Town Board Discusses Delinquent Utility Bills

By Chris Sorensen

KCP Staff

July 23, 2004

The Town of Eads Board of Trustees met in regular session July 13 with board members Dennis Pearson, CJ Filbeck, Charles Howard, Diane Crow, Cardon Berry and Mayor Larry Michael present. Board member Bill Barlow was absent.

Van Brown, Director of Public Works, reported that the final "walk through" for the recently completed water system project will take place July 16 at 10:00 a.m. Michael said he would participate in the review. Dawna Peck, Eads Town Clerk, read a letter from the project’s engineering firm, GMS, stating that the board would have to pass a resolution that confirms completion of the project before final grant funds would be released. The board passed a resolution to that effect, which was considered a redundant formality, since the board had previously approved certificates of final completion.

Michael stated that he had received numerous complaints about a band playing to loudly Saturday. Crow stated that Deputy Jeff LeFlore let the group move to the roadside park from Maine Street, and group is now circulating an informal petition to use the park each Saturday night for performances. Concern was expressed that travelers might not stop at the park during such times. Berry took issue with that belief, and said, "there are complaints of nothing for people to do, the we get some doing something other than dragging Maine and drinking and we have complaints about that." Discussion then turned to alternative sites the group could use while minimizing disturbances. Crow stated that, "a lot of people stopped at the park to listen." Other board members allowed that the group is talented. In conjunction with suggestions from Captain Chad Ray, the board decided to work with the group to set some trial guidelines so the can perform without disrupting neighborhoods.

Berry reported that had made some progress on contacting the Colorado Department of Transportation to use land east of the roadside park for oversized vehicles, which will help extend the life of the main concrete parking area. He said that he had talked to Steve and Betty Cahill, who operate a restaurant on the adjoining property, and they supported the idea. Pearson also voiced support, but wants to ensure that the area is properly maintained so that truck drivers and others would be inclined to use it. Brown stated that a couple of load of gravel would be all that is currently necessary, and would not be a problem to maintain. Board members voted let Berry continue pursuing the project.

Peck reported that she had checked the possibility of the town joining the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association, however it appears that the town would not be able to substitute contributions to that program for current contributions to the federal Social Security program. Crow suggested that Peck continue to look into the possibilities.

Board members and others were appointed to the following committees: Crow, Berry, Pearson – Utility; Pearson, Filbeck, Berry – Street; Crow, Filbeck – Fire & Police; Barlow, Pearson – Light & Power; Peck, Crow, Michael – Finance; Brown, Filbeck, Barlow – Safety; Crow, Howard, Barlow – Building; Pearson, Crow – Parks & Recreation; Roger Saffer, Barlow, Howard – Airport; Howard – Housing Authority; Michael, Berry – Enterprise Zone; Peck – Recycling; Brown – Solid Waste; Brown, Pearson, Filbeck – Swimming Pool; Berry, Barlow – Water Conservancy District; Berry, Howard – Kiowa County Economic Development Foundation.

Michael stated that he felt the town was too lenient on delinquent utility bills. Peck described the procedure for delinquencies, which included sending a past-due notice with additional charge at mid-month. If not paid by the end of the month, the amount past due is included with the new bill at the beginning of the following month, and then a letter before the board meets. Peck stated that some do ask for more time, and most of those have been good about making payment within the requested extra time. She said there is a problem in that once some people are given an extension, it become difficult for them to fully pay all amounts owed. There has been the additional issue of people leaving town with unpaid utility bills, which cannot be turned over to a collection agency unless their new address is known. Michael stated that a lot of money had been over the years due to delinquencies, and suggested raising future deposits to reflect the situation. Peck stated that she had the impression that the town’s auditor, Gary Woodward, believed the town’s delinquencies were lower that average, however she didn’t want to dismiss the issue. Crow suggested that the utility committee develop ideas for policy changes and report back to the board.

After some discussion, board members decided to review proposed personnel and drug policies and schedule a special session to make appropriate changes and adopt the policies.

Berry reported that he had been making contacts about establishing a permanent pool of water at the Great Plains Reservoirs south east of Eads. Berry was previously involved with a similar attempt that had not succeeded. He felt pursuing the issue was important due to sales of area water shares and the potential for a positive economic impact for the region.

Brown reported that that there had been five applications for the part-time/summer position. Four candidates had been interviewed, though one had since withdrawn. Board members concurred with a recommendation from Howard that Brown make the hiring decision since it directly impacted his department.

Peck presented a contract from the forest service for providing assistance and guidance to the town and residents. The annual contract, which costs $500, would guarantee 10 8-hour work days to the community by a forester. Berry stated that the current forester, Shelly Van Landingham, has been a poor replacement for Donna Davis. Crow noted that there were complaints last year. Peck stated that Davis had regularly checked in with the town, but the town had not given any direction to Van Landingham. Crow then suggested renewing the contract for one more year with a list of objectives, with which the board agreed.

Jan Richards, Deputy Town Clerk, reported that a mosquito trap recently set at the golf course by a representative from the department of health had caught 1000 mosquitoes during the testing period. The normal expectation is 200 during a designated sampling period. In addition, there is a high concentration of the breed that is a carrier of the West Nile virus. Brown said he had contacted Bruce Fickenscher at the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension office, and was informed that, to be effective, all standing water within a four to five mile radius would need to be treated with a larvicide.

The cost is $40 two acres of surface area, so treating the sewer lagoons would cost about $200, but would be ineffective if other property owners in the area did not treat their standing water. Crow suggested contacting the Kiowa County Commissioners to see if they would treat areas under their control at the same time. Brown said that Fickenscher would be talking to the commissioners soon.

The meeting adjourned at 9:36 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held August 10.