed when delivering an animal to the clinic.

Trustee Jim Roberts inquired as to the possibility of having a new streetlight installed near his end of Poplar Drive in the Willow Heights subdivision. No decision was made but the Town will look at where new lights may be needed in the town on an overall basis.