Patrice LeBlanc, Central City. The Central City Council held an executive session at 6 p.m. to discuss specific legal questions regarding the issuance of traffic citations on the Central City Parkway before the city council meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. The council meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Mayor, Jeremy Fey. Council members in attendance were Mayor Jeremy Fey, Mayor Pro Tem Judy Laratta, Alderman Jeff Aiken, Alderman Jack Hidahl and Alderman Jackie Johnson. 

The first action item in New Business was Resolution No. 20-03 authorizing the acquisition of a pickup truck and related equipment for the Public Works Department. The city needs to acquire a new vehicle to be used for daily activities during the summer and snow removal in the winter. Sam Hoover, Public Works Director, recommended a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Pickup Truck with the purchase price of $33,963 with additional equipment of a sander and a snow plow priced at $14,120 for a total cost of $48,030. This purchase is in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to obtain the best pricing due to volume discounts. Hoover explained his department tries to look at the need of the city and their current vehicles are barely enough to get by. 

He also reported the Public Works department plans to hire an additional person to combine a seasonal gardener in the summer and snowplow removal in the winter. Alderman Aiken asked if the sanding equipment was to be permanent structure on the vehicle and Hoover answered the equipment can be removed if necessary. Alderman also inquired what additional duties a new staff member would do. Hoover described additional duties would include shoveling sidewalks, extra snow removal and plowing, sweeping and gardening. The Resolution was approved 5-0.

Resolution No. 20-04 was a request authorizing the acquisition of a Parkway plow truck and related equipment for the Public Works Department with the purchase price of $113,706 for a 2021 Freightliner 180SD cab and chassis and additional equipment for $130,265 for a total price of $243,971. This vehicle will replace a 2004 truck that was totaled in 2013, then bought by the city and put back into service. The cost for maintaining this vehicle is $15,000 a year and it is no longer feasible to maintain the vehicle at this cost. The new vehicle will improve the snow removal on Central City Parkway with state-of-the-art technology that controls the application of the product. Mayor Fey asked how the old vehicle was to be disposed and City Manager, Daniel Miera responded Municipal Code dictates public property must be taken to a public auction. Alderman Hidahl commented it was beneficial that the city has the financial resources to pay for purchases in cash rather than resorting to financing them. The Resolution was approved 5-0.

Resolution No. 20-05 was a request by Gary Allen of the Central City Fire Department to award a bid for the design and manufacture of a Type III Combination Fire Engine. The purchase price is $474,390. The fire engine would replace a 1972 truck that has been out of service and parts are no longer available. Alderman Aiken asked if the new truck would be small enough to fit all the streets. Allen thought the new truck should fit most streets in Central City. Mayor Fey asked how many trucks the fire department has currently and the Allen answered a total of eight vehicles. Fey inquired if the new truck would have ladders or a lift system to get to fires in higher areas. He gave the fourth floor of the Teller House as an example. Allen explained the new truck would not have ladders or a lift system, however the policy in place would be to use equipment from Black Hawk or Clear Creek county that does have the appropriate equipment in those circumstances. Alderman Hidahl asked if the fire equipment with Central City is available for out of city need and Allen replied yes. City Manager, Miera explained the protocol between fire departments on mutual aid (a request for assistance) vs. automatic aid (automatically assisting without a request). The agreement is to wait until you are asked before responding to out of city calls. Mayor Fey wanted to know who covers the financial portion for this agreement and Allen responded each department pays for their share. The Resolution was approved 5-0.

Lindsay Flewelling, Historic Preservation and Code Enforcement Officer, presented Resolution No. 20-06 which amends the comprehensive fee schedule to include revised fees related to liquor licenses, short-term rentals, special events, building permits and temporary use permits. In addition, amounts listed under “Law Enforcement” have been revised to reflect current fees charged by the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, which provides law enforcement services for the City. Staff expects the revenue received to be minimal and the fees are designed to cover the actual costs and encourage code compliance. Alderman Hidahl questioned what the actual impact of what the Parkway was supposed to be and if a new fee structure would be needed for a new development.  City Attorney, Marcus McAskin relayed the Parkway Access Code shall establish a reasonable fee. Permission needs to be granted from the City as well as the BID to gain access to the Parkway. If there are additional impacts, applicant would have to guarantee through an escrow account or deposit for future costs. McAskin recommended the set permit of $1500 with the authority of the City Manager to determine additional costs. The Resolution was approved 5-0. 

Lindsay Flewelling also presented Resolution No. 20-07 amending the Municipal Court fines and fee schedule to the council. The fee schedule includes a threshold of minimum fines for violations for the Municipal Code that go before the Municipal Court which does not handle traffic offences. The revised schedule for traffic offenses would become the responsibility of  Central City’s Municipal Court for fines in the future. Flewelling explained a lot of the fines are already in place, however a change requires Council approval. The Resolution was approved 5-0.

City Manager, Daniel Miera announced the next work session would include goal setting for the upcoming year and citizens can attend the session. Mayor Fey encouraged any interested citizen to attend the session. The agenda will be posted at City Hall and the Post Office. Mayor Fey wanted to know if there could be any further details on progress with projects. Miera reported a number of projects are in progress or fizzled out  and no new information is available. Alderman Hidahl inquired about the remodeling being done on the Knights of Pythias building and was concerned about unintended demolition. Flewelling reported they are working with the new owner who is going through the process of getting a new roof and they are shoring up the back side of the building so it doesn’t collapse due to snow. The owners have informed HPC (Historic Preservation Committee) and they are conscientious about keeping the building to code. Plans for the restructured building include commercial use for the bottom floor with residential use on the top floors. Alderman Aiken was excited to see progress on the building which has stood vacant for so long. 

Barbara Thielemann addressed the council in public comments about Main Street Commission. Thielemann announced there are vacancies for a new member and an alternate member for the commission. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. 

(Originally published in the January 30, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)