New Central appointments and ordinances

Central City Council Meeting By Wes Isenhart Finances, appointments, year end reports and farewells were the order of business as the currently composed Central City Council met for the last time on December 18 th with Mayor Engels presiding. All council members were present except for Councilwoman Rita Lee. All department heads and legal council were attendance. Council unanimously approved three ordinances after public hearings and second readings. They unanimously approved three resolutions and received the new Master Water Plan. Volunteers for the Gilpin County Historical Society and Tommyknockers Festival gave year end reports on their activities to council. Mayor Engels new appointments to the Historical Preservation Commission and Planning Commission were also approved as stated by the mayor. Councilman Bob Giancola and Councilwoman Rita Lee whose terms were completed were thanked for their service to the city. In quick succession the Council held public hearings and voted on Ordinances: 12-18, 12-19 and 12-20. Ordinance 12-18: Procurements Finance Director Shannon Flowers presented Ordinance 12-18 again which amends the city Municipal Code concerning revenue, finances and procurements. The section on Procurement of Goods and Services has been simplified with a chart that easily identifies what purchasing requirements shall be followed within certain budgetary ranges which will allow staff to obtain good pricing and potential cost savings when purchasing goods and services thereby saving the City money. Motion to adopt Ordinance 12-18 was approved unanimously without discussion. Ordinance 12-19: Fire False Alarm Fees Ordinance 12-19 which amends the Municipal Code to removes specific fees and/or charges from the Code itself and incorporates them into the new Comprehensive Fee Schedule. Director Flowers explained that this amendment specifically removed fees for false or avoidable fire alarms. Motion to adopt Ordinance 12-19 was approved unanimously without discussion. In conjunction with Ordinance 12-19, Council unanimously approved Resolution 12-12 which amends the new Comprehensive Fee Schedule to include fees for false or avoidable fire alarms. Ordinance 12-20: PC and HPC Board Qualifications Member qualifications for being on the Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission were more clearly defined in Ordinance 12-20. Historical Preservation Director Greg Thompson presented the amendment to the Municipal Code which now allows an individual who is not a council member to serve on both commissions at the same time. Motion to adopt Ordinance 12-20 was approved unanimously without discussion. PC and HPC Board Appointments Following the vote on Ordinance 12-20, Mayor Ron Engels appointed Alex Thome and Margaret Grant to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) with Gina Fuerst as the alternate and thanked Perry Eppenger and John Friery for their interest in serving on the HPC. Mayor Engels also appointed Barbara Thielemann, Margaret Grant, and Herman Gaines to the Planning Commission and thanked John Friery for his interest. Council unanimously approved the appointments to both commissions as stated by the Mayor. Resolutions 12-22 & 12-23 Contracts Resolutions 12-22 & 12-23 renewing contracts with Code Consulting, LLC for professional services and One Way, Inc. for residential trash disposal services were unanimously approved. There are no changes to the contract for trash disposal services and the fees for trash disposal will remain the same. Spelling Bee Support In other business, Director Flowers asked for a $100 donation from the Education Fund to support the Gilpin Middle School Spelling Bee. Director Flowers explained that the Middle School would be using donations for small cash prizes for the spelling bee and also asked for volunteers to serve as judge. Council donated the same amount last year with Director Flowers serving as a judge. Council unanimously approved the request. Gilpin Historical Society Gilpin County Historical Society (GCHS) president Gloria Gaines gave a year end activities report to Council and thanked them for their continued support. Ms. Gaines said that the Historical Society will be using the shorter name Gilpin History going forward and that the Creepy Crawl and the Cemetery Crawl were both very successful this year. Tour numbers are up and the Washington Hall museum has been a boost to their exposure. Tommyknocker Festival Tommyknocker Festival volunteer Barbara Thielman also gave Council a report on the festival and thanked Council for their continued support. New Master Water Plan The final presentation of the night was the new Master Water Plan. Utilities Superintendent Griffith explained that the engineering firm Black & Veetch was contracted to do the Water Master Plan to assess the existing system and develop plans for future needs, and the capital investment necessary to complete them. The plan concluded that our system needs regulatory improvements at a projected cost of $700,000 for raw water diversion, transmission costs of $191-$396,000, and distribution upgrades of $1.6-4 million to be completed in the next 2-5 years. The next step is to develop a comprehensive capital improvements plan that will prioritize the water projects in terms of need and funding availability. During staff reports Operations Director Kisselman announced that Central City has been named the 2012 winner by American Public Works Association for the Water Meter Project. He thanked Shawn and the water department team for their excellent implementation. Mayor Engels stated the award is well deserved and thanked Shawn for spearheading this project. Santa Cop and City Government The meeting concluded with Councilwoman Shirley Voorhis thanking Police Chief Krelle for the new Santa Cop program and Councilman Bob Spain thanking Councilwoman Rita Lee and Councilman Bob Ginacola for their service and efforts to improve the effectiveness of the Central City government. Mayor Engels and Councilwoman Voorhies concurred. Next Meeting The next council meeting will be Tuesday January 15t h at 7pm when new council members Gloria Gaines and Kathy Heider will be sworn in and take their seats on the council to start 2013.

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