Thursday, January 21, 2010

Special Meeting in December

December 22, 2009

The Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of La Jara was called to order at 7:01 pm by Mayor Austin Valdez. The roll was called and those present were: Paula Medina, Tiffanie Polkowske, Henry Schimpf, Larry Zaragoza and Mayor Austin Valdez. Absent: Earl Haslett and Patrick Montoya. Also present were Town Clerk Priscilla Schimpf and Town Manager Bill Yohey. Guests: Larry Sisneros. A quorum was declared.

Hire of 4th Police Officer:The interview committee interviewed one applicant – Adam Chacon. The other applicant withdrew himself. The State Patrol Officers George Dingfelder and Blake Crowther were on the interview committee and they recommended hiring Adam. He is looking into a long term position and retiring out of a department. He lives in Capulin and he does get involved with his kid’s sports activities. He answered the interview questions very well. He seems to be very dependable and responsible. He wants to give a two week notice to his present employer. It was stated that he would need to get a background check, a physical and a psychological test done upon hire. Starting salary was discussed; it was set to start at $26,432 per our 2010 Budget. It was said to check what his pay at the Conejos County Sheriff’s Department currently is and discuss it further at the next regular board meeting. The interview committee recommends hiring Adam Chacon. A motion was made by Paula and 2nd by Larry to hire Adam Chacon for the 4th Police Officer position pending background, physical and psychological tests with 1 year probation upon hire. A roll call vote was taken: Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes, Henry-yes, Larry-yes and Austin-yes. Motion Carried. Bill will notify Dan of the outcome so that Dan can contact Adam.

There being no further business a motion to adjourn was made by Tiffanie. Meeting adjourned at 7:17 pm.

December Minutes

December 10, 2009

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of La Jara was called to order by Mayor Pro Tem Henry Schimpf at 7:03 pm. The roll was called. Present: Earl Haslett, Paula Medina, Tiffanie Polkowske, and Mayor Pro Tem Henry Schimpf. Absent: Patrick Montoya, Larry Zaragoza and Mayor Austin Valdez. Also present: Chief of Police Dan Martinez, Maintenance Supervisor Keith Martinez, Town Clerk Priscilla Schimpf, Building Inspector Joseph Trottner, Town Attorney Ray Valdez and Town Manager Bill Yohey. Guests: Cort Nickel, Larry Sisneros & Son. Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guests:

Cort Nickel – Lagoon Upgrade. He explained that the lagoons have needed to be upgraded for a long while now. Every year the State sends letters to the Town stating that the lagoons need to be improved to meet the State Compliance. Cort informed the Board that Bill got a grant to hire an engineer to do a Treatment Facility Study. He stated that the main problem of the lagoons is infiltration. The lagoons leak way too much. With his study he has found three options for the Town to choose from. He explained those options: 1) Repair and rebuild the existing lagoons which we are required to have three cells to where we only have two, 2) Build a mechanical sewage plant and 3) Build a mechanical plant from an existing lagoon. The third option is the least expensive which Cort recommends for the Town. It was asked if the Town goes with option three how much maintenance would be needed – it was said that it would take two to three hours daily. The public works employees would need to get a Class C Certification to operate option three. The Board likes option three but will wait to decide until there are more Board Members to vote on.Bill stated that Leroy Cruz from USDA came by to see him and stated that if we have to ramp up on our grant money; they can help us. He gave Bill contact numbers of people to talk to in regards to this.

Reports:

Town Manager: Bill informed the Board that he got a hold of Bret Shawcroft in regards to the Richfield Canal. Also mentioned that comp. time is more complicated than thought it would be. Ray will see what other Towns are doing with comp. time. Bill updated the Board on the Historical Grant status. He mentioned that he has no personal time left, no vacation time left, 15 days of sick leave left and he is still working on compiling his comp. time. The report was accepted upon a motion by Tiffanie and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Building Inspector: He reviewed his report with the Board. It was asked if the amount charged for #170-1st Stop was corrected. Joseph Trottner stated that the total should have been $1,000 instead of $100. The report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Court: The Board reviewed the Municipal Judge report. The report was accepted as presented upon a motion by Tiffanie and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Police: Dan reviewed the vehicle status on his report. He explained the abduction case; he put an outlook for the vehicle. Dan will get together with Austin to meet with his bus drivers to inform them of the speeding. He informed the Board that the fighting incidents on his report were two, mistakenly didn’t enter in a number. Dan wants to put a key pad lock on the front door to the Police Department for the part-timers instead of giving them keys. It will cost around $200. There are lots of keys out there and don’t know who they are with. He mentioned he is working on putting up a website for the Police Department. The police report was accepted upon a motion by Tiffanie and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Maintenance: Keith informed the Board that there was a plugged sewer line behind 618 Poplar. He and Paul ran the roto-rooter machine and unplugged it but it is only going to be a temporary fix. Keith strongly recommends that the Town replace this sewer line so that the Town does not run into any liabilities with this issue. It was mentioned that the Richfield Canal will need to be involved because of the easement. Keith also mentioned that Rodney Gibson brought 200 tons of road base and they have been laying gravel in the allies etc. He met with Todd Stockebrand form Asphalt Constructors to get a bid for paving the streets. The total cost of the bid is $122,350. He passed around the bid for the Board to review. Earl stated to get them back out here to give a more detailed bid to include the trench cuts. The Board decided to have Keith schedule with them to come down to do the paving in the spring. The maintenance report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Tiffanie. Motion Carried.

Trustees:
Earl – Had nothing to report.

Tiffanie – Ruby contacted her in regards to the dog incidents. She wants to have the Board be more specific if they are going to bring up a topic, include the day and time. It was stated that it was not brought up by a staff or Board Member at a meeting.

Paula – Had nothing to report.
Henry – Had nothing to report.

Attorney: Had nothing to report.

Clerk: Priscilla explained the process of the yearly loan from General Fund to Conservation Trust and repayment from Conservation Trust to General Fund. Henry stated to expect a huge increase for the SLV HMO Health Insurance. The report was accepted as presented upon a motion by Paula and a second by Tiffanie. Motion Carried.

Approval of Minutes:

Budget Hearing November 12, 2009 – Motion by Paula, 2nd by Tiffanie with the exception of revising the second sentence in Paula’s section to “She asked if there could be more support from the Board of Trustees for Bill to administer the employees.” Motion Carried.

Regular Meeting November 12, 2009 – Motion by Tiffanie, 2nd by Paula. Motion Carried.

Follow-Up of Minutes: None.

Approval of Bills: The bills were approved for payment upon a motion by Earl and a second by Paula. Motion Carried. Henry mentioned to the rest of the Board that he had previously talked to Austin in regards to the cost of the meat and vegetable trays for the retirement & incoming party. Austin had told him that he would pay for half. The Board discussed and a motion was made for the Town to reimburse Ann’s CafĂ© for the total cost by Paula and seconded by Earl. Motion Carried.

Other Business:

Approval of Resolutions:
Resolution 2009-6 (Amendment of 2009 Budget) – Motion by Paula, 2nd by Earl. Roll call vote was taken: Earl-yes, Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes and Henry-yes. Motion Carried. Resolution 2009-7 (Adoption for 2010 Budget) – Motion by Tiffanie, 2nd by Paula. Roll call vote was taken: Earl-yes, Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes and Henry-yes. Motion Carried. Resolution 2009-8 (Mill Levy for 2010 Budget) – Motion by Earl, 2nd by Tiffanie. Roll call vote was taken: Earl-yes, Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes and Henry-yes. Motion Carried. Resolution 2009-9 (Appropriation of Monies) – Motion by Paula, 2nd by Tiffanie. Roll call vote was taken: Earl-yes, Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes and Henry-yes. Motion Carried.

Discuss Danny Gallegos Storing of Iron – Dan had talked to Danny and he stated that he was informed that it was okay to store iron as long as it was removed within 24 hours. Bill and Ray checked with the zoning book and it states it is on commercial highway which states that he can not store any metal/iron there. Ray did mention that although it is solely up the Board to make that decision. It was decided to table it until the next board meeting.

Employee/Board Retreat – Bill wants to setup another retreat that includes the employees along with the Board.
Applications for Police Officer Position – There are two applicants and the applications were passed around for the Board to review. Dan would like to see someone hired by the first of the year. Dan will contact George Dingfilder and Blake Crowther to invite them to interview the two applicants. Others who will be on the interview committee will be Henry, Paula, Earl, Dan & Bill. Dan will contact everyone when he has a date and time setup.

Richfield Canal – Bill will check on putting rails out there. He will also check on extending the culvert. Keith mentioned if it’s the town’s street we should be able to place rails without checking with the ditch riders. Ray stated that we can.

Personnel Policy Work Session – The date has been postponed to the first of the year. Bill passed out two examples of policies from other towns for the Board to review.

There being no further business a motion to adjourn was made by Tiffanie. Meeting adjourned at 10:03 pm.