Town of Moffat
Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Place: MoffatSchool, High School English Room (near cafeteria)
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
I. Mayor LeRoy called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
II. Roll Call ~ Board of Trustees
Betty Skoglund-present Margie Lewandowski-absent/excused
Angie LeRoy-present Eileen Wilfong-present
Brian Morgan-present Jason Davidson-present
III. Consent Agenda Approval – With two additions to the Agenda (Citizen of the Year Award under IX. C and Attorney of Choice under IX D), Brian Morgan made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Betty Skogland seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.
IV. Public Meeting on the 2010 Budget for the Town of Moffat: See below
V. Mayor’s Report: Mayor LeRoy reported that the Saguache County Master Plan discussions would begin Thursday, December 10, 2009 in Villa Grove.
VI. Training & Conferences: Nothing to report
VII. Community Center Committee: A grant in the amount of $10,000.00 has been approved for the Community Center. They are waiting for DOLA funds. Grant writer Tawney Becker, has been busy and has received a favorable response from the Boettcher Foundation. Her services are being funded from Community Center funds. Winter fest sales in the amount of $143.35 were low due to poor turnout. They currently have $2035.51 in funds available from bake sales.
VIII. Old Business
A. Zoning: Tabled until January 2010
B. Discussion of 2010 Budget: Public comments: Melinda Myers commended Town Clerk, Johnann McKee for a “real good job on the budget.” Mayor LeRoy read the Budget Message and Resolution to Accept the Budget and Resolution on the Mil Levy. After some discussion, the only change to the 2010 Budget was to add $580.00 to Park Misc. Expense. Angie LeRoy made a motion to accept the resolution on the 2010 Budget as amended. Brian Morgan seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed. Brian Morgan made a motion to adopt the Mil Levy. Betty Skogland seconded the motion. All were in favor and the resolution passed. The Town Budget passed as amended.
C. Trailer for town hall: Electric lines are in the ground and Scott Wilfong will be hooking power up soon. Eric Frye will have window screenings done and ramp built. After these projects are completed, he will look at doing insulated skirting for the trailer.
D. Trench along Lincoln and Moffat Way: Cost to test soil in trench for sewage was too expensive. Trustees discussed hiring someone to fill trench with gravel but made no decision.
E. Xcel Franchise ordinance: tabled until next month.
F. Christmas party: Earl and Angie LeRoy, and Eileen Wilfong will not be in town for the Town Christmas Party. Betty Skoglund will facilitate the party with Margie’s and Jason’s help.
IX. New Business
A. Resolution to hold a mail ballot election: Mayor LeRoy read the Resolution to hold a Mail Ballot Election. Brian Morgan made a motion to accept the resolution. Betty Skogland seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.
B. Crestone sign at Hwy 17 and CR T: Matt Hobbs explained that the Town of
Crestone has obtained permission to erect a very large sign on private property at the corner of Highway 17 and County Road T. Mr. Hobbs advised the Trustees that the Town of Moffat has the right to regulate such signage. Mayor LeRoy suggested that the Town of Crestone make a formal proposal to the Town of Moffat Board of Trustees.
C. Citizen of the Year: Nominations included: Jason Davidson, Betty Skogland, Johnann McKee and Patricia (Skeeter) Reigel. A secret ballot was held, with results to be tabulated after the meeting.
D. Attorney of Choice: Because Matt Hobbs has separated from Farish Law Firm, Moffat Town Board was informed that they have the option of keeping Farish Law Firm or retaining Matt Hobbs as legal counsel. Brian Morgan made a motion to keep Matt Hobbs as the town attorney. Angie LeRoy seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.
X. Planning Commission
Susan Soltysik reported that her search for funding assistance for residences has been completed with options that include some grants for individuals who qualify as well as a few different loan options. She provided a handout. Chris asked for an advance on his salary for work completed. Brian Morgan made a motion to advance him $275.00. Jason Davidson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed. Brian Morgan made a motion to hire Susan Soltysik to write a Brownsfield grant. Angie LeRoy seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed. Melinda Myers reported that lots located in the Brownsfield area and not owned by the Town of
Moffat
need to be obtained by the town before applying for Brownsfield grants. Jason Davidson made a motion for Matt Hobbs to write the legal documents necessary to transfer property to the Town of Moffat for this purpose. Brian Morgan seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.
XI. Committee Reports
A. Park Committee—signage for park: Jason still needs catalogs to obtain park signs.
XII. Additional Items for Discussion
Melinda Myers suggested the creation of a Town Auxillary who would bring refreshments to monthly meetings.
XIII. Public Comment
Eileen Wilfong asked Town Trustees to discuss the purpose of Public Comment. After some discussion, Trustees agreed that Public Comment is a time to discuss town business. Angie LeRoy made a motion to limit Public Comment to town business only with a time limit of three minutes per person. Eileen seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.
XIV. Adjournment:
There being no further business, Brian Morgan moved the meeting adjourn at 8:45 pm. Jason Davidson seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed.
Minutes from the November 3, 2009 Regular Meeting
Town of Moffat Board of Trustees
This meeting was posted at the post office, the credit union and the community center on Oct. 27, 2009.
I. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Earl LeRoy at 7:10 PM.
II. Roll Call ~ Board of Trustees
Betty Skoglund Margie Lewandowski -excused
Angie LeRoy Eileen Wilfong
Brian Morgan Jason Davidson
Also present: Town Clerk Johnann McKee, Attorney Matt Hobbs, Susan Soltysik, Christopher Hardt, David Frees, George Frees, Melinda Myers.
III. Approval of Consent Agenda—agenda, minutes of regular meeting on 10-6-9, treasurer’s report for November, payment of bills: Angie LeRoy moved to change the order of the agenda to have the presentation by David Frees moved before the mayor’s report. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Brian Morgan moved to adopt the consent agenda. Eileen Wilfong seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
David Frees presented information on the San Luis Creek Water District. The regulations will be applied to non-exempt wells. Moffat’s wells are not exempt, so will be regulated. The purpose of the regulations is to protect senior surface water rights. Moffat’s best option is to write a contract with the local sub-district that will allow use of the town wells. George Frees recommended that Moffat draft a letter to the state water engineer Dick Wolfe and to Mike Spearman, who is the
SaguacheCounty representative, expressing concerns. The next meeting will be November 11 at 10:00 at the Inn of the Rio Grande in Alamosa.
IV. Mayor’s Report—none.
V. Training & Conferences—the clerk has no more information on the free training in Alamosa on November 23. There will be a CIRSA webinar, Liability Issues for Elected Officials, on November 19. The clerk mentioned meetings about SLV Health Access—the last two are tomorrow, November 4. The clerk will attend mail ballot election training on November 17.
VII. Old Business
A. Hiring for septic researcher/inspector position—the only applicant for the job is Chris Hardt. Brian Morgan moved to hire Chris. Eileen Wilfong seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
B. Zoning—Attorney Matt Hobbs passed out a sample zoning regulation. He explained quickly what is included in the code. The board will take it home to look at before the next meeting.
Melinda Myers suggested the board proceed directly to the discussion of planning commission issues so that Chris Hardt and Susan Soltysik would not have to sit through all of the business. The board agreed. Brian Morgan moved that Melinda Myers be appointed chairman of the planning commission. Eileen Wilfong seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Susan has been hired as the grant writer to look for grants to help homeowners who need financial assistance. She mentioned options that she is currently researching, including programs through the SLV Housing Coalition, USDA Rural Development, and low-interest loans through the Saguache County Credit Union. There was discussion about the wording of the letter to be sent to property owners. Melinda and the town clerk will finalize the wording of the letter and then it will be sent out.
C. 2010 Budget—will be discussed next month.
D. Trailer for town hall—Earl reported on progress on the process of getting the trailer in place. The tables have been purchased, and Melinda reported that the county will donate some chairs.
E. Trench along Lincoln and
Moffat Way—Matt summarized the letter sent to Ron Briggs, and Earl LeRoy read Mr. Briggs’ response. Matt was given Mr. Briggs’ letter to investigate the legal claims. Jason will find out how we can test the outflow to see what has been drained into the ditch. Angie moved the town test if the cost of doing so is less than $50. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
F. Resolution to place extending sales tax on ballot—Brian Morgan moved to adopt the resolution. Angie LeRoy seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
VIII. New Business
A. MP3 player for town—there was discussion of buying an MP3 player to use for recording town board meetings. After discussion, the board decided to not do so at this time.
B. Recognition plaque for new building—the town clerk explained that one of the foundations that has been asked for a grant for the community center wants a plaque put in the building recognizing its contribution. Brian Morgan moved to put a plaque in the community center recognizing contributors. Angie LeRoy seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
X. Committee Reports
A. Park Committee—Jason has not yet found a source for the signage for the park. He will look at some more possible sources of signs.
B. Community Center—Melinda reported that the grant writer has written many grants applications; we don’t know the results of any of them yet. The committee will be selling baked goods at WinterFest the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Christmas Party—Earl suggested the Christmas party be Saturday Dec. 12 at 5:00. Brian Morgan moved to have the party then. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
XI. Additional Items for Discussion (as needed)—Melinda reported on the Multi-Hazard Mitigation meeting.
XII. Public Comment—Jason Davidson went to the meeting for the recall of the school board and reported on it. Melinda suggested the board not get too involved in the politics of the school board.
Adjournment—there being no further business, the board agreed to adjourn at 9:55 pm.
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Minutes from the October 6, 2009 Regular Meeting
Town of Moffat Board of Trustees
This meeting was posted at the post office, the credit union and
the community center on Oct. 2, 2009.
I. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Earl LeRoy at 7:00 PM.
II. Roll Call ~ Board of Trustees
Betty Skoglund Margie Lewandowski
Angie LeRoy--excused Eileen Wilfong
Brian Morgan Jason Davidson
Also present: Town Clerk Johnann McKee, Attorney Matt Hobbs, Melinda Myers, Shaun Rhodes, Debra Weigel, Christopher Hardt.
III. Approval of Consent Agenda—agenda, minutes of regular meeting on 9-1-9 and special meeting on 9-9-9, treasurer’s report for October, payment of bills: there were two changes to the agenda, the addition of a discussion of the web site and a correction of the location of the trench along a town road. Jason Davidson moved to adopt the revised consent agenda. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
IV. Mayor’s Report—Mayor Earl LeRoy reported that he, Jason Davidson, Angie LeRoy, Betty Skoglund and the town clerk went to the CML district meeting and learned a bit about what other towns in the area are dealing with.
V. Training & Conferences—Earl mentioned a pipe-line safety training. Jason Davidson mentioned a Brownfield conference on Nov. 9-10 in Denver. The clerk reported that there will be a free training in Alamosa on November 23.
VI. Old Business
A. Acquiring lots next to Community Center—the registered letter sent by the clerk was returned by the post office, so we still have no address for the owner of the lots. After discussion of options, Brian Morgan moved that the board wait until next spring and see if the owner sends in a new address when paying the taxes on the property. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
B. Ordinance 4-2009 amending Xcel franchise fee was read for the second time by Matt Hobbs. Betty Skoglund moved to pass the ordinance as read. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
C. Debrucing Moffat—the board decided that the debrucing that was passed in 1998, which is sufficient for accepting grant moneys, is enough.
D. Trailer for town hall—Mayor LeRoy reported that the trailer has been delivered and is in place. He has found a man who will put mesh on the windows and build a ramp to the door for cost only. When trenching is completed, electricity will be run to the trailer and the bathrooms for cost only. The mayor will look for the best way to get skirting put on. Since the bathrooms are separate and are already in place, we don’t need to worry about ADA access for them at this time. Melinda Myers said she can arrange for a donation of chairs from the county. Earl will buy tables. Brian Morgan moved that all of the work listed above be done. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
E. Web site—Eileen hasn’t received photos for two months. It was suggested that the web site include the board minutes, agenda, and calendar. Jason suggested photographing local businesses and put them on the web site to help generate business in town. Eileen said there was also a suggestion to add links, which she will do when she figures out how to.
VII. New Business
A. Buy Access for town database—after discussion, the board decided to use Excel, which is already on the town computer, to develop a data base of town addresses. To start, the clerk will get a list of property owners from county assessor’s office.
B. Zoning—Matt has a 35-page version but was unable to print it. Moffat’s current code’s largest lack is anything that gives us any procedures for handling situations. He will get the revised version to the board to look at before the next meeting.
C. 2010 Budget—first draft given to board. The board will look it over and discuss it at the next meeting
D. Hiring for septic researcher/inspector position—Chris Hardt, the facilities manager at Joyful Journeys, expressed interest in the job. After discussion, Betty Skoglund moved the town send a letter explaining the process to the property owners in town. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Brian Morgan moved that the town hire a temporary employee for the position, to be paid $1500 for phase 1, $2000 for phase 2, and $1500 for phase 3, with pay to be disbursed at the completion of each phase. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Margie Lewandowski moved that the opening be posted in the usual three locations, with applications (resume and letter) due by October 27. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
E. Trench along Lincoln & Moffat—the ditch is supposedly for drainage of the Briggs property, but it is eroding the road and the owner is running water into it. Matt Hobbs affirmed that property owners can’t dig in the road right of way, and recommended that the board tell him to stop—if he doesn’t we’ll have to take him to district court. Jason Davidson moved that Matt write a letter to Mr. Briggs to fill in his ditch before the first of November. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
F. Extending sales tax—after discussion, Jason Davidson moved to put the extension of the sales tax to cover food items on the April ballot. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
VIII. Planning Commission
A. Grant writer for assistance with septic systems—Melinda was going to write a job description and didn’t get it done. Melinda has a person very interested. Eileen, Melinda and the interested person will meet this month, then the board will decide at next month’s meeting.
IX. Committee Reports
A. Park Committee—Jason Davidson reported that the school wants to do a joint GOCO application. He explained the priorities for the park, as listed in the minutes of the committee meeting. He requested the town post signs in the park stating “no littering” and “no vandalism”. He will find a source of signs and inform the board of the costs.
Jason moved the board submit a joint GOCO grant application with the school. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
B. Community Center—Melinda reported that the grant writer hired by the committee has submitted two more grant applications.
X. Additional Items for Discussion (as needed)—none.
XI. Public Comment—there was discussion of the ballot measure for funding for Crestone charter school, and next year’s measure to create a county library district.
Shaun Rhodes requested the board vacate the alley between his two sets of lots. The board suggested he ask for a variance to run his septic across the alley, and told him he is free to fence the entire property if he puts a gate across the alley for emergency access. He cannot build on the alley.
IV. Adjournment—there being no further business, Brian Morgan moved to adjourn at 9:10 p.m. Betty Skoglund seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
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Minutes from the September 1, 2009 Regular Meeting
Town of Moffat Board of Trustees
This meeting was posted at the post office, the credit union and the community center on August 28, 2009.
I. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Earl LeRoy at 7:05 PM.
II. Roll Call ~ Board of Trustees
Betty Skoglund Margie Lewandowski
Angie LeRoy--excused Eileen Wilfong--excused
Brian Morgan Jason Davidson
Also present: Town Clerk Johnann McKee, Attorney Matt Hobbs, Debra Weigel, William Shaun Rhodes, Melinda Myers.
William Rhodes owns 12 blocks (6 & 6 with an alley between them) on block 125. He wants to put a storage building on the property this fall, and by next spring wants to put in a house. No permit is needed for a metal storage building. To put in the house, he will need to get a building permit and get a variance to cross the alley with the septic field.
III. Approval of Consent Agenda—agenda, minutes of regular meeting from 8-4-9, treasurer’s report for September, payment of bills: Margie Lewandowski moved to adopt the consent agenda. Brian Morgan seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
IV. Mayor’s Report—the meeting with Deb Downs about the Energy Impact Grant Program was good and the application was put in. Since then the governor froze the funds and the grant cycle has been suspended. Zoning—the ordinance adopted in 2002 does not specify that a residence can be put in an area zoned commercial. Matt pointed out other problems with the ordinance as it stands. After discussion, the board asked Matt Hobbs to bring an updated version of the zoning ordinance to the next meeting.
V. Training & Conferences
The town clerk reported that she wants to attend a different election training, but would need a motel room the night before. Brian Morgan moved that the board pay expenses for the clerk to go to that mail ballot training. Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The CML District meeting will be held September 30. Any board members who want to go must tell the clerk by September 12, and the board will pay for the meal.
VI. Old Business
A. Acquiring lots next to Community Center—the board has not been able to get a response from the owner, by mail or by phone. The board asked that Matt send a letter as the board’s attorney.
B. Business license applications—Brian Morgan moved to accept the form as it stands (with one specified change). Jason Davidson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
C. Records storage options—Earl suggested the board get a business trailer put on the land. They have lights, heating and air conditioning, and that way the town would have an office and storage available. The board agreed that he should continue to research to find a suitable trailer at a good price.
VII. New Business
A. Ordinance 4-2009 amending Xcel franchise fee--Matt did first reading of the ordinance. Brian Morgan moved to accept the ordinance as read. Betty Skoglund seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
B. De-brucing Moffat—the clerk was able to find the ballot language for a de-brucing that passed in Moffat in 1998, but the lawyer will have to do research to see if the ballot language was sufficient.
VIII. Planning Commission
A. Grant writer for assistance with septic systems—mayor will check with Eileen to see if she has made progress on hiring a grant writer. Melinda pointed out that the money is for both a grant writer and a researcher to start seeing which systems are up to standards. Melinda will write up a proposal for the research job.
IX. Committee Reports
A. Park Committee—Jason went over the safety checklist. There will be a park committee meeting on Sept. 9 to discuss a GOCO Grant.
B. Community Center—Melinda talked about options for the community center now that the Impact Grant has been put on hold. Betty mentioned that there will be a bake sale at the Fall Festival.
X. Additional Items for Discussion (as needed)—Brian Morgan asked Melinda about the solar facility. It will be on road T, it will bring money into the county but not to Moffat. The owner of the Mirage wants the trailer behind the building moved. The clerk will write a letter to be sent to the owner of the trailer. Stop signs are missing. Earl and Jason will investigate which need replacement. There was discussion of the trench along Broadway.
XI. Public Comment—Earl LeRoy, speaking as a citizen rather than the mayor, recommended that the town set up a database of addresses for townsfolk. In that way letters could be sent to all residents so everyone in town can be notified of activities.
IV. Adjournment—there being no further business, Brian Morgan moved to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. Margie Lewandowski seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
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