Holly Preparing for April Municipal Election

 

A resolution was passed during the Holly Trustees town meeting on February 7th, allowing Town Clerk, Megan Jara, to appoint election judges for the town’s regular municipal elections for the first Tuesday in April. There will be two candidates for Mayor, incumbent Tony Garcia and Derrell Bailey and there are five candidates for three Trustee seats:  Anthony Moldenhauer, Jacob Holdren, Justin Willhite, Aaron Leiker and Jarid Gulley.

Leiker, who is a board member of Prowers Economic Prosperity, PEP, recapped the annual board meeting held Tuesday, February 6th, for the Trustees. He referenced some of the economic growth that has occurred in the county over the past year, as well as a reference to developments for the planned dairy farm project for the Holly area.  Leiker told the Trustees that the county is being noticed for its aggressive activities, becoming known as a potential site for future business development.  “Years ago, the area passed on the IBP project which eventually located in Finney County, but because we were a considered site, Neoplan USA found out about us and selected Lamar for their venture in the U.S.   Recently we made the short list for a poultry project that went to another location simply because our area doesn’t have the required number of potential workers or adequate housing that the project would require.  But because of our placement on that list, other potential businesses are being made aware of our existence.”

In a separate matter, Trustee Jacob Holdren recommended the Trustees approve $2,500 to help fund PEP’s annual budget. He explained, “The Executive Director, Eric Depperschmidt, comes to our town two times a month with an open-door policy to meet with local business people and citizens.  This is part of their out-reach plans to spend time with each town in the county.  We used to fund PCDI with a $500 contribution each year and we can use some of the funding that we budgeted for a new town administrator.”  The Trustees unanimously approved the recommendation.

The Trustees voted unanimously to approve an access agreement setting the terms by which the town will allow the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to conduct periodic inspections of the landfill site. Under the agreement, the landfill will remain open and three test wells will be drilled at key locations at the site by the CDPHE.  The wells will be monitored for five years and a town representative will be on site when the inspections are conducted.

The 2018 street chip sealing project was tabled over financial concerns. The Trustees had budgeted $20,000 for the project which would include about a dozen roads in the community, but the estimated cost, $27,000, exceeds the funding set aside for the project.  The Financial Committee will review the cost of the project and report back to the Trustees.

The Holly Trustees passed on first reading, Ordinance 521, prohibiting driving or parking of trucks, truck tractors and trailers on any streets, alleys, town leased or owned parking lots and public rights of way with the town limits. Time will be allowed between the first and second reading in March, for the public to comment on the issue or for the Trustees to suggest any changes before it is adopted.  The city attorney also provided the Trustees with several non-binding recommendations for the ordinance.

Rick Rigel, Executive Director of Arkansas River Power Authority, provided an update on ARPA’s bond refunding plans to the Trustees. This was a similar presentation he made to the Lamar City Council in January in which he explained how the five separate bonding issues totaling $140M to fund the Lamar Repowering Project could be refunded at certain times between this summer and over the next several years.  Rigel said part of the process would be to have all six member municipalities re-affirm the initial organic contract and the power sales agreement.  Trustee Larry Sitts asked why that would be needed as Holly had re-affirmed the agreement less than two years ago.  Rigel and David Willhite, one of Holly’s representatives to the ARPA board, explained this would be required to move the plans forward with the bonding companies.  Rigel expected the resolution would be available for consideration by March.

By Russ Baldwin

 

 

Filed Under: City of HollyCity of LamarConsumer IssuesCountyEconomyElectionsFeaturedPoliticsPublic SafetyTransportationUtilities

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