New Holly Trustees Begin Work

Holly Town Clerk Mary Rushton Reads Oath of Office to Trustees, (l-r) Sitts, Campbell and Vazquez

Two new members joined the Holly Town Board of Trustees for their first meeting, Wednesday, April 4. Frank Vazquez ran for re-election, garnering the most votes with 104. Holly had 339 residents registered to vote and 145 votes were cast during the election. Marty Campbell had 103 and Larry Sitt had 92 to gain the last seat on the board. Casey Rushton, a write-in candidate, had 83 votes, not enough to maintain his position as a Trustee. David Crossland and Mayor Viola Melcher who did not run again, were on hand for the meeting, but only long enough for the oath of office to be read to the new Trustees by Town Clerk Mary Rushton. Trustee Brad Simon presided over the meeting as Mayor Pro-Tem until a new mayor is selected at the May meeting.

Board members approved Resolution 2012-5, authorizing a quit claim deed transfer of a tract of land to Living Hope Fellowship, a non-profit corporation. The parcel of land contains about two and a quarter acres.

James Fairchild, Chief Executive Officer of Prowers Medical Center, provided a power point presentation on the $5 million bond issue for expanding the hospital’s facilities. The vote will be held May 8. Fairchild said the expansion will develop 13,000 square feet of space which will be dedicated to a Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation facility. He estimates the debt would be paid off in twenty years. Fairchild noted a new development for the hospital’s veteran’s clinic. PMC will partner with various organizations to help provide medical services to homeless veterans who will receive treatment at the former Ft. Lyon Prison in Las Animas. He also noted the Convenient Care Clinic is now responsible for 20% of the total visits to the hospital.

Town Administrator, Marsha Willhite, noted she had been discussing use of the town landfill by a contractor who usually uses Lamar’s facility, but because of increasing gas prices, would save money if the company could use the Holly landfill when they were in the vicinity. The company as asking for a rate break on the tariff, which is about $400 per compacted load of 18 to 20 yards of refuse. Willhite said the board can discuss the request at a future meeting. A work session has been scheduled by the board for April 10 at 7pm to review the public’s suggestions over zoning regulation changes. DOLA officials helped facilitate a February meeting to garner public input. Willhite said although no decisions would come from the meeting; it would prove to be lengthy as new board members will need to be briefed on the ramifications of any changes. She said it would also provide background on anticipated Requests for Proposals regarding the use of the Holly landfill.

Cory Thompson presented a variance request to the board to reduce the width of Third Street to 40 feet, as part of the Holly School project. He said it would be within the confines of the current 70 foot width and should not impact any utilities in the area. The work will help with water flow from the school area and would be in line with the new, planned school entrance which will be more easterly than the present location. Administrator Willhite said those plans would have to be reviewed in light of the financial impact to the town under the HUTF, Highway Users Tax Fund. The reduction, she said, of the area of the roadway would have a direct bearing on what the town receives in revenue and would need to be studied.

In other action, the Holly Trustees approved a dance license and special events request for Victor and Judy Salgado for an event on their property the night of the Holly School graduation on May 20. The permit for the event is only up until 11pm that evening. Prowers County Sheriff Jim Faull reviewed the request and gave his approval and recommendation to the board. The board voted in favor of a $3,425 annual premium for Airport Liability Insurance Coverage for the 2012-2013 year, an increase over last year’s premium of $3,318. The board also authorized the annual After Prom donation of $100. Appointments were made to various town committees from the board, for Finance, Police, Scholarship and Zoning. As there is no official mayor as yet, the appointments are not complete.

The town services report covered the demolition of electrical equipment at the present school as service lines poles and street lights are being removed. Electricity to the Anna Bryce building as cut down and temporary service was put up at the Old Gym. Just in time for the recent rains, fertilizer was spread on the park grounds and the ball field. The Fire Department did a control burn near one of the lagoon ponds and mowed the weeds that remained. The pond will be cleaned as soon as possible. The U.S. Forest Service held a tree-trimming class at the town parks. Several executive sessions were held at the end of the monthly meeting and the next monthly Trustees meeting will be held May 2.

By Russ Baldwin