Holly Trustees Election Set for April 5

Holly Depot

The Town of Holly will hold a municipal election for Trustees and Mayor on April 5^th of this year.  Current Trustees, Marty Campbell and Larry Stitts are up for re-election and Holly residents, Josh Reinert and Corey Stephans are making a bid for a seat on the Trustee’s board.  Jerry Jones, who has become mayor, will serve in that capacity until a new person has been elected and will then resume his position on the Board of Trustees until the end of his remaining two years.  Brad Simon stepped down as mayor several months ago and Jones, as mayor pro-tem, was sworn in as his replacement.  At this point, only former mayor, Tony Garcia has indicated he will be a write-in candidate for the mayoral position, although the position remains open on the ballot for other candidates.  As these will be write-ins, their names will not appear on the ballot when it is issued to Holly voters.

Bidding has closed as of February 5^th for replacement of the town’s shop roof.  As the Trustees held their monthly meeting prior to the bid closing date, Administrator L’Estrange suggested emailing the bids to the Trustees for their decision on the top bidders and reply with their choice.

Regarding the Backflow/Cross Connection ordinance needed to comply with state health requirements, L’Estrange said specific policies are usually found in a municipal codebook, which is still a work in progress for the town. He stated that a work session should be set to discuss best possible options and develop a policy to address the backflow requirements, either by resolution or creation of an ordinance.  He explained, “Single family residential locations don’t have to have a backflow preventer installed on their water line, but multi-families, if they are all served off one line, will be required to have one.”  He added that business and industry oriented operations will also need to have one.  He added that a Sanitary Survey will be needed to set the policy as some crossover addresses may exist in that a residence may have a commercial component at their location.  The Trustees were given ordinance and policy examples from other Colorado communities as a guideline.   Trustee Marty Campbell was told there was no grandfathering of systems allowed, in answer to his question on that matter.

On another municipal water matter, L’Estrange told the Trustees that an examination of a valve on the town’s South Well was malfunctioning. “The check valve was bad,” he said, “when it was pumping it was spraying water underneath the ground and that was stirring up the sand we were seeing in the water.  Plus, the screen was split which allowed more gravelly material to get in.”  He said he wants a camera in the well to provide a final assessment of the problem before the pump goes back into use.  He estimated the well should be back in service by the middle of the month.

The Trustees decided to set up a police committee meeting before their March meeting to discuss some concerns with the Prowers County Sheriff. He said it’s mostly over communication gaps between the two entities and a contact will be made for an available date.  Administrator L’Estrange recapped the REDI Economic Development meeting held on January 20^th in Granada with DOLA officials.  “We did our grassroots assessment and met at the Dorenkamp’s on CR JJ to see what they have offered the area through Heritage Tourism,” he stated, adding that the area is a magnet for birding enthusiasts from around the country.  “We’re not going to have a manufacturing company coming to town, but we needed to capitalize on what we’re able to do, and Agri-Tourism and Heritage Tourism are possibilities,” he explained.  L’Estrange said there was a working farm in the northeast section of the state that, while not a dude ranch, does charge tourists to experience some of the lifestyles on a ranch for a day’s visit.  He said he expected a report on the findings by the end of the month which he’ll email to the Trustees.  In other action, the Trustees approved the appointment of Jerry Lyons to replace Brad Simon on the ARPA board until December 31, 2019.  The next Trustees meeting will be Wednesday, March 2^nd at the Depot.

By Russ Baldwin