Kirk C. Watkins, Jamestown. The Jamestown Board of Trustees meeting took place on October 10, 2020. It was conducted virtually using Zoom, as towns and other organizations have been doing since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The meeting was called to order and roll was taken at 7:04 p.m. by mayor Tara Schoedinger, with all but one trustee in attendance. The minutes were approved from the August 3, 2020, meeting following a discussion regarding language in a contracting issue. Next the minutes from August 24, 2020 were approved. 

The announcements followed, with an update concerning the Xcel tree trimming being conducted in town. There were concerns about the service being performed by the Wright Tree Service, including the death of a tree that had been topped by Wright. Schoedinger has been in discussion with Xcel and was told that the integrity of their lines was their main priority and the aesthetics and health of the trees was secondary. There was a discussion about rights and responsibilities of residents in relation to trees, and how to avoid more unwanted tree damage. Schoedinger suggested the community could be more proactive with tree trimming, knowing that fire mitigation and the safety of the community were the reason. 

The Xcel pole replacement program is expected to be completed the weekend of the 9th and 10th of October, with the concurrent power outage anticipated taking place on Saturday, the 10th.

A Covid-19 testing location was proposed for Jamestown to match the effort to provide testing to all of the adjacent mountain towns. The testing is expected to be free as long as residents fit certain criteria. Covid-19 testing is proposed to last until December. The driveway of the fire station is currently the approved location as Jamestown Covid-19 testing site. Information will be provided to the various mountain towns as the program develops. 

Boulder County Floodplain Management is working on developing an intergovernmental agreement which should be ready in the upcoming weeks, to take on the service for Jamestown. The board will take any further action at the next months meeting, after reviewing costs and possibilities of local control.

After the announcements and corresponding discussions, the town clerk, Kristi Rutledge, gave the third quarter financial review. The report showed little change from the previous quarter, and that 95% of the budget had been taken in. Some project costs that had been previously budgeted were not fulfilled due to Covid, while many other projects were working within their budgets and on time. The 2020 Sustainability Grant is about halfway through completion, including recycling events for the town. The garden committee is running under budget, as well as payroll and attorney fees. Overall, the town is under budget for this quarter as a result of Covid restrictions causing the cancellation of many of the towns projects and previously budgeted items.

The Parks budget came in under budget as well. The Conservation Trust Fund provides funding in installments four times a year and was credited in September putting the budget in a stronger place. The parks projects are on schedule and under budget. HUT funding, the Highway Users Tax, came in under budget. Road fees, funding from the state for highway 93, are currently under budget while some projects are still being planned. 

Water Operations costs were on target after all things were accounted for, including projects, salaries, utilities, legal fees, and other related costs. There was some discussion regarding the Left Hand ditch and the water that it would access, and discussion related to how to create greater interest returns on savings for the town. Kristi Rutledge, the town clerk, took time to explain in more detail the timeline of the budget to the trustees. She also reminded the board of the budget workshop on November 9, 2020, at 6 p.m.

Water system operations were not updated, neither was the James Creek Watershed Initiative, as the responsible members, Colleen and Mark Williams, will be stepping down. 

Next on the agenda were the Board Action items, beginning with a request from Vic Harris to use the Fire Hall for Tai Chi classes on Wednesday nights for no charge. It was approved with the caveat that there were a limited number of students and everyone is required to wear a mask.

The next item was the nomination of a new EMS chief, following the stepping down of Colleen Williams. Julie Constantine was nominated and approved. 

The next action item was the approval of the Land Use and Housing Advisory Committee, LUHAC, questions for the town attorney regarding enforcement for Growth and Development Ordinances. Barbara Byrnes Lenarcic, the committee chair, reported on the questions being composed to ask the town attorney regarding policies around fines and penalties for violating ordinances. A discussion by board members was conducted to finalize language used for the meeting, and to develop priorities for questions. Timing for penalties, and the grace period for resolution when in violation was amended. Lenarcic included another question to ensure that any ordinance would not violate existing Colorado law. According to Schoedinger, the board has the responsibility to set fine values. It was agreed that the fines would be a daily limit, which would be cumulative. An ordinance review cycle was proposed in order to maintain updated ordinances. The motion was approved to use the questions proposed by LUHAC.

A discussion regarding a draft of the Good Neighbor Guidelines for short-term rentals in Jamestown was brought for discussion by LUHAC. The principle is to guide the development of short-term rental properties in order to provide property owner and renter guidelines to follow, in order to preserve the quality of life for residents of Jamestown. Previous ordinances were brought up which could provide a framework for establishing “good neighbor” standards. It was moved to develop guidelines specific to Jamestown, and to address any possible issues regarding short-term rentals. It was mentioned that some conversation is already being conducted, notably in Boulder and Lyons, regarding the issues surrounding the short-term rentals.

The next item was the discussion and approval of Resolution 10-23, 2020, Boulder County 2021 Sustainability Grant. Ken Lenarcic reported that the resolution had not changed since the last grant was awarded. He requested a signed document from the board to confirm the request for the grant. He also described a 2020-2021 grant budget for the Sustainability Grant. Finally, he updated the funding for the irrigation ditch being planned. 

The garden committee, chaired by Joe Brancato, gave a report on the budget and ongoing projects. There were questions about adding beds and how water was paid for. Brancato answered questions from the board and updated projects and there followed a discussion about how to finish ongoing projects and funding sources. The board voted on and passed Resolution 10-23, 2020.

The next action item was the discussion and approval of Covid-19 community messages. The board discussed the individual messages and their effectiveness. Overall the board was satisfied with the messaging being provided. The board passed the motion to use the current messaging to inform the community about updated Covid-19 information, which is to be distributed by email. 

The board committee reports were next on the agenda. Matt Kohlhaas and Roger Loving gave an update on water committee personnel and current projects that included updating rules and protocols involving the water plant.

Fire and EMS reported adding a new member. Michael Box broke down the expenditures for new members and the portion provided by JVFD. Box also reported on recent training and incidents that required response.

Streets and Bridges was reported by Courtenay Bedell. She updated the different projects and plans being worked on by her committee. She talked about a drainage project being planned for Mesa Street, and the logistics being considered in regard to putting a concrete swale placed into gravel. Schoedinger requested a presentation to be completed for the next meeting, in order to provide more background for the board’s information. Delineators were received for speed control on Main Street. Bedell reported that they should be installed in the coming days after the meeting. There was a discussion regarding the variables to consider for the installation.

Michael Box reported for the parks committee. He reported that the Merc had officially completed their season in the town square. He also reported a seasonal shift in water schedules. Schoedinger reported a request to rent out space for an art student in the community barn. There was discussion about the viability of that idea. Box gave a commendation to the Merc for the successful completion of outdoor dining with no Covid-19 incidents being traced to it.

Cemeteries, reported by Heather Yahnke, had nothing to report.

Gardens were reported by Joe Brancato with no updates to report.

Town Hall maintenance, reported by Heather Yahnke, had nothing to report.

The Lefthand Watershed, reported by Ken Lenarcic, had attended a meeting in October. Lenarcic read a letter that he had written to the Lefthand Watershed, which detailed Jamestown’s level of participation and steps still needing to be completed. He also spoke about the St. Vrain Lefthand Water Conservancy having a ballot initiative in November, which would include a mill levy increase. Jamestown is part of that district and will be able to vote on it. 

Roger Loving updated the board on a report regarding the Lefthand Watershed. They changed their name to the St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership and have been tasked with developing the M.O.U., or Memorandum of Understanding, for the Forest Service. There is a committee being formed, and Roger asked for volunteers to sit in on the meetings. Their next meeting will be on November 13. The board requested time to research the project and agreed to renew talks at the next meeting. 

The meeting was then adjourned.

For more information regarding the St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership: https://www.townoflyons.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/7418?fileID=15943. 

To view the Jamestown website: http://jamestownco.org.

(Originally published in the October 15, 2020. edition of The Mountain-Ear.)